A holiday resort near Bristol has been slammed by reviewers on Tripadvisor, with a mum saying that her family's time there left her children 'crying'. Pontins Brean Sands has been branded 'disgusting' and 'vile' by some unhappy customers, and one has even gone as far as to say that they would rather visit Chernobyl, reported Somerset Live.
Disgruntled holidaymakers have left a number of scathing reviews for the resort since the turn of the year. In 2022, the Pontins Brean Sands TripAdvisor page received 30 reviews, 23 of which rated the establishment one out of five.
One reviewer, Emma, wrote: "I can’t believe this site is still up and running. I booked a three-night stay and they didn’t provide duvets and pillows like they were supposed to.
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"Reception was shut with shutters down and my kids were crying in the night because it was so cold. I put £35 on the electric for one night to use the electric heaters which did nothing.
"The electric meters aren’t right, they eat through the credit even when nothing is turned on! They delivered duvets the next day but we left as couldn’t face another night.
"The accommodation was dirty and hadn’t been cleaned for a while. The cooker was filthy.
"It was all-round disgusting - the whole park is run-down and vile. They won’t give me money back as I didn’t get a form from reception but the reception was never open."
Another slightly cheekier review from disgruntled visitor Shaun in March 2022 reads: "I read the reviews, I thought it can’t be that bad - give it a go. It was that bad.
"It was clean on first inspection but once unpacked we realised it wasn’t. The beds were previously used for torture.
"Residue of long dead residents were available for DNA sampling if you were in training in forensics. Wiring jobs if you are an apprentice electrician.
"The bathroom was a ‘how not to do a bathroom’ sample in a large book on ‘how not to do things’. I’d rather visit Chernobyl.
"Granted sleep may come via radiation poisoning but sleep is sleep. Do not hire wheelchairs, because they have none.
"You have been warned. Don’t worry about covid but focus on a tetanus jab."
Another angry visitor, Neil, gave the resort a one-star review and wrote: "The chalets were stinking and dirty. The play area needs a serious upgrade, and you are lucky if the pool is open.
"The green area outside our accommodation was covered in litter, takeaway cartons and dirty nappies. The food is disgusting
"If you think the queue on arrival is a long wait until you see the one for complaints the following day. Management don't give a toss.
"All in all this is a terrible place, my two youngest children asked to go home after two hours of being there. How this place is still open and how the Sun newspaper still offers it in the Sun Holidays is shocking."
However, not everyone was disappointed. Another reviewer, SFB, said he began to regret his decision to book a holiday at Pontins after reading so many bad reviews - but now he "can't understand what the fuss was about".
He wrote: "I booked Pontins Brean Sands with my friend and our three children through Sun Holidays without checking the reviews. As it got closer I started to look at reviews and instantly regretted my decision.
"So we went fully prepared with a mop, bleach and antibacterial spray - we even took our own airbeds to put on the bed bases instead of sleeping directly on the mattress. I had major anxiety driving down but when we arrived and checked in I couldn't understand what the fuss was about.
"I mean the chalets are VERY basic and definitely could do with a revamp or update, but ours was cleaned well enough. The only thing was the mattress stains but this didn't affect us anyway as we took our own airbeds, duvets pillows and we even took our own plates and cutlery just in case.
"We paid £150 for four nights and it's worth that but I wouldn't be happy if I paid full price. The entertainment is so good at night-time with bingo and kids club and the staff are friendly. You get what you pay for."
