We booked our first family holiday in January for August this year. The kids were excited - we were going to Pontins. Everything for the kids to do on site, entertainment in the evening, a choice of restaurants. we thought we had a great deal. How wrong we were. The site itself is in the middle of a housing estate. great start - but we thought, lets get there and see how things are. got a great reception from the main gate and we were optimistic. went to reception got our key and then continued to our "apartment". At first, we laughed, thinking - Oh my god, we are going to be here for the week. then the kids were almost in tears. We are a family of 5 and to think about basing ourselves in that place for the next 5 days was unbearable. There was a small 2 seater sofa bed in the "lounge" area. If you sat down on it you would be able to reach the kitchenette cupboards with your feet. the place felt sticky and made us feel dirty. The windows must have been 50 years old. there was a gap under the door under which there was a flurry of ants, some of them flying. the main bedroom was dirty, the kids room was tiny and if we were expected to put our 17month old baby asleep in the living area, there was no way. we went back up to reception thinking that they had put us in a budget apartment instead of classic. when i asked the manager what the difference between the two was, he said " About £38". that was it. they keep some apartments put by for "emergencies". by this i took it that many before us had complained about their accommodation. but as we were there in the first week of August, all apartments had been booked. no spare ones and no more they could offer us. we returned to the room, all of us now nearly in tears and after about 20 mins returned to reception. it was closed. we called the mobile number on the notice, and told security we were not happy and wanted the manager to come down to see us. he eventually got there, we told him we wanted to leave and we wanted a full refund. to our amazement, we got a full cash refund there and then. surely that in itself is testamont to the fact that they know it is bad. just as well as we now had to find somewhere to stay for the rest of our holiday.
I suppose you get what you pay for - but we certainly didnt expect to be on what felt like a dirty, unkempt and unhospitable site. we will never book any type of holiday like this again and we were lucky to find an alternative holiday let, but people travel from a long way to get to the site and from what we saw, lots of people were unhappy. Complaints all around us about the restaurant, uncleanliness, lack of facilities, and general state of the site. It should be shut down. Health and safety would have a field day i am sure.
We urge anyone thinking of going there to think again. we had 3 very upset, distressed and unhappy children at the start of our holiday and 2 very stressed parents. we would hate for others to go through the same as we did. Pontins is a health risk. I cannot imagine why other people did not turn around and walk away. in this day and age, we do not have to put up with such crap. and we didnt. Neither do you
Did you book anywhere else so the children werent disappointed? I know you got a full cash refund, but if i were you, i would also write a strong letter to their head office, telling them how disgusted you are. That company should be ashamed of themselves! 
