Brighouse Bay Holiday Park — Hotel in Great Britain

Liked: The grounds are lovely with several ponds. The unisex facilities were great. They had cubicles with a shower, toilet and sink in one. There were also separate male and female facilities which had separate showers and toilets which were fairly clean.

Disliked: I'm no one to complain but I feel that there were just too many negatives not to write this review. We chose this site because it had so many different things to do. Unfortunately most of the activities were unavailable. The driving range and bowling green were closed and it was obvious the bowling green hadnt been used for a long time as the grass was black. The swimming pool was closed for half of our stay. The ponies were unwell (although the lady who owned them was lovely) You could paly golf if you brought your own clubs, which we didn't know beforehand. We tried to rent a set of clubs, which you could do for £10 but they had no tee's of golf balls so we still couldn't play. The play park was good but a bit run down (rusty equipment and broken steps up to tractor) We were told about quiet times etc. on arrival but there were no staff patrolling the grounds to check people were following the rules which led to a lot of inconsiderate people letting their dogs and children run around wild into people's pitches, and a lot of late night noise. We actually left early (after only a couple of hours sleep due to noisy neighbours) as on the Friday morning, there was no running water on site! This wasn't much of an issue for us as we have an onboard water tank but there were a lot of people in tents who couldnt wash or do their dishes. We ended up buying bottled water all week as the 'drinking water' tasted terrible, which is unusual for Scotland. We couldn't take the kids to the amusements as we had no cash and no way of getting any as there was no cash point and the shop and bar didn't offer cash back. Half of the mini 10 pin bowling macching was broken but you could pay by card for that. Everything on site cost extra except the fishing but that was only if you brought your equipment with you. We did a lot of walking around the site. The site is miles away from anything so, if we wanted to go somewhere because most things onsite were closed, we'd have had to pack our awning etc. away and drive. The beach is right next to the site but the tide was out so its about a miles walk to the water. The staff at the pool didn't seem to know much about renting equipment or what was going on with the different activities etc. and some didn't seem in the slightest bit interested in trying to find out anything for us. You have to pay for the WiFi and the mobile signal onsite is bad. This wouldn't have been an issue if everything was up and running like it says on the website but on a rainy day, with no pool etc. to amuse them, it was quite difficult to amuse an 11 year old and a 13 year old. Shower facilities were good however, the shower mats were not lifted and cleaned underneath. If I had known so many of the activities were closed I wouldn't not have booked here and we won't be back. It's a shame because the place...

Liked: Ideal for tentboxers as well as all other camping methods. Huge, safe, enclosed park where kids can be free range and independent, great view of park meant we could watch them from our pitch without following their every step. Fab indoor pool with hot tub (pay slightly extra for the pool but so worth it) you will also need 20p for the lockers but we didn't have one so the pool assistant put our valuables behind reception and I put our bag of towels on top of the lockers instead. Fab system in place for the pool to ensure the next slot of swimmers are on the pool side before the previous swimmers enter the changing rooms. This worked well and meant there wasn’t any overcrowding. The food was lovely, we orders pizzas after our swim and ate that while our hair dried, it was quite quick service and it didn’t feel like we were waiting that long before they were brought out. Lovely friendly staff all over the site, I can’t fault any of them. Lovely wood to walk through and a rocky beach on the other side, sandy beach was just slightly further round but our kids (6 & 10) just wanted back on the park with their new friends and instead we stopped at a gorgeous beach nearby on the way home. Golf course and games room (we didn’t use either but they were there if we wanted them). On-site shop that sold all essentials plus there is supermarkets only a shortish drive away. Very friendly site with a 22.30 noise curfew (very much appreciated when trying to get the little ones to sleep) very clean toilet blocks and pool changing rooms, both equipped with hairdryers if needed. Very clean site, well maintained and looked after. We loved it here and the children didn’t want it to leave! I like to have a few “go to” parks for spontaneous last minute camping trips and this is currently at the top of our list. We can’t wait to go back

Disliked: Not dislikes, more just to be aware of: although dog owners did poop scoop on camp, it seems they didn’t apply the same rule in the wooded area. We did come across a few small “parcels” left behind. Not a massive issue but do check shoes before returning into your tent/camper. We managed to miss them but only after shouting at the kids to “watch that dog poo” last minute as their foot hovered above it. The pool reception can get busy with people checking into their slot and ordering food etc (I believe food can also be ordered and eaten in the bar area but we choose to eat it on the tables looking into the pool) sometimes there was only 1 lady doing both on this reception area and I think she was new and still leaning the ropes. Please be patient and don’t leave checking into your slot last minute like we did because you will have to wait your turn in the queue. You also need 20p for the lockers and again if you need to change money at reception, you need to join the queue delaying you getting...

Liked: Big playpark, good paths for scooters and bikes, lots of space.

Disliked: - Cleanliness Maintenance Lack of staff presence

Cleanliness wasn’t up to scratch. The floors in the toilet block next to the park looked like they’d never had a good clean since being built. Stained with urine and big clumps of hair stuck to the ground. I saw a cleaner spot cleaning with an antibacterial spray on the floor which is not good enough considering the amount of people using this toilet. The same bits of litter (a piece of half eaten cucumber in the men’s and a bit of used toilet roll on a radiator in the women’s ) lay on the floor for the 3 days that we were there.

Bins outside the toilets are overflowing all over the road and absolutely stinking.

Bin lorry’s and staff cars speed at around 30mph past tents with toddlers playing outside (on route to the leisure centre). Many other guests commented on this.

The swimming pool was basic and the kids enjoyed a swim but the cleanliness was again severely lacking. Plasters and hair all over the floor which had brown stains everywhere due to lack of cleaning. Pool was closed after we left because someone did a poo in it (at least they closed it).

We were told the restaurant was first come, first served and food started at 5pm. We went up at 5pm with our 2 young children and got a table easily because it wasn’t too busy. We were given a menu to look at but when we went to order we were told that they had stopped orders for at least 40 minutes due to a backlog of food orders. We chose to leave and go to Meleks in Kirkcudbright which was absolutely excellent.

Finally, for a campsite to be that jam packed full, it was very surprising to me that there appeared to be no security whatsoever. No barrier at the entrance and we didn’t see a warden enforcing any rules during the evening. Speeding cars, little children walking large bull breed dogs in the playpark without any adult about and bonfires being lit too close to our tent where we slept. With the recent sexual assault in a campsite up in Loch Ness, you would think that they would have at least one night porter doing walk arounds. The only security that I saw was a cctv camera situated inside the unisex toilet/ shower block. No signs to highlight this so very invasive and has potential for some serious violations of privacy.

The coastal walks are so overgrown and unmaintained that you can’t get to the shore on most of them. Only 2 paths are walkable. 3 are completely covered. The coast is stunning when you get there.

We have used hundreds of campsites dacross Scotland, the UK and Europe. This one has such great potential but isn’t being managed properly and is quite disappointing.

I was very excited to try this campsite as it looks to have everything you need. Unfortunately, the cleanliness and lack of maintenance really...