Park Holidays Golden Sands Holiday Park, Dawlish

on arrival very untidy site, inconsistent information from reception staff, caravan had not been cleaned there were sweet and crisp wrappers on both bedroom floors and the kitchen floor was sticky which we then cleaned ourselves, the toilet brush and holder had excrement left on the brush and in the holder, outside the caravan there was a can of red bull and two candles left from the previous occupants, in the evening there was poor cover for the amusement arcade, any issues you had to go to the bar and ask for assistance, no apparent signs of security as we were never asked for our entertainment passes, there was a lack of dog mess bins which resulted in dog mess around the grass areas, the bar was very nice but did have stock issues(soft drinks for the kids), entertainment on the whole was good. When we returned we found that we left a pair of glasses in the caravan, absolutely useless customer service 4 phone calls by me after being told they would call back and they can`t find them. Very, very disappointed

The issues are as follows:

I received a telephone call the day prior asking what bedding we needed. During this conversation I asked if it was bunk beds (which is what I expected) the woman on the phone said no it was two twins and that the sofa pulled out into a bed (this was not the case). I asked for both singles to be made up and the double. On arriving the double and one single was made up. So I called reception to change this, an hour and half later two very rude women arrived. I also asked for extra pillows on the double as only two thin ones where provided.

My elderly mother jokingly said to the house keepers my daughter says it need the Hotel inspector here. To which one of the housekeeping team scrunched her face and said, “does this face look bothered”. Disgraceful customer service, clearly she had not received any training.

The top bunk on the bunk bed was missing a safety rail, a young child would have not been safe using this bed, should the bed come away from the wall a child could become trapped.

The next morning we wanted to cook breakfast, the oven/grill was not working correctly so everything had to be cooked on the hobs. All the windows had to be opened as the fire alarm would go off. The extractor fan did not work correctly and sounded like a tractor on the verge of breaking down. Despite reporting, it was not resolved.

The shower room was tiny and covered in mould, water leaked past the seal covering the floor. I reported the mould, the young man who came out to deal with the mould stated he struggled to get the mould of and it looked as though the shower need to be resealed and re-grouted. No extractor fan.

I wanted to dry my hair in the bedroom in front of a mirror, there was no plugs in any of the bedrooms. Why have stand up heaters in them if they can’t be plugged in.

In my search for plugs I found mould . This was worse in the room my daughter and I slept in. This was cleaned by the young man who tried to deal with the bathroom following my request. It is clear that the house keepers rarely clean behind furniture this has taken time to build up. I'm pretty certain mould spores can be hazardous to health when breathed in, particularly for those with respiratory conditions.

The sock and dirty tissue where not mine another example of how poor the house keeping is. Why are these rooms not checked?

Broken blind in lounge which I had to roll up by standing on the table. Blinds did not block out adequate light so therefore my daughter woke early every morning.

Only one two seater sofa for a four birth chalet which was very uncomfortable.

The hot water in the shower room and the kitchen area was way to hot and the taps did not switch off as you would expect. The bathroom sink is very much child hight and could lead to a little one being burned.

The TV signal was terrible and needed retuning at least once a day.

Broken guttering on corner of chalet which water poured from when raining.

The onsite bathrooms where disgusting.

Damp on an internal wall next to shower room, paint work bubbling and falling off.

Squashed dead bug on the wall, no one had bothered to clean.

Wall in bedroom had stains down it, all across one wall.

I asked for a mop because the shower leaked we never got this so had to use our own towel on a filthy floor.

Dust all around the skirting, skirting in lounge area near door has come away probably through damp.

The limited plates and glasses where dirty and we had to wash them before use.

Swimming pool absolutely filthy, not somewhere I would walk through barefoot.

The ground where potholed and uneven bad enough for cars but even worse when you have a ageing parent with mobility issues.

Cigarettes and rubbish thrown around the children's play area.

After reporting some issues and waiting around for them to be resolved I became fed-up with reporting things. I was told we could go out, but I didn't really want strangers in a room with mine and my families things.

The accommodation was supposed to be gold, I hate to think what silver and bronze would look like. My holiday was spoiled because of these problems. I will never use Park Holidays and certainly wont be recommending them.

My 2nd stay at Golden sands this year and once again it was a very good short weekend break.

The staff were very polite & attentive & the upgraded caravan (£30) with central heating was fantastic.

I'm pleased that I upgraded because I was supposed to have a chalet, & to say that the chalet blocks look run down is an understatement, so the hint here is spend just £30 extra & you'll get great accomodation, which leads me onto all the gripes about accomodation: even if you upgrade the overall cost is way below the normal asking price.

Sadly these days a lot of people seem to expect & demand a lot for a little and as a person that's been on Sun hols for years, whatever accomodation you get is excellent value for money.

Now the park; the entrance is poor to say the least, you go thru bit of an industrial state up a narrow road & past a drab golden sands sign (while trying to avoid the low curbing), the reception & facilities are right in front of you (reception & shop to the left & bar & amusements etc to the right). Instead of blocking the road I parked up by the first block of chalets while booking in, the reception staff are among the best I've seen in all my years of Sun holidaying; they are very helpful & friendly, here's another hint: if your accomodation is ready they will let you in early, if not you'll have to wait.

The park itself is naturally pretty, if you're at the top you get a great view across golden sands & peppermint park & the estuary, if you're at the bottom you don't.

Now that peppermint park & golden sands are owned by Park holiday you can walk thru peppermint park in order to get to the beach, 15 mins is optimistic, a leisurely walk from the bottom of the park to the multi-coloured beach huts, takes about 25 mins.

All in all a great park let down by poor presentation & outdated chalets, if you do get Golden sands paying just £30 will make all the difference, but if not you get a very cheap short break (sun holiday) & had the choice..

I have just spent 4 days here in low season. Upon approaching I thought I had taken a wrong turn, not the most inviting looking entrance. The reception staff were great, and provided anything that was missing or needed replacing. There is a shop onsite which was reasonably priced.

The place is way small, they describe an outside play area for small kids yep it there, and they also say there is one for older kids but we couldn't find one. There is a small indoor pool & a small outdoor pool, an arcade & kids club which is just embarrassing. There is nothing for older kids (over 7's) but the arcade unless they are taking part in the talent contests. If you have kids between the ages of 7-14 there not much to do.

The entertainment was good, if you can get a good view, the magic act was the best what we got to see of it and the actual entertainment staff are great. The club has food available until 10pm which was good and there are saving if you want to purchase for families or over a fews days in advance. The club house also has wi-fi which seamed popular it & never failed.

The caravans were ok, no outside lighting on the caravans or on the site. You can park next to your caravan which is good. I paid for an upgrade and don't know what I got for it as it was the most basic caravan I have been in.

This park is about a 30 minute walk from the main seafront area, you are behind another caravan/touring park (which looks way better). I think I saw a bus stop outside on the main drag but I'm unsure where it goes. Park Holidays have taken over many parks in the Dawlish Warren area and if this is an example of what they are going to provide I won't be visiting the rest. I felt like they had just used up an old lorry park, filled it with static's and a few very old chalets and put a working men's club next to it.