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- Pontins, Southport
- vickstorey's review
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Picture courtesy of Andrew Lyons.
| Value for Money | 4.6/10  |
|---|---|
| Reviewer Rating | 4.5/10 |
| Overall Rating | 4.7/10  |
By vickstorey on 12th Sep 2007
| Value for money | 4/10 |
|---|---|
| Overall value | 3/10 |
 vickstorey's recommendation | |
Most of staff nice.
Entertainment good.
Apartments were dirty and smelly.
Our Pontins Southport holiday was booked for 10-14 September 2007 (4 nights). The 'classic' apartment was self catering and had 2 bedrooms.
Our party consisted of me, my husband and our two sons aged 2 and a half years, and 3 months old.
Prior to our holiday I had read some pretty bad reviews about the complex, which in part helped me to prepare myself for what was in store.
Check in was from 4pm, we arrived at 6pm to avoid any possible queues, as its not ideal to be hanging around with two little ones. Check in was very quick and efficient and the lady at the desk was very welcoming.
On arrival at our apartment we firstly had problems getting inside as the lock was stiff, and we thought we had been given the wrong keys. Once we managed to get inside there was a distinct musty smell which stayed with us for the duration of our stay.
The main problem is that the apartments, and indeed the complex as a whole, is in desperate need of refurbishment. The carpets were stained and smelly, the beds were rickety, the window frames had mildew all round them, and the sofa bed was that minging that I didn't even want to sit on it. Almost everything in the room was faulty to some degree (unfinished windowsills, skirting boards missing, plughole chain broken etc etc etc).
The kitchen was probably the best thing about the apartment, although again it was in need of refurbishment it was for the main part clean and well equipped. Equipment included sink and drainer, cooker, kettle, cutlery, crockery, bin, tin opener and refrigerator (with small freezer section).
The linen was clean, although the musty smell in the apartment was that overwhelming that I didn't feel that the beds were clean. As a result I barely slept for the two nights that we stayed there.
The main issue for us was with having a young baby, we are used to lying him down on the floor to have a kick, but here we couldn't do that, and I felt constantly unclean. We had brought some Milton antibacterial spray and some air freshener and would advise anyone who has booked a holiday here to do the same, although it didn't really help much. I guess it depends on your standards of cleanliness but I would hazard a guess that these apartments would not meet most peoples standards.
The entertainment was fine, and we could tell most of the staff tried really hard ( there were a couple of exceptions for example a member of staff at the Queen Vic who avoided serving me for about five minutes even though he was stood round doing nothing and knew full well I was waiting - he also told me I couldn't have a tropical flavoured fruit shoot as there wasn't any - I pointed out there were loads in the fridge further along the bar, to which he said I couldn't have those ones as I was ordering food! Didn't really understand this .), it just seems that the whole complex is in dire need of a makeover.
We left Pontins Wednesday lunchtime although only due to check out Friday morning we will not be returning and will not be recommending it to anyone else.
PS You have to pay for the electricity in your apartment - the lady on reception said to allow £1-2 per day for this and there are machines in reception for electricity cards - £1 coin gives one card, so make sure you have coins ready - unused cards can be refunded at the end of your stay just make sure you don't put them in your electricity meter.
PPS They don't provide any toilet rolls so make sure you take your own, good luck.
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vic mc on 13th Mar 2008