free pontins holiday

Zziggi

Shelanne wrote:

We are just back from Prestatyn, (Work/School meant we couldn't stay last night, Boo!!). Apartments were basic, clean enough but would advise air freshner on your list of essentials!! We arrived about 10pm on Friday night and at first apartment was a bit whiffy!! But as weather has been lovely we got all doors and windows open first thing in the morning then after that, no more problem. This weekend camp was at least half empty so no wonder they are giving holidays away!! Nice beach is very close and swimming pool is perfectly adequate. My 3 little ones had a ball!! Enjoy your break!!

Great to hear you had a good time!!

rebl43

Me, my husband and our 2 kids are going to Hemsby on 7th July and if the accommodation and / or facilities are not the highest standard then - SO WHAT? It's a free holiday and it will be what you make it.
We will have a great time being somewhere different and spending time together.
I think too many people want a piece of the moon.

Former_MSE_Forum_Manager

Stabilo wrote:

To Martin or other board moderators,

I was lucky enough to 'win' a 'free' holiday at Pontins due to your web site. It appears many others have also been fortunate. Unlike goldie-bambino we are a two parent family with just one (darling) daughter. We would have no trouble paying the full price of the holiday but we are always pleased to pick up a bargain. As such we feel a tiny bit gulity that goldie-bambino has missed out. I would like to send a paypal donation of £20 for you to pass on to her. Hopefully others will feel the same and make similar donations. This way she will hopefully receive enough funds to buy a holiday of her choosing. Can you provide a paypal account for us to send the donation to?

Hi Stablio

It's a lovely idea, but it's not something we can either recommend or get involved with. Our current policy discourages this sort of thing because we havent got the resources to deal with any problems that may arise because of it.

spiderman95

(rebl43)Me, my husband and our 2 kids are going to Hemsby on 7th July and if the accommodation and / or facilities are not the highest standard then - SO WHAT? It's a free holiday and it will be what you make it.
We will have a great time being somewhere different and spending time together.
I think too many people want a piece of the moon.


************************************************


Here Here . A big thank you to the original poster Pondie 1. I think it was a brilliant find and has given people a nice break away. I wasn't lucky with this one but an excellent post all the same

Stabilo

MSE_Forum_Manager wrote:

Hi Stablio

It's a lovely idea, but it's not something we can either recommend or get involved with. Our current policy discourages this sort of thing because we havent got the resources to deal with any problems that may arise because of it.

OK, I sent a pm to the individual a few days ago.

Imperfect_One

Zziggi wrote:

Has anyone on here actually stayed at the Pontins camp at Prestatyn or Southport?

I'm not so bothered about the activities and facilities in the camp as we'll be spending minimal time there. I am just concerned about the accommodation. I'm not expecting 5* luxury but just want to feel reassured that it isn't going to be hazzardous to health!! I'll be taking cloths, dettol and flash spray but a bit of reassurance from anyone who has been previously would reassure me.

Thanks

Hi

Have literally just got back in the door from a holiday at prestatyn (bought through their special offers online) and had a fab time (extended my holiday by a night too). The accommodation is much the same as any holiday park but we had several complaints with our original appt and they moved us. If you find a problem go to guest services and they will happily send someone to mop/clean etc. Even with our initial move our holiday was not ruined as the staff were pleasant/helpful and wanted to make your stay as comfortable as possible. The park is close to a lovely beach and there are adequate facilities etc. I am sure it will be fine - if not, don't feel embarrassed to complain (like me) as they treat complaints seriously. I like you took spray etc for the touch ups but it wasn't as bad as some haven/butlins. Its pot luck too I think but again I will say we had a great time!!. Enjoy your holiday.

Imperfect One

smillie-world

I've just got back from my "free" 3 night holiday at Pontins’ Prestatyn Sands. I went with my wife and two young kids (2 and 5). I thought I'd let everyone know what I found and whether it was any good...

We had a one bedroom “budget” chalet, which sleeps four. I don't normally go for chalets, as they're usually too small and over-priced for my liking, however as it was free, it was an ideal time to try something different.

As we were driving to the site, we could see some chalets/flats and I joked that those were where we were staying, and my wife said if they were, we were going straight back home .
As we pulled up to the main gate, the chalets we had seen in the distant were indeed the chalets we would be staying in. We booked in and were given directions to our chalet. I'm not kidding, it was like a typical Hi-de-hi camp. What have we done we thought? The chalet blocks are organised in such a way that they face each other, with a large area of grass in the centre. Great for the kids playing ball games, but not so great if you want a little privacy. Due to the layout it also means your car is parked a considerable distance away from the chalet. This is only a problem when it comes to packing and unpacking, as you have to carry everything backwards and forwards.

We opened the door to the chalet and were immediately surprised at the place. The carpets were filthy and they looked like they had been down for several years and not once cleaned/washed. The windows had complimentary finger marks on them, and the curtains were missing hooks, and could do with a clean (they didn’t draw very well either). The entire room looked like it could do with a good scrubbing, and was generally rundown. The colour television was fastened to the top of a set of draws, it did rotate however. The TV itself was 14”, and ancient. The furniture in the main room comprised of the previously mentioned chest of draws (three in total) and a wardrobe, all made from the finest quality chipboard, a sofa-bed, a dining table and four plastic chairs. The sofa looked like it too could do with a good clean. Once the sofa was opened into bed mode, I was quite surprised, it was larger than expected, and not too uncomfy, although by the morning you cold feel the springs dig in in certain parts. The mattress was PVC backed so no scary stains here. The main room was large enough and opened to the kitchen area, there were also two doors leading to the bathroom and bedroom. The bathroom had a toilet, sink, and half length bath with overhead shower, large mirror, and shaver point. Half of the bath was raised into a seat fashion for the less-abled. Again the floor could have benefited with a good clean. The fixtures seemed to be clean enough. The shower was surprisingly adequate, despite it being one of those push-button types that requires you to keep pressing the button frequently to keep the water flowing. The bedroom again had a filthy carpet, two single beds, and a wardrobe. It’s probably best if you make up the beds with your eyes closed, as the stains on the mattresses really get the mind thinking… :eek: The kitchen area had a number of units for the various cookware and crockery. There was a sink (surprise, surprise), an electric oven and hob (circa 1980s), and a small fridge with an icebox compartment. In one cupboard was the electric meter, with fuse box and credit slot. The meter needs to be fed with magnetic cards, in £1 denominations only. It uses 10 pence per KWh, not too bad, we managed to get numerous showers and baths, use the cooker a couple of times, hot drinks etc, and the normal TV and lighting usage for £1.60 throughout our stay. When you arrive you are supplied with a free £1 card, plus whatever has been left on the meter by the previous occupant. The water is heated by an immersion heater. The immersion heater switches on and off as and when required to maintain a tank of hot water. You can turn it off if you wish, but we were told at reception it will take approximately 45 minutes to heat up the water again. We left it on, as the amount of electricity it used didn’t seem too bad, compared to the inconvenience of waiting for hot water. It is not possible to run the immersion heater at the same time as the cooker, there is a switch to select one or the other.
One other thing, some of the windows were practically near impossible to open as they were stiff (probably due to poor maintenance and several years’ worth of dirt). The kitchen window was especially difficult, due to the height (I’m just short of six foot) and units in front of the window it was awkward to put any effort into pushing it open, plus you really didn’t want to spend too long holding the fifthly handles.

When you book in you are given a welcome pack. The pack includes various information about the site and entertainment as well £75 worth of money off vouchers. WARNING – These vouchers are not as generous as it may first appear. More often than not you end up paying over the top prices for various things and the voucher brings it to a more realistic price. Here’s an example, “Buy 3 Smirnoff Ice for the price of two”. When you use the voucher this will cost you £6.40, yes £3.20 a bottle. Using the voucher brings the price to £2.13 a bottle. I’m not sure how that compares for everyone else but £3.20 is nightclub prices in sunny Yorkshire. There are numerous vouchers, not just for drinks, stuff like buy two adult meals and all the kids eat for a penny. Again, it really depends on what you’re used to paying for stuff, as to whether you’ll find it of value.

So, the site itself. Well I think the site faired better than the accommodation, and really the accommodation has let Pontins down, badly. There’s a good range of activities to take part in and for all ages. Outdoor events included quad-bikes, a high climbing wall and zip wire, go-karts for kids, bicycle hire, kids play park, and various other things. The complex has a large swimming pool, a restaurant (more like a café), two large bars with entertainment (loud music etc), a pub, amusements, a burger bar, several shops (one convenience the others novelty toys), kids soft play area (up to age 8 only) and a snooker room. As previously mentioned, I found the prices quite high for everything. I guess it stands to reason as you are a captive audience.

We had breakfast a couple of times in the restaurant, and used the vouchers so the kids’ breakfasts were only a penny each. It was £4.25 for a full English breakfast, plus drinks on top of that. The portion sizes were very good, in fact once I’d had the breakfast I didn’t need anything until tea time, and that most certainly isn’t like me . It comprised of two sausages, two rashers of bacon, baked beans, and mushrooms, a hash brown, a fried or scrambled egg, and fried bread or black pudding. The food was fine and I couldn’t really complain. We had tea on Sunday evening, which cost £22, that was a carvery meal four all four including drinks, and the vouchers weren’t accepted for this meal. Again the portion sizes were good, and the food was fine, the vegetables being a little over cooked.
We tried the burger bar, and found that the choice wasn’t that great, don’t expect McDonalds in either range or quality (do McDonalds and quality go together?). The prices were however are comparable to McDonalds. The presentation of food was appalling; it looked as though they put the burger in the box and then given the box a good shake. It didn’t taste too bad, but I’ve had a lot better. The Pepsi was warmer than you’d want it.
The amusements had a decent variety of machines. Some of the machines though paid out in tokens. These tokens could be collected and exchanged for toys, the better toys requiring a phenomenal amount of tokens. It would probably work out cheaper to actually go and buy the toy, but then there’s no fun in that for the kids, is there?
The staff in the bar areas and burger areas rarely seemed to know what they were doing. On a couple of occasions we were undercharged for items, which I’m not complaining about, but would have done had we been overcharged. Perhaps it was some kind of special happy hour that wasn’t advertised? None of the food outlets opened concurrently, it was either one thing or the other depending on the time.
Drinks for the children were served in one small area, at the very end of one of the bars. As the kids’ entertainment shifted from one location to another, it meant that at some point you had to endure a trek the full length of the complex for drinks. In the end I found it quicker to go to the onsite convenience store and get the drinks from there. The convenience store stayed open until 22:00, which was a pleasant surprise.

The entertainment was on par with what I’ve seen elsewhere, being child orientated. I didn’t get the opportunity to see the adult entertainment. My only complaint is that the children’s entertainment shifted from one room to another, and didn’t really benefit from the move, as it led to confusion and the inconvenience of everything.

Within a short walk from the site was a nice sandy beach with a few rocks which created pools. Unfortunately around the rocks it was muddy as opposed to sandy, which wasn’t great, as you wouldn’t want paddle in it. However away from the rocks everything was as expected, sandy…
The town of Prestatyn was a short drive, and had a number of shops, supermarkets and banks. All you could need.

All in all, we enjoyed the time we spent there, and I was surprised because I was very disappointed with the cleanliness and silting of the chalet. Would I return? Probably not, and this is solely based on the accommodation. I would not be prepared to spend any money and receive the standard of accommodation that we received. As it was free however, I made an effort to put up with it for the short time I knew I’d be spending there and used the chalet as little as possible. If it was free again, I might go, but I’d be wary that I’d end up in yet a worse kept chalet. I did notice that our chalet wasn’t the only scruffy one as when about the site I couldn’t help but peer in the open doors of other chalets to find similar uncleanliness. I wonder how the other Pontins sites fair?

Shelanne

Couldn't possibly quote all of smillie world's post but I would agree with just about everything said and congratulate him for such a thorough and accurate report!! I would definitely back up what Imperfect one says about complaining (politely of course). Our chalet had a broken toilet seat which i told reception about at about 9am. We mooched about the site for a bit and on returning an hour later a brand new toilet seat had been installed, which I think was fair enough. When I first checked in and tried to settle down for our first night I was thinking no wonder they had to give these holidays away!! I too really surprised myself at just how much we did enjoy our break and will defo go back any time they let us go for free!!! (I don't know whether I'd go as far as parting with money!!!!).

We loved the beach and as for the entertainment, well my daughter reached the final of the disco dancing comp so I thought it was superb (Shame she wasn't overall winner and win us a free holiday while we were on a free holiday!!!)

Wishing everyone who is going to Pontins over the next couple of weeks a really super time!!

flufff

I have to comment my bed settee was as uncomfortable as they come!Mattress was very thin.I managed half a nights kip on it.Due to comitments we could only stay saturday night but spent all day saturday and sunday there.
The vouchers given on arrival we found useful. Buy 2 Adult meals and get 2 kids meals plus drinks for 1p each was a bargain as most meals were under a fiver.All activities were booked up which was a gripe.Arcade wasnt bad game of snooker for £1 and arcade machines 50p cheaper than most places.Entertainment room needed a good clean.There was no way I could of cooked for 5 of us on cooker provided.Bunks were graffitied and worryingly shakey.Waiting for hot water was a pain.We tended to use the chalet for what it was......cheap accomodation a base whilst we explored.For that it was perfect.Had i spent a week there I would of gone nuts without sleep on that sofa!

betterbargains4u

Zziggi wrote:

Has anyone on here actually stayed at the Pontins camp at Prestatyn or Southport?

I'm not so bothered about the activities and facilities in the camp as we'll be spending minimal time there. I am just concerned about the accommodation. I'm not expecting 5* luxury but just want to feel reassured that it isn't going to be hazzardous to health!! I'll be taking cloths, dettol and flash spray but a bit of reassurance from anyone who has been previously would reassure me.

Thanks

Just returned from our 3 night free break at Prestatyn and the accomodation is basic but clean enough.
We had a really nice time.
Didn't spend an awful lot of time in the apartment, but the beds and linen were clean and that's all that really bothers me.
Have a lovely time.