Haven Holidays complaint: Beach access.

I wrote this to Thorpe Park but the email bounced back as undeliverable. I must tell you that my recent stay at Thorpe Park was not very enjoyable: by far the least enjoyable of my Haven experiences. The accommodation was good, but one of the reasons we chose Thorpe park was your advertising in relation to the Beach.

Your map of the park is very misleading. It appears to show that the perimeter of the park is next to the beach, which is not the case. People who wish to access the beach find that they have to walk through a whole other holiday Park, Humberstone Fitties, before they get to the beach, and that journey is complicated. It took me 20 minutes brisk walk to get there from my accommodation, and on one occasion it took 45 minutes because I got lost in the labyrinth of paths which were unsigned. Thereafter I was forced to use satnav to negotiate my way.

If that was not bad enough, imagine the disappointment when after negotiating this, you find a sign saying that the sea is unsafe and the beach is covered in alluvial mud. Similar considerations apply to the other access point, past your security post, allegedly easy to access. the reverse of your leaflet talks about RNLI links: none of your beaches are lifeguarded. It is quite clear to me that you advertising is misleading.

Some other Haven camps I have visited have poor beach access, such as Primrose Valley, but make up for it with good swimming pools. On the only time I tried to get into a swimming pool at Thorpe Park both indoor pools, clearly play pools, were closed but the outdoor Lazy River was open, and your water slide looks quite good.

Fortunately we only booked four nights at Thorpe Park but my family considered leaving early because of poor beach access and absolutely no countryside nearby. I was very annoyed yesterday to receive communication from you yesterday encouraging me to re-book at Thorpe Park, mentioning the beach. Your beaches are some of the worst ones I have ever encountered and our holiday a complete waste of time.