Caravan Park Hell!!!

[MozzchopsThirty]

As our holiday to Spain was cancelled I booked a cheap caravan park in the UK for me & dcs

I honestly didn't think it would be this bad!!!!

The caravan is old & smells, I cleaned it myself when we arrived as it wasn't clean and there were still hairs in the bathroom.
Even my teen can't stand the smell

I slept in the smallest single bed ever last nite and woken up by what sounds like people running round in our caravan but must be next door I guess

No seats at the 'entertainment' last nite.

I've booked us into a travelodge tomorrow

Oh, bad luck, that sounds grim.

We usually stay in caravan parks and I find smaller sites with limited facilities are better than larger ones that have 'entertainment', club houses etc. Caravans are clean because the owner usually sees to it personally, and with no loud amusements, they attract a quieter sort of guest.

Small site in beautiful spot within walking distance of village with pub is all you need!

The noises you heard were probably seagulls on the roof of your caravan. What kind of smell are you referring to?

There are crap holiday parks and good ones, like all things. Did you complain to the agency you booked through? That and a bad TripAdvisor review is my first thought.

Fecking off to a hotel is the wise thing to do.

What a shame.
We have a caravan holiday most years and they are always gorgeous.
Never ever cheep though! Very very expensive usually.
It’s probably put you off now for life!

I stayed in a Parkdean caravan a few years ago. It stunk of cigarettes and grease. Never again !

I find you get what you pay for in these types of holidays. I used to own on a park and have seen the demand is now so high anyone with a random old caravan is able to rent them and that comes with loads of issues. I seen so many complaints on the FB sites this year.

It is indeed a parkdene!!

My sis and her kids are coming today which might make it slightly more bearable

Other people's kids were up at silly o'clock, it's just so noisy

I will never do this again, I'd rather stay at home where it's clean and I can turn over in bed

Your last remark about being able to turn over in bed really brought back memories OP. I always measure the single beds in caravans. 24" was the worst, who the hell can sleep on that?

I think those single beds are designed for small children to sleep in. We never use them.

You get good caravan parks and bad ones. Most of my childhood holidays were spent on caravan parks and we never had a problem but I have heard some right horror stories from other places. Do you read reviews on the park before booking?

Yes I read the very mixed reviews

I never thought I'd say that the travelodge is the height of luxury but I can't wait to get there tomorrow and scrub this place off my skin

Even my teen can't stand the smell

That made me cackle, and

I'd rather stay at home where it's clean and I can turn over in bed

Left me helpless with laughter!

Sorry OP! I do get how awful it must be - but you clearly have a great sense of humour!

This holiday will become family lore down the years. Better luck with the next one!

have you complained about the caravan and asked to be moved to another ? don't wish to sound rude but that is the logical thing to do as soon as you realise there is a problem, i.e arriving at the van rather than putting up with it because it's a cheap holiday 'and you get what you pay for' thinking. it should be fit for purpose and your comfort. this is neither.
complain and ask for a partial refund / new caravan.

I have complained, they couldn't see anything wrong with the cleaning, but that's because I cleaned it
They put some sort of ozone thing in here yesterday but the smell is still the same

She asked me when I'd be back at the caravan, I replied 'I'm in the bar so when I've drunk enough for it to be bearable' 🤣

I’ve decided I’m too old (and fat) for caravan beds now. My hips and back thank me.

I'd recommend haven, never had a problem with cleanliness. Stayed at Weymouth bay, sea view and one at cleethorpes and one at mablethorpe.

We go to a Parkdean site twice a year usually (not my choice but MIL is stuck in her ways)

The key is booking a 2019/20 caravan. Only once have we had a stinking, dirty caravan and it was down to us opting to save £60 by getting an older caravan. It stunk of smoke and dirty dogs and it was supposedly a smoke and pet free caravan.
I got a strong cleaning spray and cleaned every surface from ceiling, walls and doors and I gave the sofa a Dettol damp cloth clean then a thorough vacuum.
It was sparkling and new by the time I'd done but it was a whole day wasted and not worth the £60 saving.

And not a chance would I have a single bed. It's the double for DH and I and the kids get the twin single rooms. If the double is taken, what about the usual sofa bed in the living room? Or are you at capacity?

MIL got a stinking van once and demanded to be moved. Parkdean put them in a very, very fancy owners caravan and presumably paid the difference. But MIL is a bit of a gobshite and she complains almost every year about something so I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't have a wee note against her name in their computer system.

We used to own out own static and that is the idyll, no one else gets to use it and when you return it is just as clean as when you left it. It was quite an exclusive site but still there were some issues with children running around between caravans at night making a noise. Realisitically anywhere I think security can only do so much.
After several years we sold up, but one weekend we fancied time away and so booked another one.
It is not good when you roll up at 5pm and see the security guard at the entrance swigging from a pint on the job.
The caravan was so dirty and seats so stained you could not sit down. It stank to high heaven of stale smoke, I do not even want to describe the bedding.
I marched off the the office and they offered me another one which was just as bad, proudly telling me you could have a dog in this one.
I had just paid to put my dog in kennels for the weekend.
We just came straight home, picked up a takeaway and the dog on the way. Nightmare in North Wales.

I mistakenly stayed at caravan park in camber sands one year...let my DH book up..NEVER AGAIN! Think it was park dene

We were at a parkdean resort recently and like yours it was disgusting and covered in dust. I had to disinfect the whole caravan and it was a good job dh decided to take our cordless dyson. We were put in an obscure spot at the back where we couldn’t get any phone reception and when we opened the windows, all the leaves would fly in.

We normally stay at haven and the caravans are so much nicer, more modern and definitely more cleaner.

If you ever do this type of holiday again OP I recommend booking a lodge instead, many of the parks have them They're bigger, have normal sized beds, quieter, more stable (I hate that caravans move in the wind), usually in nicer areas of the park and generally better all round. Also smaller parks are better in my experience.

Go along to main reception and ask to speak to the manager. We've been to Parkdene resorts a few times for a cheap weekend away with the DC and have never had a bad experience except for once when our caravan toilet was leaking. The first day we arrived they came straight out and repaired it but it must have been seeping into the flooring for a bit and it stank as it dried out. On the Saturday (day two of the break) they said they had no other vans available to move us to, still the case on the Sunday morning so I said we were going home a day early. They refunded us for the entire weekend.

Fabreze spray is your friend! Spray all the soft furnishings...it really does work.