Parkdean Resorts Trecco Bay Holiday Park, Porthcawl is popular destination for holidaymakers in Wales and has many rave reviews. Located just next to it is also Trecco Bay Beach which is a much-loved beach, perfect for families and excellent water quality for swimming and paddling.
But some visitors shared horrific experiences of their caravans, describing finding blood, faeces, hair and vomit. The holiday hotspot boasts a 4.3 star rating on Google and was named as the ‘Best UK Park Operator' at the British Travel Awards 2013. It has also received a four Star Award from Visit Wales, and been given a Gold David Bellamy Conservation Award.
There are more positive reviews than negative online about the huge holiday resort. Yet there have been several negative reviews shared in recent weeks. For the latest Bridgend news, sign up to our newsletter here
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One who person left a scathing review on the Tripadvisor website under the handle zoesR25370, and complained about several things, claiming that they did not have a good experience at all. They claimed: “Caravan was disgusting, urine and blood stains, pubic hairs on mattress protectors, cleaners had just dumped clean sheets on top, blood on carpet, curtains, sofa and veranda. Stains all over sofas, hair and pubic hair on bath along with what looked like vomit.
"Hairs in shower. Was told would be given another accommodation, they didn’t have any, was told a cleaner would be down to deep clean, spent the whole first night scrubbing and cleaning everything myself. Took all protectors and sheets off beds and managed to track down a van with clean sheets and triple covered mattresses and pillows, and even covers on the sofas. Disgusting place, would not recommend to anybody and will Never go back there again.
"Asked would I get my money back if we chose not to stay and was told no because they had offered to rectify the problem and would be leaving off my own accord, hence why I cleaned and scrubbed and made it manageable for for us, however they only “offer” to rectify the issue but they don’t actually do it."
Emma W shared photographs of what appeared to be sheets with brown matter on. She wrote: "I stayed here on the with my husband, 8 year old son, 1 year old son and 11 week old son. The caravan smelt like faeces when we first arrived."
She went on to describe a bin full of used nappies under the sink and a duvet covered in "old, foul-smelling faeces" that had been hidden under a clean duvet cover and of which she shared a photograph.
User Z5385JHtom also wrote on Tripadvisor, stayed there recently and claimed: "Mobile not very clean outside more of the same with overflowing bins people walking around smoking illegal substances and drinking alcohol."
Tripadvisor user Vacationer115600 wrote: “Van was smelly, dirty oven tray left in oven, filthy. Dirty couch and carpet. We even paid for an upgrade, hate to think what the other van was like.
Lots of people, however, still say great things about the holiday park. Voyager783521 loved the Burger King, saying the manager Jack was 'fantastic'. "The food is always fresh and good quality. By far the best burger king we've been to," they wrote.
Praising one staff member called Abbie, Tripadvisor reviewer Sharon P wrote, raving about the positive experience she had at the park; "Definitely not the first time me and my husband have been to trecco bay, however this is one of the first time we're leaving a review. Lovely young women Abbie, served us in thunderbird, first time coming here and she gave us her own personal recommendations."
Sharon added that it was "some of the best food" they had eaten at the park, and praised the whole team, noting: "All of the staff there were extremely friendly and we will definitely be coming back to try some of other options on the menu." She also added: "Great thanks to Abbie as well who took some time on her break to show me how to leave this and explained the entire process thoroughly, will hopefully leave some more in the near future!"
Another happy customer recently wrote: "Overall the park is very clean and tidy, there was so much do to throughout the holiday, there wasn’t a day where we were not busy. Security staff were really helpful when we got lost. We went to the Showdome a few nights through our holiday and the service was exceptional.
"The one that stood out the most was Dexter the bar man, nothing was ever too much for him, he was able to answer all my questions and provided top quality service throughout our stay. I’d even go as far to say that he made our holidaying experience so much better. Also Chloe was outstanding who provided us with table service most nights and always gave a service with a smile and brought all orders promptly. We will 100% be returning to Trecco bay for more family holidays. Thank you for an enjoyable holiday."
Corey F, who also reviewed the park several days ago wrote in their review: "Myself and my family have been here four times over the past eight years and Trecco bay still remains the best holiday park we have been to."
A spokesperson for Trecco Bay Holiday Park said: “Our average customer review score of 4.3/5 is the same as the Celtic Manor Resort, which was voted as Wales’ leading hotel at last year’s World Travel Awards, so these cherrypicked reviews clearly do not reflect the experiences of the overwhelming majority of our guests.
"We're the UK’s largest holiday park, and our 600-strong team welcomes more than 125,000 holidaymakers every year, striving to create amazing memories for the families that stay with us, and if any guest has an issue, we always ask them to let us know straight away so we can put things right."
