Bluestone National Park Resort under fire for cancelling bookings

Bluestone National Park Resort is now being accused of ‘corporate greed’ by disappointed and inconvenienced holidaymakers who have been told that their own bookings which include the first weekend in July cannot be honoured.

Particularly outraged are visitors from Ireland who have already spent several hundreds of pounds on ferry crossings to reach Wales.

'Absolutely shocking'

Said one mum: “It's absolutely shocking that they can do that to families who have booked and saved for their holidays - arranged time off and travel plans - just shocking!”

When Bluestone took the decision to accept the large controversial booking – described by a spokesman as being from a ‘private, corporate-type group’ – everyone who had a booking on those dates was contacted by Bluestone’s customer services team.

'Stunned'

Posting on the Bluestone Wales - Info group on Facebook, one disgruntled visitor said: "I was stunned when I got the email today. We are a 10 hour drive to get there so already booked extra accommodation either side of our week at Bluestone. Trying to work out what’s best to do for us now but they have really messed up our holiday.”

And another commented: "It's a prime example of corporate greed from a place that sells itself as "family friendly".

The luxury Pembrokeshire resort occupies 500 acres of land near Canaston Bridge. (Image: Bluestone National Park Resort)

Resort's response

The Bluestone spokesman said: ”Bluestone National Park Resort is committed to providing a unique and memorable experience for all its guests.

"Due to a large private booking on the weekend of 5 July that would affect the enjoyment of individual guests staying on the resort, we decided to transfer their holiday to alternative dates.

“This would ensure they had maximum use and enjoyment of the resort.

"We are currently contacting all affected guests to discuss alternative dates or options. We are committed to finding a solution that works for everyone, and we appreciate their patience and understanding.

“We are confident that we can find suitable alternative dates for all affected guests.

National accolade

Bluestone, which has around 400 accommodation units on its site near Canaston Bridge, including its new luxury lodges, was recently named as one of the top three best value holiday resorts in the UK for the second year running by Which?.

The ‘corporate booking’ incident has left some regular visitors disillusioned, with some even saying they would not return to the resort.

One said: “They cancelled existing bookings to take on a Corporate event? That's actual madness.

“It makes me not want to book again if this can happen."

'Awkward situation'

Replying to criticism from some visitors that the news had only been communicated to customers by email, the Bluestone spokesman told the Western Telegraph: “All guests affected were contacted initially by telephone by our customer service team during the day and evening, and then by email."

He admitted it was ‘an awkward situation’ and described it as a ‘very unusual and unique set of circumstances’.

'Really messed up our week's holiday'

One Irish visitor commented: “Hotel in Rosslare, week in Bluestone, ferries booked and I also have somewhere booked for the following week. I called them. No apologies or explanation. Said there was no compensation but we could cancel, reduce to 5 days or change dates. They have availability for the previous weekend if you want to go 28 June-5 July."

Another said: "I found them extremely unhelpful and unapologetic to be honest. I asked what the corporate event is but they couldn’t say. We’ll prob go over on the 28th instead but will certainly never book Bluestone again.

"Really messed up our week's holiday as I has also booked accommodation either side of it as we are a 10 hour drive with no stops to get there. Really angry at them."