Pontins Southport

3 readers found this review helpful

I read the reviews for this 'holiday park' before we went, but unfortunately after we'd booked our £600 week break.
Visit - mid August 2010.
We were worried but couldnt believe anywhere could actually be that bad. We arrived after a 5hr car journey with 2 small children....took one look at the place and knew there was no way we'd be staying! We did look at the room, but i literally nearly threw up at the door, i couldnt have even let the boys take off their shoes. The smell alone was horrendous.
We demanded a refund but because we had booked with an operator, it would have to be done at a later date. We then drove to North Wales and had to pay out for other accomodation to still have a family holiday.
I am still in shock that Pontins can get away with selling holidays to that place.
Absolutely disgusted.
And the refund has only just come through this week, after much hassle.

2 readers found this review helpful

We were quite apprensive about going to Pontins after reading the reviews on this site, to our suprise on our arrival, we found the Shallets to be luxurious,clean and very well maintained. The previous occupants were kind enough to leave a selection of shampoo's and deodrants of which we made full use! The kitchen and cutlery was of a very high standard!The cooker, fridge and dishwasher were spotless, which is suprising for budget accomidation! Moving on to the evening entertainment, my family and I would have been happy to have payed £50 a ticket for the family fun shows which were well constructed and orgainised! And I feel that a number the staff are clearly broadway bound! As a family we felt our short break was on a par with our trip to Disneyland Paris the prevoius year! Well done Pontins staff, Keep your chins up! See you again soon! The Palmers!!

2 readers found this review helpful

went to pontins booked from fri 17th sept to Mon 20th arrived fri lunch time ,couldnt get the keys till 4.00pm had a look round nothing going on so went into southport . Came back got keys what a crummie dump still nothing going on .went to the family room at 7.oopm had a quiz as bingo was cancelled , if you had no pen buy 1 for £1 ( rip off)entertainment poor we left at 9.00 pm fair was going then £2 a token for a ride some rides 2 tokens (rip off) went back to chalet slept on a sofa bed well didnt sleep as there was a metal bar that run the width of the bed & dug in your back all night. ouitside had not seen a paint job in many a year . was very dissapointed at the lack of entertainment & came home the very next day
would not recommend to anybody. Would more suit teenagers that want to go have a good time party & get drunk .

I took my little girl for time out and she wanted to go back to pontins southport, as we have always had a good time, on our arrival we went to our budget chalet which i have to say was very very disgusting, black carpets mould broken bed and cutelry missing. i called the management who sent the house keeper, who was a waste of space,all i got was the windows cleaned and re hovered and a bottle of frebreeze because of the smell. we tried to be moved but they had nothing. may i add that the entertainment is the best around and we only stuck it out as we enjoy this

2 readers found this review helpful

I went to pontins with my 2 carers and omg it was horrible mold in the bathroom dirty carpets and a horrible sofa bed. The room smelt horrible so i asked it to be cleaned and they came round with a bottle of febreze. The entertainment was rubbish good for younger children but not 14 year olds like me. The food was discusting and in the restrant on the complex someone was sick all over the floor and it toke them 1 hour to clean it up. Please do not go to this holiday park it is unsafe for children aswell. I dont have high standers but omg!!!! pontins might as well off robbed us.

My girlfriend and I, in our 50's along with my parents in their 80's have just(Sept 19 2010) returned from a 4 day break at Pontins and were delighted to find the cleanliness and condition of the chalets to be far better than the reviews suggested. We weren't looking for entertainment, which appeared disppointing and excessively loud. The staff were very helpful, though lacked training in serving the good food and drink(shorts served in 1/2 pint glasses). We had booked a late deal which proved excellent value for money, and would not hesitate to reccommend it to others, or return ourselves for another break. There was a lack of facilities for wet weather recreation considering the numbers who could be accommodated

3 readers found this review helpful

THIS IS A BIT LONG, BUT WORTH THE READ!!
Just returned from a 5 day break in Pontins at Southport, from Monday 13th to Friday 17th September.
Considering i read alot of reviews before i went and was wondering whether to go or not due to all the bad reviews i read i decided to go ahead anyway. I was really suprised when i go there, after reading the bad reviews i was expecting the worst, but it wasnt that bad. Dont get me wrong the place could do with a lick of paint, but you dont go to stand there looking at dull walls.
I stayed in a 2 bedroom club apartment, self catering, there was me, my partner, my little lad (21months old) my partners mum and dad and there other grandson who is 3 years old and there was plenty room.
The apartment was very clean, apart from a few small stains on the carpet it was pretty well looked after. We had everything we needed: clean bedding, travel cot provided, clean towels, all clean kitchen utensils even a microwave, fridge, cooker, toaster and kettle. We also had a big tv, with freeview.
Entertainment was ok during the day but was alot better at night, the blue coats put on a great show. Everything from game shows, to dancing, to singing, even one night there was a gameshow where everyone joined in, it was a great atmosphere. Bar wasnt really overpriced, food was good, fish and chip shop open at tea time til 9pm, then a KFC style food outlet open till late. It was really windy when we went so some of the rides etc on site where closed due to the weather, but there was a bus stop ten minutes up the road (if you dont drive) and took about 20minutes to get to southport town centre. We did this a couple of time.
Plus its literally a 30second walk to ainsdale beach.
The swimming baths was not as bad as i imagined either, there is a big swimming pool for adults, and a little shallow pool for babys, toddlers, were i used both for me and my little lad, they were both nice and warm, and clean!! There were a couple of slides, but not big ones you see at some swimming baths. More of a relaxed pool. There is also a seating area at the side of the pool for family/friends wanting to observe.
Other things on site included a little adventure play area, indoor play area, large arcade and games area, entertainments room with bar, plus a seperate bar/eating area, lunar bar for childrens activities, go karts, outdoor activities, a shop for amenities which sold everything your local shop would.
Overall i think you get what you pay for, and you cant blame the weather for raining and being windy if your going in september, as some people have moaned about on there reviews??
We only paid £330 and that was for a nice club apartment, which was quiet but close to everything, if your going for the classic i would be a little bit more weary, as i spoke to a few people there and they was in classics, and wasnt as nice, but ok, like i said you get what you pay for. For that little bit extra you can upgarde to a club and you will enjoy your holiday better.
It isnt the worlds best holiday park, but its cheap and affordable and you get good value for your money.
I hope this helps everyone.
Matt

2 readers found this review helpful

Accommodation was basic, in need of refurbishment,dirty, most of equipment missing or too dirty to use. Flats surrounded by thousands of cigarette ends, no bins provided to dispose of. One look at the camp made us want to go straight home but we stuck it out for 3 days.
Beds and bedding out of the Ark, woke up aching from head to toe.
'Entertainment' virtually non-existent, nothing to do in the daytime so we left the camp to find our own entertainment and also ate meals off-site as we really did not want to take a chance of eating food prepared and cooked on site as we were worried about hygiene and safety given the condition of the camp. An experience never to be repeated!!
My advice DON'T GO THERE.

1 reader found this review helpful

Had a great time. Second time there and feel the majority of reviews are misleading to others.

4 readers found this review helpful

i have just this morning got back from southport pontins, my 2 year old, mum and me had had a great time... i was very sceptable about the place after reading the reviews on here, so i went armed with a box full of cleanin products.. and im very happy to say i didnt need them.. night time entertainment was superb, the bluecoats put on a show to remember, the dancers were fantastic.. and they always try to involve the kids as much as possible.. at first i didnt really join in with the day time entertaiment but on the last day i spent it all on site. my son joined in the character breakfast which costs 5 quid and the charcters come one by one you can get pictures taken, they get free stuff and they get a fry up.. i then when and join in the other days activities the blue coats put on and it was really good... if you dont fancy that ainsdale beach is a 2 min strole and its beautiful.. or southport is a short drive away... i went out of season so i didnt pay that much but it was worth every penny.. i can so of understand people who have paid hundreds and complained, coz you do turn up and think omg, it does look abit run down.. as long as the room is clean and the kids enjoy it, who could have a better holiday.. i have to say evenings were far more enjoyable than days, so as long as your willing to go out and about im sure youll have a good time... i am going to be booking again, but again i will book out of season purely at price and it was nice just with a coule of hundred people there,, i actually couldnt imagine if it was full..hope this eases the minds of the peolpe who are going and have read all the not so good reviews. oh as for eating there is a chippy on site, a pub restaurant with meal deals 2 for 10 quid etc, kids meals were 1-75 dependin on what you had.. there is a nisa store but its quite a bit more expensive than a usually grocery store. so take a few items with you. oh and pool was ok but nothing special.. they had go karts, quads and wall climbing but these were all at an extra charge.. there was a nice little play area.