Haven' a terrible time (Haven Holidays in general)

Member Name: Stripery77

Product:	Haven Holidays in general
Date:	28/06/09 (337 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's taugh us never to go with Haven again

Disadvantages: We paid for it

Last October Half Term my brother and his two kids and me, my hubby and my two kids went to the Lakeland Haven Holiday Park in Cumbria. It was the first visit to lake district for all of us and we had booked a 4 night 5 day mid-week trip staying in a Superior caravan for £289 - bargain we thought.

We knew that it was the end of the season and that some of the parks facilities would be limited, we also knew that it would probably be cold and wet as it was the end of October. Yet, we wanted to make the best of it as it was my brother and his wifes first holiday since having their baby 9 months before and we were coming a long way to explore a new region of the uk.


On Arrival
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It was dark when we arrived at the site at 5pm after a 7 hour drive and the reception was closed. There was a tiny handwritten sign on the door which was difficult to read because the lights were off directing us to the temporary reception. We were briefly instructed on how to find our van and then dismissed. We set off in the dark to find it but this proved really difficult as the number plaque was missing from the outside of the van and we had to find it through process of deduction. This should have alerted us to what was to come.

The Beds
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Despite its' superior title we felt it was anything but. The pillows and duvets had been heavily used and smelt terribly of sweat. None of the beds were made up and one of the rooms where the children slept smelt terribly of cats urine. The bed that my small daughter had to sleep on had a tiny ill fitting mattress that curled up at one corner and all of the pillows were so thin and flat and grubby.

My brother and sister in law had to sleep on the fold out bed in the lounge as they had the travel cot with them which wouldn't fit in the double bedded room. Their bed was so unstable and uncomfortable that after the first precarious night they removed the wafer thin matress and spent the rest of the holiday sleeping on the floor. The double room wasn't much better and the mattress was really old & soft and you could clearly feel the springs digging in your back.

The Kitchen
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The kitchen hadn't been cleaned properly and it didn't have it's full itinery of equipment. The saucepans were really grubby and we were missing several key items of cutlery as well as a kitchen waste bin . The fridge still had items left over from other occupants and several of the shelves had mildew on them as well as other areas of the kitchen and behind the sink. It was really unhygienic and we had to scrub it harshly to make our first evening meal (Good job I always have some squirty bleach on a trip). At least the fire alarm worked because it set itself off every time we cooked anything.

Other Problems
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The carpets and curtains were worn and dusty and the entire van ran with condensation. All of the curtains and nets had mould and mildew and the only source of heating was a dirty gas fire in the main lounge. The rest of the van was FREEZING and damp. We were also instructed that portable heaters were NOT to be used. Thank god we bought one with us and used it anyway or I think we all may had contracted pneumonia.

Why Oh Why did we stay?
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When we arrived we were so tierd and had four even more miserable young kids with us. It was late and reception had been such a dismissive nightmare that we just got on with it. By the following morning we had unpacked and cleaned and bleached to within an acceptable standard to cope with and by keeping our portable heater on - we managed to dry the place out a little. Once we had settled everyone in we didn't want to spend the rest of our short and precious time moving again and unpacking and checking this that and the other we wanted to explore.

What did we do on site
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We consoled ourselves with the state of the van by looking forward to using our "Fun Passes" which allowed free entry to the indoor pool complex and other "on site" games - crazy golf - outdoor pools. What we found was that the tiny indoor pool complex was full and they were only letting people in on a one-in-one-out basis. We felt completely duped by the great pictures on the internet and although we were determined to swim we then found out that they only opened the pool from 10-12.30 and 2-4 pretty much guarunteeing that we wouldn't get entry or that it would be packed - diabolical. Our kids were so dissapointed that we ended up finding a "local" - (20 miles away pool) where we could all have a swim.

The outside pool complex looked good but was closed - being that it was October. There was an extra charge for the crazy golf and we didn't fancy it in the rain but there we plenty of gaming machines to eat our childrens money.

The onsite food was of poor quality and bad value for money with the usual - nuggets and chips, cod and chips, sausauge and chips, deep fried stuff and coke. The shop was stocked with pricey essentials and a poor selection of souvenirs.

Conclusions
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We can and do laugh about it now but this really was a grotty place to stay. The lake district itself is stunning and we spent a good deal of time exploring so that we didn't have to be at the site. We knew it was a cheap holiday and that it would (and did) rain, but we weren't expecting such diabolical facilities and such uncaring staff. We felt that even if we had complained they may have moved us and just let out the other van anyway. I can't believe that Haven knowingly let out facilities like this. I have worked in holiday camps all over North Devon and would have been sacked for even missing a single piece of cutlery. It's awful and I don't recommend them they shouldn't be open this late in the season if they can't offer the quality.

I can't speak for the site in the summer and I'm sure others have had better experiences, but for us it was a true thumbs down.

Summary: We can laugh about it now - but it wasn't funny