Beware when wanting to take your pets on a Sun newspaper holiday

makemineadouble

I have recently received confirmation of a holiday booked after collecting the Sun newspaper tokens.
We have been on these holidays quite a few times before and despite going online on the first possible day to book, none of our choices were available (presumably because we would rather go in school holiday time) and so we accepted the alternative option that kept being suggested for the dates we wanted.
We have gone on these Sun holidays both with and without pets and accept that there is usually a charge of some sort for taking pets (although do not be fooled when the booking confirmation says it is a 'small' charge as it is often around the 25 pounds mark). We really want to take our dog with us on this break and have had to pay a whopping 40 pounds extra to take him this time for just a 3 night break. Despite explaining that he is tiny, loses no hair and we clean up after him, this is a set charge that the holiday site will not compromise on.
That 40 quid means it is actually costing us 2 pounds more for one tiny dog (he is actually a toy breed) than we could have taken up to 4 adults for on the same break.
I asked what was being provided for this charge and was told nothing; that is the charge they make for any dog either per week or part of it.
I do feel that this park definitely has a nerve to call itself 'pet friendly' with such a high charge.
I would advise that anyone unfamiliar with The Sun newspaper holidays who wants to book one in the future and wants to take their pet really needs to check out all parks charges before accepting what you are offered.

jodie

I know Haven charge £40 for a dog for a week and £20 for short break and I think it's fair, most places don't allow dogs at all, plus they tend to have great dog walking areas.

The problem I find with Sun Holidays is that I can get it cheaper by going through Haven (or whoever) myself.

makemineadouble

I have never found or been offered any short break at a cheaper price than 9.50 per person; even directly through any of the companies I have booked with before.

I have no objection to paying a reasonable charge for taking a pet. All I am saying is that the parks involved with The Sun newspaper holiday scheme do not inform you of the charge until you have actually booked with them so I would therefore advise that anyone interested in going on one checks out any additional charges before deciding on which park they accept. Then they might not be as shocked as I was when the booking confirmation arrives.

I still think the 40 quid charge for a small lap dog on a 3 night break is ridiculous. I would understand if there was some sort of returnable deposit involved.

From what I have read of many others experiences on these holidays, when being allocated 'pet friendly' accommodation, it is often of a far worse quality than other 'pet free' accommodation and from my own experiences, humans can be far dirtier than pets and have left accommodation I've gone into in a far worse state than my dog ever would.

Keith

How much would it cost to put your little friend into a kennels?

makemineadouble

I think the cost might be roughly the same from what I've heard others having to pay (based on about 10 pounds per day). He is very elderly and not ever been put into kennels before so this is probably not an option we would consider now. We do have friends who would normally have him but apart from the fact that they are not available on the dates we have been allocated, we really want to take him with us this time anyway as we lost his lifetime companion last year and we have had a health scare with him over Christmas so want to make the best of it while he is still mobile.
Of course he is priceless to us but being on an extremely tight budget, this charge just means even less money to spend.
Just hope that this apparantly 'pet friendly' site has decent enough walks near by.

nuckinfobhead

Keith wrote: »

How much would it cost to put your little friend into a kennels?

on the flipside, would the kennel let you stay with the dog.......

torizia

It's not surprising that they charge so much for a dog...it's nothing to do with the size of the dog. There is a set charge because a different, much more thorough type of clean has to be carried out on the accommodation, in order to ensure that future guests with allergies, immune deficiencies etc will not be affected!

Blacksheep1979

as torizia says, they have to ensure the room(s) are clean after the dog and owner have left for the next people. Now whilst you say your dog is tiny, doesn't moult etc etc etc - how many people try this on and don't clean up after their pet. This would leave the holiday company in the position of someone coming on here and moaning about a room covered in dog hair and what compensation should they demand.

foxxymynx

If you want to take your pet on holiday with you, you have to pay the fee, it's that simple.

You said that they didn't advise you of how much it would cost before booking - but you didn't say that you'd asked and implied that your rant is based on assumptions of what you think it should cost/what you think other places charge.

makemineadouble

I do not have a problem with paying a fee but yes, I still think it is excessive to be charged 40 pounds for one little dog when it is costing 38 pounds for 4 people to stay for 3 nights.

In regards to what foxxymynx said, then yes,I did make an assumption that it would be around the same cost that other parks have charged. Wouldn't that be a normal assumption to make ? This was the whole point of me posting this thread. I have already accepted it was a mistake of mine not to have checked the price with this particular park first; I merely wanted to warn others how much the charges can differ.

I can see that what torizia and Blacksheep1979 are saying might apply to accommodation in some parks but all the parks I have previously used when taking a pet on Sun newspaper holidays (and also including this one) have accommodation especially allocated for pets and I have never seen any signs that there has been a 'deep clean' since the previous occupier. I have been in accommodation more than once though where I have had to complain about either the smell or stains of human vomit !

Anyway, I feel better for my moan even if noone agrees with me. By the way, being a newbie to these boards, just wondering what all this thanking people for useful posts is about. Is it the norm to thank every respondant who agrees with another on a thread as appears to have happened here ?

foxxymynx

So you're having a rant because you were ignorant and made an assumtion instead of an inqury?

*backs away slowly*