Disgruntled campers: Pontin's ranked among UK's worst holiday parks

A new ranking of UK holiday parks placed Pontin last out of 19 competitors, and big names struggled as Norfork-based Potters Resorts took the crown.

The chart, compiled by Which?, was created by polling 1,355 members on how they rated their stays at holiday parks across the UK . The categories of cleanliness, quality of accommodation, customer service, facilities, entertainment, dining and value for money were rated on a scale of one to five.

Which? Travel editor Guy Hobbs said the survey "saw smaller family resorts triumph over the bigger names, so you don't have to go for the more expensive option to have a great experience".

Potters - which has two locations in Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk, and Maldon, Essex, and offers free food and drink as part of its price of £72 per night - got perfect results in all seven areas. Earning a customer score of 88%, it narrowly beat Waterside Holiday Group by a single point, which also had a full category sweep, despite the most expensive price at £80 per night.

Pontin's, meanwhile, scored a 59% bruise, with its quality of accommodation receiving the only two stars in the category and its entertainment and value for money earning the same rating. The former family vacation juggernaut's poor reputation is not a new experience for its owner Britannia Hotels - Which? rated it Britain's worst hotel chain for nine consecutive years.

At £49 a night, Pontin's is just a pound cheaper than Bluestone National Park Resort, which ranked fourth. The Welsh holiday park finished behind Potters, Waterside and Away Resorts, with all four parks receiving the Which? Recommended Suppliers stamp.

Bluestone Commercial Director Yvonne Buckingham is committed to building on the resort's success, saying "our continued investment ensures that our customers can expect the best possible short term break as which?the survey shows”,

Other big names in the holiday park industry, Center Parcs and Butlin's, failed to make the top 10, scoring 72% and 71% respectively.Haven Holiday Parks and Parkdean Resorts finished second with 68%.

Parkdean disputed the results, with a spokesperson saying: "We do not recognize these results, which are from a tiny sample compared to the 3.5 million holidaymakers we welcome each year. The spokesperson also claimed that they do not believe the results published by Which? "represent the feedback Parkdean receives from its customers, as the review scores are the best they have ever been".