Pontins Brean Sands

Never been to a Pontins site & we will never go again! From the time we entered the site we were in pure filth! Starting with the check in lobby nothing appeared to be maintained , floors dirty , carpets looked like they had been there since 1950`s! not to mention the queue`s we had to join to collect our key ! so myself & 8year old daughter our very good friend & her 8 year old daughter set off trying to be hopeful that the chalet we had paid for would not be on a par with everything we had seen so far. Well we could`nt see through the windows to the chalet they were so dirty we stepped in ( we should have turned round right then) & thought we`d need to wipe our feet on the way out!!!!! floors filthy, walls had mould on there was damp & mould in the corners of the rooms, beds were disgusting a sofa bed in the lounge part had pointed metal parts sticking out from it, wardrobes were smashed & broken one of the doors had an obvious punch mark through it, we spent the 1st half hour disinfecting everything before you could even dream of well just being in there a very strong smell of Body Odour through out made us feel extremley sick! Ants crawling on the kitchen sink, draws missing & broken.Curtain rail to the bedroom hanging off the wall, curtain held on by an elastic band!We expected basic & it was to just be a base really for us but well what ever happened to being anywhere near slightly clean & maintained ?????? Everything on the actual site for the children we found was either closed or broken!No service or help from anyone on the site staff, maintenance, anyone working there.The main entertainment hall was just as awful & not kept i physically stuck to the floor in the bar area( by god did`nt we need a drink, just to try & take in what we had paid our hard earned money for) Certaintly Not a place to take anyone let alone Your Family. NO Standards here what so ever & the Place should be CLOSED DOWN!!!!!

4 readers found this review helpful

My husband, 3 children and myself went to Pontins on a sun holiday a couple of weeks ago, and I was dreading it after reading the reviews on here. It really wasn't as bad as I expected! We were checked in within about 20 minutes. The chalet was basic but clean, they are dated and reminded me of holidays I used to have as a child (which wasn't a bad thing). The evening entertainment was brilliant for the kids and all 3 of mine really enjoyed it, my 5 year old is still talking about Capt Croc 3 weeks after we left! My son fell over and cut his foot and first aid were there very quickly. The dealings I did have with the staff were good they seemed helpful and eager to please. The shop on site was reasonably priced and well stocked, and I didn't think the drinks were too expensive in the bar. We didn't eat in the restaurant so I cant comment on that! I've been on holidays all over the world and for a holiday that cost us around £150, I thought it was great value for money. At the end of the day if you are expecting a top notch holiday for not a lot of money this probably isn't for you, but my family thought it was good value and enjoyed it and we would go back again next year! Don't be disheartened with the reviews...its what you make it!

I can honestly say it's the worst place I have ever stayed.
I booked through the sun holiday tokens and was warned it was bad - but I thought they were joking - how wrong I was!!!!!
Kids kicking footballs till midnight, drunken people slamming round in their chalets (sorry cells) with no thought for others.
If the cells were further apart this propably wouldn't be a problem but as you have people behind you aswell as to the side of you it compounded the issues.
The rooms were dirty.
The pool had too much chlorine in so irritated skin and eyes, but judging on the type of people there it was needed!
It was liken to The Royale Family meets The Flintstones.
DON'T GO THERE

Never in my life have i ever imagined i would stay in such an old dirty run down apartment. Ants crawling around all day and night and we reported it on the 1st day and we were still waiting for someone to sort it out, you would think that maintenance workers would have cleaned the apartments properly, the windows doors were covered in bird crap. The beds were not even proper beds, kind of put together with plywood and the single beds were old camp beds, the pull out bed in the main room was dirty. The bathroom was dirty the doors were patched up with scrap wood to cover holes where they had been kicked and punched.
The kitchen was disgusting and there were not enough glasses and cutlery.
We paid money for the sevice charges and linen, yet had to pay for electricity and also put the linen on the beds ourselves.
We paid for entertainment and it was terrible.
The beach sand is lovely only there is no sea lol, you cannot walk to the sea at low tide as there is sinking sand and mud.
The highlight of the holiday was watching the rubbish blow around and the sea gulls attack the bags of rubbish. There should be workers going around all day cleaning up the rubbish and maintaining the grounds.
My advice is for it to be blown up.

We arrived at 4pm ready to check in. We were all thrown together in a hall and made to wait. We were told that some rooms wouldnt be ready. Ours was one of those rooms. We eventually got into our room at 7pm which is a disgusting waiting time. On entering our room we were greeted with a filthy bathroom with a leaking toilet, mouldy shower curtain and a window that didnt shut. The windows were full of bird poo and couldnt see out of them. The kitchen area was filthy and the bin wasnt emptied. In the wardrobes there were sweets, wrappers and toe nails from the previous occupants. The mattresses were wafer thin and the springs were sticking out. During the night the wind was blowing through the windows. Outside the chalet was littered with cigarette nubs and rubbish. I honestly would never ever set foot in this disgraceful place again. It is a health hazzard!

1 reader found this review helpful

We also had the farce of the hour and a half "round up" in the "Fun Factory". What the previous reviewer forgot to mention was the constant threats of " We won't start booking you in until only one person from each party is waiting." We also fell in to the "room not ready" category and were offered a free "soft drink" as compensation. we managed to get close to the front of the next line, and it was "only" about 90 minutes from being told that our room wasn't ready that we learnt that our room still wasn't ready. We were then offered a free main course from the restraunt (NO Drinks or desserts written in big writing on the voucher)This you may think was a nice gesture, but the meal was cold, dry tasteless, and the "restraunt" reminded me of a school canteen. On a positive note the staff in there were very polite and helpful. In addition to the meal we were told not to line up again, just come straight to the reception counter. There were still a LOT of people waiting for rooms, but not one had the will left in them to question what must have looked like a queue jumper. This time the room was ready, and as others have pointed out the nightmare of parking began. We also had a "budget" room and wasn't expecting much, but I can confirm it was dirty, in need of more than just a touch up and had a strange smell. There was the already mentioned tatty sofa bed, which bordered on dangerous when open due to broken "spokes" sticking out the sides. The mattresses were filthy, gave no support and the ladder on the bunk bed was only held in place by a couple of screws. (fixed this myself for my childs safety) Other seating was in the form of plastic chairs, again filthy and in some cases broken. There were no cooking utensils, the tiny portable TV only picked up three grainy channels and these went if the entertainment used radio mic's! The shower used a pressure tap, so you had to push it in every couple of seconds to keep the water flowing, the bathroom curtain was a cut down shower curtain and the lock on the bathroom door didn't work. There was no bin, but we had the luxury of the communal wheelie bin right outside! Try reporting anything and you could see the staff were trying to put a brave face on, but had probably had enough of it themselves! We used the pool once, for about 10 minutes then we were all told to get out as a couple of kids wanted to look like hamsters in big blow up balls. Apart from that the pool was actually OK and the staff in there were very attentive and apologetic for the situation which they clearly weren't happy with.
There is a happy end to this. My wife hated it so much that she wants to camping next year as "it can't be any worse", and me and the kids love tents!

1 reader found this review helpful

arrived to get keys at 4pm,but told there was a delay of 45 minutes,as some chalets not quite ready.finally got our keys at 6.30pm.we were offered one compimenatery soft drink tea,coffee or fizzy no water.staff just seemed to smile alot but not helpful.ants in kitchen. no parking near chalets.swimming pool had scum mark round the edge,showers in swimming pool were freezing.pub has menu but they only cooked certain things.no information in welcome packs.sofa beds need replacing, very thin and old.understaffed and some staff doing more than one job role. outside one chalet bedding from previous weekend sat outside on floor for 4 days.no pgl now ,pontins own staff doing the activities but always looked like they did not want to be there,no smiley faces,just grim looks.bingo in seperate hall,which looked run down and never used.bars never kept wiped down,so your arms and elbows were always wet.

6 readers found this review helpful

We went in May, on a sun voucher holiday, our first one so unsure what to expect. I read the reviews a couple of days before we went and considered cancelling, but that would have left two unhappy excited kids. I did take a couple of B&B numbers with me just in case.On arrival staff were great, arrived for keys at 4pm and by 4.30pm we had found the chalet, I know some people have had bad experiences but I need to be honest.... I thought they were great. Yes I have to agree the chalets do look like prison blocks...But come on folks its PONTINS what do you expect. Perhaps we were lucky I found the chalet fine, Hubby took the kids to the play area, I took some cleaning sprays as always and had a wipe round before unpacking, which I would do if I ever stayed in a 5 star hotel anyway....Thats just me! Chalet was an excellent size, can not complain what so ever. Id be chuffed to bits if I got that much space abroad. Yes the table and furniture were dated...But sturdy and clean and thats the main thing. Club house I must admit did have a slight musky odour, and all the chairs are well overdue for re - upholstering, they did let it down a bit. Didn't try the food on site so can not comment. We ate and drank over at the seagul pub, Prices and food excellent...Highly recommend that place, especially with kids. We did hear people complaining, so perhaps we had been lucky. Would I go back?? If there was an option of double bed instead of a sofa bed probably yes, but I really suffered on the sofa bed with my back. So if you have booked give it a go, it might not be that bad. Good Luck!!

Coach trip fro 55+ 23 - 27 May.
2 coaches booked in for 4 day break.
What can I say. Absolutely no organisation.
Free for all to get keys & find chalet.
Bed linen in a plastic bag, to cover dirty pillows & duvet.
Effluence from man hole next to our chalet.
Queue for breakfast & evening meals at least an hour.
If you wanted toast for breakfast, that was slapped on top, as no side plates.
Dirty tables, no condiments to hand.
2 out of four days tea served in white plastic beakers, whilst still queuing for meal. (Shall I burn my hands or leave it on a table to go cold!
Cereal put out on last 2 days but hunt the milk, bowls & spoons.
No evening entertainment as advertised for first couple of days. Then if you could find venue children still in hall at 10.30pm.

Well where to start? After arriving at just before check in at 4pm, were hurdled into the aptly named "Fun Factory", for nearly 1hr30, after listening to an anouncement that some keys might not be available yet!! As you can guess we were amongst the group of very tired and angry guests with no key, so they made us queue again for another 30mins+ for free tea and coffee vouchers, BIG DEAL!!!! Then we had to queue again in main reception for our key!! Ludacris, at this point i was at my wits end with 2 very bored kids in tow. After waiting for nearly 4 hrs in total, we received our key and head off to find the chalet. OMG we should of known by now it was going to end in disaster, the room was Dirty, Old, Wallpaper hanging off the walls, Bathroom full of mould and was Dirty, the bedding was all blood stained and old, the pillows and beds were something out of the ark!!! We wouldnt put our 2 cats in it, let alone us so we marched straight back to reception to queue again and got a full refund!! We were no means the 1st or last that day as people voted with their feet and left pronto!!! All i can say is dont go there EVER!!!!