Watersideholidaygroup Avis 

My family and I have been coming to waterside for over 15 years but unfortunately it appears to be going slightly downhill. The park grounds have always been pleasant and clean and the accommodation is fine. However the food and service lets it down. The arena sports bar food is not great and on every occasion there has been some kind of issue, usually with something not available. Also the breakfast waffles were so rock hard that they couldn’t be cut. The food from the takeaway is hit or miss. I just think it’s not worth the money these days when you could get an all inclusive holiday abroad for the same price. Probably won’t be coming back.

We have attended 3 holidays with this company.
Tho not the cheapest caravan park we like to keep consistent with our non verbal profoundly autistic daughter who is 7 years old and on adhd pathway. She has high complex needs and we navigate predjustism a lot with our daughter and often peoples lack of understanding of our daughters complex needs including this park.
Life with our daughter ( and we have 4 year old daughter alao autistic but less extreme) is extremely difficult but every year we look forward to a lovely family by the sea aa our 7 year old can only cope with short trips to the sea before she becomes completely overwhelmed.
Now last 3 years we have had lovely holidays at Waterside park- always left it as tidy as possible-i am extremely house proud and take pride in cleanliness.
This year to help us out my parents drove us ( we don't drive) the hire car was not available till 9 am for the return trip. Now to be considerate towards staff i inform reception when i check in- i am told this is not an issue but to speak with housekeeping. So i do that who promise me this was not a problem. I promise them we will be out on the patio by check out time & all our belongings out of their way so the cleaners can come tp clean when we are there to not inconvenience them- i believe this is now ok. Like every single year previously i ensure all rubbish & recycling is gone-we even took some small items with us so nothing left for cleaning staff. I ensure all washing up is done. I ensure all surfaces, table bathroom is clean. I even clean both toilets with loo brush. I have also brushed up every day so there isnt messy. My autistic daughter leaves chocolate ice cream on bed sheets and my youngest has a nose bleed on the bedding. These are the only things i can think are untidy but as sheets are re washed and fresh bedding is placed before each visitor. My profoundly autistic daughter has also placed clean plates in different shelves- we tried to stop her but couldn't we didn't think any of this dirty sheets and misplaced clean plates a cleaner would take issue with . Fundamentally the caravan was clean.
On check out we are given an awful attitude by cleaning staff and reception who tell us its not ok to check out later despite me being reassured it was. We felt extremely uncomfortable after paying £3000 for the holiday. We couldn't understand why the cleaning staff didn't enter the caravan to clean as we were at the back of the patio no belongings inside and more than happy for them to enter the caravan to clean to not put them out. They chose not to. We said please come in its ok they ignored us. Just gave a attitude as it was an issue. We had cleared this with the staff at check in. We had never checked out late previously.
Thankfully my parents arrived at 10.25 and we left promptly.
Today i tried to book next years summer holiday- i am banned from booking -they say due to cleanliness even tho i had left it as tidy as previous years I've stayed and not been banned. I believe the cleaners were so angry of us leaving later ( not our fault) they have lied to the park. I only wish i had taken photos so i would have proof to show waterside- i know i am telling the truth and anyone that knows me would know i am not lying.
I think you should not take cleaner's word without solid proof.
I will certainly never step foot in this park ever again. I have never felt sp humiliated in my life. Thats a way to reward loyal customers...
my life is challenging and we really look forward to our family holiday and you have taken that one joy away from us. Its your loss -we planned to return every single year after year. We liked the consistency for our eldest daughter. Guess we take loyalty elsewhere where it is actually appreciated.
In the future i will ensure i take photos of check out caravan so that i can never have another cleaner ever lie about the state we left it in. I have also strongly advised friends and family to do the same so they cannot be caught out in the same vicious way we have been.
I intend to vocalise how unfairly we have been treated by you after staying loyally at your park 3 years in a row. It is disgraceful.

So had a lovely meal at the Drift bar and grill the food was outstanding and the fast and friendly service was excellent, 4 off us had a different meal each and the food was excellent

At Waterside Travel on Glossop High Street, we were looked after by Lisa, who honestly had the patience of a saint. We walked in with a total bag of vagaries. If I’d been in her shoes, I’d have been exhaling loudly! But like the consummate professional she is, she dealt with us brilliantly and met every single need.

We were undecided on pretty much everything: whether to go for 7 or 10 nights, where in the world to go, self-catering or all-inclusive, hotel star rating, and even our budget. To top it all off, we wanted to fly out within the next couple of days!

Throughout it all, Lisa asked us smart questions, points we hadn't even thought of ourselves, to zero in on what we were actually looking for. She searched through various venues and countries, never once making us feel rushed. She provided a wealth of knowledge and experience, cutting through the noise so we could focus on our ideal location. To her credit, we got there, and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

Normally, we’d book everything online, but we’ve come full circle and realised we much prefer dealing with real people. I’ve got no vested interest here, just genuinely delighted with the service we received from Lisa at Waterside Travel.

We stayed out of season.
Booked a 2 bedroom superior caravan dog friendly.

plus sides -
- Good large TV
- clean

Down side
- caravan very small the small bedroom with 2 singles a squeeze
- oven is gas BUT you have to pre-heat for 45 mins before use, no good when you have children with special requirements and can’t get it, it would take 2hrs plus to cook chicken nuggets and chips.
- loads of stuff left under caravan and out from previous people.
- one of the heaters broken
- no batteries in fire place remote
- no bin bags in either bins not even one.

The park
Swimming pool was great fun, soft play also fun.

Downside,
- The swimming pool toilets for the 5 days we were there had poo splatted around the toilet bowls they hadn’t been cleaned properly and almost seemed dried on where they hadn’t been cleaned, meant out eldest wouldn’t use the toilet.
- showers no cubicles which is fine but meant children were completely exposed to everyone in the pool gym etc “if” they were to take costume off which loads did when we were there.
- arcades basic.

South side fair (if that’s the correct name)
- great fun for children
- Amazing Softplay

Would I stay again?
Possibly, If it wasn’t for the “fairs” Softplay no I wouldn’t stay again.
I think Warmwell (parkdean) up the road definitely still a clear winner.

Visited Waterside for the 6th time end of November so we could visit the Christmas lights in the area. We usually have the platinum lodge but none were available so opted for a platinum plus caravan instead, smaller but definitely still a really comfortable and enjoyable stay, plenty big enough for the 2 of us. Beautifully clean, modern with everything we needed, including the views. What topped it was the steam train, Christmas Train of Lights run right opposite us, what a magnificent experience, its gorgeous.
Booked again for April and will be visiting another 3/4 times again next year, staff are really helpful and friendly making a lovely experience.

I booked a week’s holiday in August in a deluxe 3 bed caravan (new model) but had to leave after 3 nights as my children (who are autistic) felt so claustrophobic in the minuscule bedroom which was around 6foot by 6 foot. The other 2 bedrooms were just as awful and not what we expected of a deluxe rating at all.
The park is definitely set up for younger families. The pool was unusable to them as it only came up to their waists.
Sadly, we found the customer service to be not very helpful either. We spent nearly £3000 on a 3 night holiday and we weren’t offered any compensation at all for the 4 nights we couldn’t use as the children were so distressed so we had to go home. Wouldn’t use them again.

We have just had a week at chesil beach holiday park , Weymouth.
Positives : the caravan we had was clean tidy and excellent quality and excellent facilities.
And very comfortable.
The staff we excellent , both in reception and everywhereelse acrossthe park , the food is exceptional , I can particularly recommend the Sunday lunch.
The chef there brad is first class , also matt the assistant manager was excellent as was dave the security guard , we didn't obviously meet every member of staff , but the ones we did we brilliant .
Great place for a car free hoilday , as there is a bus stop , at the end off the road , both into , Weymouth and portland.
The number 1 , is regular as well., every 15 minutes.
Negatives : the TV in our caravan was atrocious , very few channels , poor reception at times ,it didn't effect us to much and we managed ,we logged in Disney plus , but some people , cannot do that , and if you have people staying there , who don't go on a night much or later in the year , when the weather isn't as good , and you may be forced to stay in more , especially on a night .
It wasn't good enough.
And that is why it is not a 5 star review , and a 4 .
I don't know if was just our caravan or the whole park .
We were in West Bay , caravan number 28 .
I really wanted to give it a 5 star , but it has to be a 4 star , for this reason .
But would happily come back again , but , it does need to be looked at ASAP please.
Otherwise a perfect .

Many thanks ! .

Craig Thatcher .

This company was great we couldn’t have enjoyed it more!!!

As an owner on Bowleaze award winning holiday park I can honestly say it is one of the best there is. Beautifully situated on the famed Dorset Jurassic coast near Weymouth it has everything one would expect.

Leisure complex with indoor and outdoor pools; the Venue entertainment centre with many activities and evening entertainment; sports bar with cafe and entertainment, full service restaurant; snack shack and bar; ice cream parlour; outdoor play areas and more, all on site.

The caravans and lodges, site owned and private, are modern and well equipped laid out in well kept landscaped grounds on Bowleaze Cove beach in Weymouth Bay. The staff are always very helpful and a professional housekeeping and maintenance team are there to solve any problems.

Lots of attractions and site seeing within easy reach such as Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove, Corte Castle, Weymouth, Lyme Regis, Tank Museum, Monkey World and much more.

You wouldn't get a star if I could not put it. £1400 for 4 nights in the safari glamping lodge.
What a absolute joke.
They put a sticker on the door to say it clean and sanitised. No it was not. Dirt, dust, fingerprints, stains even brown stain on the mattresses. I've got pictures of it all.
This is while where still in the middle of covid 19 so for all we know we could of touched a surface which is contaminated with covid 19 coronavirus. So the (Glamping) Lodge wasn't even cleaned at all just a sticker on the door.

We had to wait longer than our check in time as well so we could not even go into the lodge till late afternoon. Which that's a day wasted.

There attitude towards all this was rediculous to this as well. Cleaners was like what dirt. Even when we pointed out to them. Spoke to management which didn't help at all. They where telling us to tell the cleaners what to clean & do.
When you pay that kind of money for a holiday. A wasted day just to much around telling them what to clean. Which they didn't keep 2m from us or worn masks.
Issue wasn't resolved attitude to it all was a joke. No such thing a customer service. No compensation no offer for any food or drink even though we just drove nearly 300 miles just to get there & then that trip home in the same day because of all the issues & management attitude.

£350+ per a night you expect it to be spotless. Especially even more if your gonna be following covid 19 guidelines and staying open.
Why didn't you gutt out every caravan & Lodge while you was shut during the lockdown.
Won't ever be going back to any of your caravan parks. Will be posting this up everywhere.