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Disappointing overall experience despite good fishing
We stayed at Chestnut Pool for a week and paid £1,500 for the holiday. As anglers, we actually had a good week on the fishing side, catching 15 fish, and we made the best of the situation and enjoyed our time together. Unfortunately, the accommodation and facilities let the experience down considerably.
The biggest disappointment was the hot tub. It was extremely murky and foamy when we arrived and, despite the company later telling us that the water had supposedly been changed and the tub cleaned before our arrival, our experience was very different. I have photographs showing the condition of the water. We had specifically planned to use the hot tub on a couple of evenings during the week, so this was a significant part of the holiday that we couldn’t enjoy. In fact, we ultimately changed our Eurotunnel booking and left on Friday evening rather than Saturday morning because we weren’t fishing that night and had planned to spend the evening using the hot tub.
The outside toilet was another disappointment. We had specifically requested beforehand that it be opened and had explained why having an additional toilet was important for our party. We were told this would be done, but it was never opened during our stay.
On arrival there was nobody there to greet us and we initially couldn’t get hold of the owner, although this was resolved after around 10 minutes.
The cleanliness of the property also wasn’t what we expected for the price. There were cobwebs around the accommodation and belongings from previous guests had been left behind. The sinks, plugs and shower were also extremely slow to drain throughout the week.
For us as carp anglers, the most concerning issue was the fish care equipment as photos . The landing net and other equipment provided were not, in our opinion, suitable or safe for handling carp. The landing net had sharp and broken parts, and the scales provided were also broken and effectively unusable. We raised this with Dream Carp Holidays, and they subsequently acknowledged that damaged or unsuitable fish care equipment should not have been left available for guests to use and that this needed addressing.
There was also an issue with the outside bins, with one being full of maggots on arrival, and bait that we had been told would be available wasn’t there when we arrived.
I did raise all of these issues formally with Dream Carp Holidays after returning home. To their credit, they did respond and acknowledged that there were areas that needed addressing, including the fish care equipment and outside toilet. However, I was disappointed with the overall handling of the situation and felt that too much of the response focused on explaining or defending what had supposedly been done rather than addressing the experience we actually had.
I want to stress that we did enjoy the fishing and caught 15 fish, so this review isn’t because we had a poor fishing week. We made the best of things and enjoyed the time together. However, when paying £1,500 for a week’s holiday, I think it is reasonable to expect the accommodation to be clean, advertised facilities to be available and usable, and fish care equipment to be safe and fit for purpose.
Unfortunately, based on our experience, I wouldn’t return to Chestnut Pool or recommend it to others without significant improvements being made.
Lake owner’s response
Thank you, Marc, for your feedback. I’m pleased your group enjoyed the fishing and caught 15 fish, but I’m sorry that the accommodation and facilities detracted from your holiday.
The cleaner always sends me photographs and videos after cleaning the accommodation between guests. The hot tub water is also changed between each booking, and the cleaner confirmed that it had been emptied, cleaned and refilled before your arrival. However, I recognise that this differs from the condition you describe, and the changeover footage cannot establish what the water was like when you came to use it. I understand that the hot tub was an important part of your plans and why being unable to enjoy it was disappointing.
The outside toilet should have been unlocked following your request and our agreement. I’m sorry this was not done, particularly as you had explained why the additional toilet was important to your party.
New landing nets, slings and mats had been supplied approximately three weeks before your stay. However, the old equipment should have been removed, and I acknowledge your point that you could not find the replacements. Damaged equipment should not have been left available for use, and suitable fish-care equipment needs to be clearly accessible to guests.
I also acknowledge your comments about the accommodation’s cleanliness, drainage, scales, outside bins and bait availability. These are relevant concerns about the preparation and upkeep of the venue.
Although we spoke during the week, I understood that most of these issues had not been brought to my attention at the time. The cleaner lives approximately ten minutes away, so there was an opportunity to investigate and, where possible, put things right during your stay. I appreciate, however, that you had already requested access to the outside toilet and this remained unresolved.
Thank you for acknowledging the enjoyable aspects of your stay while explaining where the experience fell short. I’m sorry that these issues affected your holiday.
Tudor
Owner, Chestnut Pool
