AIBU?
To warn people not to book with a certain well known caravan park in Devon
dontbookit · 06/10/2022 20:45
I'm not the kind of person that would normally write something like this. I completely understand that I will get some commenters saying I shouldn't post this. However if I can stop people making the same mistakes we did then I really want to warn people about it. I haven't named the company exactly but can say it is a very well known caravan company who may or may not start with 'ha*', and the one we visited was in Devon. If anybody wants more details I can happily pm you.
We have had holidays at this park many times. I've been visiting for many years, not just since I've had my own kids but for years before that with family members and their children. Never had issues.
We went in the summer holidays just gone, although it had been booked for about11 months before that. We did get an email after Christmas to say that they had put their prices up, so where we had booked a platinum caravan it would now only be the same as a bronze. However, in their defence they did say they would honour our caravan type because we had already booked and paid.
I rang a week in advance to check that we still had the type of caravan we were promised and this was confirmed. I then got assigned a caravan the day before arrival and it was a bronze. I spent an hour or so on the phone trying to sort it out, they were very helpful on the phone and changed it for us.
When we arrived the caravan was absolutely beautiful, we were really impressed. The issues started from that evening. We went to dinner with the other group we were on holiday with. At least half of the menu was unavailable (obviously not saying this is their fault as I know there are supply issues at the moment) but we eventually managed to order what everybody wanted. Service wasn't great considering it wasn't very busy. After waiting 40 mins for drink and 55 mins for food , we realised most of it was cold. Me and my husband had ordered the chicken Caesar salad, but when we started eating we realised we had actually been given the French dressing instead of Caesar. Again not a big issue but the fact that we weren't told could have been a worry if one of us had an allergy.
Second issue was when we went swimming the next day, the pool was literally full with hundreds of dead flying ants. We got the kids out of the pool (most people had jumped out by this point) and were told it was an issue they have every day because of the drains. The poor lifeguards were being tasked with walking round the pool with tiny nets trying to catch them all constantly.
Third issue, we went to the sea front cafe on site for lunch the next day. Me and my husband shared the seafood platter which at the time was lovely. Then after a few hours of being back in the caravan we were both violently sick, couldn't get off the toilet, hot sweats.. the works. Called 111 as I felt so poorly. They said it sounded like food poisoning so to keep drinking lots of fluids and if we didn't feel better to contact them again and they would get us seen asap. Luckily it only lasted about 24 hours otherwise we would have had to have come home and missed the rest of the holiday which wouldn't have been fair on the kids.
Have tried to raise this all with them but they have got their head office team to 'investigate' and as predicted have denied all knowledge of everything.
I just think for the prices they are now charging people should be aware of what they are booking. I never thought I wouldn't return there but now I would never book with them again. For approx £1000 for 4 days I can not justify the price for such a low quality anymore. Especially because we can only afford to do this type of holiday every so often. I hope this just makes people double check reviews etc and hopefully book with one of the other companies who seem less well known but have much better reviews.
AriettyHomily · 07/10/2022 08:07
alwayscrashinginthesamecar1 · 07/10/2022 07:15
Ok, I'm not in the Uk, but is it really a thousand quid for four nights in a caravan park? Is that normal these days?
Yep in summer. Insane. I paid £1200 for a week last august. Haven in Weymouth, it was great.
basilmint · 07/10/2022 08:10
I think they seem extortionate expensive and not my cup of tea but I think that price increases are inevitable across the leisure and hospitality industry. These industries were absolutely dependent on employment through immigration. There us now a labour shortage in these areas (hence the poor service). Places like Haven will have to pay more for staff. This might be a good thing but it does mean prices will go up. I'm not sure whether businesses that relied on the "cheap and cheerful" model will be able to survive increased costs, be that Haven, Wetherspoons, Harvester etc. If you felt like you were getting a bargain you might be prepared to suck up the experiences in the OP. If you pay a lot of money and still get a budget experience, customers are unlikely to return.
RosesAndHellebores · 07/10/2022 08:10
You can book a really nice cottage in the UK to sleep 4 or 6 for a shade over £1000 in the school holidays. Possibly not Devon/Cornwall. Surely a house with a garden in a pretty location has to be better than caravan site. Admittedly there won't be a pool, but there'll be a leisure centre nearby.
What is the difference between a bronze and platinum caravan? I am intrigued. Is it something like the star system?
Skinnermarink · 07/10/2022 08:14
basilmint · 07/10/2022 08:10
I think they seem extortionate expensive and not my cup of tea but I think that price increases are inevitable across the leisure and hospitality industry. These industries were absolutely dependent on employment through immigration. There us now a labour shortage in these areas (hence the poor service). Places like Haven will have to pay more for staff. This might be a good thing but it does mean prices will go up. I'm not sure whether businesses that relied on the "cheap and cheerful" model will be able to survive increased costs, be that Haven, Wetherspoons, Harvester etc. If you felt like you were getting a bargain you might be prepared to suck up the experiences in the OP. If you pay a lot of money and still get a budget experience, customers are unlikely to return.
This is a good point. Wetherspoons is on its way out around here, it’s getting sold off in droves. Our three nearest have all shut in the last year.
ittakes2 · 07/10/2022 08:17
This is what TripAdvisor is for better to leave your review there. I am sorry it does sound like you are trying to get back at them. While granted you clearly did not enjoy your stay which I am sorry to hear I thought this was going to be a massive health and safety warning.
Ladylalaboo1 · 07/10/2022 08:21
Ludwig1 · 07/10/2022 07:23
Oh crap. Booked to go to perran sands in a few weeks. Although it was dirt cheap!
Oh no! I feel terrible now! Just be cautious with the swimming pool, always the chance it wasn't from there and it was a different bug 🤷🏻♀️ the actual caravan we had was lovely and the site entertainment and arcades were great so I'm sure you will still have a great time, I do like haven and I wouldn't write them off completely even after my experience- wouldn't return to that site but that's just our experience and also we live in the north so it's a long way for us to go anyway! I would just bare in mind if you did have a complaint probably won't hear much regarding it!!
Brealinr · 07/10/2022 08:28
sparepantsandtoothbrush · 07/10/2022 07:40
Are people's expectations really this low these days? OK it's not a horror story but it's still pretty bad isn't it!
Tuilpmouse · 07/10/2022 06:52
I clicked on this expecting to hear some real horror stories, but although what happened wasn't great, I think your reaction here is a bit extreme.
sparepantsandtoothbrush - exactly my thoughts reading some of the responses to the OP! How can people think spending your hard earned £1000 justify a company providing such a poor experience?!
Calmdown14 · 07/10/2022 08:31
I've never paid more than £40 a night which for four with swimming and other entertainment I really don't think is bad.
£275 for the week (week after next which is our school hols).
I personally can't justify the extra cost for a fancier caravan as we are happy in the basic.
The prices are a bit more next year but with gas and electric included not entirely surprising.
In the same way as all holidays you have to shop around. There are some real bargains at their sites and some eye watering prices.
whenwillthemadnessend · 07/10/2022 08:40
I'd imagine a lot of it is staff shortage
Not enough to do a decent thorough job
Using young staff who don't care and can move on easily
Not training said young staff adequately
Not blaming the staff btw but management are not running the. Place well
At my dds work they are desperate
16 yos running the bar while the manager sits out back.
No real training just an online course
Dd is 16 and I've told her if she wants to just Move on. Hospitality Jobs are plentiful in my area at the moment
SmithyTheBounder · 07/10/2022 08:44
I can't believe that people seriously pay £1k to stay in a caravan. I'd rather stay at home and go for some nice days out with the children.
I would also think that anyone who eats seafood is knowingly taking the food poisoning risk on board, whether they eat it at a caravan park or at the Ritz.
Brexit and Covid are the twin reasons why hospitality is struggling to find staff, so that's not Haven's fault.
I'm sorry you had a rubbish holiday, though.
JocelynBurnell · 07/10/2022 08:57
Seafood poising is common during the summer months, particularly in Devon as areas of Devon are amongst the worst in the country for sewage contamination. The River Teign is especially bad.
Shellfish-borne illness is caused by the group of viruses known as noroviruses. Norovirus is an extremely common infection as shellfish are exposed to noroviruses when human sewage enters their growing areas.
The exceptionally hot summer made a bad situation even worse this year.
JocelynBurnell · 07/10/2022 08:59
Seafood poising is common during the summer months, particularly in Devon as areas of Devon are amongst the worst in the country for sewage contamination. The River Teign is especially bad.
Shellfish-borne illness is caused by the group of viruses known as noroviruses. Norovirus is an extremely common infection as shellfish are exposed to noroviruses when human sewage enters their growing areas.
The exceptionally hot summer made a bad situation even worse this year.
OhmygodDont · 07/10/2022 09:04
The only haven I go to is Quay West.
You do have to watch out around Devon and that in summer for the sewage opening into the sea it was all over the papers again this year and obviously can lead to people getting ill.
Id expect them to close the pool to fix the issue that sounds gross and they shouldn’t of subbed your food without checking first.
Laiste · 07/10/2022 09:07
So the up and down of all that is
- slow service and suspected sea food poisoning at the restaurant
- flying ants in the swimming pool.
''I knew they would never accept liability for the food poisoning. .... I understand this is impossible to prove without a stool sample.''
''To be honest I'm just so disappointed with their reply to our complaint. We weren't looking for any of our money back (apart from the cost of the meal that made us so poorly) but the refused to even apologise for any of the other issues. They just said they accept no responsibility for any of it.''
So you understand that they wont/cant accept responsibility (ie: apologise) for unproven food poisoning, but were disappointed they didn't. And you wanted an apology for .... how did you word it? Flying ants in the water?
Flying ants are a once a year natural event. Blocked drains are a separate issue. Did you ask for an apology about the blocked drains?
I don't mean to be mean, but this is a bit OTT to be warning people off ever booking a caravan here.
Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 07/10/2022 09:10
Skinnermarink · 07/10/2022 08:01
Are you this nasty in real life?
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She’s protein starved. It does baaad things to your temper.
Hymnulop · 07/10/2022 09:15
NCFT0922 · 07/10/2022 07:34
@Hymnulop how long were you there for? Were you really just going to eat papa johns & fish and chips for the duration of your holiday?
Judgey much? Only 4 nights and we planned a combination of the restaurant which sells a massive range like a beefeater even salad!! And fish and chips and papa johns. For 4 nights I don't think this is odd. You must be one of those mumsnet chicken people.
Mentalpiece · 07/10/2022 09:19
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You need to calm down before your brain goes bang.
Such vitriol won't do your blood pressure any good you know.
I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with both the holiday and the customer service op, it sounds terrible.
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