Cala Gran Holiday Park

1 reader found this review helpful

I go on holiday to a haven site about twice a year, i have done since i was little and now i take my children there, as i remember the fun i had. UNFORTUANTLEY it was my first time at cala gran in fleetwood, i have been nearly all haven sites around the country so though we would try this one as it was just up the road from us. never again, and to be honest i think it has put me off haven sites for good as it was that bad! firstly the caravan was a superior but there was nothing superior about it! it was disgusting inside, dirty and full of hairs in the culterly draws and stale old food on the utensials and pots! there were pubic hairs on the bathroom floor! disgusting! secondly, we booked an 8 birth caravan, obviously they were 8 of us......we had 4 of each cutelry and pots! 1 glass and 3 mugs! 1 double quilt and 3 single!! same with cushions! but like a typical brit i did not want to complain i just got on with the cleaning myself and luckily i took sleeping bags for the kids....good job as the quilt had wee stains all over them anyway! then thirdly we ate at the restaurant mash and barrel......eeuugggghhh the sideorder of chips were soggy and had vinegar on them already and peas in the bowl obviously off someone elses plate! me and my husband had chilli which i though was quite nice the next day severe vomiting diorreha and cramps......both had to go hospital and confirmed food poisoning...and thats the only thing we ate besides toast that day! that was the last straw for my husband, he had bit his lip long enough, he told the manager and she just kept saying that it was impossible all the food is fresh.....that there was no vinegar on the chips....errmmmm excuse me you was not there, and they are obviously not going to admit to it because they know its disgusting.....and i bet if enviromental health went in that kitchen....and in the caravan and around the park for that matter they would shut it down! dirty, disgusting grubby park! the manager continued to say that she cannot except our complaint regarding the dirty caravan as we did not tell her right away...what a load of rubbish! thats not how customer complaint procedures work! the only plus point was the entertainment for the kiddies at night time, they really enjoyes it.....just a shame the holiday ended on a low with food poisoning and a rude manager blatantly ignoring us!

5 readers found this review helpful

Just returned from a 4 night mid-week break at Cala Gran, Haven which was booked last minute. Although there are mixed reviews about this park, I have to say we had a pleasant and relaxing time.
Positives
The caravan. The best we’d ever stopped in. Very modern and up-to-date fixtures and fittings. Lots of space for all of us. Good location on the park too.
The weather. Every British holiday is better with good weather. We’d have been a bit stuck without it and unable to experience the outdoor swimming area.
Mash & Barrel. Perfectly acceptable food and a good atmosphere with a small play area. The flies were a little off-putting though.
Negatives
Security. There is no security (apart from after 6pm on the doors of the main complex). Why is this problem? Well, child protection for one. Also, anyone could drive, or walk, on use the facilities (swimming pool) and happily drive, or walk away...without paying a penny!
Swimming Pool. Too small and very busy. I think they have a 1 in 1 out policy during busy periods.
Check-in. Bit of a cattle market to say the least. Lots of people (not us) angry that they weren’t checked in until 4pm...but that’s the time it says on the booking confirmation!
Main Complex. Looks a bit tired in places. Didn’t dare drop anything on the carpet! Also, the quality of entertainment does not replicate that of other parks (not that a 5 year old notices)!
In Conclusion
On the face of it, Cala Gran (to some people) may be an out-dated holiday park that has seen better days. Admittedly, areas of the park could do with a bit of sprucing up...but I could say the same about areas of Butlins (which we love). This is the second Haven Park we’ve visited and we preferred this one to Golden Sands. We definitely think more of Haven than we do of Pontin’s (that place still gives me the creeps).
We took a risk in booking Cala Gran but it paid off. We thoroughly enjoyed our time.
Hope you find this review helpful.

5 readers found this review helpful

I have just returned from a family holiday 2 Adults 1 Child age 3.. After reading the reviews i was dreading this holiday & expecting the worse, what a suprise.. Caravan clean (Delux), with all what we needed in it. (i will the next time i book in march i will upgrade as we didnt have heating in the bedrooms) Entertainment BRILL for both adults & children, staff very polite & friendly. Food on-site YUMMY.. Swimming Pool Great average size.. Some reviews i read mentioned the boggy site, yeah a little muddy but if you stick to the paths you'll be fine.. Not going to babble on anymore all i will say is i would advise this holiday to family/friends.

11 readers found this review helpful

I have just returned from a weekend break in cala gran fleetwood, which we booked using the tokens out of The Sun newspaper, after reading all of these reviews i was dreading what we were going to... well all i can say!!These people must be used to 5 star and above and must be very fussy, as we had an excellent time. We were advised to upgrade because of the time of year. We did to a prestige caravan with heating throughout. There were six adults and two children aged 8 and we were comfortable. The caravan itself was clean and had everything we needed.The heater in the bathroom was broke but a quick call to reception with friendly staff our problem was resolved with an electrician and a new heater within no time. The amenities were fantastic and plenty to do, the children were never bored and the staff never stopped entertaining. Each night was different with excellent groups, THREE, and EVOKE , they were both fantastic and sang for all ages. We even got the boxing on the large screen in the aqua bar which was a bonus for all males. Nothing was to much trouble.The pool was fab although small still fit plenty in and no one was refused. The food was good and an excellent choice available and not expensive. I have never stayed in a caravan before as go abroad twice a year and do like my luxuries, but i will be going to cala gran again as throughly enjoyed.

1 reader found this review helpful

We have just arrived home a day early from Cala gran holiday park. We booked it through the Sun £9.50 holidays, which it wasnt worth. We paid an extra £20 to take our dog with us, so wernt expecting a top class caravan, but the caravan we were put in was filthy, the carpet was badly stained,it was full of dog hair from the previous guests, the bedroom had all mould on the wall and the stool around the dinning table was beyond repair. When we arrived it was dark and raining so after putting everything in the caravan didnt want to move it all in the rain,so a cleaner came out ,but the place was still a mess, if we had took the children with us we wouldnt have stayed the 2 nights we did.
The site is also in bad repair, all the paths leading to the caravans are uneven and with it raining, were full of puddles and so was the carparks, so your feet were soaked all the time.
The televisions also had been updated with digital switch over so you were limited to what you could watch.
A bad experience all round.

2 readers found this review helpful

we hadn't looked at any reviews before we left because we thought Haven holidays would have had a good name, It started when we arrived at the site the people who checked us in obviously had great job satisfaction..... Not.We entered the caravan to find a number of flies buzzing around (at least 20) all the plates had been laid on the table so the flies took great pleasure in landing on them, the man collecting the gas bottles on the golf cart caught my attention because he was doing this at 11.30pm and its not the quietist past time is it!!!!!! the bar was loud and you could here it through the van walls until 12.30am, the toilet in the main complex we're not nice with a number of them being broken!,lifeguards not at all helpful with young children in the pool.
Look out for the clean bed linen left underneath the van on the day of leaving...it could be you sleeping on it next....
take your own we did!!!!

3 readers found this review helpful

Before i went i had alyready booked it then looked at reviews, they were terrible and i was dreading going, but ithaught to myself where ever you go theres bad reviews, we got our key from reception quickly, and went to our caravan, opened the door and was very suprised how now,modern and clean it was, was big and lots of room, it was just me and my partner that went. We were not at the site much as we went in and out of blackpool and had lots of things to do there, i.e went up the tower, and went to pleasure beach all of it was fun.
At the cala gran site there wasnt a lot to do, but enough i didnt use the swimming pool it looked small, but a nice pool. We went and watched the evening entertainment on our last night which was ok but finished about 12. I would go back again.

8 readers found this review helpful

I have just come back from a 7 night stay at Cala Gran with my wife, a 2 year old and our newborn. I must admit I was dreading walking into our caravan after reading some of the reviews on this site (if I had read these reviews prior to booking, I probably would not have booked!). We arrived at about 4.45pm and only had to wait a few mins to collect our key. The staff were very helpful, explaining the layout of the park and directions to our caravan. When I opened the door to our caravan I was expecting the worst but I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised. Yes there were a few stains on the carpet and a couple of the curtains were hanging at the edges from their runners but other than that, it was clean and well appointed. It was our first time in a static caravan and I was amazed at how much they can do with the limited space. Our first night in the bed was a bit of a let-down. The double bed my wife and I were in was very wobbly and the mattress was really thin and the whole bed bowed in the middle and you always had the sensation that you rolling in to each other. It wasnt comfy at all so we pulled off the 2 sofa seats and slept in the lounge for the remanider of the week. These were actually really comfy and had the added benefit of us being able to sleep in the same area as our 3 month old baby (and watch TV in bed!). We didnt see this as an inconvenience at all but I can imagine that many people would. We booked a Superior Plus van but according to the list of amenities for each grade, it appears that we were put in a Prestige van as we had bedroom heaters and a DVD player which by rights we should not have had, so that was a bonus. The shower was perfect and stayed at a constant temperature. We were quite a distance from the entertainment complex which was fine by us as we didnt want to be bothered by noise in the evenings. I cant comment on the evening entertainment as, without wanting to sound too snobbish, watching a succession of X-Factor rejects doing their thing and having to mix with drunken parents who let their feral kids run amok is not our idea of a good night out and we didnt book this break for this reason. We were happy to see the kids off to bed and settle down with a bottle of wine and a film in the caravan after a busy day in Blackpool. The amusement facilities for our 2 year old were sufficient but I doubt they would keep teenagers occupied for long. The swimming pool was very small and with hardly any shallow end for our daughter to play in. Blackpool was brilliant. I haven't been there since I was about 6 (31 years ago!) and it was exactly as I remember. Loads and loads for kids to do whatever the weather. Avoid the cental promenade area at night during the weekends as its full of stag and hen parties behaving in a way you dont really want your kids to witness. In a nutshell then, Cala Gran is fine as long as you dont go expecting pristine caravans and sumptuous beds. For what we paid for 7 nights I really wouldn't expect more and was more than satisfied. There are downsides however and if this is the only holiday you are going to get this year then its worth paying a bit more for the higher grade caravans.

6 readers found this review helpful

We arrived on site at 12.30pm a full 2 hours before we were due to check in.
We were greeted at the entrance to an arcade by STEVE who we asked where the reception was, Steve then said "no one bothers with reception unless you have a complaint, which you probably will have were serving food go and get a drink,smething to eat then check it at 2.30pm". We then followed Steve through an arcade which led to the smallest swimming pool ever which was way overcrowded and into The Showbar which had empty plates & glasses on nearly every table.
Straight away i didnt want to stay here but my wife insisted we looked around first.
All we saw was a Arcade, A Small Pool, A "Showbar", and a very small outside wooden climbing frame.
We then took a drive around the site to which we saw No Grass, Caravans 2 metres apart , no area outside thecaravans and nothing else! We then nearly ran over a child as he came from nowhere because the caravans are so close to the road.
After us getting back to the reception i wanted to cancel the holiday and a full refund as it simply wasnt good enough, we were told by reception that they couldnt offer us a refund at the site but if you wrote to head office they would be able to. To me this was unacceptable as we simply didnt feel comfortable there and there was simply nothing to do for the kids, as we were waiting outside reception one family which were leaving told us not to stay as it was "terrible for the kids and the staff are horrible".
I then phoned head office for a refund but they said that i had to put it in writing.
The website is totally misleading and to be honest Trading Standards could be notified as it is nothing like the video or the photographs.

8 readers found this review helpful

worse holiday i have ever ever been on! terrible experience arrived at Carla gran on Friday 12th June 2009, checked in collected my keys for the prestige caravan i was suppose to be staying in with my family for 7 days. found our caravan and entered it and first think we notice is the smell! it smelt just like an ash tray not only that it was filthy, the kitchen floor we could feel our feet sticking to it, it had hairs all over it and dirt, the carpets looked like they not seen a hover in a long time, the sofas were full of biscuit crumbs, the fridge was so wonky the door wouldn't shut properly, the over was dirty, all mugs,glasses kitchen equipment i would say 95% of it all was dirty. the shower was disgusting it had hairs in it where who ever used the shower last had been shaving and this had not been cleaned, the bathroom sink was dirty, the toilet was dirty the bathroom floor was filthy, 5 light bulbs not working, if this wasn't bad enough it gets better, not one bed had been changed! beds stank like sweat, all the linen had hairs on and stains. complained about this at reception , receptionist didn't once say sorry or seem that bothered, he told me he would send cleaners over to sort it. i waited and waited and no cleaners came, although bed covers were changed but that was it. reception had closed at this point so we had to spend then night in a dirty caravan.
went back to the reception the next morning and demanded the caravan be cleaned now or i want my money back, receptionist again didn't seem to care and basically told me i cant have my money back and a cleaner will be round to clean my caravan at some point today, but couldn't not give me a time. waited all day and no sign of a cleaner again reception was closed at this point so had to spend yet another night in this disgusting caravan. the next morning first thing i did was go down to reception, spoke to another receptionist who again didn't seem to care less about my experience so far with my holiday at haven, when questioned why my caravan had not been cleaned she said cleaners went to wrong caravan.... funny how my bed covers was changed though yet they cant find caravan to clean it?? anyway i was promised cleaners would come clean caravan again, so for the third time we waited and nothing again, this time i couldn't take no more i went down the reception and flipped and again the receptionist didn't care and kept giving more excuses and contradicting herself in things she was saying. i demanded a transfer to go to a different haven and they told me they want another £130 for that even though i had paid for 7 days Friday - Friday. anyway we left on the Sunday because we couldn't take anymore and are now waiting to hear from head office, we better get our money back, Ive also contacted trading standards so if i don't like my reply letter from the head office trading standards will be taking over.
Carla gran doesn't have much to do on it, the park there is nothing like the pic they have put up on their website, the park has 3 obstacles (slide, see saw and a climbing thing) my son was bored after 1 min literally. the soft play area is the size of a small shed and contains 1 small slide and 1 soft square block son wasn't even interested in this. swimming pool is tiny, convenient shop has very little choice, staff are all moody well 99% of them are anyway you don't feel that staff care that your not having a good holiday, they will never get another penny of me what a waste of my time i travelled 140 miles each way to go to this park
dont waste your money because if you get any problems its like trying to get blood out of a stone to get your money back