BIG4 Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park — Hotel in Sydney

Our family group stayed on powered sites at NRMA Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park over the Easter Weekend and for a week or so following. This park is in a great location, but the sad part is that the facilities are really not up to the standard of other caravan parks we have stayed in and very few improvements have been made over past years. This is despite the fact that this park is probably the most expensive caravan park in Sydney. Giving credit where it is due, there has been one improvement, that is the laying of artificial grass on powered sites that have previously laid bare for years. This park is owned by Northern Beaches Council and managed by NRMA. Both of these organisations should be quite concerned at problems that have plagued this park for years, some of which are as follows: We used the South Ammenities Block in the main and found the state of cleanliness to be disgusting during most of our stay. Toilet paper, dirt and rubbish on the floor, soiled toilets and wash basins were a regular sight. At one stage in the Mens, there was NO TOILET PAPER in any one of the toilet cubicles and on a Saturday afternoon ALL HAND SOAP DISPENSERS WERE COMPLETELY EMPTY right up to midnight! My wife had the same experience in the Ladies Ammenities. I also observed that the Cleaning Check List attached to one of the Men’s Doors had been signed and ticked at a certain time, but no cleaning had been done at that time whatsoever! In my opinion the solution to this problem is just basic good management and some financial help from the owner, Northern Beaches Council. (a) With the amount of fees coming in, management should employ adequate staff to perform cleaning as required and monitor the job that those staff are performing on a regular basis. (b) The access paths around the amenities block have not been swept properly for years. There is an accumulation of tree debris, dirt and even toilet paper which is being walked into the ammenities regularly. (c) I have suggested previously that the construction of a south/north pathway to the South Ammenities Block directly through the park would be a giant step forward and save a lot of dirt being walked into the ammenities. Yes it would mean that a few powered sites would have to be shortened a metre or so, but the gain would be far worth it. Other caravan parks we have stayed at have done this very same thing and the difference it makes to keeping the ammenities clean is amazing. In regard to Bicycles, Scooters & Skateboards, the Park Rules state: “No riding after street lights are on at night.” In our experience each year, this rule is completely disregarded by some and it is quite common for this activity to be going on each night up until quite late. This is extremely dangerous as the bikes etc are travelling at great speed and cannot be seen in the dark. In this case, the occupational health and safety implications especially for young children and the elderly are enormous. The main issue is that this problem is not adequately policed by park management. One warning should be enough to both the perpetrator/s and the parents and after that if it happens again, those responsible should be asked to leave the park. Security of this park is a real problem, given there is no perimeter fence on the southern side of the park, allowing the general public access to the park day and night. This has resulted in our personal property being stolen and a sense of insecurity, especially at night. There is a fence all around the park except for the southern side, which then makes the whole park vulnerable. In any case, more regular rounds by park security would at least be a deterrent to thieves. Unfortunately, considering value for the high fees charged to stay at the park and the services provided, I would rate NRMA Lakeside Holiday Park at...

Why would you LIE about the max duration of stay?

Stayed for a week, was immediately told upon check-in with a straight face that the max stay is 2 weeks. When we left, all our neighbors who arrived earlier than us were still around. Some even decorated their sites with flower pots. Later on I went on their official website and found out that I had no problem booking any site for 4+ weeks.

WHY WOULD YOU LIE? WHY?

Just because we are a young couple rather than some rich elderly with fancy caravans, so we were DISCRIMINATED against? Were you guys afraid we were going to stay long term in your lovely park and never leave?

REALLY?

2 out of 3 indoor camp kitchens were completely GONE. One broke down 3 days in after we checked in ( must be the fuse cause nothing worked except the lights), reported to the reception, never got fixed. NOT EVEN A SIGN WAS PUT UP to warn people avoid putting anything in the fridge in case of food poisoning. Nothing. The other main kitchen, 2 huge " OUT OF ORDER" signs were placed right by the stoves. When will the new stoves arrive? " Maybe in 2 weeks." was the answer.

So we had to travel all the way from the north site to the south kitchen(the very last one) through cold and rain, every time we wanted to cook or grab supplies. Mind you, this caravan park is not that small. Lots of amenities are broken too: melted microwave; most of the stove tops; kitchen window screens...etc. You name it. Laundry dryers filters are filthy as well.

The sites themselves however are great. Very grassy and large. Showers and toilets are also pretty decent and tidy. If you are not planning on using any camp kitchen and don't mind turn your blind eyes on them, you will probably have a fantastic time. However, if you want to use the indoor kitchens and plan to stay longer than 2 weeks, well, good luck, if you are not some old rich caravan owners!

EDIT(UPDATE):

After reading the reply, I really would like to clarify few things.

The receptionist never told us "2 weeks only" was for the promotion. The way she described it was as if we were only allowed to stay in the park for 2 weeks in total. Misunderstanding? Sure. Please provide better communication skills next time.

As for the broken camp kitchen, i swear on my own life, it never got fixed up after we reported it. At least not before we left. The fuse must had busted, because none of the appliances worked. Refrigerators, stove, range hood. All gone. How did we know? We checked in everyday just to see if the kitchen was back to normal. NOPE! Gas stove couldn't be turned on, big refrigerator's light indicator was off the whole time( it's also usually pretty loud when working, so don't tell me I couldn't tell), small refrigerator def wasn't working either( all items were defrost, including a bottle of water). Range hood had no sign of life. NOT EVEN A SIGN or anything was put on to tell people what's going on.

AT LEAST TELL PEOPLE YOU ARE IN...

We had excellent experiences at NRMA camp site this summer season. Since we have 2 babies, staffs were really helpful to explain NRMA policy that there is complimentary 12pm check out if site is available on that day. These extra hours really helped us to manage time for packing up without too much pressure with our babies. We were so happy with all the facilities and services we’ve got so asa we came back from our 2nd trip 3 weeks ago we booked another trip for last weekend.

As we forgot to ask if late check out is available this time, my husband called reception and “sarah” was answering and she sounds we annoyed her and said our site is booked on Sunday without check anything;; Last time, the staffs took few minutes to check site availability online so I visited reception on our way to beach on Saturday and there was young lady who was nice and properly check the availability. She said there is actually no booking on our tent site on Sunday (what..??) so she said she can arrange 12pm complimentary late check out if we are happy with the time. She said she will double check NRMA policy with “sarah” next to her and asked same question “3” times but never get answers;;; (whatever excuses, it looked so bad and not professional ignoring colleagues in front of customers even though they are juniors) That was really awkward moments. This poor young lady apologised to me and we just waited until sarah finishes her jobs.

Finally Sarah looked at us and said I can pay for 5pm check out (well.. she obviously heard the questions that she could simply answer to her colleague wait for her until she finishes her job).

I said I heard there is also 12pm complimentary late check out if site is available. Sarah answered “that was before NRMA took over this businesses so that service is not available anymore” (what??) I said I had that service when I visited last time. she said “maybe it was available few years ago but not anymore” I said my last visit was 3 weeks ago;; She answered “oh really? probably someone was nice of you” and she laughed at me.

I felt like she was trying to make me feel foolish because I was not english speaker? Or because I was asian? Or I annoyed her? I don’t know what was on her mind. They ended up to arrange late check out but obviously I was not happy and felt bad with her way of treating people including me.

Other than that I was so satisfied with all other facilities and other staffs there. The reception lady on Sunday afternoon was really kind to help us finding nice fish and chips place and never made me feel foolish with this simple question.

My experiences with NRMA camp was really good and I definitely want to come back there but I know how 1 person can spoil all the good memories. This kind of attitude really needs to be improved and hope no other people have same experience as...