A girl can never wear too much pink, or have too much wine (apparantly!) :o) Jo
A girl can never wear too much pink, or have too much wine (apparantly!) :o) Jo
Member since:22.03.2004
Reviews:65
Members who trust:37
Pontins, alongside Butlins, the mainstay of British family holidays, except for a few weekends a year when thousands of netballers flock to BreanSands for a weekend of serious netball………and some quite serious drinking too.
Our weekend cost around £200 (didn’t pay for it myself) which included 2, 4 berth chalets, and entrance into the tournament.
After packing up the car (how much stuff can four girls take for a weekend away) and driving for a couple of hours, we arrived at the site.
I used to work at this Pontin’s site and as such it was very easy to find. If you forget the directions that Pontin’s send you however I believe that it would actually be quite difficult to find. There are no ‘brown’ signs off the motorway, or around the local roads, so I would always remember the official directions.
On arrival…..
You are directed to the reception so that you can check in, on the instructions it is recommended that you do not arrive before 4 pm as that is the earliest you can get your keys, however we arrived at 3:30pm and did not have a problem. At the reception desk you will also
get general directions to your chalet and information about the site. As we were on a netball weekend we also received our team pack for the weekend. The car parks are used as netball courts so parking was interesting. With the majority of people parked on the side of the roads within the site, this would make access difficult for emergency vehicles, however there was no emergency whilst I was there so this wasn’t an issue.
The Chalet………
This year we had 2 4 berth chalets as that was all that was left, you will find that these weekends fill up quite quickly, so early booking is a must. Previously we have had a 9 berth chalet, and a 6 berth, so check what is available when you book. All chalets come with a table and enough chairs for the number of beds, a cooker, fridge and television. They are cleaned before you arrive, and our verdict was that the standard of cleaning was good. All our bedding was provided and was also clean. The beds were not the most comfortable I have ever been in, in particular the double bed settee in the lounge. Although you often have to sleep where you fall!!
The chalet’s electricity supple is run by a meter that you have to put cards into. The cards can be bought from the shop and reception and cost a pound each. We used about 3 pounds worth in a weekend, although we weren’t in the room that much. If you run out of electric there is an emergency supply button that can be pressed to give you enough to last while someone runs to get another card.
Most chalets are single story, although there are some double deckers. You can ask for a ramp to the chalet door if one is needed, and I think you can ask for cots and stuff too.
The Facilities…………..
I will only pass comment on the facilities that we used, the restaurant, the bar, the hall, and the shop.
The restaurant is situated right next to the bar, so at night I imagine it could be quite loud and rowdy. We only used the restaurant for tea and toast on Sunday morning but full English breakfast was available. I believe that all bog standard grub is available here but it ain’t a gourmet dining place!!!
The bar……………..
The bar is where we spent our evenings (as if you’re surprised). The drinks are fairly expensive although I suppose that is to be expected on a holiday camp. There was entertainment on the first night in the bar, this was a karaoke, on which we absolutely murdered Irene Cara’s Flashdance!! The bar tends to get quite busy and you really ought to get there before 9pm to get a seat. On Saturday there was no entertainment in the bar, but there was a band in the hall.
The Hall……..
Every traditional holiday camp should have a multi purpose room like this, as we only were in here during the evening (after the bar closed) I can only comment on what the room is like then. In a few words…Dark, Noisy, Big, Full with people. There is a bar in here as well, along with a burger place. What I do know about this area is that you MUST NOT go on the stage. It appears that Pontin’s have a very strict policy with the stage and you may be physically removed!! Lesson learnt the hard way on previous visits. I guess on a normal holiday this would be used for aerobics, and kids activities etc.
The Shop…….
The shop became very important to us over the weekend. We needed milk for tea, bread for bacon sandwiches and a multitude of other things. The shop was always open when we wanted things; although I believe that the prices may have been suitably raised to exploit as many holiday makers as possible. If you need it you have to buy it though. Not so friendly staff on a couple of visits, but you can get cashback if you spend over £5.
Other Facilities
There is a cashpoint on site which will charge you £1.50 for giving you money, handily this is situated right by the bar so you don’t have to go far for funds!
The H2O pool area is supposed to be good although I personally have never used it. There are loads of things to keep kids occupied as well, although there were not many there on our visit. Captain Cod (the chippy) was not open at 6:00 on a Saturday night, so we had to go off site for our 8 portions of chips as did about 5 other teams (serious mistake Pontins!).
The Netball……….
It was ace, the standard is getting better and better each year, the format was different this year, with the tournament being split so that you either played morning or afternoon on Saturday instead of all day. Any team that has thought about going to Pontin’s but hasn’t yet should definitely give it a go. Make sure you book early though.
Matches were 7 minutes each way, in a round robin group of 8 teams. On Sunday you are split into the cup or the plate, then another round robin of 4 teams, then the knockout stages.
In general, I love our netball weekends, they are so much fun, and great value too. The only bad point was that when wet, the courts got very slippy, although it soon dried up!
If you are booking for a normal holiday, I would ask if there are any themed weekends on at the same time as I think you would be disappointed to find you’re sharing your weekend away with 115 netball teams.
Thanks, and you will see me next year, same time, same place (different outfit)
PS, we were finally placed in the top 32, which I think is quite good, only lost 1 game all weekend. No injuries, and no arguments!
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May 10th, 2004
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