Pontins Brean Sands

1 reader found this review helpful

went half board with three kids...
good points.....
clean chalet
food was good
entertainment ok
beer prices average
swimming pool was good
price was good due to late booking...
bad points
not enough staff on hand
filthy public toilets at venues(looked like they never clean them)
not enough information of entertainment at venues or on site
luke warm showers in chalet even after heating water up for hours
no organisation in dining hall...long queus of people who didnt know which way to que for the buffet style food bar...its a circle and no one knew where the start was and no staff on hand to instruct anyone...no labels on food trays ( so no good if your a vegetarian cus you dont know what had meat in it)
filthy chairs at venues, grubby carpets and not enough tables, we only managed to get chairs unless you sit there from early morning to keep a table, not practical.
pontins overbook, so too many people for size of camp/venues = long queus for everything...
serving times are not staggered so everyone goes at the same time causing chaos (half board)
nothing to do in daytime, so have to go offsite
overall...average to poor, but did have some good bits...but i probably wont go again....but we are a family who make the most of what we get...so if your fussy or want more from a break then its not for you...

2 readers found this review helpful

We went to Brean back in the middle of November on a Sun £9.50 holiday. Two families with 4 children between us, we arrived with some trepidation as it was the day after the infamous Watchdog programme. Yes, it took a while to check in but the girls were very relaxed, friendly and funny.
Our chalet was clean, tidy and comfortable. We had no problems with cold, mould, dirt or unclean linen. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised, and I'm not easy to please!
We had dinner and breakfast every day in the restaurant. It was cheap, with plenty of choice and hot and tasty.
We frequented the Queen Vic and the Fun Factory and were impressed by both the Bluecoats and the standard of the cabarets and entertainment.
But, it was the staff that made our holiday such a fantastic time.
From the girls on check in, to the restaurant, the shop, the maintenance people, the secirty guards, everyone was polite, friendly and welcoming. But it was the bar staff (where admittedyl we spent quite a bit of time!) who made our holiday such fun. Not only were they excellent at the job, but they were friendly and fun too!
All in all, we had a fantastic holiday. So much so that we're going back this Friday!!!!!!!!!!

2 readers found this review helpful

beening going to pontins for years with my kids from the age of 4 years to twenty 23 years the youngest is 31 now all ways found it very good value for money wife and i have still been going on and off over the years when i read some off the reviews i did not believe what i was reading so booked a three day stay to see carival in burham (recoment)we could not see WHAT other pepole was saying about this we had not been for 3/4 years found every thing was briliant as all was clean apparment good entertament pleanty for kids to do and very friendly staff

2 readers found this review helpful

Having just returned from a fantastic weekend at Pontins I felt I had to write with my own review. I will admit I'm a fan of Pontins and have been each year for about 4 years now (it's a great place where we can relax and our daughter has a fab time). We only heard about the Watchdog programme just before we went so I read the reviews on here and was quite worried about returning to Brean Sands. I needn't have been - we had an adequate meal in the Queen Vic (£4 per adult for a hot buffet - what can you expect?), checked in at 4 and nervously went to our "popular" apartment which was clean, tidy and sufficiently equipped for a weekend break. My daughter had a fantastic time with all the halloween activities and despite it being the end of what must seem a long season the staff were helpful and friendly. We'll be going back at Easter next year and can't wait to see how it's changed but hope they keep the same friendly atmosphere

2 readers found this review helpful

just got back from a weekend break at pontins and was very dubious about going but glad we did!!!
After reading the previous comments we were prepared for the worst, we went armed with cleaning products and our own bedding and pillows i did draw the line at taking a camp bed!! the apartment which was a popular which is the lowest you can get was immaculate - new flooring, new pillows and quilts, not one stain on any mattress or curtain..... we hadn't ordered linen but it was there with clean soft towels to boot!
Admittedly the bed settee was uncomfortable to sleep on but i have very rarely been to a hotel that has a comfortable bed either!
All the staff were cheerful and helpful on the first night we had a knock on the door to see if there was anything missing that we needed and on the next afternoon someone knocked to ask the same again!!!
I did not use the pool myself so cannot comment on it but my 13 year old son was more than happy with it.
Okay the amusement arcade carpet has seen better days and so have the chairs in the club house but hey i wasn't eating my dinner off them!!
To sum up I would definitely go there again and I look forward to doing so.

2 readers found this review helpful

Disgusted about sums this place up! Booked in for long week-end with family ( including 2 children under 2 )Accomadation was filthy, carpets were sticky and caked in dirt.... Windows were mouldy, curtains and curtain pole falling down, windows would not open, blocked toilet, mouldy bath, contents of cleaners hoover emptied just outside door, dirty laundry outside front door, broken bottles just outside front door - children could not go or do any thing it was not safe!! Paid the best part of £500 for this! Needless to say we left straight away! - Avoid at all costs!!!

1 reader found this review helpful

arrived for a long weekend had to wait for one hour to check in, staff were polite and helpful accommodation was clean, bedding spotless.Had a take away from site chippy which went straight in the bin!frozen chips and frozen fish yuck!bread at breakfast was green with mould.Bar prices extortionate.

3 readers found this review helpful

Went to Pontins Brean 14/10/11 I queued for 20 mins to book in, was handed a welcome pack and key, found the Chalet, OMG it was filthy, the curtains full of black mould, the sofa bed was dirty and sticky, the quilts were dirty, the carpets were filthy, the window frames were rotten. I couldn't sleep in that muck. So I went to the reception to complain and once again I had to join the back of a queue with all the other people complaining, I was told they would send in a cleaner, the whole room needed ripping out and replacing. I asked for a refund, they said they couldn't give me a refund that I had to fill in a complaint form and then put everything in writting. I had a 6 hour journey to get there followed by another 6 hours to get home as I just could not sleep in such a dirty place. Pontins you are a disgrace

6 readers found this review helpful

I don't usually feel the need to write a review but in this case I do!!! I have travelled many times in this country & abroad and can honestly say I have NEVER seen anything like we experienced at Pontins!
This was a short weekend break that I booked for myself, my mother and 6 & 7 yr old. I was extremely concerned when I saw the Watchdog report the evening before we went so my expectations were not high.
Where do I start - I seriously could not even give this place 1/10 because there were no positive points at all. If Pontins was in e.g Spain it would be closed down by health & safety because it is so disgusting!
We had upgraded to a Classic apartment - the state of that I feel very sorry for the people that have booked a popular apartment.
On arrival the park is just run down & looks like it needs to be bulldozed and started again. The public areas and toilets weren't pleasant. I found alot of the staff unfriendly but then morale is probably very low there - i'd be miserable if i had to work there! We had to book in & collect our keys in the entertainment hall - filthy dirty & you didn't want to sit on the chairs as every one I looked at had huge stains all over them.
Reached our chalet & Chris Hollins on Watchdog summed it up perfectly with his 7 dwarfs - Filthy, Mouldy, Greasy, Grimy, Stinky, Dusty and Shabby!!
It was disgusting!!!

It took myself & my mother 1hr to clean the small kitchen & the bathroom. I have never had to experience having to clean somewhere I have booked to stay at - you would have to see it to believe the filth. Didn't want to take our shoes off because the carpet was so dirty. The smell in the chalet was horrible but even worse whilst making the two single beds for the children there was the most disgusting smell of poo coming from the mattresses & there were all mouldy spots on the sheets - I didn't want my children sleeping somewhere like that. I wouldn't have washed a dogs bowl in the kitchen sink and the toilet, sink & bath had obviously not been cleaned for wks if not months. We had to wash every dish, cupboard, cutlery, the saucepans because they were so minging. I won't even start on the sofa bed your expected to sleep on! The windows were so dirty you could barely see out and outside our chalet was the most disgusting smell of sewage/drain!
Didn't venture to the swimming pool as that didn't look very inviting and after seeing the Watchdog report didn't want the children going there anyway.
What should have been a nice break away for the benefit of the two children resulted in two very disappointed boys as we couldn't stand it and left - not even lasting 24 hrs there.
When we checked out and my mother told the girls at reception they didn't even comment - we saw them having lots of abuse the day we arrived which I did feel for them as it wasn't their fault.
For Eileen Downey from Brittania group to go on Watchdog and say they have only taken over the parks for 26 wks and they are good value for money all I have to say to that is WHAT A JOKE!!! There is no excuse for the filth at that park. When people pay good money to go and stay there you shouldn't have to put up with those conditions - it is a health hazard!!! Perhaps she should experience a weekend staying in one of the chalets and then she may be able to understand!
Maybe we were unlucky - after seeing Watchdog I thought it couldn't be that bad - but it was - it was worse than i possibly imagined! If you do have a break booked to go there don't expect too much and take plenty of cleaning materials with you - especially if you are taking children because you'll need it!! My 7 yr old walked in to the apartment and said this is the worst place i've stayed in my life - so what does that tell you!!!

1 reader found this review helpful

As a school teacher, I take my school 9-11 year old children to Brean Sands each May as part of the EPSCA chess championships. The noise at night outside the chalets is dreadful, with bad language and behaviour unsuitable for small children to hear or witness and often continuing until 3am in the morning. The chalets have become more and more dirty and badly equipped as the years have gone by: I had a list of ten or a dozen complaints last year. The chess is important to us, and the EPSCA organiser does a tremendous job, but I would dearly wish that we went anywhere but Pontins. I have come to loathe the place. I agreed absolutely with everything that tonight's Watchdog programme showed.