Mum's anger at state of 'horrid' Pontins chalet

Holly Leeder had booked to stay at Pontins' Pakefield resort in August with her family - partner Leon Smith and children Kobe, 11, and 10-year-old Keila.

But the Caister family, who paid £298 for the four night stay, said the stay was so "unpleasant" they had to leave hours after arriving.

Holly Leeder and partner Leon Smith (Image: Holly Leeder)

After initial complaints about the "horrid" state of their chalet went unresolved, the family's woes worsened when allergy information was not made available in the restaurant.

Miss Leeder said: "We walked into the restaurant and it was just a complete free-for-all.

"It was like prison food, very basic, dry and overcooked. I wouldn't expect my children to have that at school.

"But the worst thing was there was no allergy information anywhere.

"My partner has been hospitalised before because his nut allergy is so severe.

"It's not safe."

The family also criticised the cleanliness of their room and the resort in general.

Mould in a chalet at Pontins Pakefield (Image: Holly Leeder)

Miss Leeder said: "You haven't been able to smoke in this country for years but you could smell stale smoke as soon as you walked into reception.

"When we got into our chalet there were stains on the carpet, mould on the walls and the place was just horrid."

"We went to reception to ask if we could move rooms, and offered to pay for an upgrade, but we were told it was the busiest week of the year and there was nothing available."

Stains on the curtains at Pontins Pakefield (Image: Holly Leeder)

The family returned to their room but, after visiting the restaurant, decided to leave.

Miss Leeder said: "We couldn't risk it with my partner in the restaurant for a week.

"My son is also a big foodie but didn't want to eat any of it.

Damage to the chalet at Pontins Pakefield (Image: Holly Leeder)

"We'd talked about it together and decided we should go home, so we went back to reception and they then told us we could change rooms.

"They only wanted to try and fix it when we wanted to leave, but when I asked if the new room would be any better they said 'probably not'".

Correspondence with Pontins' Guest Solutions Team shows the family's request for a full refund has been refused, with the park claiming its complaints procedure was not followed as they refused the change of room.

Damage to the chalet at Pontins Pakefield (Image: Holly Leeder)

In the letter, Pontins say its "opportunity to rectify the issues were declined," before offering a 30pc discount on a future stay, adding they will not communicate about the matter further.

Miss Leeder said: "I am never staying at Pontins again, and I wouldn't let my dog stay there.

"My partner had taken time off work so we decided to try and have nice days out instead, like visiting Colchester Zoo, but it's ended up costing a lot more than the original stay, and we haven't got our money back.

Holly Leeder with children Keila and Kobe (Image: Holly Leeder)

Pontins did not respond to a request for comment.