There's something warm and nostalgic about a seaside caravan holiday and in the days before cheap air travel, it's what we all did. But now that air travel is too expensive, and the financial crisis continues, it's what we're all doing again. Yes, the staycation is back and Bourne Leisure, one of the biggest owners of UK holiday parks, has just seen profits soar by over 60 per cent!
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As part of the Bourne Leisure group, Haven Holidays have contributed much to these figures. Haven has welcomed over two million visitors to its 35 UK parks this year, but as Watchdog discovered, not all will be rushing back...
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'Haven' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
We heard from Robert Mitchell, who spent almost £850 for a week with his family at Haven's Devon Cliffs park in August this year. Robert told us:
"When we got into the caravan the smell just hits you of mould and damp... even the sofas were sticky to the touch and nothing was cleaned. It was just awful."
Robert and his family complained and were moved into a second caravan, which was also problematic. They found mould on the bedding and curtains and a filthy shower tray covered in black ground in dirt. Eventually, Robert got the accommodations manager to look at his caravan, however, he didn't solve the problem. Robert says:
"He ended the conversation by saying that we're obviously not going to make you happy, so you may as well go home."
Robert and his family left an hour later, cutting short their holiday by several days.
Haven's videos paint a picture of clean and smart accommodation, a real home from home. Watchdog has received numerous photos from Haven holiday makers who have all visited the parks this year, and these tell a very different story... Visitors found dirt on the floor, mould on the walls, filth in the shower, sharp screws poking out of the shelves and clumps of human hair under the fire.
Would anyone want to spend a night in a place like this?
Watchdog sent a team of six undercover researchers to the three Haven Holiday parks we've had most complaints about - Golden Sands in Lincolnshire, Combe Haven in East Sussex and Devon Cliffs in Devon. Not all the caravans on these sites actually belong to Haven - some are privately owned and privately rented out, but it's the ones that Haven do manage that we're featuring.
On the surface the caravans looked okay, but as soon as the team started to move things around they were shocked by what they found. Old pieces of food, dirty carpets, mould on the curtains, bedding and walls, and a soaking wet carpet under the bed. But that was not the worst thing found under the bed - at Combe Haven, our researcher found a used feminine hygiene product.
They don't show you that in the promotional videos.
Statement from Haven Holidays:
"We are horrified to receive this feedback and are equally disturbed by what has been uncovered. We unreservedly apologise to the holiday guests affected by this and will be taking action to prevent such issues occurring in the future.
"High levels of accommodation standard and cleanliness are an integral part of our operating practices. Every unit of accommodation is cleaned prior to every guest arrival and our teams are comprehensively trained to ensure that cleaning and maintenance is undertaken to a high standard. In addition, we employ supervisors who check the accommodation to make absolutely sure that every caravan is ready to be made available to the next holidaymaker.
"However, it is clear that our cleaning process has not been followed and there has been a lack of care and attention to the necessary detail required to ensure the accommodation is of the required high standard. Clearly we have let ourselves and our holiday guests down and there is no excuse for that.
"Our parks are now closed for the 2010 season and we re-open in March 2011. However actions are being implemented immediately at our parks - contracts with all outside cleaning firms are being reviewed, some will be cancelled; in-house housekeeping teams will undergo extensive re-training; weaknesses in the systems will be eliminated and improvements introduced so that our accommodation continues to meet the high quality expected by the 2.5 million guests who stay with us each year.
"To provide further reassurance to our guests, Haven will introduce an ACCOMMODATION GUARANTEE for the opening of our new season in March 2011. This means that on arrival, any family not satisfied with their standard of accommodation will be offered an immediate full refund without quibble. Our guests will be judge and jury.
"Once again, we express our sincere apologies to the guests affected by this experience and confirm that we will be doing everything possible to ensure such instances do not occur in the future.
"All 3 guests featured in your programme have been sent a full refund."
Watchdog Viewers' Responses:
We spent a long weekend on October 1st 2010 at Devon Cliffs Haven. When we arrived the site was lovely but then got sent to our upgraded caravan which was called deluxe. It was far from deluxe as i found out when getting ready to go to bed. The bed was wet along with blanket and sheets. We thought it was due to the window being left open by the cleaners whilst it raining. We later discovered all the beds were wet from the condensation off the windows. I complained about this and all i got was we will make the manager aware of this. I also wrote my complaint on the customer service card and heard nothing more on the matter. I can honestly say i wont be using Haven again.
Mrs Danielle Davies, Rhondda Cynon Taff, South Wales
Would just like to say that we stayed at Devon Cliffs 3 years ago and it was the best holiday we have had for a long time. The caravan we stayed in was wonderful and clean and we also found that everybody who worked there was lovely and polite. I would certainly recommend Devon Cliffs to anyone.
Miss Williams
My partner and I went to Devon Cliffs holiday park at the beginning of September with friends. We paid for a "superior" caravan. What we got was a smelly dirty caravan, with stains on the carpet and a suspicious brown crusty stain on the couch. We asked to be moved but had to pay an extra £40 to upgrade (as it would seem all superior caravans would be dirty and smelly)
Dave Peacock, Bolton
Will never go back, paid for Luxury Caravan, kitchen and floor filthy, had to dismantle to cooker hood to clean as thick black grease was dripping off it, main bedroom had no curtains, so we had to manage with a sheet stuffed in the curtain rail.
Complain in writing when we got home - no response!!!!
Helen Marland
I have been on holiday to Haven camps now for two years running and stayed in their prestige caravans and had no issues with cleanliness at all
Kate, Yorkshire
You may not be in heaven at Haven...
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.
As part of the Bourne Leisure group, Haven Holidays have contributed much to these figures. Haven has welcomed over two million visitors to its 35 UK parks this year, but as Watchdog discovered, not all will be rushing back...
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'Haven' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
We heard from Robert Mitchell, who spent almost £850 for a week with his family at Haven's Devon Cliffs park in August this year. Robert told us:
"When we got into the caravan the smell just hits you of mould and damp... even the sofas were sticky to the touch and nothing was cleaned. It was just awful."
Robert and his family complained and were moved into a second caravan, which was also problematic. They found mould on the bedding and curtains and a filthy shower tray covered in black ground in dirt. Eventually, Robert got the accommodations manager to look at his caravan, however, he didn't solve the problem. Robert says:
"He ended the conversation by saying that we're obviously not going to make you happy, so you may as well go home."
Robert and his family left an hour later, cutting short their holiday by several days.
Haven's videos paint a picture of clean and smart accommodation, a real home from home. Watchdog has received numerous photos from Haven holiday makers who have all visited the parks this year, and these tell a very different story... Visitors found dirt on the floor, mould on the walls, filth in the shower, sharp screws poking out of the shelves and clumps of human hair under the fire.
Would anyone want to spend a night in a place like this?
Watchdog sent a team of six undercover researchers to the three Haven Holiday parks we've had most complaints about - Golden Sands in Lincolnshire, Combe Haven in East Sussex and Devon Cliffs in Devon. Not all the caravans on these sites actually belong to Haven - some are privately owned and privately rented out, but it's the ones that Haven do manage that we're featuring.
On the surface the caravans looked okay, but as soon as the team started to move things around they were shocked by what they found. Old pieces of food, dirty carpets, mould on the curtains, bedding and walls, and a soaking wet carpet under the bed. But that was not the worst thing found under the bed - at Combe Haven, our researcher found a used feminine hygiene product.
They don't show you that in the promotional videos.
Statement from Haven Holidays:
"We are horrified to receive this feedback and are equally disturbed by what has been uncovered. We unreservedly apologise to the holiday guests affected by this and will be taking action to prevent such issues occurring in the future.
"High levels of accommodation standard and cleanliness are an integral part of our operating practices. Every unit of accommodation is cleaned prior to every guest arrival and our teams are comprehensively trained to ensure that cleaning and maintenance is undertaken to a high standard. In addition, we employ supervisors who check the accommodation to make absolutely sure that every caravan is ready to be made available to the next holidaymaker.
"However, it is clear that our cleaning process has not been followed and there has been a lack of care and attention to the necessary detail required to ensure the accommodation is of the required high standard. Clearly we have let ourselves and our holiday guests down and there is no excuse for that.
"Our parks are now closed for the 2010 season and we re-open in March 2011. However actions are being implemented immediately at our parks - contracts with all outside cleaning firms are being reviewed, some will be cancelled; in-house housekeeping teams will undergo extensive re-training; weaknesses in the systems will be eliminated and improvements introduced so that our accommodation continues to meet the high quality expected by the 2.5 million guests who stay with us each year.
"To provide further reassurance to our guests, Haven will introduce an ACCOMMODATION GUARANTEE for the opening of our new season in March 2011. This means that on arrival, any family not satisfied with their standard of accommodation will be offered an immediate full refund without quibble. Our guests will be judge and jury.
"Once again, we express our sincere apologies to the guests affected by this experience and confirm that we will be doing everything possible to ensure such instances do not occur in the future.
"All 3 guests featured in your programme have been sent a full refund."
Watchdog Viewers' Responses:
We spent a long weekend on October 1st 2010 at Devon Cliffs Haven. When we arrived the site was lovely but then got sent to our upgraded caravan which was called deluxe. It was far from deluxe as i found out when getting ready to go to bed. The bed was wet along with blanket and sheets. We thought it was due to the window being left open by the cleaners whilst it raining. We later discovered all the beds were wet from the condensation off the windows. I complained about this and all i got was we will make the manager aware of this. I also wrote my complaint on the customer service card and heard nothing more on the matter. I can honestly say i wont be using Haven again.
Mrs Danielle Davies, Rhondda Cynon Taff, South Wales
Would just like to say that we stayed at Devon Cliffs 3 years ago and it was the best holiday we have had for a long time. The caravan we stayed in was wonderful and clean and we also found that everybody who worked there was lovely and polite. I would certainly recommend Devon Cliffs to anyone.
Miss Williams
My partner and I went to Devon Cliffs holiday park at the beginning of September with friends. We paid for a "superior" caravan. What we got was a smelly dirty caravan, with stains on the carpet and a suspicious brown crusty stain on the couch. We asked to be moved but had to pay an extra £40 to upgrade (as it would seem all superior caravans would be dirty and smelly)
Dave Peacock, Bolton
Will never go back, paid for Luxury Caravan, kitchen and floor filthy, had to dismantle to cooker hood to clean as thick black grease was dripping off it, main bedroom had no curtains, so we had to manage with a sheet stuffed in the curtain rail.
Complain in writing when we got home - no response!!!!
Helen Marland
I have been on holiday to Haven camps now for two years running and stayed in their prestige caravans and had no issues with cleanliness at all
Kate, Yorkshire
You may not be in heaven at Haven...