Have you ever left a holiday early?

[LudoBear]

We were booked into a caravan in Cornwall for 7 nights but came home after 3 nights as the caravan was dreadful at the site owners (independent place, not a company like Parkdean) wouldn't move us as they disagreed anything was wrong. The mattresses were about 1 inch thick and you could feel the frame underneath, the window in the lounge didn't shut properly and let the cold air in (it was October), the shower didn't get hot and at best was tepid, toilet didn't flush properly, the carpets were absolutely filthy.

Came home on day 5 of a 2 week holiday in Orlando due to my uncle being in a serious car accident and we didn't think he'd survive (he did).

Yep we left Cornwall 4 days into a 7 night stay in July one year as it was so miserable, wet and cold; the traffic was horrific; and half the beaches were covered in jellyfish. I don’t think anybody could make me go back ever.

if I ever feel short changed by a holiday, I read trip advisor reviews for Pontins in Camber Sands and realise it could be worse.

Chuckled at this .

Me too, I hated it. Came home early from Kiln Park (2006 this was) it was horrible, I will never go on a caravan holiday again either

Tenby and Kiln Park were a fabulous holiday way way back. My mum used to take all of my children for a week and my kids still talk about the holiday 30 years later.

Once. Nice B and B woth family suite. Thought we would treat ourselves.

On way received a text message saying they'd had a problem so no checking until 7pm! Unhappy but had a lovely walk then found a pub for dinner.

Arrived to discover "family suite" was one room with smallish double bed a pull out sofa and only just enough space for DSs travel cot. There was no shower and taps on bath did not work. The "suite" bit was shared use of lounge downstairs!!! The whole place was full of ornaments and knick knacks... Great fun with a grabby 2 year old. Ut was as if photos and description were of a different place altogether.

Then DS was sick followed by Dp and dd.. they all vomited what felt like all night and I cleaned up after them. Finally they all fell asleep and I cleaned up as best I could and had what was actually an incredibly good breakfast.

Then we somehow made it home where ds and dp continued to be sick for 3 days.

I called environmental health who went out and closed the pub down until they'd cleaned it all up ( the man in the phone advised legal action!!)

It was meant to be 3 nights.

Came home early from a "traveling" type trip as DH decided to go out on a very hot day with no sun protection on, and got severe sunburn.

Camping anywhere is hell on earth.
Tried it twice and it isn't for me at all.
Caravans I just about tolerated.
Stayed in some shitty hotels and holiday camps too in the past. You do get what you pay for!
Going home is the best bit of a holiday .. 😂

Never
I spend a ridiculous amour researching holidays
And a small fortune
Never book less than 5 star
Never take a risk

I also research very carefully and enjoy really good holidays but no amount of research or money could have forewarned us about the all pervading odour of dampness throughout a very expensive hotel/island in the Seychelles. It was what it was - Just one of those things due to the climate.

Given that even very expensive and well researched holidays can throw up the unexpected my rule of thumb for a holiday is don’t go if you can’t afford to leave there and then if you don’t like it, or you would regret walking away on a financial level because you’ve paid a lot for the holiday.

We didn’t leave early but should have due to ghosts.

Stayed in apartment in old dilapidated French chateau. Very creepy feel quite basic. Owner the duke showed us this weird church / barn next door. Every night there was loud banging and crashing in the kitchen but when you went down - nothing. Then one night I heard fingernails scraping down the outside of our first floor bedroom window. But when I looked nothing there. Dh played it down but as we drove away even he admitted there was no explanation and it was all bloody weird!

@WithLoveFromMyselfToYourself

Camping in a tent. More than once. We weren’t the only ones; one time, the site looked like a bomb site after a rough night on a cliff top site, with the bins full of mangled tents. We had the DC with us including very disabled DD2 and my bulldog. I spent most of the night bracing against the bowing tent poles; the apex of thereby was inches from the groundsheet at times. Holiday my arse!

Norfolk? We've had the same thing there a couple weeks c times.

I once booked more nights than needed and had a flight back. I just left midday on the day of the flight, claiming a reason to leave early.

I am intrigued that Pontins Camber Sands has 2655 terrible reviews yet it is still open.

@SpiderinaWingMirror

I am intrigued that Pontins Camber Sands has 2655 terrible reviews yet it is still open.

I spent ages reading the reviews last night. Really strange that in the middle there's four or five good reviews but everyone else said it was awful. Looks like Maplins.

@Anne1958

*Never I spend a ridiculous amour researching holidays And a small fortune Never book less than 5 star Never take a risk*

I also research very carefully and enjoy really good holidays but no amount of research or money could have forewarned us about the all pervading odour of dampness throughout a very expensive hotel/island in the Seychelles. It was what it was - Just one of those things due to the climate.

Given that even very expensive and well researched holidays can throw up the unexpected my rule of thumb for a holiday is don’t go if you can’t afford to leave there and then if you don’t like it, or you would regret walking away on a financial level because you’ve paid a lot for the holiday.

I agree you can do everything possible before you go but literally anything could happen once you're there however much you spend or research.

@SpiderinaWingMirror

I am intrigued that Pontins Camber Sands has 2655 terrible reviews yet it is still open.

I've been there for a fitness weekend with my gym. It was an absolute hellhole although we did have a great time. Honestly disgusting and the seagulls on the corrugated roofs were so noisy that sleep was impossible. Also the carpets 🤢

Only once, because someone we were with got very ill and we were sharing transport

I'm sorry you've all experienced awful holidays!

Used to go camping 2 or 3 times a year, every year for the first 25 years of my life. Only ever had one bad experience where it poured down the entire time which hadn't been forecast (we always booked last minute when we could see the week ahead forcast) and the site owners had 4 dogs who were allowd to roam around the site freely, including into people's tents... we got back one afternoon to find a soaking wet dog asleep on my sleeping bag. It had forced its way in somehow.

For the last 8 years we have gone in caravans through the Sun promotions. We could never afford to go without them.

I must be made of strong stuff. I had a quite enjoyable holiday at Pontins Southport some years ago . We survived a week of rain in a caravan in Keswick . On our first try camping we forgot pillows and air beds and it was uncomfortable but we stuck it out. Worst experience was an allocation on arrival holiday when we were taken to a Twenty’s hotel in Aya Napa ( I was about 45 at the time) it was a complete **hole and I felt so sorry for the kids who had paid a lot of money to stay there. Overpriced drinks, filthy pool, cockroaches and broken furniture. It featured on one of those holidays from hell programmes a few years ago !

We left a campsite near Cognac early because the weather was cool for late August and the dc were bored as nothing much to do if not outside.
My dh went for a shower in the morning and when he returned said 'let's pack the car and drive to Disney land. '
We booked a hotel just outside Paris and all of us used the bath, Bliss!
We went to Disney land next day and Versailles the day after.
And it was really hot in Northern France
Our now adult dc remember it as the holiday when dad was spontaneous!

I can't believe there's anyone left in the UK who don't know that Pontins is a filthy hole. How have they not been shut down?

We went to a well known non chain holiday park with great reviews, in the New Forest. It rained every day (not their fault, obvs). The "luxury" caravan stank of cigarettes and wet dog. All the restaurants were packed out with people queuing to get in and leaning on your shoulder as you ate, their coats dripping onto your table. The indoor swimming pool was green.

All our kids got a vomiting bug, one after the other. As I cleaned up the puddle of sick, the cleaning cloth was covered in black grime and hair. The floor then became one shade lighter due to my cleaning it.

Packed up and left after realising it was never going to get better. Arrived home just in time for my stomach bug to kick in, but at least I got to throw up in my own clean toilet.

Yes, twice, both quite a while ago now. Both were cottages, one near Chester and the other near Llandudno. This was in the time before the online holiday property directories. We booked them out of brochures, so detail/pictures were limited. Both were hideously old fashioned cottages where doors didn't close, full of "personal" stuff like a display cabinet full of bric a brac, mismatched cutlery/crockery, personal photos of the owners' family, everything smelled musty, personal stuff left in drawers, etc. We're pretty sure that they were both left in pretty much the same condition as, we assume, whoever lived (and probably died) there. Both times, we left after probably half way through the booked stay.

It's good that we now have the online directories where proper details and lots of pictures are the norm so you can really see what you're booking, and of course, even better there are review/rating systems. Whenever we look for holiday homes now, we automatically reject any on the directories that don't have lots of pictures and don't have full detailed descriptions as that's a big red flag. We need to know exactly what we're getting these days.

Cape Verde, we would of come home early given the chance but there’s only 1 plane a week so we were stuck. Worst holiday destination ever, I don’t know why anybody would enjoy it! Dreadful expensive food, full of poverty, nothing todo apart from bloody fish!

Ex dp managed to rent a private apartment from a work acquaintance in an upmarket french ski resort.
As we drove there in our rented car the road up the mountain was blocked with snow and there was a serious avalanche risk, didn't help that we hadn't got any snow chains . Whole mountain was shut and everyone arriving was accommodated in the church hall for the night. DS1 was only 2 at the time so they took pity on us and moved us to the local council creche.
Once the road was cleared, we drove up and the apartment was lovely, spacious, clean and really well equipped, right overlooking the main village square.
After 2 days ds came down with the lurgy, temp 39.7, very listless , unwell. Ex dp was stuck boarding on his own as obviously we couldn't put ds in the ski creche. Ended up forking out for 2 return flights back to the uk 4 days early....

I am loving this thread.

Lovely two week holiday in a relaxing gite in rural France on the last night we were disturbed by the music festival taking place approx 5 miles away. At 2:30am a quick check online informed me that I would be listening to Poisoned Mushroom until approx 4am. They must also have stirred up the local mozzie population as after two weeks there and only the odd bite, we were eaten alive that night.

The following year we went the same two weeks but left on the Friday much to the delight of the gite owner who was able to let the gite to someone attending the festival.

Oh god pontins is shockingly bad Southport especially. We went a few years ago dc very young . The apartment was filthy, I wanted to go home but dh talked me out of it . We were only there 3 nights and it was bank holiday . The dc were keen to stay the animals . We spent most of the time off camp and had a nice time but never again. Shudder still thinking about it .

In 2005 in Egypt Sharm El Sheikh during bombings. Hotel down road from ours got obliterated. Ours shook violently. Not the best holiday. Those poor people