A horrified family had a "holiday from hell" at a "vile" holiday park - which they claim included mouldy rooms, a stained fridge and smashed-up fire alarms. Mum-of-two Maria Devoy, 42, took her children and her mum Pamela, 62, for what they thought was going to be a lovely break away at Pontins Prestatyn in North Wales - but they were horrified by what they found when they arrived.
The family, who travelled from Birkenhead in Merseyside for the five-day holiday, said they couldn't believe the state of the holiday resort when they arrived, with nowhere to buy food on site as the two advertised restaurants were "non-existent", the vending machines were switched off and the arcade was unavailable, to the disappointment of Maria's children, aged 12 and 10, the Liverpool Echo reports.
When they checked into their room, they found it was full of mould, the fridge had "yellow stains", the fire alarm was "smashed off", the windows were filthy and wouldn't open and there was a massive hole under the sink which was full of rubbish. As a family that love swimming, they were even more disappointed to learn that the pool was shut.
Pamela was even forced to leave after just one night as she couldn't easily access their room on the second floor because of an injury that requires surgery, which she is still waiting for. Maria said staff were informed Pamela couldn't get up the stairs because of a hip injury but they said there was no other option.
Maria and her children ended up leaving their holiday - which they paid £430 for - on the fourth day, saying their holiday was "horrendous". Although she was offered a 30 per cent discount on her next stay at the resort, she said she will never go back.
Explaining what she saw when she arrived, Maria said: "We really enjoy swimming, so that was the main reason we were going. But when we got there the pool was shut, then once we saw that everything else just began to pile on top of it, but that's even without mentioning the room.
"It was vile. I didn't expect much from Pontins - it's just one of those isn't it, it's just where everyone goes - but it was minging. The windows wouldn't open, the fire alarms were smashed off the ceiling, the curtains had mould right the way up them, inside and out, and we couldn't even see out the windows.
"There was a massive hole underneath the sink that was full of rubbish. The fridge was bright yellow with stains."
She added: "We got put on the second floor, but my mum had an accident on Christmas eve and she's still waiting for an operation on her hip.
"When we tried to get into our accommodation, I [told the staff] mum can't get up the stairs and they said you're going to have to deal with it because there's no other option. I told them that she really can't get up the stairs, she can barely walk and I'm on my own with the kids, I can't carry her up the stairs like that.
"I told them I might be able to get her up the stairs tonight, but how's she going to get back down. How's she going to get in and out multiple times a day?"
"I was just thinking about my mum the whole time that first night, thinking about how are we going to manage. But with the staff it was just one of those where you can tell you're going to get nowhere so you just bite your tongue.
"There was just no compromise whatsoever so my mum had to come home after that first night. The remaining nights were horrendous. The two restaurants they advertised were non-existent.
"The shop on site doesn't sell food it sells souvenirs. People were ordering takeaways to the main gate it was that bad, and the vending machines were all empty, not that any were switched on anyway."
Maria got in touch with the company to complain about her stay once they had left and they offered her a 30 per cent discount on her next stay as an apology.
The Echo approached Pontins for comment on Maria's claims but have not yet responded.
