Millions of us remember family-friendly holidays at Pontins over the years. But even in its heyday, it wasn’t exactly known for luxury.
But today times have gotten tougher for the once successful holiday chain, and it has even been voted the worst in the country. At its peak, Pontins had 30 holiday parks across the UK – including one in Southport – but today only two remain: Pakefield Holiday Village in Suffolk and Sand Bay Holiday Village in Weston-super-Mare.
So when I booked a getaway for three people, I honestly wasn’t expecting the Ritz – I just didn’t expect there to be something really strange hiding in my bed.
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We had originally booked to stay at Pakefield, but Pontins later admitted they had taken a risk by accepting customer reservations alongside a large private event. Their reasoning? These events are often cancelled at the last minute, leaving the park empty. If the event had gone ahead, we would have been told our booking had been cancelled – and that’s 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 secured a four-night stay in ‘Club’ accommodation on a half-board basis. The ‘Club’ accommodation, believe it or not, was an upgrade, with no extra electricity costs and the benefit of an earlier check-in.
The accommodation itself resembled a 1950s council flat, but for £347 I couldn’t really complain.
As we approached our apartment, another vacationer called out to us, “I hope you brought cleaning supplies – our apartment was dirty!” We got ready and went inside, but to our surprise, it wasn’t as bad as we feared. Basic, yes, but clean and perfectly adequate. The apartment had a kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms, and a separate living room with a TV and sofa bed (which will play a role later).
The park itself had plenty of activities for kids, including a skate park. The buffet food was basic but decent, with a cooked breakfast that hit the spot and a choice of evening meals including a vegetarian dish, soups, salads, free tea, coffee, syrups and a selection of desserts. For budget-conscious families, the half-board option was a solid money saver.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly up until now. But then, on the second night, things took a truly bizarre turn.
Around 8:30 p.m., after dinner, we returned to our apartment, full and ready to relax for the night. As we entered the kitchen, we noticed something – there was movement under the bed covers.
A pile of clothes on the floor suggested that something was wrong. Sneakers next to the door, sandals inside, and even a pair of slippers were scattered around.
And then I saw it – a woman’s head peeking out from under my bed covers.
My first thought was that I had walked into the wrong unit, but a quick glance around confirmed that this was indeed our unit. I alerted my mother and son to our unexpected guest and cautiously approached the real Goldilocks and whispered, “Excuse me, but you are in our room.”
The dozing squatter stirred, looked a little surprised, but then – much to our regret – immediately fell asleep again and snuggled deeper into my duvet.
I was baffled and increasingly annoyed. “You can’t stay here,” I insisted, trying to wake her up. Eventually she showed 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 visibly shaken. She insisted that she had used her key to get in, and after some confusion, we discovered that her actual accommodation was at the other end of the park. Somehow, in her drunken state, she had found a unit in the same location as hers, but on a completely different block.
She picked up her sneakers and slippers, slurred her apologies, and disappeared into the night.
I wondered how she had gained access. Was it possible that Pontins had a limited number of key combinations, so that one key could open multiple units? Security assured me that each key was unique, but I was not convinced.
After she left, my son noticed that one of the windows to the main room was slightly open. It was damaged and didn’t close properly, but from the outside it opened fully. She had left her sneakers outside this window and her slippers were found inside nearby. It seemed likely that she had gotten in this way.
We called security again and after some effort we managed to secure the window. The staff were quite polite but there was no formal apology or gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience.
I tried to file a complaint with the park, but since the manager was unavailable and I didn’t want to waste any more of my vacation, I decided against it.
Two days later, I saw the woman in the park. Although it was embarrassing, I was keen to know how she got in. She still insisted she had used her key, which seemed impossible, and claimed she couldn’t remember climbing through a window.
I later wrote to the company, but they declined to investigate, citing the policy that complaints must be made locally.
So did all this put me off Pontins? Surprisingly, not. In fact, I used a discount they gave me for a future booking to book an even cheaper stay at another park later in the summer.
Fortunately, there were no surprise guests this time.
WHAT DID PONTINS SAY?
I wrote to the company after our stay but they refused to investigate the matter as their policy is that a complaint must be made to the park first.
The company responded: “It is disappointing that you detail other holidaymakers who exhibited inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour that impacted your experience.”
“We cannot and will not tolerate this behavior, but neither can we 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 their conduct, they risk being ejected from the park.
“This will be done quickly and effectively, provided that circumstances allow it and we are informed of it.
“We are committed to providing the highest standards of customer service and facilities and welcome customer feedback, whether constructive or otherwise.”
“All feedback is recorded in a weekly report and reviewed by management as we continually strive to deliver the highest possible standards. We are committed to improving our products and services and your feedback helps us tremendously in achieving this goal.”
“As per our terms and conditions, we are only able to investigate and resolve complaints raised with the on-duty management team whilst staying at the park. As we do not have a guest resolution form or evidence to indicate or demonstrate that this issue was raised with the team and remained unresolved, we must advise you that we are unable to assist you further.”
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW AT PONTINS?
Fred Pontin founded the original company in 1946, which expanded to about 30 prestigious parks across the country.
In 2011, the Britannia Hotels chain took over the complex when only six parks remained.
In the last nine months, three sites have closed abruptly, including Camber Sands, Prestatyn in North Wales and Southport.
The Welsh site will accommodate construction workers.
Last month, Pontins announced that Pakefield would close next year to accommodate 500 workers building the new Sizewell C nuclear power station. Only Sand Bay in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, would then remain in operation.
Last month, the struggling chain was again ranked as the UK’s worst holiday park brand in a survey by consumer organisation Which?
The survey asked over 1,700 people about their experiences at British holiday parks over the past two years.
Participants were asked to rate 11 criteria, including quality of accommodation, cleanliness, facilities, activities and value for money.
