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Original poster

Haven holiday - is this normal for a caravan park?

21 replies

spiralqueen · 08/10/2010 22:20

MIL treated us this week to a short break with them at a Haven holiday park. It was a 3 bed caravan but fairly basic one. It featured:

*Broken table (not replaced despite being reported)
*The toilet leaked.
*Mould on several blinds/curtains.
*Curtains coming off their hooks in places
*Crisp packets/sweet wrappers under beds/mats
*Torn wallpaper
*Ceilings starting to come down

The people in the next caravan had to spend their first day cleaning their caravan as the park wasn't interested and he was asthmatic. Poor cleaning standards seemed to be a common experience amongst people staying there. I know it is end of season and that there is likely to be some wear and tear but basic cleanliness and fixing some maintenance problems shouldn't be too much to expect should they?

I wondered whether this is what you should expect on this type of holiday or if we were just unlucky?

OP posts:
sparkle09 · 08/10/2010 23:29

i had a haven holiday last year and the caravan was fine,

but with alot of parks like this the caravans are not owned by the park, i think the park take some responsibility of the caravans but not all,

they will probably just pass the buck to the owners, sorry it was rubbish, there not all like it.

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 08/10/2010 23:35

But if you've booked through Haven, it's Haven's responsibility. They should instruct the site owners or the owners of the caravan to respond to any problems promptly.

That should not be acceptable. At all. Contact Haven and tell them.

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 08/10/2010 23:37

in fact, this year I booked with Hoseasons. It was a privately owned caravan. there was a minor problem with the cleaning, I told the site office and they sorted it quickly.

(site was blardy awful but that's another matter...)

Doodlez · 08/10/2010 23:37

I did a Haven holiday last year - it was grim! That said, the caravan itself was OK. I suspect, at this point in the season, the van has been trashed and maybe up for replacement (rolling stock).

When we went, my DS had his scooter nicked, there were dirty plasters floating in the pool x 3, a couple of fag butts floated before my eyes and a cockroach in the changing rooms, the tables in the restaurant were sticky as was the carpet.

My fave bit though, was the three year old little one who came to our caravan door and shouted in to me in a Scouse accent "'Ave yer got any more of them fookin' sweets left Missus?" [shock[blanch]

Feenie · 08/10/2010 23:40

I went on a Haven holiday this year - never, ever again. Soooo dirty (apartment) - had to buy loads of cleaning stuff to make it fit for anything. Sick left lying around even after reported repeatedly to cleaning staff - seagulls ate it in the end . Full of dog shit and fag ends - that's my over-riding memory.

Smalline · 08/10/2010 23:54

Can I ask you which site you went to Doodlez and spiralqueen so I can avoid themGrin. So far we've had 4 holidays with Haven and have had no complaints, our last one was at Seashore in September, we usually book the 'superior plus' caravans but had to down grade to 'comfort plus' this time as we took our dog with us, I must say I was pleasantly surprised, the caravan was lovelier than I thought it was going to be.

Feenie · 08/10/2010 23:58

And me! Twas Craig Tara in Scotland - complete hole. Made Butlins, Minehead seem like a palace. Staff in Craig Tara were soooo rude, aswell. Pool was good (great slides) but filthy dirty - ds slipped on two separate days on plasters, there was human poo in the family changing room and a woman next to me and 4 year old ds in the shower brought her dd in to wee Shock

Doodlez · 09/10/2010 00:22

Fleetwood.

Never again!

Bought our own caravan now, so problem solved Grin

usualsuspect · 09/10/2010 00:26

I've stayed in many a haven caravan..they have all been lovely

scouserabroad · 09/10/2010 14:48

Nowt wrong with a Scouse accent Doodlez Grin

Doodlez · 09/10/2010 14:52

Nothing wrong with it at all Scouser - it was the fact he was three and used those precise words which made me blanch but the scouse accent helps readers of my post to imagine it Grin

Original poster
spiralqueen · 09/10/2010 22:00

It was Devon Cliffs/Sandy Bay and it was a Haven owned caravan. The staff on site were completely uninterested and at the end of the stay there was just a bucket to put your keys in - the staff clearly were anticipating complaints and steering clear.

We didn't go near the pool as we thought the hygiene standards might have been as bad as in the caravan and from Feenie and Doodlez experiences that was probably a wise decision.

OP posts:
GypsyMoth · 09/10/2010 22:04

Mablethorpe has been fine 7 years running!!

MrCjlB · 10/10/2010 02:59

Living in Exmouth and seeing and experiencing some of those that holiday at Sandy Bay, it is obvious they have little regard for the property of others, and this obviously has an effect on the upkeep of the caravans. I should stress that is only some of the holidaymakers we get in Exmouth, though it sounds as though the OP suffered because of the minority. This summer featured an arson attack on a caravan and adjacent car.

Bumperlicious · 10/10/2010 04:10

Having worked for haven for 2 years I can safely say i would never holiday on one of their sites!

HowsTheSerenity · 10/10/2010 07:58

Spiral - we stayed there and it was somewhat shabby. I thought we would all get cholera from the pool. We spent most of out time on the beach.

Ineedsomesleep · 10/10/2010 08:05

No they're not all like that. I've never stayed with Haven and also never had to put up with the shabbiness and lack of cleanliness you describe.

I'm asthmatic too and the mould would have probably finished me off!

mckenzie · 10/10/2010 08:15

We went to a Haven site a few years ago - we left after two days. Everything about it was awful, from the state of the caravan to the state of the toilets in the club house to the attitude of the staff. I can't remember the site name as I have deliberately erased it from my memory.

asdx2 · 10/10/2010 08:30

Cayton Bay, Blue Dolphin and Reighton Sands have always been good each time we have been.

battyburpthebarbaric · 10/10/2010 09:00

Stayed in Craig Tara a couple of years ago.

Never never ever again would I go near. Catalogue of issues with state of apartment. Filthy. Smelly. Not enough cutlery/crockery for 6 people (was supposed to sleep 8). We complained for a week and it never got sorted.

For the record, I also go hit hard in the face with a football, so much so that it knocked me over backwards, and I thumped my head off the pavement.

I had to have dental work done on my tooth and security refused to go and speak to the kids who were running riot as it would only inflame the situation.

And despite complaining at the desk, ringing and writing a stinker of a letter I never got a reply.

and yet they still email me with their special offers.

Despite me emailing back to say stop (like it tells you to) and ringing them one day in tears (I'd just come from the dentist) to say please do not email me again take my email addy off your list.

TotalChaos · 10/10/2010 09:08

we went to Devon Cliffs last year in June and I thought it was very nice Blush(well apart from the wonky toilet seat). I find that the basic caravans are a bit grottier than a travelodge room. And I steer clear of the on-site entertainments and venues as far as possible - the amusement arcade bit tends to be pretty grim and noisy. I have heard from other people that Butlins Minehead is v nice compared to Haven.

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