Away Resorts Reviews 

We’re due to stay at St Ives Bay next week (Monday to Friday), and a week before arrival we called to extend our booking to Saturday–Saturday — not to change it, just to add two nights before and one night after.

Their website clearly shows availability for the exact dates we requested, so this should have been a straightforward amendment. Instead, we were told this wasn’t possible. The only option offered was to cancel our existing booking (with a full cancellation charge) and then rebook the same stay at full price — effectively paying for the holiday twice.

This makes no practical or commercial sense. Availability exists, we’re willing to pay for the additional nights, and yet the system or policy prevents even a basic extension.

It’s incredibly frustrating, especially so close to our stay, and it gives the impression that customer flexibility and common-sense solutions aren’t a priority. At the very least, policies like this should be reviewed — because from a customer perspective, it feels like being penalised for trying to spend more with you.

Hoping the actual stay is better than the booking experience, but this has definitely left a poor first impression.

Super helpful staff, clean, comfortable and spacious caravan. Lovely surroundings. Lidl only 500m away

Not sure what is happening with this company. They advertise themselves as a premium holiday company with excellent entertainment but the reality is quite grim.

We recently stayed at Ratalick and encountered so many issues that we came home early. Our electric in the "premium" accommodation failed and wasn't fixed. There was absolutely zero entertainment l - despite it being half term and the app listing entertainment.

But honestly the worst thing was the pool. It was absolutely filthy. The changing rooms were left soaking wet for the whole 3 days that we were there. It was disgusting. Impossible to get changed into clean/dry clothes. Dirty water all over the floor. The pool itself was visible gross with hair and dirt floating over the top. And the smell was unbelievable - the changing rooms smelt like the most disgusting toilet accident - and not just a one off - the whole three days smelt like you were swimming/changing inside a dirty nappy.

It's such a shame because many things were nice. But the basics were absolutely gross and not compatible with having a good time.

My holiday was last week and my complaint has been completely ignored. I know it's been received since I phoned to check - but the lady told me that it will take time to receive a reply since "we get so many emails". One week later and they have not replied. Hence this review.

We have recently arrived home from a two night stay at Mersea, Colchester with Away Resorts and it was the most disgustingly caravan I have ever seen. On arrival the dust was thick underneath the dining table- in fact it looked like it hadn’t been hoovered in weeks. There was hair and other debris on the plastic trunking that separated the kitchen flooring and carpet. To add to this, there was a dirty tissue in one of the drawers in the main bedroom and a piece of hard pasta literally stuck to the side cabinet. The bed linen was stained throughout the caravan, so this made for an extremely uncomfortable and unpleasant stay. Needless to say, we will not be booking with them again. The cleaning standards are extremely poor for very basic, everyday tasks.

Absolute dump and the caravan is filthy dirty and disgusting.
We complained about the caravan and we were only offered a basic caravan with a bedroom less and without sea views, disgusting service. We’ve been coming here for over 25 years but won’t be coming back again. The caravan was disgustingly dirty with loads of damage and you can even see daylight through the door. NEVER AGAIN.

I had to cancel a holiday in Dec 25, but was persuaded to move the holiday date, which i did to this Yr.
However due to health problems, I decided to cancel altogether in good time so the chalet could be rebooked. Because of updating my booking, and now trying to cancel, plus being on the phone for ever, ive still had no refund, I cancelled early Feb, the holiday is for end of May, the holiday was pd for in full, less the deposits which they keep, im owed a substantial sum, promises of a phone call email are not forthcoming, nor will my deposit if they can get away with it. Don't be fooled by the ads, its certainly not all its cracked up to be, especially the disability chalets.
Fingers crossed I get my refund .

Just got back from mill rythe coastal village, nice break, but wanted to mention pool area, riddled with rust flooring covered in mould, flooring sticking up, definitely needs health and safety check up! It’s a shame as it’s a nice place too stay.

Just back from mill rythe, been here many times , overall nice site lovely bar, burst of blue caravan very very hard sofas, but our main concern was the pool area everywhere you looked there was rust and in large quantities, flooring all sticking up, it’s a accident waiting to happen, definitely need health and safety to check this out.

We had a pre Christmas weekend away booked at The Lakes Rookley Isle of Wight. Sadly the caravan was filthy dirty, mouldy, and smelt vile of wet dog.
The hot tub had an excessive amount of chemicals in it which stripped the colour from my children’s swimwear which meant we couldn’t use it! I wrote a polite email with feedback to guest services, had to wait nearly 2 weeks for a reply just to be offered a 20% discount on a future stay!! There’s absolutely no chance we’ll be staying again! Pretty disappointed by the whole experience! Would definitely not recommend.

We arrived at Sandy Balls Holiday Village in the New Forest for a family holiday, returning to a site I have visited regularly for over 40 years. Regrettably, the standard of our stay was far below expectations.

Upon arrival, we were informed that the swimming pool was closed. While not critical on its own, this information was not disclosed at the time of booking or before arrival. Our first evening meal at the Woodside restaurant revealed clear operational issues: one meal was sent back three times, with staff attributing the problem to a “new chef,” and another dish arrived missing advertised ingredients.

The following morning, the entire site experienced a power outage, resulting in the closure of all facilities, including the shop and arcades. No prior warning or explanation was provided.

Further issues occurred within our accommodation. A blocked toilet was dealt with using an unhygienic method that resulted in waste spilling onto the bathroom floor, which was not properly cleaned. After power was restored, we returned to find the dishwasher had flooded the floor and all sinks were blocked.

After decades of loyalty, it is extremely disappointing to see how far standards have declined under Away Resorts’ management. The site clearly requires urgent review of its maintenance procedures, staff training, and customer communication. We will not be returning and would advise others to consider alternative resorts.

New Year. What an absolute disgrace! Arrived 29.12 for 4 nights in a private caravan and paid an extra £150 for the use of facilities. I asked on the first day what was on, told there was a leaflet that i could take a photo of, not take a copy. Took a photo of each days' activities, some were just a name, no description of what they did/were. Come New Years Eve, we arrive at the door, only to be told we need wristbands (at extra cost) a family of 2 adults and 2 children were £105.00. We knew this by asking a couple who'd bought tickets, they'd decided to go home as the entertainment was so bad. I asked where had wristbands been advertised, turns out, as the staff told us, they hadn't been, we had to guess!!
The £150 passes we'd paid for just gave access to restaurants and an arcade, nothing else as nothing else was operating. So £150 to enter restaurants and an arcade then non-advertised extra payments for a New Year night of non-descript acts that was basically in an outside area? Ridiculous. I asked to speak to a manager, but there were "none available"...........of course.
Also, as far as the site goes, roads are dangerous, not wide enough for vehicles passing, barely any footpaths, no street lighting and signs are very misleading.
My advice would be to avoid the place and go somewhere else.
Our experience - Waste of money, over-priced, disorganised and very overrated.
First time at Tattershall Lakes and most likely, the last time.

Don’t stay at Sandy Balls. I’ve been 4 years in a row always staying at Knightswood - meant to be exclusive.. it is not. 2 nights into a 3 night stay already called maintenance twice because of a toilet that don’t flush, blocked sinks on arrival, broken entrance door handles. Whilst maintenance are great and come quickly, the call can be lengthy. The grey sofa is showing the filth. My socks alone from walking around the lodge would make your eyes water, filth. The shop has no bread and no delivery until Tuesday, not great selection of meats etc so get a food shop before hand. The Woodside Inn is not even worth heading to… tables taken up be families drinking pints, you can’t get seated to have a meal. If you have children and want a meal reserve a table at Aubrey’s before hand or you won’t get seated. I booked a load of activities, Alpaca Keeping in error which was £75 instead of Alpaca Walking. Head of activities had agreed to put my daughter into the Alpaca Walking which was £25 and a slime session which was £10 also given the option for the Aqua run (she can’t swim so that’s a no). The full list of activity on offer was not given. Had it of been then she would have wanted to do plushie making. On noticing that yesterday afternoon I contacted activities and requested some of the £40 left to be put towards that as they had openly offered alternatives earlier that day. I was informed she would get booked on, if there were any issues I would get a call (I did not). Up and ready and at plushie making today for 10am to be told she is not on the list. Went to the leisure centre for head of activities to come over and basically inform us that was an option yesterday but not today. There were 2 empty tables that seat 4 in plushie making, there was absolutely no reason they couldn’t let her do the activity. We used to come to Sandy balls for the luxury of the lodge and nice people, it’s quickly changing. People don’t pick up after their dogs either. It’s all just getting very dated and going downhill and in need of a major revamp. So disappointed.

Good design and functionality. Slight delay in delivery

I'm as upset about the handling of my complaint as I am about the trip itself - I will call out Steven Dunn who seems to have gone into radio silence the last time I emailed him advising him that the booking process is not compliant. So heres the thing:

I booked a 2 night break in Whitecliff Bay, Isle of Wight, just before Christmas for my family and some friends. What I didn't realise is that literally none of the facilities (apart from Crazy golf and laundry I think) are open. They have 3 eateries and entertainment centre - which is advertised as you book - but none of them are open (which is weird in my experience).

My issue isn't with that - it might be strange but it is their choice. My issue is that not only is this not clear - it is actively advertised throughout the booking process. Not only that they advertise - on the Whitecliff Bay park page - Festive Breaks. All very misleading.

So I wrote to complain about the misleading booking process and got a very "cut and paste" response from Steven telling me I should have found the link towards the bottom of the long page clicked on it to see what was open.

He then proceeded to offer to move me to another park or change dates. Crazy idea for 2 reasons - 1) I can't just align the stars for 9 people to all have time off at the same time again and 2) I'd paid for unrefundable ticket for the Isle of Wight ferry. A very weird offer by Mr Dunn.

He also stated it wasn't possible to put a banner up which advised at the time of booking that there was limited facilities open - yet The Lakes Rookely, another park on the Isle of Wight and also on the very same Away Resorts website as Whitecliff Bay, does put a very helpful banner up on the booking pages advising that there are limited facilities for the time you are booking.

I let Mr Dunn know this and advise that I would need to complain to the NCC. Whether this will do anything I have my doubts, but given the lack of response from Away Resorts and rudeness of Mr Dunn - I don't think I have an option.

But here is the kicker - just yesterday Away Resorts marketing in their infinite wisdom decided to send me an email entitled "Your guide to an extra tasty escape" - where it advised me that I can eat at one of the 3 CLOSED venues onsite. Truly ridiculous and shows they have no real respect or appreciation of their customers.

A word of balance here. I have been to Whitecliff Bay a few times before. It is lovely when it's open. The staff are friendly and the grounds a well kept. But this is about Away Resorts and I will never use them again.

That's them deleted a negative review because they know they are at it!
Unsafe machinery and unsafe working practices.
Can't handle a bad review and obviously don't want anything getting out to the public.

If I could give 10 stars I would , after having disaster with another chalet on the bay (nothing to do with Away)
We moved into one of the meadows chalets , dealt with by Away resorts , who are on site , I have to say the whole process of dealing with them has been a joy , from the reception to actually moving into the chalet , wow wow, unbelievable, so so clean everything, every part of it and the presentation when you walk in the table set up for a meal , warm so inviting, you can see the pride in how the housekeepers leave it.
I do not want to leave , I love it ,
It has not been an easy time on this short break my hubby ended up in hospital , but Away made it better and looked after me with an extended stay, I am so happy, it has been so lovely to stay here, I cannot wait to come back.
Also the little doggy box was so sweet , he loves his little cover it is a lovely little touch.
A HUGE THANK YOU
Kindest regards to everyone involved.Diane Lukeman xxSheffield.

I’ve been going to Tattershall Lakes for 4 years now & never had an issue prior to my recent visit. The customer service was fantastic but when I got to my lodge, which was the Shadow Wood range that was built in 2024, I found multiple issues. The coat hangers weren’t drilled in correctly so they twisted when anything was hung up, the heavy curtains in the living room were hung on a flimsy plastic runner which meant the curtains didn’t shut properly. The curtains across the doors were missing meaning there was no privacy from walking from the bedroom to the bathroom & the road was visible from the doors. The radiators in both the bathroom & en-suite were leaking all over the floor, the window cill in the dining area fell off when it was leant on. The dishwasher door was put on at an angle so had to open the cupboard doors on either side to access the dishwasher, the entrance door had dropped on its hinges causing a gap at the top of the frame allowing the cold from outside into the lodge. The hot tap for the bath only gave Luke warm water, there was a screw in the bed frame hanging out which wasn’t screwed in properly, the TV wouldn’t access the internet connection & with it being a smart TV requires WiFi so had to use my own data from my phone in order for it to work. Finally the hot tub was not private & was easily viewed from the road & adjacent lodges.

Last minute short stay Whitecliff Resort Isle of Wight
Just paid for a short stay at Whitecliff Resort Isle of Wight and this time foolishly booked via Expedia.Once paid I was informed there would be a further charge for the dog and there did not appear to be a link to the ferries that there normally is. (not a problem but its still a misleading advert by Expedia and it will be reported to trading standards) The hour suddenly took a turn for the worse. I noticed I had booked the wrong dates. Went back on Expedia (within the hour) to try and change dates only to find out there was nothing anyone could do to change the dates as Away resorts clearly do not change dates for genuine mistakes. Everyday is a school day as the saying goes. Things learnt: 1)Use a reputable company.2) Dont book a vacation right after a night shift. 3) Take a law degree to read the small print.

Just had 4 nights at Sandy Balls in The New Forest. Our lodge was exceptional well equipped and nothing to want for. The hot tub was monitored twice daily and I cannot fault it. The staff were attentive and polite at all times and we had a brilliant time. Close to Paultons And Peppa Pig world. I would recommend and definitely return.

Our stay was absolute fantastic! Beautiful lodges , roomy and spotlessly clean!
Staff so helpful ,
Great contact with them , if any thing was not ok they came out within , a few mins ! All sorted !
One of the loveliest places we have stayed!