With the number of British holiday markers heading abroad falling by 8% in 2010 compared with the same period last year, more and more of us are turning to 'Staycations' to get the most value for money out of our holidays.
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.
We've been hearing from those who've stayed at home about what they did on their summer holidays...
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'Staycation' 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).
Centre Parcs' website advertises holidays set within the glorious Sherwood forest... with first class facilities and stylish accommodation... it will be a truly memorable experience... but we heard from one viewer who checked into Centre Parcs Sherwood Forest earlier this year, hoping to celebrate a friend's birthday, and instead he found his room to be less stylish and more of a stinky stench. Damp, mildew and something growing from his toilet ceiling. Not what you'd expect for £600. A busy bank holiday weekend at the park meant they couldn't be moved at the time, but after complaining in writing, our viewer was offered £180 off his next stay at Centre Parcs.
Pontins once it had almost 30 holiday parks around the country, and became famous for its blue coat entertainers like Shane Richie and Bobby Davro. But, we don't think either of them will be re-visiting in the near future. We met Lesley Addrison, who checked into Prestayn Sands - one of Pontins' five remaining parks, for a family holiday in May. Lesley told us:
"We kept our shoes on all the time, because the carpets were so dirty and as we got into bed we put our shoes on the floor, so we didn't have to walk on anything with bare feet. My husband had to use the bath one night, but there was no plug to hold the water in and it had somebody else's hairs entangled in the plug hole. To me, it just needed demolition - it was awful."
But is Prestatyn Sands a one-off? Or typical of the Pontin's chain? We sent two members of the Watchdog team undercover to the Camber Sands park in Sussex. At £272 pounds for a weekend, the found it was also unclean and in a poor state of repair. Our reporters found peeling lino, broken furniture, and flooring that was more like rubble under the carpets, and most shocking of all, a 10milligram tablet of Temazapan, a prescription drug for insomnia. They complained at the reception desk and were told by staff there that:
"Cleaning's a bit of an issue, I'm not going to lie to you."
But if it's a traditional British hotel you're after, then look no further than Britannia. With 35 hotels across the country and a name to be proud of, you'd be forgiven for thinking solid, reliable, high quality... sorry to disappoint. We met Mark, who stayed at Britannia's Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton:
"When I walked into the room, the horror of Britainna hotels was there looking me in the face. Damaged furniture, dirty, tatty, scratched, you name it - it was horrendous."
Other guests shared his view. Hotel reviews posted online at traveller review site Trip Advisor said:
"The worst hotel I've ever stayed in..."
"Avoid at all costs... "
and
"Take a tent."
We put these cases to the companies, and here is what they had to say.
Britannia said:
"The company accepts that the standard of service experienced by Mr. Foster fell below that which could be reasonably expected. The Hotel was undergoing refurbishment at the time and the room he was allotted should have been taken off line. This would be the usual policy in such circumstances. The company reimbursed Mr. Foster in full on 22 July 2010. As a further gesture of goodwill we offered Mr. Foster and his family a complimentary weekend which has been accepted."
"With regard to the queries relating to the sizes of rooms. Our rooms are sold according to room type. Given the nature of our venues in a variety of traditional buildings the room sizes of necessity vary. However this does not reduce the standard of service offered."
Pontins said:
Pontin's has been providing family and activity holidays for over 60 years, offering great value for money and happy memories for the majority of its guests.
Pontin's is very concerned if any guest is disappointed and takes any complaint seriously. Pontin's people are well trained and dedicated to the Pontin's maxim of delivering customer satisfaction, whatever the holiday or event. Nothing should be too much trouble and all customer concerns should be efficiently and politely dealt with, whatever the circumstances. Anything short of this standard is not acceptable to Pontin's.
The current owners acquired the business in 2008. At that time the business had not had any major investment for some years. The current owners have developed an investment and refurbishment programme which was recently announced, much of which involves investment and planning applications before programmes can commence.
In the meantime, over 700,000 guests visit and stay at the holiday parks each year, the vast majority having a great time and very satisfied, this however results in wear and tear on accommodation and facilities and we have a programme of ongoing maintenance and a system for identifying and removing accommodation from sale if we do not believe it is fit for purpose until maintenance or refurbishment works have been carried out. This is an ongoing process until we can start the major investment programme. In response to the report we have undertaken an internal investigation to ascertain if accommodation which should not have been let was during recent months.
Whilst some accommodation and facilities may be tired, this does not excuse accommodation that has not been cleaned properly. We have experienced problems in providing the number of cleaners needed for the apartments which are cleaned as each guest departs and before the next guests arrive. With short breaks and events this can often be two or three times every week with changeover days on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays in peak season. Earlier this year we started a trial at Camber Sands, using a contract cleaning company.
The resulting standard of work is not at an acceptable level and the trial is currently under review.
With reference to the new facilities originally planned for Camber Sands, unfortunately there were technical issues with drainage for the planned ice rink which meant that we were not able to install it. A trial of fun fairs also took place early in the year but did not prove as popular at the Southern Holiday Parks and was subsequently withdrawn. We did, however, advise everyone when booking and actively contacted guests who had already booked once we knew that the ice rink would not be available. There are fun fairs at Prestatyn Sands and Southport Holiday Parks, an ice rink at Prestatyn Sands and a roller rink at Brean Sands Holiday Park.
These facilities are at an extra charge but Pontin's holiday price does include a wide range of entertainment with top line cabaret from the likes of X Factor's Same Difference, live bluecoat shows and the Scooby-Doo and the Funland Phantom show, leisure facilities, children's clubs and other activities as per the attached lists for Prestatyn Sands and Camber Sands.
Our aim is to provide good value for money holidays and events at Pontin's and we are both sorry and concerned if any of our guests, however small a number are not happy. As we have said we accommodate and entertain over 700,000 guests each year and believe that we offer value for money holiday packages. However we are constantly seeking to improve and we will redouble our efforts to ensure that acceptable standards of cleanliness and comfort are provided to every one of our guests, every time they stay at Pontin's.
If any Watchdog viewers wish to contact Pontins after the programme they can email Watchdog@pontins.com.
Centre Parcs said:
Center Parcs welcomes over 1.6m guests to its 4 UK Villages each year and we constantly monitor our standards of accommodation, facilities, service and guest satisfaction. Currently over 90% of our guests tell us that they intend to return to Center Parcs for another break.
Our success over the past 20 years has been built on continual investment in our facilities and guest service. Clearly on this occasion our normal high standards have not been maintained.
We had already written to Mr Potterton before being contacted by Watchdog, offering him what we feel is appropriate compensation for the issues he raised. We apologise to Mr Potterton if, on this occasion, we have failed to meet his expectations.
Response to specific issues raised:
How regularly does Center Parcs check accommodation for maintenance issues? Why were the issues dealt with in the above case not rectified before the guests arrived?
All accommodation is checked by our Housekeeping teams on changeover days, (Mondays and Fridays). If any maintenance issues are identified they are reported, logged and rectified by our Technical Services team. Our follow up procedure for any guest complaints is for Housekeeping or Technical Services to leave a calling card to inform guests of action taken. This will be followed up with the guest the next day to ensure the issue has been resolved.
Unfortunately, on this occasion sufficiently thorough checks do not appear to have taken place, and we apologise to Mr Potterton for that. Also we are currently investigating why we have no record of any complaints made by Mr Potterton in relation to his accommodation whilst he was staying at Sherwood Forest that weekend.
Is accommodation at Center Parcs cleaned thoroughly between guests leaving and new guests arriving?
All accommodation is cleaned between the previous guests departing at 10am and new guests arriving at 3pm. All accommodation should also be checked by supervisors ahead of the new guests arriving.
Watchdog Viewers' Responses
We went here with our family our room was dirty grimey we had no matching stuff the bathroom was tiny and our windows leaked. We asked at reception for a change of room and was told the park was fully booked. We did not see one Pontins character in the whole week stay. there was underage drinking and told the security staff about it they just shrugged it off. My partner was outside with our 8 year old daughter and a child asked him to buy cigarettes for him.When we complained we had a £50.00 voucher for a return visit
Rachel, Garry, Chloe and Emiley from the west midlands
Your report on CenterParcs is not their normal standards, we go up to four times a year for the last ten years and had probably five or six problems, and if we have had a problem we reported it.
We have NEVER been talked to in the manner put across by the reporter, the staff do make jovial quips but always in good humour!
We always report on the form at the end of the holiday about any problems we have experienced and always get a communication letter back from them.
Andy Dewhurst
I stayed in Pontins Prestatyn about 20 years ago and the conditions were just the same then, dirty rooms stained sheets, my mum asked for new sheets but they were also stained, it was horrible !!!
Jayne Williams
I holidayed at Prestatyn Sands with my family back in 1993 and we ended up leaving early as we had; vomit on our bedsheets, the doors were ripped off the hinges and vomit in the shower. Good to see they've really "cleaned" up their act in the 17 years since....hmmmmm
Phil Spratt
I too had a NIGHTMARE pontins stay including dirty room, mould, damp, broken electrics, no hot water, bad food, rude staff and other things. I sent a 4 page letter of complaint and my reply? Thanks for letting them know they'll try harder next time!! No compensation...no offers...nothing. At £437 for a week break I was horrified!
JO Sharp
We stayed at center parcs sherwood forest in august, we had a villa that smelled damp and had mould growing on the bedroom wall. When we spoke to reception they apologised and gave us a voucher they were very helpful
Anonymous Watchdog Viewer
Low expectations for your staycations?
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.
We've been hearing from those who've stayed at home about what they did on their summer holidays...
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'Staycation' 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).
Centre Parcs' website advertises holidays set within the glorious Sherwood forest... with first class facilities and stylish accommodation... it will be a truly memorable experience... but we heard from one viewer who checked into Centre Parcs Sherwood Forest earlier this year, hoping to celebrate a friend's birthday, and instead he found his room to be less stylish and more of a stinky stench. Damp, mildew and something growing from his toilet ceiling. Not what you'd expect for £600. A busy bank holiday weekend at the park meant they couldn't be moved at the time, but after complaining in writing, our viewer was offered £180 off his next stay at Centre Parcs.
Pontins once it had almost 30 holiday parks around the country, and became famous for its blue coat entertainers like Shane Richie and Bobby Davro. But, we don't think either of them will be re-visiting in the near future. We met Lesley Addrison, who checked into Prestayn Sands - one of Pontins' five remaining parks, for a family holiday in May. Lesley told us:
"We kept our shoes on all the time, because the carpets were so dirty and as we got into bed we put our shoes on the floor, so we didn't have to walk on anything with bare feet. My husband had to use the bath one night, but there was no plug to hold the water in and it had somebody else's hairs entangled in the plug hole. To me, it just needed demolition - it was awful."
But is Prestatyn Sands a one-off? Or typical of the Pontin's chain? We sent two members of the Watchdog team undercover to the Camber Sands park in Sussex. At £272 pounds for a weekend, the found it was also unclean and in a poor state of repair. Our reporters found peeling lino, broken furniture, and flooring that was more like rubble under the carpets, and most shocking of all, a 10milligram tablet of Temazapan, a prescription drug for insomnia. They complained at the reception desk and were told by staff there that:
"Cleaning's a bit of an issue, I'm not going to lie to you."
But if it's a traditional British hotel you're after, then look no further than Britannia. With 35 hotels across the country and a name to be proud of, you'd be forgiven for thinking solid, reliable, high quality... sorry to disappoint. We met Mark, who stayed at Britannia's Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton:
"When I walked into the room, the horror of Britainna hotels was there looking me in the face. Damaged furniture, dirty, tatty, scratched, you name it - it was horrendous."
Other guests shared his view. Hotel reviews posted online at traveller review site Trip Advisor said:
"The worst hotel I've ever stayed in..."
"Avoid at all costs... "
and
"Take a tent."
We put these cases to the companies, and here is what they had to say.
Britannia said:
"The company accepts that the standard of service experienced by Mr. Foster fell below that which could be reasonably expected. The Hotel was undergoing refurbishment at the time and the room he was allotted should have been taken off line. This would be the usual policy in such circumstances. The company reimbursed Mr. Foster in full on 22 July 2010. As a further gesture of goodwill we offered Mr. Foster and his family a complimentary weekend which has been accepted."
"With regard to the queries relating to the sizes of rooms. Our rooms are sold according to room type. Given the nature of our venues in a variety of traditional buildings the room sizes of necessity vary. However this does not reduce the standard of service offered."
Pontins said:
Pontin's has been providing family and activity holidays for over 60 years, offering great value for money and happy memories for the majority of its guests.
Pontin's is very concerned if any guest is disappointed and takes any complaint seriously. Pontin's people are well trained and dedicated to the Pontin's maxim of delivering customer satisfaction, whatever the holiday or event. Nothing should be too much trouble and all customer concerns should be efficiently and politely dealt with, whatever the circumstances. Anything short of this standard is not acceptable to Pontin's.
The current owners acquired the business in 2008. At that time the business had not had any major investment for some years. The current owners have developed an investment and refurbishment programme which was recently announced, much of which involves investment and planning applications before programmes can commence.
In the meantime, over 700,000 guests visit and stay at the holiday parks each year, the vast majority having a great time and very satisfied, this however results in wear and tear on accommodation and facilities and we have a programme of ongoing maintenance and a system for identifying and removing accommodation from sale if we do not believe it is fit for purpose until maintenance or refurbishment works have been carried out. This is an ongoing process until we can start the major investment programme. In response to the report we have undertaken an internal investigation to ascertain if accommodation which should not have been let was during recent months.
Whilst some accommodation and facilities may be tired, this does not excuse accommodation that has not been cleaned properly. We have experienced problems in providing the number of cleaners needed for the apartments which are cleaned as each guest departs and before the next guests arrive. With short breaks and events this can often be two or three times every week with changeover days on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays in peak season. Earlier this year we started a trial at Camber Sands, using a contract cleaning company.
The resulting standard of work is not at an acceptable level and the trial is currently under review.
With reference to the new facilities originally planned for Camber Sands, unfortunately there were technical issues with drainage for the planned ice rink which meant that we were not able to install it. A trial of fun fairs also took place early in the year but did not prove as popular at the Southern Holiday Parks and was subsequently withdrawn. We did, however, advise everyone when booking and actively contacted guests who had already booked once we knew that the ice rink would not be available. There are fun fairs at Prestatyn Sands and Southport Holiday Parks, an ice rink at Prestatyn Sands and a roller rink at Brean Sands Holiday Park.
These facilities are at an extra charge but Pontin's holiday price does include a wide range of entertainment with top line cabaret from the likes of X Factor's Same Difference, live bluecoat shows and the Scooby-Doo and the Funland Phantom show, leisure facilities, children's clubs and other activities as per the attached lists for Prestatyn Sands and Camber Sands.
Our aim is to provide good value for money holidays and events at Pontin's and we are both sorry and concerned if any of our guests, however small a number are not happy. As we have said we accommodate and entertain over 700,000 guests each year and believe that we offer value for money holiday packages. However we are constantly seeking to improve and we will redouble our efforts to ensure that acceptable standards of cleanliness and comfort are provided to every one of our guests, every time they stay at Pontin's.
If any Watchdog viewers wish to contact Pontins after the programme they can email Watchdog@pontins.com.
Centre Parcs said:
Center Parcs welcomes over 1.6m guests to its 4 UK Villages each year and we constantly monitor our standards of accommodation, facilities, service and guest satisfaction. Currently over 90% of our guests tell us that they intend to return to Center Parcs for another break.
Our success over the past 20 years has been built on continual investment in our facilities and guest service. Clearly on this occasion our normal high standards have not been maintained.
We had already written to Mr Potterton before being contacted by Watchdog, offering him what we feel is appropriate compensation for the issues he raised. We apologise to Mr Potterton if, on this occasion, we have failed to meet his expectations.
Response to specific issues raised:
How regularly does Center Parcs check accommodation for maintenance issues? Why were the issues dealt with in the above case not rectified before the guests arrived?
All accommodation is checked by our Housekeeping teams on changeover days, (Mondays and Fridays). If any maintenance issues are identified they are reported, logged and rectified by our Technical Services team. Our follow up procedure for any guest complaints is for Housekeeping or Technical Services to leave a calling card to inform guests of action taken. This will be followed up with the guest the next day to ensure the issue has been resolved.
Unfortunately, on this occasion sufficiently thorough checks do not appear to have taken place, and we apologise to Mr Potterton for that. Also we are currently investigating why we have no record of any complaints made by Mr Potterton in relation to his accommodation whilst he was staying at Sherwood Forest that weekend.
Is accommodation at Center Parcs cleaned thoroughly between guests leaving and new guests arriving?
All accommodation is cleaned between the previous guests departing at 10am and new guests arriving at 3pm. All accommodation should also be checked by supervisors ahead of the new guests arriving.
Watchdog Viewers' Responses
We went here with our family our room was dirty grimey we had no matching stuff the bathroom was tiny and our windows leaked. We asked at reception for a change of room and was told the park was fully booked. We did not see one Pontins character in the whole week stay. there was underage drinking and told the security staff about it they just shrugged it off. My partner was outside with our 8 year old daughter and a child asked him to buy cigarettes for him.When we complained we had a £50.00 voucher for a return visit
Rachel, Garry, Chloe and Emiley from the west midlands
Your report on CenterParcs is not their normal standards, we go up to four times a year for the last ten years and had probably five or six problems, and if we have had a problem we reported it.
We have NEVER been talked to in the manner put across by the reporter, the staff do make jovial quips but always in good humour!
We always report on the form at the end of the holiday about any problems we have experienced and always get a communication letter back from them.
Andy Dewhurst
I stayed in Pontins Prestatyn about 20 years ago and the conditions were just the same then, dirty rooms stained sheets, my mum asked for new sheets but they were also stained, it was horrible !!!
Jayne Williams
I holidayed at Prestatyn Sands with my family back in 1993 and we ended up leaving early as we had; vomit on our bedsheets, the doors were ripped off the hinges and vomit in the shower. Good to see they've really "cleaned" up their act in the 17 years since....hmmmmm
Phil Spratt
I too had a NIGHTMARE pontins stay including dirty room, mould, damp, broken electrics, no hot water, bad food, rude staff and other things. I sent a 4 page letter of complaint and my reply? Thanks for letting them know they'll try harder next time!! No compensation...no offers...nothing. At £437 for a week break I was horrified!
JO Sharp
We stayed at center parcs sherwood forest in august, we had a villa that smelled damp and had mould growing on the bedroom wall. When we spoke to reception they apologised and gave us a voucher they were very helpful
Anonymous Watchdog Viewer
Low expectations for your staycations?