Pontins, Southport.

I have to start this review by saying that if I had booked via a £9.50 holiday deal, then I would not have so many poor views, after all, you get what you pay for.  But having paid more than £180 for 3 nights self catering, admittedly for a specific event being held there, I would have expected more, especially as we had been advised that the site had been renovated since our last visit.

The site is easily found, being located on the Shore Road and the two storey chalets are laid out in a big cartwheel shape.  The main building houses the reception, the games area, a NISA shop (which was very sparsely stocked), a takeaway selling pizzas, burgers and kebabs (more of this later), the function rooms and the Queen Victoria pub, a standard facility in all Pontins.

There is a newly opened leisure centre, I am not sure if it was open when we were there, it houses a new arcade, Captain Cods, a new Chinese and Indian Restaurant and a bar area.  The swimming pool is also located here.

I had a twin bedded, single bedroom room on the top floor of a block near the main buildings.  The view was fine, not that I saw much of it due to the horizontal rain that fell most of the weekend.

I opted for the Classic grade chalet - there are 3, the Popular, the Classic and the top grade, the Club - however, the Classic and the Popular seemed to be identical meaning that my additional £30 (inc credit card charges) was well spent!

The supplied sheets were made of some shiny, slippery fabric.  The sheet, duvet cover and pillowcase did not match.  The duvet cover looked marked, but not sure if it was dirt or just poor printing!

I only spent one night in the bedroom as it was so cold, I was laying in bed watching the curtains moving from the draft from the closed window, the remaining two nights I spent on the sofa.  Assuming that I kept the bedroom and bathroom doors closed, my chalet did not feel too cold, but this may be more to do with the fact that I do not have central heating at home.

The bathroom had a built in swimming pool, either that or the shower was constantly leaking as the floor was pretty much wet all weekend, I even had to sit on the toilet sideways to keep my feet out of the worst of the water.  Where there was exposed wood, whether intentionally exposed or not, it had turned black and was swollen.

The kitchen featured an electric standard alone cooker (oven, grill and hob), a fridge, a kettle, toaster and microwave.  And one plug.  So you could either use the toaster, the kettle or the microwave, which had to be carried across the kitchen to be plugged in.

There was a plug for the television to be plugged into, when it worked, and another plug in the middle of the end wall.  There was neither plug nor mirror in the bedroom.

The floors were not finished off brilliantly.

All the staff I had contact with were lovely, very cheery, helpful and efficient.

The bars were overpriced, but they generally are whether it be a holiday camp or hotel.

Now, to return to the takeaway.  I treated myself to burger and chips Saturday lunchtime.  Big mistake.  I spent most of the afternoon in and out of various toilets.  I have discovered since my return that a lot of people were ill, but none of us connected it with the takeaway at the time.  I am not saying that everyone who ate from there was ill, but everyone who was ill had purchased food there.

I have also heard several reports of flea bites.

I would not chose Pontins for a holiday for myself, hopefully the event I attended will not be held there next year.