September 2023 by Hollypinder92
Came for the tots week as we wanted something for our 2 year old to enjoy I?ll start with the positives as it?s brief: The tots troupers were brilliant and tots entertainment was good? although you have to book as soon as you get the email 6 weeks in advance else you?ll find yourself with nothing to do. The restaurant food was okay- similar to a harvester.. nice enough Now the negatives - the lodge.. we spent £500 on a 3 bed lodge. One of the rooms was unusable as a heater was hanging off the wall - Most of the windows were blown with mould all around them even though we were in a ?new? lodge less than 3 years old that had been refurbished.. I find this hard to believe - the lodge smelt of faeces the whole time we were there - we booked a lodge that clearly shows a bath in the photos (granted it didn?t state anything about the bathroom in the details).. there was a shower only which my 22 month old is petrified of We went to complain about the above at 3.20pm and was met by the rudest member of staff.. she looked at us and said ?those lodges don?t have baths?.. I said ?why would you advertise it in the photos with a bath then? She literally just stared at me blankly then said ?we?ll I can?t do anything we?re full? and proceeded to look at the floor? I asked what was being done about the hazard? heater hanging off the wall and she said ?we?ll I?ll get someone to look at it!? And then just ignored us till we left. The serviceman arrived at 9pm that evening whilst our toddler was asleep and said ?oh that?s not good? urm I?ll get my drill? I explained that would wake our daughter up so he said he?s return the next day but it was off the wall the entire time. The lodge was serviceable otherwise.. a bit dirty and the beds were so uncomfortable I?m going to have to see my chiropractor but I guess if you classify it as camping then it?s ok. Also at the restaurant we waited 40minutes for our daughters meal which apparently ?didn?t go through to the kitchen.. although they did offer her an ice cream to apologise so that was probably the only kind bit of customer service we received. Overall spend your money elsewhere!!!
September 2023 by Coffeelover0000
Don?t pay extra for a dog friendly caravan as they do no extra cleaning The carpets are stained and smell Of dog wee Equipment in the kitchen very minimal and the gas cooker burns anything cooked on the shelf
September 2023 by David S
Fairly pleasant park, we arrived in tots week, but had a quiet part of the park. Good size pool if you can book on the Bookings App. Had a quiet slot but an be busy at times. Showers 8n changing area cold af. Chalet/Carnvan for 6 and well equipped, only 3 of us so no issues with space. Big let down is Customer service. They over promise and under deliver in terms of requests to fix broken lights and clean sticky living room floor. We requested this Monday, and despite several SMS messages saying they were on the case, nobody turned up.
September 2023 by canastab
BOOKED A FAMILY WEEKEND AWAY FOR 2 FAMILIES BOOKED 14 MONTHS AGO, GOT A CALL 10 DAYS BEFORE WE ARE SUPOSED TO GO TO SAY THEY HAVE BOOKED OUT THE PARK FOR A PRIVATE FUNCION, SO WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO GO, SO THEY HAVE HAD ALL MY MONEY AND JUST REFUND IT NO EXTRA NOTHING FOR THE INCONVINIENCE, SO BOOKING WITH THEM GIVES ME NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE AS THEY DONT GIVE YOUR HOLIDAY OR YOU ANY THOUGHT AND WILL CANCEL YOU AT THE DROP OF A HAT WITHOUT A CARE IN THE WORLD.
September 2023 by debbiedeacon
We're staying at Sandford right now but reading some of these reviews makes me wonder if it's the same place, so to balance out the negative reviews, here's Sandford from our perspective. Not long retired couple with twin 23 year old kids, one of whom has special needs, staying in a Durlston caravan for a week. We've been here before a few times over the past couple of years and love it. We don't stay in the school holidays as we've served our time in that particular "school holiday" prison and are now free and don't have too!! The Durlston caravan is 3 bedroom, bathroom and an en-suite bathroom to the main bedroom, it was super clean when we arrived and is very spacious with really comfortable beds. The Durlston caravan has everything we could need in it and is the best caravan we've ever stayed in....and we've done a few in our time. One review moaned there were no bin bags or loo rolls in the caravan. Our experience is that some Holiday Park companies provide a starter pack of a bin bag, small washing up liquid and a loo roll in their caravans and some companies don't......Parkdean parks don't which is fair enough, just come prepared. We have used the restaurant a couple of times, the cooked breakfast was lovely and the pizza was great, we don't think the prices of the meals are expensive at all. We go to the Showbar every evening for the live show at 9pm. The bar staff are efficient and friendly. Saturday night was really busy which was to be expected as it was the final of the Talent Contest, but we still managed to find a table. Admittedly the table we found looked like a bomb had gone off on it, there was popcorn all over the floor and other food which was not the Park's fault but the previous occupants who were obviously a bunch of pigs...do they treat their own homes like that? Thankfully after the Talent Contest a lot of people left so we could move to a cleaner table ready for the live show. The live shows are absolutely the best bit of Sandford evenings and one of the main reasons we stay here time after time. The shows the Park Troupers put on are brilliant and the professional act that played on Saturday night was excellent. We are coming back in November for the Celebrity Weekend and are really looking forward to it. I have tried to think of a negative about this holiday and can only come up with one thing, the lock on the disabled loo door in the Showbar doesn't lock the door properly so you live in fear someone is going to throw the door wide open while you're in there, couldn't hold it shut as I was dealing with my son ? So yes, it is possible to come to Sandford and have a really good holiday, we are currently having one and look forward to having more. Sandford...... we ? you.
September 2023 by Sue F
Lovely park set in woodland. Superb facilities for the whole family. We were on the touring park. A big thank you to Wendy who kept the ladies showers and toilets beautifully clean. Another thank you to Josh behind the bar in the Showbar. He?d didn?t stop and always had a smile for everyone ?
September 2023 by 958ashtona
Lovely Park , but unfortunately Some Food areas was closed all week a bit disappointing, apart from that fantastic Week , also As Staff was very nice and friendly so I think it was a extremely good break Thanks
September 2023 by Georgina A
This was mine and my partners first trip to Dorset, and after looking at multiple sites, we are over the moon that we picked this one. We were in a Waterloo Lodge with a hot tub. Was a massive trek with cases from reception to the accommodation, but it was worth it when we got there. This is the best accommodation we have stayed in by far. The lodge was very impressive, cleaning standards could have done with a bit of improvement, but nothing major. It was so peaceful where we were situated. The site is in such a beautiful location, around woodland, so much wildlife. The club house and entertainment, was a lot better than what we are use too, expensive for drinks though. We used the indoor pool, which was ok, very cold tho. We will definitely be returning to this site in the future. Great bus service to Poole and Swanage on the door step.
September 2023 by TerryO1407
We have stayed with Parkdean on several occasions from North Wales to Norfolk, Devon and Dorset in a variety of caravans, which although at times have been questionable, have always been clean. Pre Covid we had stayed at Sandford several times and were looking forward to going back. From the check-in, when initially our reservation couldn?t be found, to the guard of honor from the dirty linen lining Park Drive, it was a sign of things to come. The door to the caravan made a grinding and clunking sound and sometimes didn?t lock first time. Entering the caravan, despite the windows being open, we noticed a strange odor. There was a used plaster on the floor by the kitchen while my wife noticed what looked like congealed blood on the kitchen work surface. The tea towel holder was partially hanging from the unit and there were crumbs in the fridge. There was a strip under the kitchen work too where tape had previously been attached and on a corner panel in the living area there was also several pieces of tape, while tape was also wrapped around the TV remote, as it had no back panel. Despite being described as an eight berth the dining table, which resembled a plank of wood and 4 legs was only slightly bigger than the foot rest, it had a filled gouge and what looked like adhesive on one of the legs. The size of the table made it easier to understand why there was so many stains on the carpet and sofas, particularly a fresh brown ketchup stain on the seating area close to the TV.the sofa also had some broken buttons. The shower cubicle had a curtain inside of it, which replaced the missing cubicle door. The double bed needs a new mattress as the springs could felt on the left hand side making it uncomfortable. As a result my wife slept in one of the slim single beds. My wife reported the issues to reception who had no real intention in helping us and didn?t offer alternative accommodation, although there appeared to be several empty caravans around us. Maintenance said that they didn?t have an alternative table, but cleaning would be sent to address s9me of our concerns, we waited over 2 hours but nobody came while we were there. After going out for a meal we returned to find paperwork previously on the table moved to another place, the congealed stain was still evident. Both my wife and I are in our 60s, so we were looking forward to a comfortable stay in a clean caravan, our caravan was listed in excess of £400, although we were given a discount of £100, so we still paid over £300 and despite booking Monday to Monday, we left on Friday night. Would we book with Parkdean again, I very much doubt it. Would we go back to Sandford, highly unlikely. Would we recommend Parkdean or Sandford to friends or family, DEFINITELY NOT!
July 2023 by G9926VJandrewc
I honestly could write so much about this holiday. We have been to many Parkdean holiday parks over the years including Sandfords about 7 years ago. I was worried as we had a terrible experience last year at WestBay holiday park not being accessible for disabled people. However this park is just AMAZING!!!! The general Manager Lee gave me time to personally feedback as I think people are often quick to moan but I wanted to give him the praise. Let's start with the caravan and park. Very clean hardly ever saw rubbish and the toilets etc all very clean. Caravan was perfect for what we needed and we was in one of the more basic ones. The food is generally very good. The main restaurant we tried a selection of food during our stay and all good and worth the money (even though some was complaining it was expensive). The Street Eats outside food thing was amazing the food was outstanding! Scoops is also very good and nice bonus. We never tried the fish and chips or the loaded (which wasn't open) The evening entertainment is good and the kids loved it. It does get very busy so I would advise getting there close to 5pm or even start queuing just before if you want to sit near the front. It does however get less busy after the Bingo at around 7.45pm. The Park troupers are ok/good and some are very talented. However for us and one of the reasons we have already rebooked for next year and next time for 2 weeks in an upgraded caravan is because of the ACTIVE STAFF. (the ones in the red shirts) They are just amazing. Helen who I believe is one of the deputy managers is just lovely and she should be very proud of all of her team. All though they was all great I would like to thank and recommend a few by name.... Beth and Holly was on a few of the acrivites we done one being Nerf battle and they was amazing with the kids and then every time we saw them round the park they stopped and spoke to the my kids. Eric is just a star he helped us choose several activities and again amazing with the kids. Ruby and Tor lead build and Bear, sand Art and painting with my kids and she was fantastic giving them lots of time to complete and helping them. Also again stoping and talking to them during their stay. Josh was our trampoline champion, again brilliant with the kids. I must add all the activities are amazing and yes they are not the cheapest and make the holiday more expensive but ALL of them are worth the money my 2 done literally most of them from the high ropes, lazer battle swimming wipe out just to name a few. For someone with MS accessibility can sometimes be an issue but really not at this park everything is accessible including both pools. And even the art stuff upstairs the staff are so good they will bring the activities to you downstairs. I am sure I could write lots positives about this park. But I think I have given a clear enough picture. I will finish by saying thank you to Ian, Helen and all the staff at Sandford for making it an amazing holiday and we will see you next year for 2 weeks of more fun.
