“Parkdean has massively gone downhill. The caravan we stayed in was filthy, we were unable to sit down due to the state of it. We was told they would wash the sofa and clean it, but we wouldn't be able to sit down for 2 out of our 5 days there, we was also told to spend the day out of the caravan with the windows open so the sofa could dry (we have a newborn baby which they were aware of). We said this was not acceptable and they advised the only option is to move us.... to another filthy caravan. We asked for a refund and we'd leave... we was told they'd resolved it so we couldn't have a refund and there wasn't any point making a complaint.
Upon coming home, we made a complaint and was told by head office that they are satisfied with how they dealt with it.
Awful caravan and awful service. We do not recommend anyone wastes their money with parkdean.... go to Haven... they are so much better!!!”
“I'm very surprised to read poor reviews as I have just returned from White Cross Bay, near Windermere having had a great long weekend. We were supposed to be at the Loch Tummel Holiday Park near Pitlochry but it had to be closed due to flooding. Mark at Parkdean Resorts was extremely helpful - he did a great job in finding us alternative and suitable accommodation. The lodge we rented was spacious and very well equipped. The facilities on the park were excellent and the area is stunning with loads to do. Our 4 grandkids had a ball!”
“LOCH TUMMEL CARAVAN PARK
Lovely wee maintained site great staff great location for walking etc would return to this site again this was our 3rd visit to you're holiday parks this year and away to you're Suffolk site in 3 weeks being using you're site for about 14 years now 2/ 3 times a year great value for money in between our breaks abroad keep up the great work Louise n David down”
“California Cliffs Mon, 26 Jun 2023 for 4 nights, on arrival at your caravan when we opened the door we were hit by the overwhelming stench of stale cigarette smoke so we returned to the reception and told them about it, the woman did not seem that interested but eventually said they would send some one round with an air scrubbing machine so we waited, once this had been done we went in it did not smell any better and then we found the sofa was damp and stained so i had a close inspection of this and found it stank of urine, human or dog i'm not sure, so back to reception to complain, the same woman again,so we explained it was no better smelling and the sofa was damp and smells of urine and we are not happy and want to move, she told us they have no other caravan they could put us in and basically if we don't like it we can always go home, great ! so what do you do when you have driven 4 hours to get there, we can hardly go home can we so back to the caravan, open every door and window and use out deodorant as air fresheners, the next day i go to supermarket and spend nearly £20 on every air freshener,sented candle, fabric spreay they had but the stench would not shift so i end up sleeping in the car to get away from it, in the mean time i kept complaining but got no where, if you dont like it go home im told more than once, so thats what we did, went home early as we could not bear to be in the caravan as it was affecting my copd and i could not sleep in the car any longer, i had already emailed a complaint before we left,i got a reply saying that what i said did not happen and that they had knocked on our door a few times to check everthing was ok, so i pointed out my car has a dashcam that recordes anyone coming near my car and as the car was parked by the caravan door it has recorded no one coming to our door what so ever apart from us so that was a lie, so i kept complaining, even to the CEO but got no where really, next its going to the small claims court.
They should be ashamed of themselves to rent out a caravan in that state !.”
“Carmarthen Bay parkdean resort. What a complete waste of money, absolutely nothing here to do, even worse if you have kids. Shop on site mega expensive ( get a supermarket delivery, 1/2 the price ) Food on site, no choice except for bar/restaurant again mega expensive ( main course, drinks £60/ 70 2 adults 2 kids ) need chip shop on site or pizza shop. On site entertainment non existent, been here since Friday its now Monday, no live entertainment ie singers, groups etc kids entertainment only starts at 5.30, absolutely nothing during the day, just arcade. Has rained every day , in the middle of nowhere, all of us completely bored. Can't even drive anywhere unless 1 hour drive. Why is there no daytime entertainment for kids and evening entertainment for adults apart from bingo. Yes there is a bit of a beach with sea coming into the estuary, but the water is full of jellyfish, bigger than I have ever seen, and not safe to swim in, when you get a bit of break from the rain. This is the worst holiday I have had in my life, and feel so ashamed that we have brought our kids to this. The Caravan is is in need of restoration, The bedroom door didn't shut, the cutlery draw fell off, the wind blowing through the windows as when closed there is a finger width gap around the window, the TV is that old, the controller says netflix,youtube etc that's a laugh obviously from a different TV, the software on the TV says 2014.
So many families complaining and saying they will never come back here, and same goes here.”
“Parkdean Holiday Resorts, Holton Heath, Sandford, Dorset.
To mention, we are both in our middle seventies and feel that we have been humiliated and discriminated against through no fault of our own.
Please read our story and see what you think!
We booked a Poole lodge on Sandford Park from the 16th to the 19th June. Then a Stoborough lodge from the 19th to the 23rd June as the Poole lodge was supposedly not available for a longer period. A very nice lodge No.16 Willow Way and with my wife’s recovering hip operation, the small amount of steps were just nicely manageable.
We were told that we could have access to our next lodge, No 4, Oak Avenue from 1 pm onwards of the 19th.
On arrival the outside of this Wooden Lodge was found to be covered in spider webs, general dust and mess, peeling paint that had obviously been like this for a very long time. In fact the unit must have been at least 50 years old or more at least and we were surprised that it was still being used! Looked like it had been in a ‘wild west’ shootout!!
Incidentally, my wife was very loathe to stay as we had seen a similar unit on the park which had been completely burnt out.
We noted also that this was the only wooden lodge on the park apart from odd privately owned ones.
But the main problem here were the SEVEN STEPS up to the decking leading to the unit.
As our ages had to be specified on the booking form, surprisingly no one had asked if we would be able to manage these steps, especially with our luggage etc!
And although mobile,I am severely disabled internally (Brittle Asthma Type two and Spinal rods) so this was out of the question for me and could, if dewy or wet would become a serious slip hazard. To mention, the decking was green over in many parts, (photos taken )and would be extremely dangerous when wet! My wife was very concerned over this as she is still recovering from a hip replacement operation as mentioned above.
So we were now ‘lodge-less’ and reporting this to reception, were told the female manager would be back at 2pm. So a wait of approximately one hour!
After waiting in our car in the heat with our little dog as we had to vacate Willow Way lodge, we saw the Lady Manager heading back to reception. Five minutes later we returned to reception, and were told, (seemed like a ‘fob-off’) by the young lady receptionist that the female manager was in a meeting. Rather quickly we thought! When we demanded to see someone who could deal with our dilemma we were offered the maintenance manager but was nothing he could have done to rectify our problem. This was obviously of long standing and had not been dealt with. We were now both ‘stressed out’ again told by the young lady receptionist that all were still in a meeting and would be there for the rest of the afternoon!
In other words, no one could be bothered over our problem. Just a moaning old couple!! Seems the so-called excuse of a meeting was more important than paying guests in a predicament.
After another ten minutes of trying to reason and the queue getting somewhat irritable behind us, we gave up and decided to travel the hundred miles back home.
To mention, the sale of goods act depicts that any item must be fit for the purpose of which it is intended. Well this lodge certainly is not. My wife noted that one of the doors was already open and was tired and dismal inside.
Instead of making extra money by still letting this old and worn out lodge, it should be demolished and replaced with a new one. I am sure that Parkdean could afford it!
To finalise, a customer resolution policy was thrust across the counter to us and we were told to use this to make a complaint. She could not or did not want to address our problem any longer. Our allotted time had, obviously run out.
This policy states,
During your holiday we will do everything we can to make sure you enjoy your holiday with us.
We ask for the opportunity to put things right whilst you are on the park. Absolute rubbish. No one was remotely interested in our predicament as there was no one around! What they were saying was, “if you can’t use the Lodge we have given you tough luck” End of, goodbye!
Well, not sure what happened with us as we were made to feel that this was our fault.
And also somewhat embarrassing for the people in the queue behind.
As with my problems, and not being on holiday for some years, this was as you can probably imagine, a seriously distressing episode for both of us, and felt like we were being discriminated against for being old and disabled!
So, as I am sure we are not the only ones on site who have encountered a problem, are you prepared to do something to appease our situation? I am loathe to let this problem lie as we have paid good money for this rather decrepit lodge which we could not use, or in my case access!
We look forward to any suggestions that you can give.
Namely a full refund of £505.00 as you could not supply us with suitable accommodation.
Incidentally, in the only reply from the park manager / owner, we were dismissed like two bags of park rubbish and told the case was closed.
Well, way to go. Get rid of the annoying old people but keep their money.
Then she says, we have not been discriminated against !!!!
Good one Parkdean. Do not bury your heads in the sand, do the right thing and refund us for our ‘non’ stay.
Incidentally, since writing this review, Parkdean have ‘arrogantly’ again sent another case closing letter! Rather nasty people.
Should change their name to ‘SHARKDEAN’ although this would be disrespectful to the Shark!!
Look at all of their ‘negative’ reviews and you will know I am right!
P.S. It asks below how long did it take to get a refund. WE DID NOT GET ONE! Very greedy and ‘non’ helpful people. Just bend the truth all the time.
My advise-KEEP AWAY! No stars would be more appropriate!
Regards - Jonathan Whitehead.”
“Unfortunately our stay last week fell short in both comfort and cleanliness
Beds and sofas were tired and uncomfortable after paying over 700 pounds for the caravan for Windsor 65 at Manor park
There were cobwebs inside windows and dust and fluff under beds
The veranda was green and had clock roaches
I have stayed at Manor park many times and have never had such dirty caravan and such uncomfortable sofas or beds they all need replacing
The grounds were lovely but swimming pool is very small for amount of caravans on park a is play area”
“To mention, we are both in our middle seventies and feel that we have been humiliated and discriminated against through no fault of our own.
Please read our story and see what you think! This was sent to the name below but are still awaiting a reply!
Dear Customer relations team,
We booked a Poole lodge on Sandford Park from the 16th to the 19th June. Then a Stoborough lodge from the 19th to the 23rd June as the Poole lodge was supposedly not available for a longer period. A very nice lodge No.16 Willow Way and as I am quite seriously disabled, and with my wife’s recovering hip operation, the small amount of steps were just nicely manageable.
We were told that we could have access to our next lodge, No 4, Oak Avenue from 1 pm onwards of the 19th.
On arrival the outside of this Wooden Lodge was found to be covered in spider webs, general dust and mess, peeling paint that had obviously been like this for a very long time. In fact the unit must have been at least 50 years old or more at least and we were surprised that it was still being used! Looked like it had been in a ‘wild west’ shootout!!
Incidentally, my wife was very loathe to stay as we had seen a similar unit on the park which had been completely burnt out.
We noted also that this was the only wooden lodge on the park apart from odd privately owned ones.
But the main problem here were the SEVEN STEPS up to the decking leading to the unit.
As our ages had to be specified on the booking form, surprisingly no one had asked if we would be able to manage these steps, especially with our luggage etc!
And although mobile,I am severely disabled internally (Brittle Asthma Type two and Spinal rods)
so this was out of the question for me and could, if dewy or wet would become a serious slip hazard. To mention, the decking was green over in many parts, (photos taken )and would be extremely dangerous when wet! My wife was very concerned over this as she is still recovering from a hip replacement operation as mentioned above.
So we were now ‘lodge-less’ and reporting this to reception, were told the female manager would be back at 2pm. So a wait of approximately one hour!
After waiting in our car in the heat with our little dog as we had to vacate Willow Way lodge, we saw the Lady Manager heading back to reception. Five minutes later we returned to reception, and were told, (seemed like a ‘fob-off’) by the young lady receptionist that the female manager was in a meeting. Rather quickly we thought! When we demanded to see someone who could deal with our dilemma we were offered the maintenance manager but was nothing he could have done to rectify our problem. This was obviously of long standing and had not been dealt with. We were now both ‘stressed out’ again told by the young lady receptionist that all were still in a meeting and would be there for the rest of the afternoon!
In other words, no one could be bothered over our problem. Just a moaning old couple!! Seems the so-called excuse of a meeting was more important than paying guests in a predicament.
After another ten minutes of trying to reason we gave up and decided to travel the hundred miles back home.
To mention, the sale of goods act depicts that any item must be fit for the purpose of which it is intended. Well this lodge certainly is not. My wife noted that one of the doors was already open and was tired and dismal inside.
Instead of making extra money by still letting this old and worn out lodge, it should be demolished and replaced with a new one. I am sure that Parkdean could afford it!
To finalise, a customer resolution policy was thrust across the counter to us and we were told to use this to make a complaint. She could not or did not want to address our problem any longer. Our allotted time had, obviously run out.
This policy states,
During your holiday we will do everything we can to make sure you enjoy your holiday with us.
We ask for the opportunity to put things right whilst you are on the park. Absolute rubbish. No one was remotely interested in our predicament. What they were saying was, “if you can’t use the Lodge we have given you tough luck” End of, goodbye!
Well, not sure what happened with us as we were made to feel that this was our fault.
And also somewhat embarrassing for the people in the queue behind.
As with my problems, and not being on holiday for some years, this was as you can probably imagine, a seriously distressing episode for both of us, and felt like we were being discriminated against for being old and disabled!
So, as I am sure we are not the only ones on site who have encountered a problem, are you prepared to do something to appease our situation? I am loathe to let this problem lie as we have paid good money for this rather decrepit lodge which we could not use, or in my case access!
We look forward to any suggestions that you can give.
Namely a full refund of £505.00 as you could not supply us with suitable accommodation.
Incidentally, in the only reply from the park manager / owner, we were dismissed like two bags of park rubbish and told the case was closed.
Well, way to go. Get rid of the annoying old people but keep their money.
Then she says, we have not been discriminated against !!!!
Good one Parkdean.
Totally ignored. Even their complaints division will not reply back to us!
Greedy, grasping, modern day ‘pirates’ who will have your money at any cost! Complain at your peril.
My advise - Book a reputable holiday company!
Regards - Jonathan Whitehead”
“I don't even know where to start.. our experience from start to finish has been absolutely appalling and the issue still hasn't been resolved!
Filthy caravan!
Poor hygiene standards inside the caravan!
ANT INFESTATION in the caravan and we were not informed about this until arrival!
Lots of egg shell in my breakfast!
No net curtains for privacy but there were hooks for the curtains to go on.. and the caravan was situated on a main road on the site!
We paid for parkdean's top spec caravan and got this.. I dread to think what their lowest spec is like!
Dreadful customer service from the reception staff & Management!
Please see images attached to show the extent of the filth. This was not a holiday! We had no choice but to stay the first night as we had no where else to stay after arrival and it was late in the evening, we have 2 young children. We woke up the next day, handed in our keys and left to holiday elsewhere and we were still denied a refund!
Still awaiting correspondence to our complaint 2 weeks later!
DO NOT HOLIDAY HERE!!!”
“Avoid Highfield grange resort at all costs. I arrived on Friday 30th June and on 1st July woke up to bed bugs all over the bed, blood splatter everywhere. I went to reception at 9 am, and the young lady rang the accommodation team after I showed her photos, they t9ld her they can't move us incase we take them into another van, that we would need to go home and that she would need to log the complaint. I've heard nothing. I spoke with someone on the online chat, sent photos of their pet bed bugs and my body photos coveted in bites, aga8n told my refund would take 5 to 7 days, I've still heard nothing. I drove 2 hours home to sit at a laundrette for 2 hours to wash all clothing as I didn't fancy risking my house with Highfield granges pets. Ive wasted t8me and money, fuel etc and today on the online chat I was told the park has marked my complaint as resolved. What a joke. I want my weekend refunded and all other expenses compensated.”
“I am an owner on Limefitt. DO not buy a lodge with this company. Costs keep increasing as services decrease. Now want to charge £260 for the WiFi that was included in the £6559.14 pitch fee! Yes they want to add this as an extra charge another £260. They are calling it fast but it isn’t. Greedy company - please be warned. Staff can be rude as there is no where to go to complain. No accountability outside the park so nothing gets done. Complaints treated with contempt. Nobody at head office to talk to.”
“Everything was atrocious from booking process to the holiday itself. In short…
• The booking process is awful.
• The park had basically no food from the menu available, so we had to eat off site every day.
• The staff we’re rude and unhelpful.
• I have complained officially and have been told that you literally couldn’t care less (I have the emails to prove it… should you want to read them).
• I also complained to the manager on site who advised she would 100% follow this up and stay in touch… she has not. Not even a single reply to any of my emails.
You are absolute disgrace.
If you are at all interested (and at this point it could not be clearer that you indeed are not) the initial complaint is detailed below.
I booked a weekend away for my partner, myself and our 2 children at your California Cliffs park in Norfolk. We booked and paid in full and consequently I received 10 confirmation emails
Each one of these had a the same reference number however each one also stated we had an outstanding balance and I needed to log into my account to make any amendments.
I attempted to log in but it said an error had occurred, so I assume it was because I had only just made the booking so maybe the landing page had not yet fully been rendered.
In any case, I left it 24 hours and tried to log in again only to have the same error.
This was when I decided to call you AND this is where my complaint really beings.
I was sent around in circles on your phone line (both the one on the confirmation email and the one that displays on the error AND the one on your actual website) only to land at the same answer every time. I need to log in and use your live chat. Impossible if I cannot log in right?
on a side note... your record voice mail states "We are OBSESSED with improving our customer experience". That in itself is, at this point, an insult.
I finally called your sales line with the thinking that whilst you may not be interested in speaking to existing customers, you at least would be keen to speak to new customers looking to spend some money... would you believe it, I was correct.
The guy on the phone quickly explained to me that the reason I could not log on was because I had cancelled the booking! I ABSOLUTLEY HAD NOT and explained this. To which he then explained that you are having multiple system issues including but limited to;
• payments being stuck, then rejecting causing system generated cancellations.
• holiday dates being moved.
• multiple payments being taken.
It turns out the first had happened to me. Your system failed and my booking was then cancelled WITH NO NOTIFICATION. Remember, at this point I have 10 confirmation emails and not a single mention of a cancellation.
The guy on the phone then said I could re-book the holiday and as I have promised my children this little break, I have no option to comply.
So now I am £359 down in terms of the holiday I have had to book twice (At the time of writing this, I have been refunded for the first payment).
I asked the guy on the phone there was anything he could offer in terms of compensation for the inconvenience to which, after checking with a manager, he said no "because you are not the only customer this has happened to" meaning that this is not a one off and that it is a known issue.
I then asked for conformation of the cancelled holiday, so I had that to hand for when the money inevitably does not get refunded. That email really got me because it states that YOU CANCELLED THE HOLIDAY BECAUSE WE FAILED TO MAKE PAYMENTS AFTER YOU HAD TRIED CONTACTING US MULTIPLE TIMES! Like it’s my fault, like I have failed to pay you.
I want to summarise here because I know that I have gone into a fair bit of detail.
• I booked a holiday and paid in full.
• your system errored and cancelled the booking but failed to let me know this and instead confirmed the booking 10 times.
• I have had to rebook at further expense.
• I have been made out to be a "bad payer" by your systems cancellation process.
One final point and this is a big one.
If I had turned up on the day, bags packed with a car full excited kids and you had told me ONLY AT THAT point the booking had been cancelled, the level of complaint I would be making would be much, much greater than it is today. There is a legal requirement for you manage these processes and have sufficient processes in place to protect your customers integrity and trust.
It’s also VERY IMPORTANT to note that if you have provided compensation to even one customer because of this error (which we established earlier has been happening to other customers) then legally you will be required to at least have a process for compensating every other customer effected. You are not required to divulge this by you are required to act upon it when it is questioned. That is the LAW.”
“Shocking customer service and communication - I really should have checked on Trust Pilot before booking. (We booked a requested caravan on one of Parkdean's resorts - pet friendly - confirmed pitch) after receiving no communication I chased this up to discover we had been booked into a non pet friendly accommodation - error on Parkdean's side after contacting data protection to obtain the recording of the booking - after several weeks of trying to resolve this we were merely told to pay an extra £200 or so - or sell our holiday on Facebook!! We still hold this booking and to be fair Parkdean should simply transfer us to a pet friendly which was requested on booking. It's nigh on impossible to get hold of anyone and the automated responses state they will get back to you within a time frame. I am within the 90 day cancellation time however I'm told I would not get any deposit returned despite the error.”
“Stayed at brynowen, left Wednesday 5th April. Got there on Friday 31st March. Me and my son went to the resturant and the staff were all on their phones having conversations bout the fact they couldn't wait for their holiday in Turkey, when food eventually came very small portions and burnt. On the Saturday complained bout the experience that we had had, the response was one of what do you expect us to do bout it. This experience carried on till we left on Wednesday wasn't supposed to leave till this Friday. We have been coming to this site for 4 years will not be booking again.the whole attitude of staff was that we were inconveniencing them”
“Security overbearing at camber sands clearly after they murdered someone and then after feeling akward the entire trip they would follow you and check everything you done. Even had drinks taken away from children claiming to be alcoholic drinks when clearly they were not. Shout out to Alan at the show bar for clearly having a lack of training and resources. Not your fault Alan but let’s hope parkdean provide you more adequate training to do your job. Stop trying to be overbearing and power tripping when things are exactly as they are. What a shame”
“Good Afternoon
We stayed at the above site at the beginning of September this year. We had stayed there last year in a private rental and loved the locations and on site facilities. However , we wanted to be nearer the lake and therefore booked with Parkdean. This was a big mistake as the cleanliness of the lodge left a lot to be desired!
After the first night we reported to reception there was a problem with the hot tub as it kept displaying an error message. There was also a broken glass on the decking near the hot tub. This was a particular concern with having a three year old. Also, the side strips on 3 of the kitchen cupboards were hanging off. That day someone looked at the hot tub however, the following day when we put it on the same error message showed up. Someone else Also called to re.ove the broken glass.The day after that someone stuck down the side strips on the cupboards but when we left on the fifth day, one of them was starting to come away again.
The main problem was the lack of proper cleaning. On the second day we went to put our three year old in the bath but noticed there were black specks in the water so let the bath out and used the shower in the end suite bathroom. Later that night I ran the bath again and once again the black specks appeared. We all just used the en suite shower after that.
However on our 4th day we were cleaning before leaving and discovered, to our horror, that the place where the shower was connected was covered I black moulded and this was obviously where the black specks came from!
We had noticed after our first night that there were a number of stains on the sofasbut had just put our towels over. Seeing the black mould was the last straw along with skirting boards throughout. I took photos of the dirty areas and sent them off to customer service. Their response did not address the mould or the lack of cleaning just thanked us for bringing this to their attention. I felt the response was generic as failed to address any of the concerns.
I certainly would not recommend this company to anyone, not entirely because the cleanlines left a lot to be desired but the lack of having the concerns addressed.”
“Just come back from Withensea site, family had a great time we had 2 caravans which were really good. helpful & friendly staff. My only complaint is regard children ridding E/ scooters on the roads, with cars having to avoid them. I thought that normal road rule applied, ie not private land. we will be returning”
“Lost payment tried to take from my bank again and mix mine and my son's booking up different numbers and references. When phoned I had to provide details of payment. When asked for full refund was told can't even though it's 10000000% their mistake. Canceling my 14 night stay for next year. Been there for many times but won't be using again after their complete failure and how they can't see difference in names reference number beyond stupid”
