Last weekend we took a short family break to the Pontinsvresort in Southport. I had booked it a few months previous and paid approximately £220 for 2 adults, 2 children and one infant. For this price I got a 3 night Friday-Monday break. A two bedroom chalet with cot and bedding included and half board meaning we got breakfast and evening meals each day. Here are my thoughts.
Arrival & Accomodation
We arrived at 4.30 on Friday afternoon. Reception was very easy to find and there was no queue. I got my chalet keys straight away. The chalets are all set out in a circle so everyone is always near the facilities. The chalets could definitely do with a make over I found it fairly clean but the floor seemed constantly dirty with sand and grit. There was only one couch which is not sufficient for more than three people as there is no where else to sit other than table chairs. The television had five channels and no free view I was fairly shocked by this as I thought analogue tv had long gone. There were only two plug sockets in the whole chalet which is ridiculous when you need to plug in a kettle, microwave, chargers, hair dryers etc. I was given a travel cot to hire for Izebella but the cot was quite hard and I had to put a quilt at bottom for comfort. It is very hard to get the cots in the bedrooms due to lack of space. I had to literally re- arrange the bedroom to fit the cot in and then I could not shut the door. There is also no mobile phone signal what so ever in the chalets and I heard lots of people complaining about this. It's almost like being back in last century and I felt quite cut off.
Food – I paid for the half board option which included breakfast and evening meal. The food was served at the restaurant which wasn't too far from our chalet. We had to wear these paper green wristbands to prove we were half board. Breakfast was great there was a choice of cereals and toast or a nice cooked breakfast with bacon, sausage, eggs, beans, tomato, hash browns, fried bread and mushrooms. Always plenty there and hot food constantly bought out and we could get as much as we wanted. Evening meal was also nice usually with a choice of meats, fish and veg or chips , rice, pasta etc and a selection of salad followed by a lovely choice of cakes and a hot desert again lots too choose from and always juice or hot drinks too. Only negative being that sometimes the queue could be very long especially for Sundays meal. However there always seemed to be spare tables to sit and highchairs provided too.
Facilities – There is a pool but this is up a lot of stairs so didn't bother with a heavy buggy. There are quite a few activities outside but unfortunately it rained all day Friday and Saturday so Sunday was the only day my kids could use these and they all cost extra money which I think is wrong considering you have paid to stay at the park. There are trampolines, go karts, bikes, crazy golf etc each costs a different amount and can work out very expensive. There is a adventure park outside which is free. I bought my kids a ball which they happily kicked about outside chalet. Inside their is an arcade which when its raining will cost loads, kids can win hundreds of tickets from machines and swap for prizes which can probably be found in most pound shops anyway. A lot of the arcade machines were broke too There is a captain croc adventure land too which is free and a shop which I thought was quite reasonably priced.
Entertainment – We were not informed at the time of booking that there was a majorettes dance weekend competition on and therefore our entertainment was limited as one of the two club rooms was taken over by them. There were a few little things on in the day organised by blue coats including a pontins croc party which again I had to pay extra for. At night there was the usual kids silly dances and games followed by a cabaret show. There was a magic show on the last night which was quite spectacular. Drinks in the bars are very expensive.
My overall opinion is that it's ok for a weekend if the weather is warm otherwise it works out extremely expensive. The chalets are outdated and the phone signal issues need sorting out. The food was nice. I would maybe go back but would not stay any more than 3 nights.
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