Cofton Country Holidays, Dawlish

Poor quality caravan

The "OTTER" caravan in which we both stayed, in June 2011, at Cofton Country Holidays, Starcross, Nr Dawlish, South Devon, was not an acceptable level of quality. We expected much better for the price we paid for the week.

1. The hot water boiler was not set to give hot water at a regular rate - it gave a trickle which was scaldingly hot! It ran fast at first then reduced to a trickle. Why? Adding cold to it made it go too cool! The boiler was not set right at all and it made the most awful noises. It took us ages to get it to give us a decent shower. It was equally difficult when using the washbasin, and the kitchen sink. It was a very frustrating situation. There was a note next to the boiler which effectively implied that the boiler would need to be regulated to the actual site and we assumed that it had been done. We did not mention the problem to the staff as we managed with it, but it was a nuisance.

2. The gas fire took far too much time to light because the ignition did not work after many attempts. The resulting smell of gas became unbearable. We had to have the fire on each morning as the van did not have double glazing and it was always damp and chilly, even though it was in June, too, but it was a wet week there, sadly. We needed that fire.

3. The lid to the kettle was very difficult to lift off. We had to use the blade of a dinner knife each time to create a leverage. We could not remove it using the finger-grip handle on the top of the lid. It was not a suitable piece of equipment.

Other things were noticed: peeling edging strip on the cabinet above where the kettle stood where steam has obviously done the damage; peeling edging of the plastic coating to a cupboard door situated near to the gas cooker - if it gets that hot there then I would not trust it to not catch fire, and there were signs of melting above the fireplace. As I say, poor quality.

Many of the vans on the site were of similar appearance from the outside so they might also be fitted with similar interior design quality. The layout of the "OTTER" caravan is poor. The toilet and shower room is far too small. Too much room is given to the kitchen, with too many cupboards under the worktop. The layout could have been better designed to provide more room in the shower and toilet area.

On the site the swimming pool looked very inviting - so much so that even the local ducks could not resist it! So no. We would not have allowed our grandchildren in there, no matter how many assurances that could be given. That pool ought to be under a roof - a solar glass one!

We would not recommend this design of caravan to anyone. Other caravans on the site might be better, but we are not going to discover them.

We enjoyed touring the area and will go back, but we will stay on another site.