Reviews of Burnham-On-Sea Holiday Park, Somerset

This was our 3rd visit to this park as we had enjoyed our previous stays. However this visit was such a disappointment. This park has deteriorated drastically and although our so called prestige accommodation was moderately clean it bore no resemblence to the internet description of a prestige model. There was no coffee table, no heating in the bathroom and no luxury fixtures and fittings. The caravan we had suited the description of a superior plus rather than prestige. My parents however booked the same week and grade of caravan (prestige) and their caravan was pure luxury with heating throughout, new curtains including nets, free standing furniture, coffee table and all those added extra luxury fittings. We queried this with the Customer Services Manager who was not in the slightest bit interested, apart from her response that both caravans were graded prestige. We argued this and told her we were most unhappy with the state of our caravan compared to our parents' van (for a 2008 model there was blood all over the carpet, the curtains were drab and faded and the wood was pealing off the so called dressing table shelf in the main bedroom). She refused to look at the caravans with us even after we told her ours had been wrecked and the only excuse she gave was that head office graded the accommodation therefore it was out of their hands. We used the Barrel and Mash restaurant and on every occasion there was something they didn't have such as crisps, cakes and containers for peanuts sold at the bar, we were always told they were awaiting a delivery - they just couldn't keep up with the demand considering the park was full. We had the family from hell next to us and the police were called after the 2nd night of disturbance, however the occupants still remained on site the next day. We ran out of gas and had to wait 45 minutes and ring their customer line TWICE - when you have a baby waiting for its lunch its not easy! I have sent a letter of complaint to head office with photos, I received a call from them saying they will reply within 28 days but this has nearly expired - SO WARNING IF YOU COMPLAIN YOU SHOULDN'T EXPECT A REPLY VERY QUICK AND THE PARK STAFF ARE NOT INTERESTED AND TELL YOU TO WRITE TO HEAD OFFICE!



We certainly will not be returning to this park again, and may not ever visit any Haven park - we were most dissatisfied and it was very overpriced for the sub-standard accommodation we stayed in. Their complaints system is not customer friendly and this company do not deserve the amount of business they get from hard working families as they are just a ripping them off. So be careful when you book the luxury caravans you might end up with a lower grade and they will refuse to acknowledge it!

We were here for 7 nights arrived 9/8/08. Well, we arrived an hour after our check-in time, booked a Prestige caravan, we have been to Burnham on sea twice before, the last time in 2002. This time was such a disappointment. On arrival, check -in was quick, on driving to our caravan there was piles of linen in heaps outside every caravan in the pouring rain, it looked awfull, scruffy like, you'd think they would at least put dirty linen in a bag, not just dump it on the roadside in the rain! Anyway, we arrived at our caravan to find it not locked, and when we entered, it was dirty! Now if the cleaners had not been around yet, I could understand, but they had been in, some of the beds had been made, others left with dirty duvet cover taken off and left in a heap with duvet left in another heap, grass and bits in every room, it was everywhere, toe nail cuttings on bedroom floor which was disgusting! the living area had bits of crisps and food all over the chairs/settee, table was dirty with dried food on, the sink had a bobble with hair still in it and a pot noodle lid! and the bin under the sink in cupboard was still full of rubbish, and at the side of that a half eaten yoghurt..... and not only that but the window in the living area was broken and would not close, gaping open about an inch, bearing in mind it was raining aswell!! Not the welcome I had hoped or paid for on arrival to our supposed luxury accommodation. Needless to say just after arriving we were up reception complaining, I am quite easy to please, but the fact it was dirty and the window looked to me as though someone had tried to wedge it open from the outside. Reception sent out cleaning manager to inspect, as they were unable to move us, he was disgusted also, and a member of staff told us the window had been reported broken the week before! A new set of cleaners came out, we sat in the car to let them get on with it, and the maintenance guy came out to see the window, which had to be rammed shut and we were told not to open it! that was the last that happened to the window, maybe its still broken. The cleaners did do a great job, and it felt a lot nicer and fresher after they had finished. Our kitchen utensils were a waist of time, saucepans with handles falling apart, no oven trays, no toaster, no plastic jug or anything like that, dirty cutlery and spatula had to wash them all, and plates, glasses ect. And the caravans could do with a hoover, or ewbank even. For the first 2 nights my eldest (18) stayed in the caravan in the evenings, but on the monday we all decided to go up the club, only to find the key did not lock the door! so we locked it from the inside, locked the other door and reported to reception again, maintenance came out and he was baffled to as the key was correct for the barrell. He had to replace the barrell, this made me think that maybe forced entry had been attempted previously, with the door lock broken and the window! I felt uneasy about leaving belongings, and you don't want to be carrying them around all the time.

The park has expanded a lot since we visited before, and I felt it has gone down hill a bit, the daytime activites were great and despite the showers, we managed to keep busy with the football courts, outdoor pool when the sun came out briefly, This pool is advertised as heated, no way, it was freezing! either they(haven) are fibbing, or staff just can't be bothered to heat it up, which is a shame. The night time entertainment I find has gone down hill, there are just so many people in there, you can not hear half the entertainment as everyone was talking over it, and the funstars were plodding on regardless, bless them, even bingo was a disaster for people up by the bar, as the funstars couldn't hear or see them calling out! it was a little chaotic, and if you were not there early you had no chance of a seat. We only went here a few times as we had been to Doniford Bay the week before and it was the same entertainment. We did watch the circus again which was good, and although we new what was coming, it was worth watching again.

The location, so close to the beach and town are good points for this park, on site shops are expensive, Somerfield on the front is the place to shop, this was our convenience store. The last time we came here I sent the park a letter praising them up. This time I was so disappointed. At the end of the day this holiday cost me more than the other 2 I booked with haven for this year, and no matter what standard caravan you book, it is expected to be clean on arrival, and that is not much to ask. Caravans are vacated at 10am, there is ample time for them to be cleaned, no excuses, especially when the cleaning staff decide to just leave it after making 4 beds, and not clean anything else. The week before in doniford the caravan was lovely, and the kitchen had everything you could imagine, toaster, all crockery, just everything, (this was a privately owned caravan that we were placed in), in Burnham we were in a Haven caravan, the caravan when cleaned was lovely, only 7 months old, and lovely and warm with heating, But I found that because there are so many caravans on this site, no nets in windows, caravans are so close to each other you can see into each others windows unless you close the curtains, this did not bother me so much, but my hubby likes a bit of privacy when we are in the caravan, and so did others as they all seemed to end up closing their curtains in the day! Also due to the lakes, water rats aplently in the evenings, scuttling under the caravans! I don't think I will go back here, as we've been 3 times now, and I think it has gone downhill a bit. We did enjoy in general, and really made the best of the weather, had time down the beach, in the pools on site, sports activites ect, the kids always had something to do, but the dirty caravan on arrival, broken window, broken lock on door, and rats running everywhere have dampened my views on this park, I'm sorry Burnham but there is no excuse for arriving at a dirty caravan, and it would be a good idea to get some little hoovers in them for people to use, and decent cooking aids, it is meant to be self catering after all! I've booked to go back to Doniford bay next year, more compact smaller resort, also going to try riviere sands. Burnham only gets a 7/10 for activites, location, ect and sadly a 1/10 for cleanliness on arrival. Although this is close to a lovely looking beach, you have to be carefull with young children, this beach has sinking mud and sand, and the tide comes in quick, there are warnings everywhere, but it is nice for donkey rides and sandcastles when the tide is out. I wouldn't say it was safe bathing. you can't swim here due to the mud. If you come here I hope you are lucky enough to have a privately owned caravan, I think they maybe looked after a little better, sadly when we book we can't choose! I have booked with Haven for next year, as in general the holidays are good depending on the park you go to, Next year I am at Doniford bay and Riviere sands, we are also visiting riviere sands for the first time this september (08), Hopefully it will be nicer accommodation on arrival than Burnham.

We stayed in a standard caravan, 2 adults and 2 children for 2 weeks. The caravan was fine, carpet a little dirty and a little tatty but basically clean.

The site is well set out with the beach at one end and two fishing lakes at the other. The kids loved the lake, especially the family of swans who often came round the caravans. The beach was fine but a bit muddy, you have to be careful at low tide. It is worth walking along the beach into Burnham for donkey rides and more sand.

As we do not drive we were pleased to find that there was a Somerfield nearby.

There are buses going to Brean, Weston Super Mare and Wookey Hole. It is worth getting the leaflets from Reception about days out as most have small discounts for the attractions.

The main problem was the weather, it rained most days! This made indoor activities very crowded, especially the swimming pool. The indoor pool was very heavily chlorinated, especially in the jacuzzi. The outdoor pool was cold, Haven claimed it to be heated but I doubt it. This really does need addressing.

Also due to heavy rain the play park became very muddy, putting people off using it. The park really did need more to do in the poor weather.

the food was standard Haven fair, on the expensive side but tasted ok. We visited The Lighthouse Pub at the site entrance where the food was good and with a free bottle of wine Mondays and Tuesdays.

Overall, it was a good holiday, but really needs more to do in poor weather. I would visit again, probably in a few years and hopefully in the sun!

We arrived a little bit early for check in, so were given a check in number and could do what we wanted until time to check in. We waited in the show bar- having come by train on a wet day we didn't mind sitting in the warm and dry. We could buy drinks etc, but we had food and drink with us so had that. Check in was on time and done very swiftly.

The caravan was lovely, easy to find, clean, and well equipped. Took me a while to find the boiler to adjust the heating - it was accessed only from outside the caravan! The single beds were quite small, but my teenager slept well in hers.

The indoor pool is good, has a slide. Sometimes they had to have sessions,but as this was peak season with poor weather I think thats reasonable, and the sessions were plenty long enough.

There is lots of sporting activites to choose from, though you do have to read all the information to check times etc-best to ask at the pool reception where they hire the equipement, they were always helpful. The go karts were fun, though they had problems with people taking them without paying, so staff went out to hunt them down.

Daytime entertainment - my kids could have gone to T- co but we had other things to do.They run kids clubs every morning. In the afternoons there was sometimes things on-wrestling was popular.

The onsite shop was poor, the bakery is no longer there, and the stock wasn't replaced very often. Luckily on the seafront about 10 mins walk away is a large somerfield. Also Tescos is within driving distance.

Mash and Barrell- breakfast was good once you mastered the unusual rotating toaster machine. Every morning 2 characters came in during breakfast for photos.

The rest of the food was disappointing. The children's pizza was a microwave chicago town pizza- they sold them in the shop. The portions were ok,not great, and not cheap. I also heard stories about upset tummies from the chicken. So we only ate there once. There is also a chip shop -fairly standard, though maybe too much cooked in advance and the sausages were warm not hot. The chips were very good though.

In the evening you could also buy large hotdogs in the show bar, but at £3.00 for a plain one, or £3.50 with onions, and they were just about warm too,we only had them once.

The funstars were great, worked very very hard, had time for everyone, and made the evenings very entertaining.

Over all a great holiday, the parks in a lovely area, and as long as you don't mind the music being played all the time - by the outside pool and caravan sales area it seemed a bit too much sometimes-worth a holiday. Look out for discounts too, on Haven's site they sometimes have some good offers.

Very clean & well layed out site, entertainment at night was ok (room for improvement) staff very helpful, check in was swift, fishing lake was well set out & not too busy, site was very close to the town which is helpful if you need a supermarket, would come back to this site but only in a couple of years or so, we recommend this site to anyone. The food in the mash & barrel was very good and a good bar to watch the football in. Could improve on the bar staff had to wait for ages to get served in the show bar.

just returned from a sun holiday to burnham on sea haven resort.This supposed cheap holiday cost an arm and a leg once you worked out accomadation for 6 entertainment passes power charges, linen and then had to have an upgrade.upgrade!! thats a bit of exaggeration the carpet on the floor was filthy and the smell of cigarette smoke throughout the bedrooms lasted all weekend it was disgusting. the crockery was left greasy and there wasnt a lot of it. our accomadation was right next to a lake which was full of wildlife great but it meant that we were bringing copious amounts of duck swan and geese excrement into the accomadation every time we went out and no hoover to help. couldn't leave your shoes by the door because the floor was to dirty,everything overpriced,but most of the staff were nice but we will never go there again, accomadation awful entertainment not up to much and unless you were willing to spend a fortune on amusement arcades trampolines and various other sideshows not a lot else for the kids.

We have just come back from this park. We stayed 9th-13th June and had a wonderfully break. We booked our holiday through a Sun newspaper offer but paid extra money to upgrade. This was well worth the money. I went with my husband and 2 kids. The children had their own rooms which they loved. The caravan had 2 toilets and 2 showers!

The funstars were fab with the kids. The park was very clean and had a nice atmosphere.

I have been to 4 Haven parks and this was the best by far.

I would def go back and highly recommend it.

when we got there we needed extra bedding. so we went and asked for it, they took two hours two deliver it. there was burn marks in the carpet, no microwave and the double bed had mud and crisps all over it be careful when you book here. although the entertainment was excellent and the food also. extremly cold as there was only a gas fire no heating.

We have stayed on many caravan parks and they all seem to vary drastically. The park itself is huge with loads for families to do. Even though we went out of season there still seemed to be loads going on and everyone looked frienldly and happy. There was lots of entertainment and the indoor pool was open (we have been to places where it is closed unless you go peak season).



Lots of staff on hand and good shop (prices inflated) and genaral facilites. We didnt use much of this personally as we dont have children but it all looked good. The park is very close to the beach and you can walk into town even though there is not alot going on there! The fishing lake is lovely and we had a caravan over looking it.



The caravan was ok - I would give it 7 out of 10 - we had only booked a standard one. I am very fussy about cleaning and it was ok a few bits missed but nothing terrible. There was no carpet cleaner of any sort only a brush provided so by the end of our 4 days the carpet was in need to a hoover badly! The fixtures and fittings were ok - no mould or nasty broken corners etc - the matress was terribly thin and you could feel the springs but we have stayed in much worse vans that have had mould on walls and bits missing but there was none of that! Kitchen adequately equipted - no microwave unless you go for a better van.



In general it was a good stay and i would probably go back - definately if i had children.

This was my first holiday staying at a camp site and I have to say I will not be returning. We paid for a Gold caravan by the lake and like others when we opened up the door the place had not been cleaned at all, we even found lumps of cheese in the wardrobe !!! The duvets were musty and and the beds uncomfitable. Our "lake view" was a joke , our caravan was the furthest back from the lake and so we only had part of the view.

We had to pay extra for patio furniture which was dirty and mismatched and when it was delivered it was thrown onto the balcony as if I had really upset them ! Handle were broken on cuboards leaving nice shap jagged plastic bits for my 2 yr old to find.

The meals were terrible in the entertainment complex and the staffs attitude was terrible as well.

My daughter however enjoyed bradley bear and co in the evening.

We have been given a discount for this year but we will not be taking it. Have booked to go elsewhere and hope for a better holiday experience.



Be warned here - paying lots of deposits for terrible items..

Accommodation was absolutely disgusting, mouldy ceilings, holes in mattresses, filthy carpets and smelt vile. Camp was very run down and generally unpleasant.



We complained twice during our three night stay about the state of our accommodation and nothing was done.



I took photographs and sent them to head office with a letter of complaint (twice) and have heard nothing. I would never go to a Haven site again.

We really enjoyed our holiday at Burnham. We arrived for our early check-in time which was 1.30pm, we were given our keys and directions by a friendly member of staff. We had booked a caravan with a lake view and we weren't disappointed.



The caravan was brand new that year which we were told when we booked it, but the disappointment was the cleaning of the caravan. Not fantastic! Cup stains from previous visitors, no smell from cleaning products as you would expect if it had been cleaned that day.



We ate in the Aqua Bar frequently, meals were good! Fish and chips very expensive!



Staff were exceptionally pleasant, always happy to help. If service is bad so is your holiday!



Overall we had an exceptionally good stay at Burnham but please Haven teach your cleaners how to do their job properly it does make a difference. Fifteen minutes to clean a caravan isn't long which also included a rest on the steps of the caravan!!!!



Visit Longleat , S S Great Britain, Fleet Air Museum all good. Wokey Hole very disappointing and expensive!

OH MY GOD! Firstly myself and family have never been to a haven holiday camp before and didn’t really know what to expect. We are a family of 5 my children are 10, 8 and 7 months, we had booked into a bronze chalet for a 7 day break.



On arrival we collected our keys and were really happy because our chalet was right opposite the club and shop, ( chalet number 2 ) but on entering the chalet I was absolutely gob smacked.



The carpet was filthy and soaking wet, which we were later to learn was cooking oil, there was rotten food on kitchen floor which had been there for weeks for all we knew, plug sockets coming away from the wall, metal on kitchen cupboards sticking out, overflow on bath broken, bath was full of cracks and hadn’t been cleaned, dust was like the thickness of a pound coin, it also rained that day and the rain water was leaking through the front door, wasn’t fit for a animal to live in let alone a family!!



We complained about this and a nice man came to our chalet to have a look at what we had complained about, he was as disgusted as we were and said that the cleaners had NOT touched our chalet, we were also told that the accommodation had not been decorated or maintained since 1985! We were upgraded to silver which was slightly better and cleaner although nothing to shout about!!



Bearing in mind this was not a £9.99 sun holiday this holiday cost £600+.



The food was OK the entertainment was great on the first night but then we came to realise that it was almost the same EVERY night!! Great for young kids! I don’t really know what the inclusive fun works passes were all about because you still have to pay for everything and it’s NOT CHEAP!!!



I do recommend that you take PLENTY of clothes, because if you need to do laundry expect it to be expensive, £5 for a 20 min wash (clothes still dirty) and £1.50 for 20 mins in dryer (clothes still wet), drinks are reasonably priced but everything else will break the bank.



The park is in the middle of nowhere it reminded me of the film "The Prisoner"



Also don’t believe anything they tell you on the Haven web site, especially the accommodation, as the pictures they show you of the accommodation are pictures from higher grades, we had a bronze chalet, and there were pictures of a silver chalet, trying to pass it off as bronze.



Staff in shop and on amusements were arrogant and very rude. (all kids)



Caravans were being propped up on bricks and slim rusty poles!!! (very alarming).



Beach was NOT a beach, it was just full of dangerous rocks and disgusting brown water.



People who we had met there all had same problem with cleanliness in accommodation, and no one who worked there simply gave a toss!



A total waste of money (but if you like living in filth and you just love throwing money away then this is the holiday for you, and I recommend that you book tomorrow!).



Absolutely DISGUSTING!

I went there with my husband and two sons last year and we are going again in a week’s time.



The kids really enjoyed themselves. We enjoy our holidays with haven as there are always so many activities that the children can take part in. This is the 3rd haven site that we have been to.



The best so far has to be Devon cliffs, sandy bay as it has its own private beach.



Another thing I like about going to Burnham is that Western Super Mare and also Brean are both only down the road



The weather is never too hot, I can speak the language and the children are always entertained...what more could you ask for!

The last time I stayed in a caravan I was a child. We now have children so we thought we'd give it a go. The impression that we had of Haven was a very child and family orientated company.



Our impressions were spot on!



We arrived at the site before 12 and were glad we did so as the amount of people checking in that same day were horrendous! We familiarised ourselves with the site before checking in. The facilities were great.



We were lucky in the sense that we didn't have to wait long to check in as we were there early, but I didn't envy the people who had just turned up. It seemed to work but I still can't see why they can't check you in earlier than 3.30 if the caravan has been cleaned.



The caravan was fine apart from the carpets were filthy. I would suggest to Haven that they have vinyl or laminate in all caravans as this let the caravan down immensely.



The space and equipment in the caravan were spot on but I believe that microwaves do not come as standard (we had an upgraded caravan) and I think they should. We have a baby and we have enough to take as it is without having the worry of no microwave to warm food and bottles!



The evening entertainment was obviously very child orientated up till 9pm but what I disagreed with was the amount of self promotion of products that were incorporated into the performances.



It didn't give the parents much option into deciding whether they wanted to purchase certain items relating to the night’s performance and as you all know when a child is told they can buy something by one of the characters they want it!



The Fun Stars were great and I admire their enthusiasm. The characters were great and something for the kids to focus on in the dire weather we had.



We overall enjoyed the holiday and the Haven experience - our only grumble being the filthy stained carpet in the caravan.



We are returning to Haven again in July but will try another site.