Parkdean Holidays, Torquay Holiday Park Review

“Where do I start?! I recently returned from a 4 night...”

Written on: 15/08/2010

Where do I start?! I recently returned from a 4 night stay with my partner and 5 1/2 year old, at the Parkdean Torquay Holiday Park. What a total hole! On arrival the staff were friendly, but after that it completely went downhill. We eventually found our "extra wide" caravan in Vixen Tor, which was right at the bottom of the park. To get to the car park such as it was you have to go down a very steep hill, then the car park if you can call it that was very difficult to get in and out of. The spaces are very narrow and there is nowhere to turn your car at all. At one point we actually had to back our car all the way up the hill which is very steep.....not great if you meet another vehicle coming in the other direction. The caravan at first glance looked ok, but on closer inspection, bearing in mind how much we had actually paid to hire it, was very disappointing. The TV didn't work very well, it just made a loud buzzing noise, the gadget for the TV didn't work properly, and the gadget for the DVD player didn't work at all. We couldn't stop the tap running in the kitchen, our double bedroom was to say the least pokey (not good for my partner who is 6ft!), and my sons room had 2 very tiny beds, and every room was damp. My sons was the worst, and would have been a nightmare for someone with a chest complaint! The lounge was serviceable, but again very very damp, (the curtains stuck to the windows and the seats always felt cold, horrible!) The gas fire was a must, but there was no fire guard so it was rather dangerous. The shower/WC was ok, but the shower itself stank of I don't know what (we dreaded having to go in there).....Parkdean say that they are very aware of security at the park, but our caravan had no security features, just flimsy stays to open the windows, so if anyone had wanted to get it they could have done, no problem. Storage space was of a bare minimum, but you didn't dare put anything on the floor because of the slugs! UGH! There are 2 entrances on the caravan, one with 3 steps and a rusty barrier, and one with 2 steps and no barrier. Scary! In our opinion, we wish we had gone somewhere else.....this was our last big holiday for a while as I am expecting twins, but what a disappointment! We will never ever go back! Having said that the breakfasts were very good.....although we weren't too keen on the wasp nest in the opposite the Patio Bar