Johnfowlerholidays Reviews 

We chose a gold caravan (the original Saunton Lodge) in early July. We’ve been coming to Ruda for at least 25 years, our kids and friends kids have grown up with our annual holidays with our best friend. We booked a lodge as a treat, and when we arrived we were disappointed with the condition of it. The wood was rotting on the outside, with holes down one side and desperately needed painting, they replaced some of the decking planks. Inside the fridge was dirty, with the head housemaid saying they can’t clean it as the bottom shelf it can’t be removed, when all it took was a screw to be undone either side to pull it out, then you could clean the bottom tray. The freezer was frozen solid, you had to force the door open, and none of the drawers could be opened. Most of the kitchen doors were blown out, so pictures definitely do not betray the true reality of the caravan. The en-suite showers silican sealant was covered with mould, but they’d removed the bathrooms sealant and replaced it with new, why couldn’t they of done the same in the en-suite showers, it’s not a long job, and I believe if you start doing up a lodge you should of finished it. I went to complain but the manager had just left for the day, I was promised she would come see me tomorrow as there were no lodges available that allowed dogs. I was offered a small refund. Although our first neighbours had 2 dogs, but the second arrivals had none, I was told that no dogs are allowed in non pet lodges due to the possibility of a guest having an allergy. This doesn’t make sense putting guests in pet lodges unless you also have allergy only lodges as well. Later that evening the Assistant Mgr and Head of housekeeping came to see me, as the General Manager was now not on site tomorrow. I pointed out all of the above, and I didn’t appreciate the Asst Mgr attitude towards me, he couldn’t see why I was upset seeing a rotting lodge with holes down the side when I’d paid nearly £3000 for the week. Plus the fact the fridge and freezer hadn’t been checked, and the simple task of unscrewing the bottom tray to clean it. In the end I gave up it was like talking to deaf people. Telling me that the park has had no maintenance for the last 6 years whilst Parkdean tried to sell it. John Fowler are apparently investing vast amounts of money to catch up. I was just upset as I’m disabled and I’ve been saving a whole year from my low income so that my family could enjoy my definition of a luxury holiday. Obviously my expectations were unrealistic. I’m returning at the end of Sept with my family and best friend and god daughter, I’ve explained it won’t be what we thought as I doubt any small improvements will of been made, like replacing the freezer for example. They provided us with a small freezer placed in the lounge as nowhere else to go. Or redoing the silicon sealant in the en-suites. Apart from that we had fantastic weather, the camping field with a bar, street food and live music a few days a week was fantastic, especially with the sea view. I was offered a small refund, but still waiting, and am not confident I will even get it. I’ve received no correspondence confirming my complaint, the discussion or refund, only verbally by one of the receptionists whilst she was on the phone to the general manager instructing her what to do and make the offer. I love Croyde but I don’t think I will be back next year which fills me with sadness.

Arrived at trelawne manor wheelchair access not good un kept not maintained nearly tipped up not really much on site .. swimming if you could book a spot was ok lack of knowledgeable staff didn't really know what they were doing if anyone had got into trouble i don't think any staff would have noticed . Reception not a good welcome unpleasant couldn't care attitude to busy talking amongst themselves to listen to you not wheelchair accessible in manor not clean. My car got hit in car park by the cleaning staff i was near when it happened...no respect for people's property aggressive very intimidating in their gang manger was going to speak to them ( not really) not a good impression for the John fowler site employing aggressive staff who were very confrontational and didn't even do the their job properly I suppose you get what you pay for. I am still waiting on outcome but accessing my car with garage it was a deep and needs filling and re spray so I am out of pocket because no one wanted to know. My first and last time here I would not recommend trelawne manor UNWELCOMING not helpful never get back to you and watch where you park staff and hired staff dont care to busy in their gangs . To holiday makers who view this site it maybe cheap and looks ok go read reviews their are better sites and friendly and helpful staff somewhere else and you can leave your vehicles safe and sound .
Disgusted with Trelawne Manor

TOLROY MANOR, HAYLE ,
accommodation is disgusting, dirty and so smelly I seriously believe it is a danger to health, whole place needs knocking down and replaced with caravans or new buildings,, staff very unhelpful standing around,

The caravan was rotten dirty dusty damp and full of thick cobwebs, i wouldn't even call it a gold more standard and thats being generous.
The camp itself again was dirty dead flies on the restaurant window ledge and in the outside pool. The food was mediocre, when they had what you ordered in as nine times out of 10 they didn't.

We've been to trelawne manor 4 times now and sadly this will be the last everything was terrible, we was out the camp more then in it. The bar is closed during the day which again makes no sense. The entertainment was terrible it was just awful and a complete waste of our hard earned money.

When we complained about the state of the caravan we was told someone would be round to clean it no body came until the manager called me on Tuesday and offered a clean again I said there's no point now we've done most of it. We shouldn't have to clean but we got fed up of waiting and I wasn't unpacking my clean stuff in that dirt. I have videos and images of the state of the van.

This was the only van with a hot tub so moving to another wasn't an option and that wasn't even offered to us nothing has been offered not even a partial refund.

As a family we are disappointed and would never return or recommend a holiday here or with John fowler once they have your money they don't care.

The caravan was a bit short of what we asked for , should have been a platinum plus I feel it was a silver /gold , the curtains hanging off the rails , radiator in bathroom rusted, no bathroom cupboard, only 4 tumbler glasses not 6 , WiFi was bad connection even with payment, television in both lounge and bedroom no tuning properly,
Staff not helpful reception staff told us someone would come and see us no one came to see us .
Clubhouse very busy very warm and this wasn’t school holidays.

Staff were friendly and helpful, amazing views. But caravan wasn't that clean upon arrival and not good with mobility if want to visit the beach by foot as very steep. Also no wifi available.

Caravan was lovely clean, beds made up. Negative side was when opened caravan door we faced bins and a car park,in the heat wave bins weren’t ideal location. Also outside bed room window there a street lamp, even with dark curtains light pollution was terrible in master bedroom south bay Brixham

We went to Ruda Holiday Park, Croyde, North Devon for half-term May 2026. Our first time. We booked a Swift Premium Plus, 3 bedrooms Van (6-8 people) for 3 adults and 3 teenagers. The picture of that type of caravan looked luxury and spacious on their advertising media, with a double bed and chest on each side and plenty of room to walk around. In practice, the double bedroom was hideous! When you opened the door (which was installed sideways to save room), you more or less fell on the bed. There was not enough room for 2 people to stand up together or get around the bed - with only 6-8” each side of the bed. And an end wardrobe that wouldn’t open because of lack of space! We thought it was the wrong van, so we went to see the reception on site. Also the fact that a ensuite was supposed to be included. Which turned out to be a toilet and tiny wash basin across the narrow corridor. Reception told us it was correct because it was a NEW Van? So I left it until we came home rather than spoil our break. Since then I have put in a complaint to the relevant people ‘who state they take complaints seriously!’ The complaint was focused on mis-selling sleeping accommodation and toilet facilities. They were slow to respond, but eventually I received a long reply, based on the usual waffle! Saying it states on T&C that things may vary! Which is just a cop out as far as I am concerned. The van was 15 Lundy View.
My question is why advertise a caravan which is far removed from the one you are allocated and pay extra for? The rest of the experience were no complaints.

John Fowler holiday review

Well in my opinion please do not deal with this company
We have a short break booked in August
25 per cent of the holiday is paid
I asked for a small extension [8 days] to make the final balance payment and reason for this was I have sadly suffered a bereavement, and I have had time of work and used all my surplus cash to deal with things such as travel and funeral costs as I am not made of money
I have asked John Fowler for this small extension, and they have cancelled my holiday and what I have paid has gone
I have found them in my opinion very unhelpful and for me the most important thing the one thing we probably need more than ever is a break away from things
Thanks John Fowler your service to me has been great !

We booked a 7 night stay at the south wing in Combe Martin beach. We were aware that they didn’t play bingo every night but did in a couple of occasions through the week but we could use the sister park (5 min car drive up the road) do we weren’t that bothered as we could still access entertainment and bingo should we want to. This is stated on the website. But when we arrived we were told bingo wasn’t played at all and if we wanted to access the other sister park we had to fork out £8 per person for entertainment passes on top of the price we had already paid for the holiday to visit the sister park. We checked in the place stunk of damp. I cleaned round to make it smell better and we settled in a went out for a explore, we came bk and went to bed after 5 minutes of my son being in bed the bed collapsed on him he’s autistic and it frightened him we tried to calm him down and move him beds but he wouldn’t sleep near a bed again and after checking the other beds they were nearly all ready to collapse they were shocking even after being repaired they were very week and if you pressed on them lightly they were bending nearly breaking then the other beds were held together with planks of wood that looked like they were from fencing panels and still not sturdy enough. The kitchen door handles were not connected and my autistic son the handle fell off in his hand and he was locked into the kitchen on his own screaming he couldn’t get out it was a good job I had the back door unlocked so I could get around the clock to get him out. When the maintenance man came out he said that previous maintenance had silliconed the handles that was not allowed, the last night we was there we had no handles at all and I had to shut the kitchen door so my autistic son who now knew there was a door to get out without a good lock on it couldn’t get out we had to go find pliers so I could keep him from getting out and keeping him safe. We had had enough by this time and we checked out at 11.45 on the Monday morning. I have emailed customer care the very day we left and I’ve still not had a reply today.

Widemouth bay site is beyond amazing all staff are amazing entertainment on all day everyday multiple staff all day, plenty of activities like swimming arcade mini golf, park and more, food is delish and prices are reasonable, there is also a beach close by within walking distance,

We have been holidaying at this park for a number of years and always returned to it. However they have now been taken over by John Fowler and our latest experience left a bad taste for us.
We arrived early to be told that our allocated Gold Plus van wasn't ready. When we got the keys at 3pm we eagerly sought out the van. unpacking all our food and finding the Freezer door didn't shut!
There were 2 blue bags of laundry sat in the living room and the outdoor table was messy. There was a trim missing on the inside of the van and the worktop edges were broken as was one of the stools. Also there was a light shade missing.
Further inspection found that the shower rose was held together with Toilet Paper!
We complained to reception and eventually a cleaning team came to rectify the issues. They said that the van hadn't been cleaned and wasn't on their list to be cleaned that day! They called for a maintenance team to fix the shower holder. They scraped the build up of ice that was stopping the freezer door from closing and cleaned the outside table.
When they left they said that they had arranged for a voucher to be made available for us to be collected the next day.
We made further inspections and found that the toilet was unclean and also the bed sheets were soiled. The laundry bags were also still in our way so we made another call to reception and they eventually said that under duress they try to move us to another van. Eventually they rang back and said that there was a van available.
We therefore had to repack everything and collect the keys then move to the new van all of which was eating into our holiday time!
We moved into the new van which at least had been cleaned but noticed there were ants crawling around.
On Saturday we visited the reception to ask about the promised voucher to be told that as we had been moved there would be no voucher!
We mentioned the ant problem and were told a man would come with an Ant box - he never came so we suffered the Ants.
We found the staff friendly and happy but the state of the Caravans are inferior to what we have experienced before so having loved this park we will not be returning again and will look elsewhere for a non John Fowler resort for future Devon holidays.

Stayed in Bronze caravan after Bank Holiday at Ruda, Croyde in North Devon. Stayed with friends in several caravans for 4 nights. On arrival at 4pm there were very large queues but the staff were very courteous and did their best to sort everyone out as quickly as possible. We had Bronze caravans which are the older ones so were a little worn but had been cleaned very well. One of our party complained that the mattress was uncomfortable and the staff immediately delivered a brand new one. Our caravan was missing a chopping board and again it was delivered to caravan before I even got back!! We had a problem with caravan and the grounds maintenance man Chris was so helpful. Another problem with my friend's caravan drain was dealt with promptly and all the staff were very friendly and helpful. We booked the older caravans (which was reflected in the price) so we expected a little wear and tear. Showbar entertainment was fun - a great duo - and the Stripies were great at getting everyone joining in! Overall we had a great time and will be back again soon!

Stayed at St Ives Holiday Park as a family with three different accommodations.
What a complete let down, no swimming pool or children’s park open. No ramp access into clubhouse.
Prices were high, food only on evening and that was expensive and not impressive.
Entertainment was terrible, nothing like it used to be when my children were younger, thought it would be great to take grandchildren to where their parents used to go. Never again.
The park is terrible, no proper footpaths, had to walk over grass and miss the dog poo as you go. As well as brambles everywhere.
Give John Fowler Holidays a wide berth, not worth the money and staff are not very helpful.
We came home early as it was a waste of our time and money being there.

Trelawne manor lacks entertainment for children, children’s park rather dangerous as by a road and not gated off lack of park bits to do. Crazy golf is pointless as not enjoyable swimming was ok but no life guard just regular staff occasionally there. Caravan rooms very small unable to accommodate travel cot wouldn’t go back

Had a lovely time and the staff was so sweet and very welcoming

Worse stay I’ve ever had with Johnfowler (Sandy Glade Holiday Park) through Hoseasons. If you want to ruin your holidays go ahead with them. I booked Easter break (it happens to be my son’s birthday too). They call it Gold Chalet (2 bedroom dirtiest small apartment). The pics uploaded by Hoseasons are not what I was given by Johnfowler (Sandy Glade HP) receptionist. No hot water, no hygiene whatsoever. Toilets / bath / carpet full of dirty hair and I had to (check out) leave one day earlier. I’ll never recommend family holidays over there. I don’t have words to express my feelings here, but hey you (Hoseasons, Johnfowler, Sandy Glade) ruined my son birthday and our family holidays.

I took my 2yr old Grandson on the Tots Break at Sandy Glade recently. It was his first time at a caravan site and we both loved it.
The children’s entertainment which mainly catering for up to 5yr olds was good fun and the team was great.
The Reception staff were really helpful and friendly as with all the staff I had interacted with.
I’d booked a Platinum plus caravan which had decking and was lovely as the weather was good and my Grandson had the freedom of being able to go outside.
To summarise we had a lovely 4 night stay and would definitely consider going again.

Stayed at the Sandy Glade holiday park near Burnham-on-Sea 10 out of 10 for staff friendliness had a fabulous weekend and hats of to Jo George Sophie and Amy at the Chefs corner cafe on site 13 of us had a roast dinner and I have to say outstanding the food was absolutely delicious freshly made and melt in the mouth best I’ve tasted I will be back thank you from Liz C

LLANRHIDIAN HOLIDAY PARK/PURPLE BADGER avoid at all costs, they DO NOT clean the soft play, resulting in a baby getting hold of dirty food left in the soft play- ball pit, which adults cannot get into. The baby in question has a milk allergy and the food left had milk in it. When reported the site manger could not care, he was the rudest man I have ever met and definitely has short man syndrome. 2 follow up complaints have been ignored and told ‘I will not be dealing with this anymore’. AVOID AND DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY