Holiday to Pontins, Camber Sands - UPDATE

Barbiegirl_2

Hi all,

We have booked a Friday to Monday break at Pontins. We have never had a holiday with this resort but on another thread and even if you google the resort you find nothing but bad reviews.

I'm a little concerned having delved into this a bit to late. The little one is excited for tomorrow and is looking forward to swimming most of the weekend. If anyone on here has been to this park I would really appreciate your opinions on it. Some reviews went on to state that the apartement are very dirty etc......

I know that we haven't even got to the park yet but I can't help but feel worried about what it's going to be like .

Thanks for your help.

kb36

Even if the resort is a bit grim you could just try and treat it as a cheap place to stay! You only have to cross the road to have access to a beautiful sandy stretch of Camber coastline which is great for young kids. Don't forget your buckets and spades ! Hope it works out OK

Barbiegirl_2

Hi,

Does anyone else have anymore information please?

Borgie

Barbiegirl wrote: »

Hi all,

We have booked a Friday to Monday break at Pontins. We have never had a holiday with this resort but on another thread and even if you google the resort you find nothing but bad reviews.

I'm a little concerned having delved into this a bit to late. The little one is excited for tomorrow and is looking forward to swimming most of the weekend. If anyone on here has been to this park I would really appreciate your opinions on it. Some reviews went on to state that the apartement are very dirty etc......

I know that we haven't even got to the park yet but I can't help but feel worried about what it's going to be like .

Thanks for your help.

We went there last weekend. We had a classic apartment which is middle of range I believe and it was very clean and totally acceptable for it's purpose.
I cooked a couple of meals there happily and my teenage daughters were cool with it. It smelt old ! but it wasn't awful!

The whole camp is quite old and looks tired but if you make the most of it then you'll be fine. The pool is A ok, the entertainment is great fun and the surrounding scenary and beach are really lovely.

It's quite expensive on site and I would avoid the takeaways but the Sands restaurant is nice.

The bluecoats are lovely and make it for the kids and the staff in general are helpful.

Go enjoy

x

Barbiegirl_2

Thanks. We booked the budget now I am a little worried but thanks for your response.

Borgie

Barbiegirl wrote: »

Thanks. We booked the budget now I am a little worried but thanks for your response.

Maybe you could upgrade to Classic? Not sure how much it would cost though.

I wouldn't worry too much - you only need the chalet for sleeping in really. Pontins is a cheap holiday so it's not going to be ultra modern and top of the range but it really isn't all that bad.

The beach is amazing. Miles of sand and there is loads to go and see round and about. Rye is a lovely olde worlde village and there are castles and all sorts near by.

x

wendywitch

If you check the thread on free pontins holidays in the "freebies gone but not forgotten" section you might find some comments about the place.

We've been twice before (The Sun holidays), 2 adults 2 kids 1 bedroom and sofa bed in living area. Both times we found it rather cold, first time our sofa bed was broken and we ended up having to leave it out even though their maintance people came and "fixed" it.
We found it quite clean and kitchen had everything we needed, except mugs they only supply tea cups.
No real problems, obviously you all know to take your own tea towels, loo roll etc??
When we went (Camber Sands) they included bed linen which was freshly laundered and clean but I found the pillows and duvets very thin, I love a fat pillow :rotfl:

I would suggest NOT buying food from the on-site shop as it was very expensive when we went.
We take all our own food now to save money.
If you have a large family you may find the saucepans they provide to small.
If I remember rightly you can hire stuff from on site eg high-chairs, cots, hair dryers etc.

Anything else you'd like to know?

Sarahsaver

I stayed in a budget chalet (twice) at Prestatyn.
The sofa bed is no good if you have back problems, or if you want to avoid back problems, unless you can sleep in a sort of v shape.
my kids loved it even in november :eek:
Swimming pool, adventure playground they were happy.
summertime should be better!
The onsite chip shop chips were disappointing.

sticher

Hi, I have been to Camber a couple of times and we are going again in July. I think it is great value - free crazy golf, etc, indoor pool.

As has been said you are next to a fantastic beach. I found the chalets to be clean, but do always take my own linen.

susancs

We have been to Pontins in camber sands a couple of years ago and found the classic apartment was very basic, but clean. The campsite was quite dated and a bit run down-but we really only used it as a base to travel around the surrounding area. As said before the golden camber sands beach is just across the road and is fab. We went to Dymchurch and got on the small steam train. Hastings, Battle and Ryde are not far away for day trips. The kids loved the swimming pool in the morning, before we set off for the day. The entertainment in the evening was ok with a kids disco with characters and different entertainers. The campsite supermarket was not well stocked and was expensive and the restaurant and the takeaway on site were not good. There is a small parade of shops beside the camp site that has a chip shop that was popular. There is a little shop opposite the camp site that sells a lot of goods as well. Like others have said I would do a big shop on the way to the campsite (Big Morrisons in Hastings).

JustKeepSwimming_2

We went on a freebie 4 days holiday last year & loved it! We were told we were in budget accommodation, which was fine, but on leaving I realised we may have been upgraded as our electricity & linen had been included for free!

The chalet was basic & "tired" but spotlessly clean & everything worked. The sofa bed wasn't too comfortable (I felt like my head was always much lower than my feet regardless of which way round I was lying ) so I took the mattress off & slept on that on the floor, which was fine. The staff did offer to change the bed for me, but we we're out most of the time so it wasn't a problem.

Everywhere was well looked after, if a little old & the bluecoats did an excellent job!The pool was always clean & well supervised & the entertainment was great for the kids & bearable for me :rolleyes: .

We didn't make it to the beach (my DD has eczema & sand makes it worse) but we did explore Hastings on a "bus adventure" as public transport is good in that area. Rye looked pretty, but we ran out of time! Dungeness village is well worth a look, as it's like nowhere else I've ever seen - pretty & eerie.

I'd go again if it wasn't so far from me - we've done the Sun £9.50 holidays a few times now to different Haven/John Fowler parks, but Pontins is the one my kids talk about the most! We're going to Brean in September, & they are sooooo excited already. It isn't a luxurious holiday, but it can be great fun!

If you're a light sleeper you may want to take an eye mask, as the curtains are vey thin. I also took a lamp for bedtime reading, & my toaster.

Hope you have a brilliant time! :j I'm jealous....