Pontins Hemsby, Norfolk, England
Hotel Information
Hotel Description:
Just a short drive from the peaceful waterways of the Norfolk Broads, the charming little seaside village of Hemsby offers quiet golden beaches, a host of attractive buildings, a funfair, bingo, swimming pools, children's play areas*, supermarkets, gift shops, restaurants and a wide choice of top class evening entertainment.Nearby Hotels Viewed by Other Travellers
Pontins Hemsby Reviews
" what a dump the chalets are rubbish... "
Submitted By: Miss D Langton- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:pontins direct
" After reading the reviews on this... "
Submitted By: Miss SJ DanielsBut we were very pleasantly surprised- yes the chalet ( classic) was old and dated but it was clean, tidy and contained everything we needed for our week away
The on site entertainment was good, there was enough to entertain both of our children - swimming pool, little tykes play area, outdoor swing area arcades etc and the beach and arcades at Hemsby seafront were only a 10 minute walk away
The on site shop was handy, if a little expensive, and the evening entertainment was ok too -
my 16 month old loved the postman Pat show on the Saturday night
The only negative points really were check in on Saturday afternoon - it took us almost half an hour of waiting in the queue to receive our keys , and like a few reviewers have said the sofa bed isn't the most comfortable !
But we had a good holiday and would return there again, in fact we didn't want to leave on Saturday !
- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Pontins
" I went to this park with my partner... "
Submitted By: Ms M KThere were a few minus points, though. The Fun Factory smells of sweaty feet. Yes, really! Also, if you return to the park later in the evening it can be hard to find a parking space. The service in the restaurant was slow (something that needs to be taken into account if you are in a hurry), and the on-site shop was VERY expensive. The Fun Factory gets packed (despite the smell of feet) and if you don't have a table by the time the bingo starts you might as well abandon all hope.
On the plus side, the swimming pool was clean, and the children loved it. The staff we had dealings with were pleasant and helpful. The site appears to have had a bit of a makeover recently, and the plants really do brighten it up.
We went to Pontins at Camber Sands earlier this year and I have to say that I found Hemsby to be far superior in terms of cleanliness and site layout. We would certainly consider holidaying there again.
- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:£15.00 Sun Holiday
" Booked classic mid range appartment.... "
Submitted By: Mr J Gale- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:pontins direct
" Having stayed in Hemsby in my... "
Submitted By: Mr J FindayWhen we received our keys to the Chalet no. 35 on the park. We made our way towards the Chalet block. We were able to park outside the Chalet which I thought was a positive start. All of this pleasant attitude soon went away when we opened the door to the Chalet. Oh dear! A distinctive smell of damp could be sensed when the door was opened. The carpeted area had not been vacuumed, crumbs from the previous occupiers remained along with iron burns on the carpet. My two year old son opened the door to the shamelessly titled wardrobe in the main living space only to find a plate, which contained pieces of stale, chocolate cake, luckily I was able to get this away before he thought about taking a bite. Meanwhile my wife was opening the travel cot we had hired for our youngest son (6 months), upon opening this up we found yet again broken chocolate on the mat of the travel cot. These all indicate that the Chalet had not been cleaned prior to our arrival and the travel cot had not been checked prior to re-hiring to others.
Time to complain, I telephoned the front desk regarding the above and was told that someone shall attend immediately. A lady attended with a new plate, however, no sign of an apology. A new travel cot was granted all be it after more complaints. There was no offer to move to another Chalet. The evening entertainment was a joke, good job I had whiskey at the Chalet to help me sleep on the sofa bed which seemed to have been left over from the fifties or perhaps the Spanish Inquisition. To say this was uncomfortable is a tad of an understatement. We could feel each spring sticking into our backs, however we stuck with it and lasted the night. The next day we were off site all day and returned in the evening to find I could not park anywhere near our designated filth box or as Pontins called it a Holiday Chalet.
From the previous evenings episode of springs being dug deeply into our backs "restful" nights sleep we had decided to both sleep in the small bedroom our two year was sleeping in. With my wife top and tail with our son and me in the other lumpy "bed" we tried to sleep, however, being very uncomfortable we remained awake all night. The following morning we decided to leave 'Cell block H' or Pontins as the signs told me, a whole day early and head for the comfort of our own beds. Upon checking out I asked to speak to the Duty Manager, although she was helpful and very apologetic, the only excuse was to say they have contracted agency cleaners to attend to the Chalets. Obviously there is no checking of the Chalets before they are occupied by hopeful guests.
Even now as I sit under the glow of my computer monitor typing this edited review I can feel the pain in my back from that sofa bed. My advice to those reading this is to believe the reviews on this site, these are not exaggerated grumblings from people who thought Pontins would be 5 star, these are very accurate accounts of the state of this park. If you must really stay at Pontins, Hemsby and if you can fit them into your car take along a vacuum cleaner, Bleach, Disinfectant and any other cleaning fluids you feel necessary you may just need them!
- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" myself,hubbie and 4 kids stayed at... "
Submitted By: Mrs M PatrickReception staff were very friendly and helpful, they let us know we could get a refund on any electric cards we didnt use and had a high chair delivered and man come to adjust our telly within 20 mins of us reporting it.
The entertainment was great, blue coats were stars, brilliant with the kids , they helped me find a lost little girls mummy. The club itself could use a new carpet, it did smell terribly of feet!
Facilities were good, food in the restaurant was lovely and piping hot, we used the coupons given to us in our welcome pack and got two adult meals for £10, kids were £3 and they got drinks and fruit included. The chip shop on site we thought was over priced and not very good quality.
Overall we had a great holiday, but the holiday park could do with re-carpeting and redecorating in the chalets and some new sofa beds! They were painting and potting plants at the entrance which looks lovely, here's hoping theyre planning on doing the whole park. I would holiday there again as i thought we bagged a bargain and the kids loved it.
- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" We booked a 3 night weekend stay at... "
Submitted By: rainbowdreams- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" We had a three night break at Pontins... "
Submitted By: Mr A GreenGeneral
The park was old & tired and not at all well maintained - everything was a little shabby -even bearing in mind that we visited at the end of season. All the staff we came across were both friendly & approachable although they did all seem a little weary. The security guard on the gate was a great source of information & always cheery.
Accomodation
The chalet was comfortable, clean & tidy and was not a bad size, although a little basic. We upgraded & do wonder what was on offer for the basic package.
Local area
Hemsby was to all intents & purposes closed for the winter & was a typical small seaside town, lots of souvenir shops, take aways & amusement arcades. There were two fantastic looking crazy golf courses & all four of us spent ages on the fun slide at the small 'amusement park' at the back of town - in fact we were asked to leave when it closed for the night. The beach was great & sandy with a half sunken pill box great to 'explore' and sand dunes to climb up & roll straight back down again.
Catering
The onsite shop was the usual mix of souvenirs, essentials & ready meals - nothing exceptional either way - although the instore 'bakery' had a good variety at most times.
The fish & chip shop was only open 1 night out of three - due to a gas leak on the last night it was closed.
The take away booth / counter had electrical problems and kept 'tripping out' again to the point that it was hardly available on the last night.
The park restaurant ran out of almost everything half way through the last evening, with little choice in the shop as a result.
We were left with no option but to travel offsite in search of food on this last night - fortunately we found a half decent chinese take away a little down the road - thanks go to the security guard at the main gate for that.
Fun & games
We enjoyed the crazy golf - even though it was badly in need of repair. The swimming pool was very basic, but clean, tidy & functional. There were some good bits with the quad biking, cycle hire, climbing wall & tennis being very popular. Amusements, entertainment, bars, pool & games etc were of the expected standard - but everything was just a little tired.
Summary
Apparently this park does not reflect the standards at other Pontins & we have since been advised by other holidaymakers that Hemsby is a site to avoid in favour of others. We managed to have an enjoyable break but do not feel that our hosts did that much toward it. On the whole we prefer caravan accomodation & only settled on this destination as we booked late & little else was available. We won't rush back.
- Date of Holiday:Oct 2007
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Sun £9.50 holidays
" Having read reviews on this site... "
Submitted By: Mrs D Timms- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:PONTINS
" hello i am ben from southend, i was... "
Submitted By: Mr B Ward1- you get tea bags and coffee.
2-you get towles for your showers,
3-you get a good little welcome pack which contains a little bottle of washing up liquid, a washing up sponge, a towle and a clothe,
4-good range of telly channels. i.e freeview.
5-very comfortable and home welcoming.
on camp there is so much to do for the kids like:
1-mini golf,
2-quad bikes,
3-go karts,
4-tennis,
5-swimming,
6-quad bikes
and much much more.
for the older men and women in the mornig there is aqua fit wich is an exercize in the swimming pool to keep you fit.
in the evening there is bingo to start of the night going on to a bit of party dance, then there are 5 childrens charecters that come out of a night, then they do kids games, after the kids games there is a bit more party dances, then there is a kids show for an hour, then there is some more party songs, following on to the more older peoples show, then there is party songs with the blue coats up on stage helping you, then there are songs to end the night off with following with the last slow dancing songs to close off with.
there are arcades from 9:00am till about 11:30pm, there are some for the adults (over 18's), there are other machines were you win tickets to cash up and win gifts, in the arcades there is a room were the young children can go, there is a play erea in there and computers to play on and colouring in to do in there.
the food at the chip shop is nice but they do not do that much food and it is a bit too dear, £1.50 for a small portion of chips, i think that they could be a bit cheaper, the breakfast lunch and dinners at the on site restaurantare all very nice and you get quite a bit of food there but that is a bit dear aswell, if you could bring the prices down a bit you would have more people ordering more foodand drink, at the bar the drinks are dear there aswell, if you could also bring down the prices for that, then that would be better aswell.
other then the prices of food and drink every think else is perfect, especcially blue coat jayson and blue coat chris, i think you two are very funny and the best there, bluecoat michael should not even be working there because every time i saw him he was dancing with girls half his age and giving his number out to her they was dancing with each other aswell,
as i said everythink else is perfect, espescially for all the single boys and girls, all the boys and girls that go on holiday are perfect, like i saw a girl from canvey island called ronnie, she was perfect and her mum tracey was funny aswell, if only i could have spoke to her when i gave her 100 tickets, if she reads this i hope i can keep in touch, you can talk to me on msn my email address is ben_13_55@hotmail.co.uk,
enough said thank you very much for reading and i hope you enjoy a good break at PONTINS HEMSBY..
- Date of Holiday:Jun 2008
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" My partner booked this as a cheap... "
Submitted By: Mrs V OlayemiThe reception block looked OK (if you like cheap and tacky) but for £15 per head what can you expect we thought. The reception staff were relatively friendly (they already knew our fate so was it pity)
Feeling slightly apprehensive we made our way to the chalet. We turned the key and opened the door..............
having read the reviews we thought we would be prepared.... nothing could have prepared us for what we were faced with.
The hovel (sorry chalet) stunk of stale cigarettes. The carpet was covered in stains as was the walls around the light swtiches. Athough someone had painted the ceiling! The chipboard box (opps the wardrode ) situated in the lounge has big holes in it, the draws were hanging off and out. The lounge/ diner also converted into the master bedrrom via a very tired and despicable pull out sofa bed, ( hence the wardrode, the shaving mirror and light) The dining table and chairs looked as if they had been salvaged from a reclaimation yard.
The bathroom was very blue and tired looking and didn't even have a shower. the bedroom looked like a throw back to the fifties with put up metal beds and a bedside cabinet that should have been burnt 30 years ago. Although the windows had curtains up , many of them were hanging by threads. The window over the front door to the lounge / dining/ master bedroom didn't even have any curtain. As hardened travellers we have found ourselves in many and various enviroments but this one, we feel, will never be beaten.
We stayed less that five minutes. Venturing back to the reception to check out, we voiced our complaints and admittedly were offered an up grade to have a shower in the bathroom. we were informed that none of the chalets had double beds. it took us ten seconds to check out.
To sum up this resort, please believe the reviews and don't under any circumstances bother to venture anywhere near this godforsaken place, stay at home ,light the bbq have some friends around and know that your time has been well spent.
The Sun should also hang their head in shame if they think that this is a suitable venue for their readers!
- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Sun £9.50 holidays
" WE went here to celebrate the new yr.... "
Submitted By: Mrs A Avery-hawkins- Date of Holiday:Dec 2007
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" What a disgrace this place is. I... "
Submitted By: Mrs S BellFilthy accomodation, furniture falling apart, total disrepair.
I could not even face having a bath as it was too dirty to even think about cleaning.
Touched the sink and it fell away from the wall.
Had to get a knife in the electric oven to prise open door but then could not face cooking in it. I have stayed in hundreds of hotels and apartments all over the world from the lowest budget and nothing compared to this place.
We slept one night and packed our things and left. A letter of complaint was answered with a waste of time reply. This has put me off Pontins for life
- Date of Holiday:Sep 2007
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:The Sun
" my partener and i went for a w/e... "
Submitted By: Mr J Williamson- Date of Holiday:Jun 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Lastminute
" Worst holiday i have ever been on.Not... "
Submitted By: Mr W GildingSTAFF WERE HONEST AS EVEN THEY ADMITTED IT WAS A DUMP.
Staff were polite and helpful.
pool was cold,site was untidy,food overpriced.........enough said
- Date of Holiday:Jun 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently






