Holiday Tags: UK

I’ve always had a soft spot for Brighton. It’s a lively place on the South coast with good shopping and a vibrant nighlife. The Seabreeze hotel is only a couple of minutes walk from the beach in the Kemptown area. It’s a small hotel - probably what you’d call boutique I guess - but very clean and with friendly staff and some good rates on their website (Brighton Seabreeze Hotel). It says it has 4stars and a Silver award which only 10% of hotels in the UK are awarded, so it can’t be that bad! …

Read the rest of this post »

just stayed there monday till friday , myself and the kids realy enjoyed the night entertainment shows,
good weather ment a good stay ,staff were very good with the children always had the time to say hello or just make them laugh.

…

Read the rest of this post »

This was a great holiday. Bluecoats were brilliant. Alright the chalets are a bit damp but you’re only staying for a little while so whats the problem. Recommend for a cheap fun holiday.

…

Read the rest of this post »

We visited Lakeland (Haven Holidays) at Grangeoversands for the first time. We used the touring site which was cheap but a bit of a shambles, it lacked basic management decisions and proper organisation on a day to day basis.
The touring caravans section warden is a really nice bloke who tries hard to make the best of a bad job but he is badly let down by his managers (are there any?)who dont seem to support him in his job at all. Some of the customers would be proud to even reach the proud status of Chav and they no doubt contribute to the feeling of neglect at this place. Spitting in sinks, poo (looked like it) on floor in toilets, a man having a jimmy riddle in broad daylight into a fence outside his tent, loud swearing and rowdiness,kids everywhere running free late at night, clusters of friends huddling caravans together in a territorial manner, caravans and tents straddled all over the field in a mish mash, copious dog logs and the total absence at long periods of any security staff or supervisory staff, are a few of the points I noted, and i wasn’t looking for faults, these things hit me without looking too hard. The field is a shambles and the pitches are allocated on a freeforall basis when the warden is not present which seems to be quite often (is he part time?).Add to this rumours of a caravan raided and items stolen and you have a recipe for anarchy for which Haven will charge you around 40 quid a night for a tent in April. My advice is don’t go there until they shape the place up a bit and allocate pitches clearly and offer some support for customers who seem to just turn up and pitch where ever they wish some of the time. I was asked by 4 separate incoming campers if I was the warden. When I replied no they said ah well we know what to do and proceeded to use any pitch that was available…SHAMBLES!!!!There isn’t even a decent tap to fill up water containers let alone somewhere sensible and hygenic to deposit waste water which is remote (removed from) from fresh water supplies. The staff here are on basic minimum wage and I think they are heroes to make this place work even at 10 percent efficency, Haven should give these people medals for the shambles in which they are expected to work. This could be a first class touring site with a little operational intervention, planning and not much money spent, so come on Haven as well as the new swimming pool spend a few quid on the touring site which could be so fantastic. Some hints for spending are tarmac roads and paths, divide up the touring field into proper designated pitches, have hi vis security patrolling occasionally in daylight hours and after dark, level the touring field and cut the grass now and then, give the warden proper back up and enforcement authority to deal with idiots, ask customers for feedback to target ongoing spending, if you try to improve things the pack them in mentality will disspear and you will attract more happy customers in the long run who will possible buy statics from you!!

…

Read the rest of this post »

My wife and I, along with my wife’s recently widowed sister stayed for five days at this hotel in March 2009. The hotel is very tatty from the outside and inside is not terrific either. In our bedroom the radiator valves were broken off so the heating could not be controlled. Because we went out every day we did not complain but they looked as if they had been like that for some time and you would expect the maintenance staff to have noticed. Our room was just about acceptable although the single beds were uncomfortable and the pillows too thin for our liking. In our bathroom cobwebs hung from the ceiling behind the door so cleanliness could be improved. My wife’s sister had the adjoining room which was much better overall. On the plus side the food was excellent and the restaurant staff very efficient and helpful, necessary because of the unusual and slightly chaotic help yourself system and I mean help yourself, as you have go and collect everything apart from the cutlery and drinking water. On the plus side when you get used to it it does work quite well. The guests themselves cause problems by causing unnecessary obstructions when, for instance toasting bread and this should be better orgainised. The entertainment was fairly good, including the open to outsiders singles night, and the bar area quite comfortable. Overall it has a holiday camp feeling about it, not quite our cup of tea, but if you like that type of holiday you will probably like the Rainbow

…

Read the rest of this post »

Lovely place. My son was entertained for the whole week with PGL activities, Pontins activities, playing table tennis, darts, pool etc with me and swimming. The food is good with a great choice including vegetarian and a special child’s menu too. The only problem was the kids entertainment started so late at night. The beach is 5 mins walk away and there are coach trips out so a car is not vital. A great time - shame it is so expensive this year!

…

Read the rest of this post »

We had mixed feelings about the Esplanade Hotel in Paignton. we were blessed with sunny weather and overall enjoyed our 4 day break. The staff were helpful and friendly and for what we paid the food was good. The entertainment was acceptable. The biggest bugbear was the rooms which was small and were probably last decorated about 20 days. The hotel certainly needed modernisation and redecoration and but this was a half board 4 day break [package which was good value. Televisions hotel inspector could do with going in to upgrade the rooms which quite frankly were pretty awful, but did have a television and kettle. The bathroom was microscopic. One visit was a suprise and experince but unless it is modernised we would not return again.

…

Read the rest of this post »

Stayed at the Savoy for Valentines break, could go on at length about everything that was wrong, but it wouldnt do it justice. My advice; if you are going on a coach trip with a load of retired friends and its already organised then you dont have any Choice, the terrible food and abysmal rooms are already yours, but if you are thinking about going under your own steam then please dont, its awfull, truly terrible and not only a waste of money, but more importantly a real waste of quality time when you could be staying somewhere half decent at half the price.

…

Read the rest of this post »

Pontins Blackpool.
After waiting nearly an hour just to book into reception because of shortage and incompetancy of staff we were very disappointed and annoyed with the state of the chalet that we were given. It was absolutely filthy.. Anyone who gives this place a good review must have very low standards. The carpet was disgusting. The matresses were very old and smelt musty which I must admit was an improvement on the ones that were stained with urine at the Pontins Brean Sands Camp that we stayed at a few years ago. The sheets had holes in them. The bedside cupboard had no drawers in it, they were missing. The walls were very dirty and marked. The skirting boards hadn’t been cleaned in months and were covered in dust. The windows were so dirty that it was impossible to see through them. There was no sound proofing between the chalets and you could hear everything going on next door including hearing them in the toilet. The whole camp is run down and dismal and could do with bulldozing and being rebuilt. We definately wont be going there again!

…

Read the rest of this post »

just returned from butlins in minehead. this is the second time we have been there this year so far due to some bargain deals.

the 1st time we stayed silver half board. the rooms had recently been redecorated. we had a very nice 2 bed chalet. the food was good, plenty to choose from and eat as much as you like.

the 2nd time we stayed in a gold 2 bedroom apartment. again the rooms had recently been refurbished and were to a excellent standard. we had a twin and a double bedroom with a kitchen/living room that was well equipped and a tv/dvd player.

the grounds were slowly being upgraded and has started to look very nice.

i couldnt fault the hotel staff, they were very helpful

the entertainment was great for my 2yr old. she loved all the character shows during the day in the pavillion including, barney, bob the builder, pingu. the evening entertainment was good too. we watched the pantomine goldilocks, there was a cartoon network show, great for the kids. they also had the sooty show for the kids and a gunge show. i cannot comment on the entertainment that was on after these shows or the shows in the reds because i didn’t see them due to the kids going to bed.

all in all a great holiday and value for money. and i have already booked to go back in june

…

Read the rest of this post »