Horror at '˜squalid' Pontins holiday in Camber

A furious mother is demanding a refund from Pontins in Camber after being disgusted by her unclean room and the '˜absolute squalor' of the holiday park.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Aug 2016, 09:19 BST
Updated 17th Aug 2016, 14:40 BST

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Pontins at Camber Sands ENGSUS00120140801133945Pontins at Camber Sands ENGSUS00120140801133945
Pontins at Camber Sands ENGSUS00120140801133945

Gemma Burgess was wholly disappointed when she arrived at Pontins Camber Sands Holiday Park as the playground was littered with cigarette butts, condoms and general rubbish.

The final straw was when the Hampshire family saw their room had obviously not been cleaned as there was food, dead flies and hair all over the place.

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They immediately left and were refused a refund, leaving Mrs Burgess feeling cheated and like she had let her two sons down as their holiday was ruined.

Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-155920001Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-155920001
Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-155920001

“I feel like I’ve let the boys down as its them who have missed out through no fault of their own,” she told the Observer.

Mrs Burgess complained about the park on Facebook and her post went viral with tens of thousands of shares.

In her post, the mother-of-two said ‘horror, disappointment, devastation and anger are a few emotions to describe the situation’ when they arrived.

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She said her son Ronan slipped on some spilt bubble mixture, there was pubic hair in the bath, mould in the kitchen, and disappointing entertainment.

Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-160003001Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-160003001
Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-160003001

“If your thinking of going to Pontins Camber Sands, just don’t do it to yourselves,” she wrote.

“This place needs shaming and shutting down its vile and a health hazard.”

Pontins general manager Phil Martin said they provided more than 250,000 people with ‘happy holidays’ last year but it was not the case with the Burgesses.

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“As soon as this issue was brought to our attention, we immediately apologised, and offered to correct our oversight right away,” he said.

Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-155953001Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-155953001
Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-155953001

“We are so sorry about this, but I was, quite simply, an oversight. We wouldn’t ever wish to put one of our guests in an un-prepared room.”

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Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-155942001Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-155942001
Gemma Burgess' room was not cleaned before her family arrived SUS-160816-155942001

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Related topics:PontinsPhil MartinObserverFacebookHampshire