If you’ve ever stayed at a Pontins resort, you’ll know it’s not exactly the Ritz! In fact, the once-successful holiday chain has recently been named the worst in the country, with a number of parks closing in recent months.
Pontins once had 30 parks across the UK. Now there are just two left: Pakefield Holiday Village in Suffolk and Sand Bay Holiday Village in Weston-super-Mare. And if the online reviews are anything to go by, let’s just say they don’t paint a rosy picture.
So when I booked a short break for myself, my mother and my son I wasn’t expecting five star luxury, but what I found exceeded anything I could have imagined.
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We had originally booked to stay at Pakefield, but Pontins admitted they had taken a gamble by accepting bookings from customers alongside a large private event. Their logic? Events like this often fall through at the last minute, leaving the park empty. They accepted our booking, and if the event went ahead, we would be notified that our reservation had been cancelled. And that is exactly what happened.
As a gesture of goodwill they offered to rebook us into their now defunct Camber Sands resort in East Sussex, which we accepted. For £347 we got four nights in a “club” unit on a half board basis. The “club” accommodation, believe it or not, is the upgrade, which meant no extra electricity charges and we had the luxury of an earlier check-in.
The accommodation looked like a 1950s council house, but for £347 I couldn’t really complain.
As we were getting ready to enter our apartment, another holidaymaker shouted: “I hope you brought your cleaning supplies, because our place was filthy.” We braced ourselves for the worst, but to our relief it wasn’t as bad as we had feared. Basic, yes, but clean and perfectly acceptable. It had a kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and a separate living room with a TV and sofa bed – more on that later.
The park had plenty of activities for kids, including a skate park, and the buffet, while basic, was fine. The cooked breakfast was a safe bet, and dinner offered a variety of options, including a vegetarian dish, soups, salads, free tea, coffee, cordial and a range of desserts. For budget-conscious families, the half-board option can save a lot of money.
So far, so good. But then, on the second night, things took a downright bizarre turn.
Around 8:30pm, after dinner, we returned to our unit, bellies full and ready to sleep. But as we entered the kitchen, we saw something moving under the covers of my bed.
A pile of clothes on the floor gave another clue. There were sneakers by the door, sandals inside, and even a pair of flip-flops.
And then I saw it: a woman’s head emerging from under my duvet.
My first thought was that I had entered the wrong accommodation, but a quick glance confirmed that this was indeed our unit. I alerted my mother and son to our unexpected guest and cautiously approached the real Goldilocks, whispering, “Excuse me, but you are in our room.”
The sleeping squatter stirred, looked a little surprised, but then – to our horror – immediately fell asleep again and crawled even deeper into my duvet.
I was stunned and increasingly irritated. “You can’t stay here,” I insisted, trying to wake her. Eventually she began to show signs of life, and fearing that she might not be fully dressed, I retreated to the kitchen to give the pillow pirate some privacy.
When the sleepy squatter finally emerged, she was clearly worse off. She insisted she had used her key to get in and after some confusion we discovered that her actual accommodation was on the other side of the park. Somehow, in her drunken state, she had found a unit in the same location as hers but in a completely different block.
She grabbed her sneakers and flip-flops, apologized briefly, and disappeared into the night.
I wondered how she had gotten in. Was it possible that Pontins had a limited number of key combinations, allowing one key to open multiple units? Security assured me that each key was unique, but I wasn’t convinced.
After she left, my son noticed that one of the windows to the main room was slightly open. It was damaged and would not close properly, but it could be opened all the way from the outside. Her sneakers were left outside by this window and her slippers were found inside near it. It appeared that she had entered this way.
We called security again and after some effort we managed to secure the window. The staff were polite enough, but no formal apology was offered, nor a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience.
I tried to file a complaint with the park, but as the manager was unavailable and I didn’t want to waste any more of my holiday, I decided not to.
Two days later I saw the woman in the park. Despite the awkwardness, I desperately wanted to know how she had gotten in. She kept insisting that she had used her key, which seemed impossible, and claimed that she had no recollection of climbing through a window.
I later wrote to the company but they refused to investigate, citing their policy that complaints should be made on the spot.
So, did the whole thing put me off Pontins? Surprisingly not. In fact, I used a discount they were giving me for a future booking to book an even cheaper stay at another park later that summer.
Luckily, there were no mystery guests this time.
WHAT DID PONTINS SAY?
I wrote to the company after our stay but they refused to investigate, their policy is that a complaint must be made to the park first.
The company responded: “It is disappointing that you have identified other holidaymakers who displayed inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour which impacted on your experience.
“While we cannot and will not tolerate such behavior, we cannot be held responsible for the actions of the park’s residents.
“If a guest is found to be in breach of our terms and conditions regarding his/her behaviour, he/she runs the risk of being removed from the park.
“This will be done quickly and effectively, in the circumstances in which we are able to do so and when we are informed of it.
“We strive to provide the highest standards of customer service and facilities and we value customer feedback, both constructive and otherwise.
“All feedback is recorded in a weekly report and reviewed by senior management. We continually strive to deliver the highest possible standards and strive to improve our product and service. Your feedback helps us enormously in achieving this goal.
“In accordance with our terms and conditions, we can only investigate and resolve complaints that have been raised with the duty management team whilst you were on the park. As we do not have a guest resolution form or evidence to indicate or support that this issue has been raised with the team and has remained unresolved, we must inform you that we are unable to assist you further.”
WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW AT PONTINS?
Fred Pontin founded the original company in 1946, which has since grown to approximately 30 renowned parks across the country.
In 2011, the hotel chain Britannia Hotels took over, when there were only six parks left.
In the past nine months, three sites, including Camber Sands, Prestatyn in North Wales and Southport, have closed abruptly.
The construction site in Wales is intended to house construction workers.
Last month, Pontins announced that Pakefield will close next year to house 500 workers building the new Sizewell C nuclear power station, leaving only Sand Bay in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, to remain operational.
Last month, the struggling chain was again rated the worst holiday park brand in the UK in a survey by consumer organisation Which?
The survey asked more than 1,700 people about their experiences at British holiday parks over the past two years.
Participants were asked to rate 11 criteria, including accommodation quality, cleanliness, facilities, activities and value.