In a Haven holiday... hell

[Mandybrighton]

Urgh. I am currently in a Haven Park about a hour away from home with my two boys and never thought I would actually crave to go home!

We stayed at this park in the summer and enjoyed it so much I decided to bring us back for the October half term. This time I booked a ‘ luxury lodge’ and it’s cost just under £800 😫.

For this price I was expecting something extra nice. However it’s basically just a jumbo sized caravan with the same furniture and fixtures that the previous ‘ deluxe’ caravan had. The only difference is 2 showers instead of one, a larger dining table and a larger outside area. Okay fair enough it didn’t live up to the expectation I thought on checking in but it gets worse...

When we arrived at the check in time they advertise I drove round to find repairs still
Being carried out to the ‘ lodge’. Okay not great as with two kids and just me I didn’t feel comfortable to start unloading everything in so they delayed us.

Upon placing things in their rooms and kitchen and so on I notice the cookware is thick in the previous people’s food and greasy. Then I see there’s a pubic hair in one of the showers. Then o walk into the bedroom to see BLOOD smeared on the wall by one of the beds... I called reception and explained. A cleaner turns up and removes the blood, and exchanges the manky cookware for clean ones.

Then the accomadation ‘ manager ‘ comes in all smiley and very dismissive saying to me well we aren’t responsible for the previous people staying and my cleaner said it was a bogey. I told him I had taken photos and it wasn’t a bogey. I explained this is supposed to be ‘ luxury’ and it’s not. He apologised but said ‘ well we got it sorted for you very quickly ‘ with a cheesy grin and a couldn’t give a toss attitude... I said you wouldn’t expect these standards and how could a cleaner miss it !?? That it made me feel sick and for the price I paid .. it was a let down.

When he left I emailed head office and sent them some photos. I said in the email I hoped to find nothing else but going to bed last night I went to pull back my duvet to feel something crusty and old ( looked like food ) on the corner of the duvet...

Also when I moved one of the smaller beds to Male way for my son’s travel cot again noticed stains on the sheets. If I don’t sleep like this at home why on earth have I paid £800 just under for this experience...

I’m
Gutted ... they don’t care with the well we fixed it attitude.. I’m planning to go home early. What I didn’t know and what he never told me is that Haven do have a gurantee that if your not happy with your standard of place you can go home the same day and recurve a refund. Well I didn’t know that and we have stayed now..

Some things I have found after the Intital email to head office. Shall I email again with the other things ? I just feel dirty in here and I expected way better. No where that I have ever stayed in had had someone’s blood there for us to walk into too..

😖😖😖😖🙂

Had an experience from hell here at Devon cliffs Haven,
Puddle of pee on the rug when we went in, dirty y fronts under the bed, a bag with a mouldy loaf of bread in the wardrobe ,dingy grubby bed linen, filthy kitchen , pans, plates and cutlery, pool dirty and lockers cost a pound every time you wanted to open them, the week cost us £1000 and we left after two days, no refund or even acknowledgment from Haven, never again!!

Persistance here is key. And "it's not good enough please can you give me a copy of your complaints procedure/can i have the address of head office please/is there someone here higher than u i can speak to?"

I'm in Greenacres in Wales right now. Our caravan is clean and everything was ok (it's a mid-range one). We came at Easter too and had a top range one, which was obviously nicer, but the one we are in is fine - it is clean, which is the main thing.

The site is clean overall and the pool area too, generally. The only thing which is minging is the changing room floor of the pool - but that is the public's fault. They have a big sign asking you to remove shoes before entering the actual changing part and clearly no one does, because it's all dirty and muddy. Other than that though, it has been fine so far.

Maybe we are just lucky?

These places can be minging

I once found a pair of shit encrusted pants under the mattress ds had been sleeping on all week Unfortunately it was as we were leaving but we raised merry hell at HO and they gave us a free week at another centre. All good you'd have thought but I came home from that with the chest infection from hell

Saw a rat blatantly crossing the roadway in broad daylight at another centre. Reception tried to persuade me it was a water vole

Pursue it, OP but do it before you leave and make sure you have a record to back you up.

When you get home, write again to their Head Office, enclose photos and a detailed list of what was wrong and the poor response from their custoner service locally. Ask for a partial refund (50%?).

If they don't agree, write again and mention that you will be posting all the details on Trip Advisor if they don't respond positively. If they still don't send you a cheque and apology, then do post the details. (You could also post the details after you've cashed the cheque)

The worst place I've stayed was John Fowler Holiday Park in St Ives. The chalet smelt of cat pee. The swimming pool was in a windowless barn. The entertainment was appalling.

Mind you that was about 15 years ago, I'm not sure John Fowler (you can't get fouler) is still going.

I should say though, my 4 DC (aged between 7 and 13 at the time) absolutely loved it and still talk fondly of our Cornish holiday. I think it was more the beaches and the waves and leaning to surf that bowled them over than Cat Pee Towers though.

This year we went to Butlins Bognor paid well over £1000 and spent £1200 in spending money down there. The best thing we loved was the beach as the weather was hot. The entertainment was shit we didn't realise they had 3 year contracts so we watched the exact same shows we'd watched the year before.
The food was dire
The whole place felt run down and shit just grimy and mucky
Hardly see any redcoats at all it was such a shame it really was. Everything was focused on money. This year coming I think we will go abroad 

We have been to Haven twice and its been lovely. However we spent less than £150 for 3 nights both times, and both times got a free upgrade. I honestly don't know why anyone would pay full price in the school holidays to stay in a caravan.

Oh, Lord.

John Fowler. Had deliberately buried nearly forgotten that particular circle of hell. Infestation of flies in the caravan, brown and intermittent water, smoke filled evening entertainment and a year later a 'luxury' woodland chalet that we just could not de-stench even with all the windows open for a week

We really did drag the depths of the barrel when the dc were small and caravan holidays were all we could afford.

I come from a country where caravan holidays are not a thing so I fail to see the appeal. Every single time my husband convinced me to go to a caravan site (3 times, won’t happen again), I lived to regret it. I find them shabby, small and overall don’t consider a holiday good if the accommodation’s standards are lower than my own home.
During one of these ill-adviced holidays, we went to a Haven site in Kent and even my 4 year old thought the tin can we were assigned was too small - it wasn’t that dirty I must say, but it was privately owned which, as someone mentioned, makes a difference.
I’d leave and try and get a refund, especially since it’s only you and what, I’m assuming, are very young children.

Seems to be the most common complaint about these kind of places, dirt. Never had any big problems ourselves but we don't go during school holidays. I'm betting like a pp suggested, they don't bother getting any more cleaners for the increased demand - and evidently the 'premium' accomodation doesn't get any extra attention either.

Just ‘reminiscing’ today about a Haven holiday we took (Weymouth). This was a few years ago and cost us £1000 for a week in June (outside the school hols). Supposed to have been top of the range (platinum I think). Absolutely disgusting inside (mud up the walls etc) and sold as being in a prime location but it was overlooking a broken down garage in a really crap area. Refused to stay in it so we were put in a lower grade, privately-owned caravan (which was clean and had a view of the sea, although so close to the van next door you could practically see the inhabitants’ eye colour!). We did get a small refund of the difference in price. Overriding memories of staggering drunks shouting at the top of their voices outside our van at 2am. Never used the pool as it was so tiny and packed to the rafters. We would never ever do a Haven hol again. Currently staying on a small farm in an immaculate caravan with lovely countryside views.

Well if I was ever going to book a haven holiday I certainly wouldn't now!! £800 for a shitty caravan and previous poster £2200 for a fortnight in a caravan - I am flabbergasted at these prices! As for the cleanliness well obviously the cleaning is v poor bit how minging are the previous guests??? Mid go for a privately owned caravan or self catering cottage next time op

I once found a pair of shit encrusted pants under the mattress ds had been sleeping on all week

🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

My friend has just come back from one of the Haven sights on weekend. 4 of them have broken out in a rash. Dr confirmed today it's bed bug bites. She contacted the sight & they weren't bothered.
I told her to find out email address of CEO & email them with pics & strongly worded email. I hope you get a response x

£2,220 for a caravan.
With the greatest respect. Do you need your bumps feeling.

We use Parkdean . Looe Bay in Cornwall. Absolutely beautiful. We have had a few minor problems in the past but Reception have always been straight on it. Absolutely recommend above Haven any day in customer care

Only been once and that was Seton sands and it was fine seams most of these complaint s are from ones south of the border

I know these caravans should be cleaned properly but surely people should be leaving them as they would wish to find them. It must be a horrible and demoralising job cleaning up after these disgusting guests so frequently.
In defense of Center Parcs executive lodges: I always book one when I go with friends as they have en-suite bathrooms, TVs in all bedrooms, daily maid service and Wi-fi, as well as the other benefits mentioned, and they are always spotless (I’m lucky not to be tied to school holidays though when the prices are ridiculous).

Just got back from Bulgaria brilliant hotel £400 AIl inclusive including flights PP

That was for 7 nights, posted too early

If you don’t get anywhere with them then try contacting the BBC tv show called Rip off Britain, theyvtake on cases like this.

Tell reception before you leave why you're leaving.

We have recently been to a haven park for a long weekend. We were upgraded for free and our static was amazing. Clean and tidy! However the entertainment on site was rubbish and the food and drink prices were very high. We only slept there and spent all our time off site.

Glad you’re leaving op! Grim.

We had a bad experience with one of these places (not Haven though). We arrived at our luxury lodge and found it was a teeny, shit caravan. I asked to upgrade and would have laid the difference but they couldn’t as they were fully booked. We left immediately and got a full refund. Like you, I just thought, why am I laying through the nose to stay somewhere much worse than my own home? We’re going away again in a few weeks and have been a lot choosier with our accommodation. No more holiday camps for us. Total waste of money.