Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Half Board Family Entertainment Centre |
| Disadvantages: |
Not the holiday advertised, poorly maintained |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
no |
Last year we went to Blackpool and stayed in a holiday flat along the sea-front, this year we fancied returning to Blackpool, but fancied something different, something that would keep the kids entertained and a well earned rest for myself and my wife Sarah. Pontins seemed the obvious choice and well it was something I had always wanted to do since I was kid.
We booked over the Internet back in January, the prices were pretty high but we are firm believers in you get what you pay for and as we booked online we qualified for Pontins Pounds. (Face value vouchers that can be spent in the bars, food outlets or the small gift shops). The holiday we thought we booked was 7 nights, Half Board, Classic Accommodation (we tried to book club, unfortunately they were fully booked).
The months passed and it was soon Friday 13th August, we set off from our home in Newcastle Upon Tyne and drove down to Blackpool. The day started off pretty bad as someone decided to ignore the breaking distance rules and slammed into the back of my car, thankfully no one was hurt, and this was Friday 13th.
Well we walked through the gates and I swear I thought we stepped back in time. Then we spotted a huge line of guests waiting to be checked in. Bare in mind it was blazing sunshine, really hot (something not common in Blackpool). We were stood there for 40 minutes, our two young children moaning and complaining because they were thirsty and hot. When our turn had arrived a smiling Pontins bluecoat greeted us and took our details, handed us our key and kindly directed us to our chalet. We found it pretty easy, when we arrived the cleaner was still in the room and had to wait a further 10 minutes for her to finish.
Once inside the first thing we noticed was this was not the chalet we booked, we booked classic accommodation, which compromised of two rooms, one of which has bunk beds and one has double bed. The chalet we were given was what I would describe as a shed with double glazing, in a room of about 12foot by 14 foot was a double bed a set of bunk beds, no wardrobe, 1 set of small draws, 1 bedside cabinet. The worst of all was that their was a 6 inch gap down the back of the bunk bed, as it could not go flush against the wall due to a raised area on the floor. It soon became apparent this was budget and not classic accommodation. We headed off to reception and complained about this, the Bluecoat went off to the back came back 5 minutes later and told us we would have to come back in the morning and see if there was a cancellation. We accepted this and headed back to the chalet. I had to return the car to the car park as cars are not allowed in the camp (unless you know someone in the camp, as in staff, I will get onto that in a moment). Walking back I began to realise I was being fobbed off and to be honest there was no way I was staying that room tonight or any night. I went back to reception and to my surprise there was around 12 people there all complaining about something. The chalets smelt, untidy, no wheelchair access and the list goes on. This is not what you want to hear when you start your holiday. I was seen by the same bluecoat, he was very sympathetic and disappeared for 20 minutes while he tried to sort it out. Checking our booking etc. He came back and said there was nothing he could do as there was no more rooms available and we would have to hope that someone would not turn up. I decided then we would have to leave the camp and book into a hotel, there was no way I was staying in that room, not when I paid over £800 and the person next door booked budget and paid just under £600. I booked Classic and not Budget. He took my mobile number and said he would see what he could do. I just arrived back at the chalet and it rang, someone who booked in a large party was on the
other side of the camp away from the others and wanted something closer. She had a classic chalet and was happy to move to the budget one. So we swapped and moved to the chalet we booked.
This one was a lot bigger and looked cleaner and brighter. There was a strong smell of air freshener, this was most likely due to the damp smelling bathroom. This was not a problem and after all the storms Blackpool had the week earlier it was understandable. The chalet was clean and tidy, plenty of storage space, one thing that made me wonder was that there was a kettle and three cups. There was no tea or coffee, which is fair enough, but there was not even a tea spoon.
DINING: Evening Meal (8/10)
The queues for the hotplates were pretty long but moved fast, in addition to the hotplate food, they had a great cold selection of meats, quiche, salad and a very nice omelette bar. The food I have to admit was pretty good, a great choice of foods with a varied menu each night. The food was well prepared and served, the ingredients were of a decent quality and the head chef obviously takes pride in the food they serve. Tea, Coffee and water are the only drinks included in the means, however there is a very expensive bar in canteen, the soft drink prices were extortionate. The staff in the restaurant were friendly and helpful, they constantly cleared and cleaned tables, even the managers were getting their hands dirty.
DINING: Breakfast (8/10)
Again pretty long queues, that moved fast, choice of Full English, Porridge, Cereal, Fruit, Yoghurt, Toast or Kippers. Pure orange and grapefruit juice we added to the drinks for breakfast as the bar was closed. Again the food was good and the staff worked hard to ensure everyone had a clean table to dine on.
ENTERTAINMENT: The Princes Theatre (8/10)
This is the main entertainment venue on the site, a pretty big up to date theatre style venue, if you wanted a seat after 8pm you were not going to have much luck, this venue is popular and demand far outstretches capacity. This could be frustrating at times if you don’t like to go out too early. The same problem with the bar, only one bar and not enough staff to run it effectively. Drinks prices again are pretty high, soft drinks are the killers, alcoholic drinks are in line with the pubs and clubs anywhere else.
The entertainment they supply in this venue is amazing, and if it were not for this our holiday at Pontins would have been dreadful. The Bluecoats are amazing, they work all the hours god sends and always have smiles on their faces. They are great at entertaining the kids and keeping the rowdy ones in line. The bright and colourful characters come out on stage and take the kids through games and dances. Later in the evening (every night) they have some outstanding cabaret acts. We saw pop girl band Dragonheart, Bobby Davro and other top acts from all over the UK performing here at Pontins. The Bluecoats even have their own cabaret show, which was a fantastic array of singing and dancing.
ENTERTAINMENT: The Stardust (6/10)
Again the blue coats were outstanding and gave it 100%, the room is pretty big and seats about 400/500 people, the main problem with this being the chairs were the crappy plastic ones like we used to have in school dinner halls, after 30 minutes seated its pretty uncomfortable. This classed as the adult venue and the entertainment normally started around 10.30 – 1.00am, some of the acts they had on were awesome, from the legends show in Blackpool we saw Robbie Williams (Tribute), he was amazing, but the night after we saw the UK’s first Will Young tribute, this lad was actually one of the Blue Coats and was as good as Will if not better. My wife and myself were left open mouthed at how good this guy was. My personal favourite of the starlight entertainment was a group called the Bluetones; they covered loads of blues and motown tracks and again could not fault them. It’s the little things that let this side of the holiday down, the lighting (scanners – disco spots) some were not working and as they were supposed to be in sequence made it look neglected and the seating, hard plastic chairs with no padding does not make you want to stay and enjoy the fantastic entertainment.
H2O ZONE (SWIMMING POOL) 3/10
Yes a really low score again due to poor maintenance, from the outside you see a great new modern looking building, inside greeted by nice décor, then you hit the changing rooms. Filthy floors, cubicles with no locks and some with missing doors or benches inside, the showers were missing parts, it smelt nasty, the foot pool that leads to the pool area had loo roll floating inside it. The pool itself was great, lots of lifeguards who did a great job of keeping order and making the pool an enjoyable place to spend some time.
OVERALL: 6/10
This was not the holiday we were promised online and in the brochures, now we see why the website is so lacking in pictures and information. This was not a cheap holiday and that being the case we expected some higher quality standards. The camp itself was below par in many aspects and is in need of some major investment and quality improvements. The Bluecoats work very hard and long to keep us the paying public happy and they did an amazing job, full marks and respect for what they do. There was no where to sit down and eat lunch on the camp, so it was take away from the chippy, burger bar or a sandwich from the londis shop. There was a café of sorts being refurbished; this did not open until the end of the holiday. Queuing was a major problem, you queued for food, you had to be fast to get booked into any activities, as the queue was really long in the morning to book activities. A lot of the activities they had advertised in the brochure available were not available or they did not do.
I doubt I would return to Pontins for a week again, as this was not the holiday we expected at all. Thankfully this site is situated in Blackpool and there is no better place to escape the camp than there. If you want somewhere to bed and eat with evening entertainment, this is the place for you. The price does not reflect the quality you would expect. 1 week half board in Majorca would have cost the same in a 3* hotel with evening entertainment and kids club. I wonder if we dare try Butlin’s next year….
Gary Graham
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