Parkdean Resorts Reviews 

**Great location, but Gold Premium was absolutely not worth the extra money**

We stayed at Nodes Point as a larger family group with three caravans between us: a 2-bedroom Gold, a 3-bedroom Gold and a 3-bedroom Gold Premium. That gave us a good opportunity to compare the grades directly.

The location is excellent, beach access is fantastic and our caravan was clean on arrival. Unfortunately, the booking issue, the poor value of Gold Premium and the way our concerns were handled mean 3 stars feels fair.

Before the holiday, the booking system showed us as having a 3-bedroom Silver when we had actually booked a Gold. With no Gold apparently left, we felt we had little choice but to pay around £280 extra for Gold Premium. We later discovered we had actually had the Gold booking all along and the information displayed to us had been wrong. Parkdean were dismissive of the possibility of a system error, so we were simply left with the extra cost.

We therefore expected the advertised “Premium quality”. In our experience, it wasn’t worth the money.

The standard 3-bedroom Gold in our group had a huge deck where all three families could comfortably sit together. Our more expensive Gold Premium had a tiny deck with a table and five chairs. You could not walk around the table at all without someone getting up or moving a chair, and one whole side of the table was inaccessible because it was pushed hard against the decking rail. Even the four people staying in our caravan couldn’t comfortably use the space together.

The standard Gold also had proper padded dining chairs, while our Premium had short wooden stools with no backs. Our sofa was obviously worn, unlike the other Gold caravans, and the Gold shower had shelves for toiletries while ours had nothing, so everything had to go on the floor.

The view from our tiny deck was a bush one way and what appeared to be dilapidated staff accommodation the other.

When we raised how our supposedly superior caravan compared with the standard Gold, reception effectively told us to “go and drink some wine and forget about it”. Together with the earlier booking issue, this left us feeling that problems were shrugged off rather than properly investigated or addressed.

There were other smaller issues too. The larger TV regularly lost signal. Only two slots of the four-slice toaster worked, and the bathroom sink was mostly blocked and took a long time to drain. There were ants on the decking, though none inside, and treatment appeared to have already been put down.

For me, Gold Premium seems to be something of a lottery. The cheaper Gold in our group had dramatically better decking, more comfortable furniture and more practical fittings. In my opinion, the Premium upgrade simply isn’t worth the additional cost when what you receive appears to depend so heavily on the individual caravan allocated.

The on-site restaurant was fine and ordering through the app worked well, but the entertainment volume was ridiculous. We ate there twice and both times it was so loud we struggled to hear somebody speaking across our own table, despite sitting as far from the stage as we reasonably could. Even staff commented on how loud it was. For similar money, I’d much rather eat at a local pub or restaurant.

The children’s activities felt expensive. The inflatable water-wheel activity was great fun, although it only lasted around five minutes. The Nerf-style activity didn’t feel worthwhile to us; for the money I’d rather have bought the children Nerf guns and let them keep them.

The location is the strongest part of Nodes Point. The beach access is excellent and getting around the Isle of Wight was easy. We had a great week exploring the island and would absolutely return to the Isle of Wight.

However, based on this experience I would be reluctant to book Nodes Point again. The accommodation issues were disappointing, but what bothered me more was how genuine concerns seemed to be shrugged off.

If I were choosing between the grades, I would personally book a standard Gold rather than pay extra for Gold Premium.

I booked on the website but did not get a booking number. When I phoned the customer services the staff told me there had been a glitch and this often happened on the website. I had not been charged but it meant I had to rebook.

Overall caravan was very good few kitchen essentials missing and a few damaged bits of furniture.

Food at the boathouse was disappointing. Sunday lunch was un edible overall very poor. Staff weren’t very helpful.

Activity & leisure swimming overcrowded and not as many activities as previous years. As always Holly & Glen are an a asset to the leisure team.

This relates to online booking only , have not been to the resort yet. The online process was easy to follow regarding choice of accommodation, payment method.

Having now visited Trecco Bay for the last time [will cancel next years holidays already booked] and visiting twice a year for the past 10 years spending around 20k we have noticed a decline in not only the cleanliness but the aged appearance of the caravans plus this last time there have never been so many empty pitches.
Having arrived we were allocated the same caravan we had had in May this year, still no patio table, reported in May, and noticeably a great amount of deterioration within the van from our visit just a few months ago previously in this Gold caravan.
The caravan itself was grimy, upholstery dirty and worn, grime around bathroom taps, skirting dirty, cooker greasy, wall coverings patched up, mold on the veranda, dirty glasses, dog hairs in drawers and dirty bin.
£1528 later !! Plus within 20 mins of arriving we were reported for our 4 small dogs after an owner had complained, so a phone call and we were told 2 had to go as there was a strict 2 dog policy per van, no understanding or lenience despite we have always taken the 4 dogs for the past 10 years.

Great friendly knowledgeable staff easy booking experience, answered all my questions.

Awful accommodations, rude staff, dirty caravans, avoid at all costs

Personal contact is available to those having problems booking and the help I got was excellent

Me , my mum and two kids aged 7 and 10 had a good 3 nights at west bay. Great location didnt use the car once as everything was in walking distance. Early check-in into our 3 bed bronze caravan worked well it was ready for us. The caravan was basic but served its purpose it was clean and functional. The kitchen could of had few more utensils but it worked.
The kids enjoyed the site, the daughter who is almost 8 found the early evening kids entertainment a bit babyish so maybe something for older primary school children be good.
Swimming pool was good you can book on line and walk in. The swimming pool cubicles need a bit if TLC as some locks were broken. The kids enjoyed the play area aswell but the area around it looks a bit tired and could do with a smart up, the metal containers on the grass looks tatty and and the back of the shop and amusements just needs a freshen up and the wheelie bins on the corner just need a nice bin store. If I had a caravan overlooking the park I would think it looks a bit tired and tatty.
I would come back especially with good weather guaranteed. The site just need a bit of tlc especially the outside areas

The receptionist was very helpful making my booking easy

We had a fabulous experience, the reception staff were polite and friendly. The food at the Boathouse could be much better, but all staff were friendly accommodating and cheerful. We enjoyed, found the caravan abit small but the kids were happy, so we're we. Definitely recommend Parkdean Resorts, this is the second time using them and in future we will continue to use them. The location of Vally Farm is perfect less than 10min drive to the pier which was amazing as well!! 30min drive from Colchester Zoo - bonus.

During our stay, the caravan had a strong urine smell in the carpet from the moment we arrived. Although the housekeeping team attended several times to clean the carpets and an ozone treatment was carried out, the smell remained throughout our holiday.

I reported the issue to reception on two separate occasions, but despite the ongoing problem, we were not moved to alternative accommodation. This was particularly disappointing as the issue was never fully resolved.

The situation had a significant impact on our family, especially my autistic brother, who did not understand that the carpet was unhygienic and would regularly roll around on it. As a result, we had to shower him repeatedly, causing unnecessary stress and disruption during our holiday.

We also observed other guests at reception complaining about sewage smells, which suggested that odour-related issues were affecting more than just our accommodation.

Given the extent of the issue, the distress caused, and the lack of a suitable resolution during our stay, we do not feel that an offer of a future stay upgrade is appropriate, particularly as we do not intend to return to the park. We believe compensation would be a more reasonable resolution in light of the circumstances.

Never going back we got put in to a caravan where it was invested with ants didn’t want to do nothing about it when they did move us the downgrade us to smaller with not enough beds so so didn’t unpack just left so only stayed one night out the 4 staff not helped at all if anything was very rude

Was so easy to book the caravan pitch I needed and staff was so helpful with the information I needed to make it easy for my partner as needed to be on a flat ground and near the disabled toilets due to using a mobility scooter they were very helpful

We tried Barmston beach as a quick getaway for a week, the holiday park right by the beach and a short drive to the funfair, and lot of different beaches a short drive away , the caravan even though I only had a bronze one was very well stocked with even a hairdryer and a iron/ironing board which you usually hire in other camps, entertainment was very good and the food although some like the pizza was a little too spicy for us was still good the staff go out of their way to help, the whole park is kept extremely clean .The whole trip was so relaxing that we have already booked 2 weeks next year, this time in a gold and equipped for a disabled person, all in all it was a surprisingly fun and relaxing holiday, I would recommend it to anyone

Beware. When you book, despite providing full details of the other guests, the "lead booker" has to arrive first and other guests cannot access the accommodation beforehand. To change the lead booker will cost you £40 and at least an hour of your time. It's buried in the t&C's somewhere.

We had a lovely holiday at your resort, and the staff were incredible. We really enjoyed our stay and are looking forward to coming back again.

One small suggestion would be to mention in the description that guests may need to bring dishwashing liquid, as there wasn’t any provided, as well as enough toilet tissue and a mop. Apart from that, we absolutely loved our stay and had a wonderful time. Thank you!

Easy to book online but found it difficult to contact afterwards when I had questions to ask. Staff at Looe Bay were very friendly and helpful. Short distance to Looe but not able to walk as hilly and no pavement. Silver caravan with decking was great- although toilet very small! Could do with some hooks in bathroom for towels. 9pm entertainment was not great. Swimming pool good but didn’t like you couldn’t go anytime, you had to go a certain session times.

Stayed at Park Dean Highfield Grange a few weeks ago and the waste pipe underneath the caravan was blocked. The smell was absolutely hideous and there was poo and wee and flies all over. We couldn’t open the windows because of this and we were stuck sweating all night. I constantly called customer services and they said someone would be out to fix it but no one came. I sent them an email asking for a refund and they ignored me. Next steps will be to request a refund through my bank. Never again, will stick to Haven from now on.

Accomodation is good and clean staff very friendly