Golden Sands Holiday Park, Rhyl Avis 148

We have owned a van on Golden Sands Holiday Park for 15 years, and we are extremely disappointed with how the park has declined over time. People are now living full-time on the site, which is clearly not allowed, and this has completely changed the atmosphere. Bar prices have become outrageous, making it difficult to enjoy even a simple drink or snack.

Entertainment is only aimed at summer holidaymakers – outside of peak season, almost everything is closed, including activities and facilities, yet site owners still expect residents to pay full 12-month site fees. The lack of year-round amenities makes it feel like you’re paying for something you can’t actually use most of the time.

In recent years, there has also been an increase in trouble on the site. Fights regularly break out, and the police are frequently called to attend incidents. This creates an unsafe environment for residents and visitors, which is a huge concern.

Overall, the park has lost the charm and enjoyment it once offered. If you are considering buying a van here, be warned: the site fees are not justified, the facilities and entertainment are extremely limited, and the management seems unconcerned about the ongoing problems. In our experience, it is a complete rip-off.

Unsure yet but I have come back after my terrible experience last time we came here.so far things seem a lot better the cleaners are definitely doing a better job than the last time we stayed the site looks much cleaner workers everywhere working on 1 thing or another no issues so far let’s hope we can get to the end of the week the way it started Robert

I am writing to raise a formal complaint regarding my recent stay at Golden Sands, where I arrived and checked in on 25th August 2025. Unfortunately, my experience was extremely disappointing, and I feel the standards have dropped significantly compared to the many years I have been visiting your park.

Accommodation Issues
• I had paid for a non-pet-friendly caravan, yet on arrival, the caravan allocated to me had a large “pet friendly” sticker (I have photographic evidence).
• The caravan and surrounding area smelled overwhelmingly of cannabis, to the point where it was unbearable to enter. I immediately contacted Guest Services and was told to make my way to them, where another caravan was eventually found. At no point did I ask for an upgrade – I simply wanted the accommodation I had paid for.
• The second caravan was also not properly cleaned. There was dirty bedding left on the pull-out bed, with hairs on the pillows. I had to make a further call for additional bedding as there were not enough supplies for a 6-berth caravan.
• The fridge was faulty, with no seal and only the bottom half functioning.
• The caravan was missing essential items, with only 5 plates, 2 tumblers, 3 wine glasses, and insufficient cutlery – again unacceptable for a 6-berth booking. I have photographs as evidence.

Swimming Pool Incident

On Tuesday, I took my grandson and my children swimming, and the lifeguard on duty spoke to me in a rude and aggressive manner. He called out “oi” to get my attention and falsely accused my grandson of drowning, despite him being a competent swimmer. The lifeguard insisted on arguing with me rather than focusing on pool safety, demanding that my grandson “prove” he could swim, and shouting in front of my children. This reduced me to tears and left me humiliated.
To make matters worse, on Wednesday I witnessed lifeguards sitting on their mobile phones during their rotation. Signs in the pool clearly prohibit phones for safety and safeguarding reasons, yet this was ignored by staff.

Safety & Security Concerns
• During my stay, my car tyre was slashed. As my car is a mobility vehicle, I had no choice but to wait for Kwik Fit to attend. My husband contacted Guest Services about extending our stay, but was met with rudeness and unhelpfulness. I later had to plead my case in person to be allowed to extend, despite your own leaflets stating that extensions are possible. The first price quoted was £252, yet when finally processed, it was only £60 – a clear inconsistency.
• I also witnessed a serious incident involving children: a young boy was punched by a group of kids, who were also seen using the over-18 arcade machines unchecked. Security seemed more concerned with checking passes at the arcade entrance than addressing genuine safety issues.

Decline in Standards

I have been visiting Golden Sands for over 14 years, often 2–3 times a year. In the past, I have always found it to be a safe, family-friendly place where staff were polite and helpful. Sadly, this visit was the complete opposite. Most staff I dealt with were rude, unhelpful, and unprofessional. The only positive interaction I had was with an Irish lady on my last day, who was friendly, smiley, and went above and beyond to help – a stark contrast to the rest of the team.

Summary

This holiday left me feeling unsafe, disrespected, and extremely disappointed. I no longer felt comfortable bringing my children and grandchildren to what was once our favourite holiday park. Based on the issues listed above – poor accommodation standards, rude and aggressive staff, lack of safety, and an overall decline in service – I feel my experience fell far below what I paid for and what I have come to expect from Golden Sands.

I am therefore requesting a formal investigation and appropriate compensation for the distress, inconvenience, and poor service we received. I would also appreciate a written response outlining how you intend to address these serious concerns to ensure future guests do not experience the same.

I have retained photographic evidence of the issues with the caravan (bedding, fridge seal, lack of cutlery/plates, and pet-friendly allocation) and will provide them if required.

I look forward to your prompt response

Stank of weed. No chair to sit on. Grubby furnishings. Pay extra for WiFi.
No towels. Won't be back.

Booked a comfort caravan when we arrived we was given the keys at 3:57 and when we entered the van the beds hadn't been made actually it's was all on the table .since then we noticed several ants around the kitchen floor then later on the kitchen side so we started to disinfectant the work tops and was shocked they hadn't been cleaned in a long time this may be the reason. If you don't clean the accommodation correctly then this is what's going to happen the staff clearly don't care.

Stayed for 2 nights in van 22 seabreeze left my expensive sennheiser headphones in the van realised once we got home back to Stoke-on-Trent. Rang up really hopeful to be told nothing had been found or handed in by the cleaners. So what I paid for the 2 nights will cost me the same again to replace my headphones. Really disappointed I only wore them the Thursday night while my partner was asleep with our 2 year old they never left the van. Ensure nothing is left behind. Had an enjoyable time apart from this.

Booked a luxury lodge for a change I have been bringing my mum here now for 3 years and have always been happy with the budget of accommodation we chose. So thought we would go into a luxury lodge. When we first went through the doors it was fine then as it got hotter thro the day the smell of dog urine was awful there were stains on the sofas arms and legs and even on the walls bottom of the dinning chairs were falling apart all doors were thick in dust and when I moved one of the sofas around what I was greeted with was awful the actual radiator was disgusting then the shower cubicles were also grim one bathroom the blind was down and wouldn't stay up the dining table had tape on it and when my mum sat down to eat pulled her top the catch to hold the door open was broken so when we asked for a parasol we couldn't use it as we had to keep the door open with the table and I think the guy forgot also you couldn't find a parasol base I could literally go on with lots of issues. I had to take photos to confirm what l seeing. What makes it worse is that I convinced my brother and his wife to come along also they booked a lodge too and theirs was absolutely what I was expecting. We were told that away resorts had only just bought this lodge. Just to make clear I also had two little Dogs myself and so did my brother we paid the same price but the quality between both was very poor

Booked a private caravan, on arrival unable to drive into the park due to a coded barrier. Thought i would get the code from reception but no! . They wanted us to pay to 'register' and have entertainment passes i didn't want. If i didn't pay up i wasn't getting to the caravan.
Also there was no entertainment and not much else.
A rip off.

Poor management shocking food rude staff clearly get the cheapest entertainment possible the overpriced site needs a total overhaul from management above

Management are poor
Accounts are non existent

Sales lads are great but are let down by the people and process above!

been waiting for a deposit refund for over 2 weeks and had to take a trip down yesterday and was assured it would hit the bank yesterday…. yet again nothing.

This has resulted in us using another caravan site and purchasing numerous on another site.

Will make another bisit and keep posting reviews everyday until funds are received

Not very impressed with site at all.
Park not accessible if you do not have a car, entrance is down a very long narrow drive, which cars speed down.
No shop on site.
Most local taxis companies will not drop off or pick up to actual caravan either. Although park do give out barrier number and let grocery deliveries on and ice cream van on.

Had requested several times a caravan close to entrance due to arriving by public transport with a child with additional needs. Kept being told call nearer time. Eventually told caravan not allocated until day of arrival.
However had received text asking if we wanted to arrive a day early. Would we have had to change vans after one night then?
On arrival van was a fair walk away.
Don't think it was type of caravan I paid for as no decking but had ensuite in master bedroom
Caravan was clean and up to date but no can opener, scissors or tray for grill.
Restaurant staff were pleasant but food very poor and expensive.
Pets allowed inside restaurant and was dog mess on floor of restaurant.
Chip shop was fairly good.
Playground and amusements minimal.
Additional activities, mostly for young children and arts and crafts very limited and fee.
Internet very difficult to connect to, gave up and bought data from phone provider in end.
Did report problem in van and guy came out promptly.
Also they did offer to help get our bags to reception due to taxis not coming to van.
But overall for the price very disappointed, won't be returning and wouldn't recommend.

Always loved Golden Sands but disappointed lately,they haven’t had a shop on site since last year,chippy never open,and had to pay £6 daily for internet.People smoking pot in kids playground.Caravan was clean and tidy

Don't buy one from this site

Nothing to do on site if you have a 10-18year old extortionate prices for passes aswell which i wasnt told about got to be worst caravan experience ever AVOID

Arrived on site only to be charged an additional £180 for site passes and insurance, these fees were not specified in my booking, the swimming booking system is a joke, my kids never managed to get booked on once in the 6 days we were there, none of the phone numbers worked and couldnt contact the office via phone, expensive on site £5 a pint' £10 for fish and chips, no shop on site.. Lots of families in the foyer distressed about the hidden fees for site passes etc, hard enough to save for holiday as it is, Reception didn't help, and wouldn't allow me to make a complaint, told me to pay the fees or we can't stay.. Disgusting customer service, won't be going back..Everything else was great, great van and owner, great weather and people, shame the site rob people blind.. incredibly expensive WiFi, and charged stupid amount to use the site quad buggies, absolute rip off..

We love the camp site ,we rent off private renters ,The caravan is amazing but the fact you have no choice to buy passes is day light robbery ,we cannot book the children in for swimming because its fully booked ,no other camps in Towyn charge such a large amount for what they say ,security and other things ,well I wont ever be paying for a pass again and Imet many people who said they would never return because of the charge on top of the holiday ,its a shame this company only have money on their mind .

We were there for a nice relaxing friendly holiday. As a family we booked 3 caravans and a lodge.
The caravan the wife and I booked was the exclusive range so we paid extra. The caravan was nice, however we had no WIFI or frying pan(for self catering this is basic) it took two days of asking for one to be dropped off. The caravan was next to the maintenance area, this was the most noisiest and busy area in the park. Caravans being delivered well before 8 o’clock where the driver couldn’t have made any more noise if they tried. Workers arriving early parking their cars next to the bedroom windows whilst listening to their music loud in the cars.
On complaining we saw nothing from the manager. Our complaint was listened to by the reception staff however I feel after we left it was crumpled up and thrown in the bin. After a week there I need a quieter holiday next to Heathrow airport

I notice a lot of negative reviews about this lovely holiday park and I think they deserve a nice honest positive one .

I am currently staying here for a few days and my caravan is amazing we have a very modern caravan at a low cost it’s also very spotlessly clean thanks to Sam & Stacey the staff are very polite and helpful I’ve had no issues at all it’s my second visit here and I’ve had no problems with staff or the caravan I’ve stayed in I definitely recommend golden sands

Love Lodge but had too be evacuated after one night stay out of five day stay spoit our holiday communications was poor after spending a lot of money for this holiday kids disappointed and disability people inn the party want a complete refund and compensation

The life guards was really annoying, they were rather made out pool time not enjoying but annoying. Also the picture on the website of the play area was huge but there it was very simple one. Cleaning wise it was great and lovely people