Pontins Reviews 

Myself and my two granddaughters stayed at Pontins, Camber Sands August 2021. What an awful disgustingly filthy place. Checking in took a long time so I asked what time the restaurant closed, we had an hour to eat so went there before unloading the car. What a mistake, the area was filthy, no trays and we got the last 3 clean plates. The food was awful and an old man in street clothes was replenishing the bowls!! We went to our apartment and then had a problem with the electric so had to line up to speak to someone. Patronisingly being asked if we were doing it correctly to then find out it was their fault but no apology. The apartment was dirty, cobwebs everywhere, mould in bathroom, shower trickled and then kept flooding the floor. Bedroom light kept flashing after switching off and kettle switched itself off and on. Every single building was dirty on the outside, really grimy windows. Parking was horrendous, couldn’t get near apartment to unload so had to carry bags a long way. The site shop looked like a hoard of chimps had been through.We spent our time on the beach and eating out. Would never go again and don’t know how the place is still allowed to trade.

I don’t normally complain on forums, but as we are in the middle of a pandemic I feel people should be forewarned and prepared before risking going to Pontins Southport. I have stayed here quite a few times and to be honest, cleanliness, customer service and management has never been great, but the food and entertainment used to be good and my son enjoyed it and that was the main thing. I stayed here from 7th-14th August. Upon arrival my mum wanted a coffee, as she had been driving. After queuing for ages at the bar, we were told they no longer served coffee and was told to go to Java, the cafe at the entrance or use the new vending machines. Java was closed (it was only 1pm) and both machines were broken! As my son is now a teenager, and it was raining, we were disappointed to learn that the Games Zone and Skate Park had been removed. We went to checkin at 1.56pm (club) and despite there only being myself and 3 other people there, the receptionist insisted on making us wait til exactly 2pm before checking us in ! We then got to our room, the floor hadn’t been swept or mopped, the sofa bed was still down, there was hair accessories from the previous guests and pubic hair and sand in the bath ! When we went to complain there was a massive que of people also having to complain, the receptionists were rude and disinterested. That night we thought we would eat in the buffet style restaurant, as the food had been nice in previous years. Believe it or not….there was actually no food ! I kid you not, we stood there with other guests for 15 mins and no food was brought out ! There was a “manager” of some sort there, who saw everyone waiting, but just stood there and offered no explanation or apology. We then asked for a refund and thought we would go to the chip shop (it was probably a good job in the end, as after speaking to around 20 other guests over the course of the week, they had all had sickness and diarrhoea) The chop shop was closed and the boy inside it opened the door and said he didn’t know when he would be open ! We then went to the Entertainment ALL the tables were filthy and sticky with used wrappers, plastic cups etc on them. Every night I had to clean a table before we could sit at it and even ended up taking in anti-bacterial wipes as the bar staff said they had no cloths! The ladies toilet was rancid. No soap, both hand dryers didn’t work, no toilet paper and a nappy bin full of soiled nappies that hadn’t been emptied. By the 2nd day, I really wanted to leave, but my son and his friend were enjoying the arcade and booked to go on the inflatables in the pool a couple of times. This used to be free, but it is now 3 tokens each and you believe it or not, you have to actually turn up in your swim wear and go back to your chalet in your swim wear, as the changing rooms were closed ! On the Thursday, I felt unwell and had to stay in bed until we left on the Saturday and guess what ? I had caught COVID !! The entertainment was really poor compared to previous years and the “acts” were mainly done by the Bluecoats or a really rubbish husband and wife act called Amethyst. The Bluecoats used to do daytime sports activities and a pantomime, but there was nothing during the day for kids. It’s a shame because previous years have not been too bad and we’ve had fond memories there as my son has grown up. So, if you are going there, take lots of anti-bacterial products !

Look, you get what you pay for right? The accommodation is basic at best but after a good clean and some home touches its not too bad. we stayed at brean sands resort and here are my thoughts...
The club house carpet could do with a good clean.
We were given the wrong timetable of childrens entertainment twice which meant we kept missing events.
We were allowed only 1 trip to the swimming pool which was not advertised. I will add at this point we were there for 7 nights and you are only allowed 1 swim no matter how long your stay. We also had to arrive dressed and walk back to our accommodation in our costumes. Something else not advertised.
Some of the blue coats were just rude, and the staff in charge of the children's play centre were downright miserable and rude.

The go-carts and bikes were not available so there was actually very little for the kids to do.

that being said, we had a good time as we were mostly out and about off the resort.

What a company. I have tried and tried to change a booking not cancle just change holiday park after making a very silly mistake hand's up we are no perfect. The thing is my daughter is disabled and can not travel from Gloucester to Manchester so have asked to change to Brean. I booked with Booking.com and have been sent back and forth they have now taken my money and all emails have stopped so now have a holiday we can not take.

Unbelievable, walked into our room upon arrival and found the floor full of dirt, fluff and sand with no broom or mop to clean with! Beds were horrific, an old 60s fold out bed that was described as a double? A bloody double?!? Haha cooked a pizza in the oven that nearly caught alight, can only assume it had never been cleaned? Found poo (looked like human) out the front of our room and what looked like used sanitary towels?!?! Unable to get any food as shop was always out of stock of everything, can only use cash on the camp but no money in any of machines! Funny thing was the cash point at the shop was “the only cash point in camber” and it was broke! Restaurant was chips, chips or more chips?! Seriously this place need looking into! We stayed for 2 nights but booked for 4, also upgrade for an extra bit of money that got us a free news paper and a bottle of wine?also the dinosaur park looked like hand me downs from another park or theme park as they had arms and teeth missing?! I could go on but you must be bored of reading now! I would never ever go back here!!! In a millions years!

Our problems have started even before we have arrived.
On booking wanted to book disabled club room not possible on web site. Charged £10 for downstairs apartment. Booked standard clibroom hoping to be able to contact Pontins.
Emailed as instructed not replied. Tried 2 times more to the site and head office. Ignored. Then tried phoning. The tel no is a premium at 28p per min at sky rate. Was left hanging with music, was told they were busy and to wait at £18 per hour. Did not get an answer. Then tried the 0333 no they give you which should be national rate. Was immediately transferred to their premium no. Without my permission. I understand this is illegal. Still no answer. Tried the web for non premium nos for this site. Nos given did not answer...So i am stuck with an apartment that I can not use due to my disability.
So if you are disabled or wish to contact Pontins be prepared for a massive phone bill with no result.
If anybody can help much appreciated.

Where do I even start, when me and my family got to the place the line to check inn was unbelievably long and when we did check in and go to our rooms the rooms were a sh*thole and very dusty and kept making individuals staying with me sneeze and Heeve so, we had to travel 11 miles to asda to get cleaning products and our own cups and plates as everything it that chalet was just dirty and filthy. When deeped cleaned every part of that chalet until it was dirt and dust free. So you could imagine how dirty and disgusting the place we stayed in was and plus the rooms and the chalet itself are very basic. Food and drink way too overpriced, toilets upstairs near entertainment area absolutely reeks that face needs to be covered as you walk past. Staff do not take notice to complaints/Concerns what so ever. And me and my family were booked in for 4 days, it was the worth four days of our life and we mostly couldn’t wait to go home, but we made good out of a bad situation as we had to brave face for the kids. If I could give this place 0 stars I would because it absolutely does not deserve no ratings what so ever as the place is that bad, I highly do not recommend place needs to be shut down.

Disgusting place! We had two 2 bed apartments at pontins southport. One apartment had dirty floors which were sticky, the other apartment had smell of dead rat. The mattress were awful in both apartments, we could all feel the springs poking into our backs, including our 3 year old. We all had worst sleep ever for those three days. Most of the good arcade games were out of order. We had to argue with staff to get the go carts out as the staff didn't know why they were not working. The toaster had crumbs on it when we arrived so obviously was not cleaned. The soft play looked so dirty that I was scared my daughter was going to pick up some form of infection just from touching the play area. They refused to allow the kids to go on the little go carts stating the floor is wet, even though it was not raining or wet. Pool water was cold, even in kids section, men's changing rooms were out of order. Overall a dirty, grimey place where you can't get a good night's sleep, and kids activities are lacking. Also, just found out it is being used to house homeless people, that would explain why they state they are at full capacity.

I too booked at Pontins Brean and was giving the most discussting apartment ever, my husband and i took my 72 year old mum and wished I hadn't, the chalet had not been cleaned, electrical cables were exposed, dirt on practically everything and I refused to even entertain it. I did speak to a very nice manager and I think even she knew it wasn't acceptable and moved me to another, a little better but not much. I would not go back, cheap and tacky, not good, would give no stars if I could.

we booked back in march, today i get a call saying they are cancelling our holiday which was only 3 weeks away as they are now closing the park for an event, although we will be fully refunded

Camber Sands.
So we were looking forward to this trip. But there have been a few problems.
Food is basic, and staff ignore you, except when they need to tell you off. Couldn't even complain as there was a queue of ppl complaining. But when your starving.....
Chalet was basic and I asked for a re-clean and staff member "appeared" to request a secondary room clean. No one came. Anyway I was prepared with cleaning materials and cleaned.
Window broken in the room so not safe to leave you valuables. Reported it, and staff member didn't write it down, but said maintenance would get there. Second time alerting them. He wrote problem down, but still no one came.
TV is not working at all..., so now we're on BBC iplayer on our phones!!!!
I asked for a manager, but "obviously" I think there are none and staff continue to behave as though they are taking you seriously, but fob you off like you are an idiot or write the issue down in the "mysterious issue LOGBOOK". After a long journey with family, cleaning your own room eating basic food, waiting 1 hour and 15 mins to check in, your so tired, you can't complain anymore. Buyer beware.
Plus side, close to the beach, lots of activities for kids to do. Rides, playground, ARCADE. My 1 star is because no one tries to settle your issue, they just speak WORDS.......
Just don't try to compare it to CParcs.....and then you won't be disappointed.

Holiday in the hood ,utterly beyond what your mind can endure , no sleep , filthy surrounding , dirty nappies around walkways , my apartment was run down , broken bed leg , broken kettle , broken toilet seat , broken aerial cable ,just a hole in fact , non stop parties all night can't sleep a wink , Saturday night around 2am , electric and phone was shut down , police everywhere , looking for 2 men who beat up security .Sunday night again the same ####
, had enough already , teenagers trying to sell you coke , been always followed around and the scoping out of possessions inside your apartment, I had to keep my curtains closed permanently, I left at 1am this morning for home , this place is not for kids or normal people with a sense of purpose , there is too much drugs , out of control parties and this is not what kids should have around them , it should be closed , when you see staff members running the shop with hands around each other's necks ready for ww3 then it's a lost cause .

Went to Pontins Western Super-Mare through Booking com even though I'd no idea I was booking for Pontins ! Beware of using Booking.com as they will surprise you! Anyway accepted the fact I was on my to an out of date holiday camp so arrived to utter chaos as the rooms were not ready ! Eventually got allocated a room the size of a large dog kennel which after one night we managed to get charged to a larger cleaner decent room. So rooms fine now! Evening meal time, I've never seen such a scene, queues as long as hell sloppy staff serving sloppy food in a sloppy "cafeteria" that's all I can call it! Food was absolutely disgusting so much so we ended up eating out. Breakfast was half decent even though the cheapest possible ingredients were used . Keep away from the sausages ! That's the food done.
Entertainment was a scream! These groups must pay Pontins to practice as they are total crap !

Bingo, very very expensive and with kids running riot it's just not worth playing even though the prize money is OK although Pontins keep well over 60% of the takings.

Watch out for the 4 ft midget with the hairy face, he's not an inmate he's actually supposed to be a bluecoat! He shouts the bingo numbers.
Invalid carriages, there's 100s of them! Most of the inmates are waiting for God so, if you own walking sticks a Zimmer frame or an electric wheelchair and enjoy sitting on a toilet for hours on end this is the place for you !!!

We went too Pontins pakefield this august 2021 with our children and we had such a fantastic time we was Dreading our stay due to the reviews we had read but once we arrived and settled We couldn’t fault the park we was 2 min walk from the beach which was clean and a beautiful site, we never had too leave the site because there was so much for us too do with our children. We went half board and the food wasn’t that bad at all and tbh saved us so much money full English breakfast every morning which tbh with a large family would of cost us at least £50 so a massive saving! Then dinner around five again a massive saving! The apartment we stayed in there was nothing too complain about it was clean with fresh bedding clean cups plates and cutlery ect:
The staff at pontins was delightful the entertainment was for all ages bluecoats done really well I would be defo booking again with my family and I’ve recommended to friends who all seem too wanna experience themselves! Well done pontins!

I wish I could go lower than 1 star, pontins camber sands was the most disgusting, filthy, unkempt, vile, nasty, stinking place I have ever visited. What's advertised is not what you get. If I wanted to clean I would stay home, you need to bring everything including the kitchen sink.
Shower door don't close.
No ,as for the bathroom,
Wardrobe not secure,
Beds are absolutely disgusting,
Spiders everywhere,
Games room area carpet dirty with garbage all over,
Under staff
No real attractions for the kids,
You will have to drive far to get food,
The shop on site is extortionate.
The sofa bed is nothing but board nasty cracked material.
Play areas are unkempt.
You don't want to touch anything.
Got it on a groupon deal but it was not value for money more like a waste of money. Had to check, into another hotel.

I've just returned from a break at Pontins Camber sands resort. Reading some of the reviews is funny because some seem over exaggerated but they're all absolutely accurate. I wish I had read the reviews before I booked. I think no matter how cheap the holiday is, a certain level of standard is expected. Heres a summary of what to expect at Pontins Camber Sands.

Bad Points.
- Litter absolutely everywhere.
- Check in process is long and stressful. You have to queue for over an hour with all the other guests.
- Swimming booking process. You are limited to one swim during your time at Pontins. I was counting on taking the kids swimming every day which was now not going to happen. In order to book swimming you have to queue between the hours of 17:00 and 18:00 to book your slot with every other guest. People start queuing from 16:00. I was so far back in the queue that I was unable to book the pool the entire time I was there. In the end I took my children to other swimming centres in the local towns.
- Shop. The onsite shop was dirty and full of empty boxes and empty shelves. There was food just chucked all over the place. I just went in to get some sweets for the kids and there was a packet of bacon just sat over the top of the sweets he wanted.
Good Points
- Every member of staff I spoke to was helpful and did there best. They all looked generally tired and stretched beyond their means.
- Live entertainment was fantastic.
- Surrounding area outside of Pontins was lovely.
Dangerous points
The things that shocked me the most about Pontins and it baffles me how these points have been overlooked / ignored. This is supposed to be a holiday remember there shouldn’t be any bad points and there certainly shouldn’t be any dangerous ones.
- The toilets in the main Pontins building were absolutely disgusting, the smell of urine flowed out into the communal hallways and arcade leading into the entertainment hall. The carpets by the toilet doors were black and full of compacted scum which had been trodden in from people walking in and out of the toilets. How they've not been shut down by environmental health I have no idea.
- There are sanitiser stations dotted around the park. None of them work, I think you would be more likely to catch COVID by touching a sanitiser station.
- Vehicle and pedestrian integration. The road ways leading around the park are very narrow and this is also where you park the car. The car parking spaces are designed so that you have to drive in and reverse out, on top of this there is one narrow footway which leads along side the road which is always very busy with people walking backwards and forwards. The footway is not wide enough for two people so by design, people are always being forced out into the road. I saw many situations where there were cars trying to get down the road, people standing in the road to unload there cars, families with young children trying to get through with there children in the road and people trying to have fun on the go karts all on the same road. It's an accident waiting to happen I'm surprised someone hasn't been killed already.
- Hot Water. Not sure if this is the same for all of the apartments but ours was a standard apartment and an electric water heater which fed the bath, basin, and kitchen sink (by the way there's no shower.) Each hot tap had a yellow sticker next to it saying 'very hot water'. This one annoyed me the most as Pontins are trying to cover themselves at the cost of a yellow sticker. As a guest you still have to touch the water at some point to check that the temperature is suitable, unless you take a thermometer on holiday with you and believe me the water that comes out of that tap is hotter than the sun. So rather than modernising the place and fitting modern eco electric boilers where the water temperature can be properly controlled or even a mixer tap so that your children can wash their hands safely. Its up to you whether you scald yourself or not and if you do, you should have read the yellow sticker.

It makes you wonder what the company directors are playing at, They cant blame COVID for this, these problems have been in place a long time. I wonder if they've ever stayed there themselves to experience the Pontins holiday experience and queued for their keys etc. I think they should at least be more open at what the place is actually like prior to potential guests parting with there hard earned money.

Tried 16 hand sanitizer stations . NOT ONE WORKED!!!
When I asked the staff I was told they had no one employed to refill it !!??

It is SO dirty here I don’t even have words to explain it.
Awful awful awful

Hey it was August and everything was silly money but needed a break. It was a great break. Sad thing is, that those working class people escaping for one or two weeks a year, deserve clean, working rooms. You get what you pay for but the dirt was unbelievable and a real dirty show and should not be included. Such a shame because it was fun and working class people giving it, there best shot of a week or so away from it all. Treat them with the dignity, they deserve. Clean it up. Otherwise its really fab.

Absolutely never coming back here or any other pontins establishment again! If you like to be surrounded by scum then this is absolutely the place for you because what passes for "guests" at this place is the sort of people I personally would never want my family to encounter. Last night I was assaulted by a group of these so called "guests" in front of my 6 year old daughter because she won something in an arcade machine that they wanted, an utterly pathetic reason to assault someone in my view, but then that's the nature of the people this place attracts. It should perhaps have been obvious from the start when all you could hear was drum and bass mixed with the heady aroma of copious amounts of weed and people so intellectually incompetent that they managed to set fire to the grass whilst trying have a BBQ. At that was only an hour after checking in! Anyway coming back to last night's experience having received injuries that required hospital treatment we felt compelled to leave early as my daughter was too scared to leave the chalet because nobody could tell us if the people responsible were still on site despite assurances from both site security and the police thatbthey would be removed. Avoid like the plague as this place sucks, if you want a decent holiday park experience go with Park Dean or stump the extra cash and go to Butlins both are immeasurably better than this cesspit!

Ive got 3 words...Absolute f*cki*g sh*thole. As soon as me and my family entered the shalet we all were so shocked. It was not cleaned, floors were sticky and dirty, beds and matresses were disgusting including some bed bugs. I can not fault the Entertainment because that was amazing but the actual entertainment room was a state and dirty.

This place should be shut down and no one should ever come to this dirty disgrace ever again.