A Scottish family has spoken of their “ruined” summer holiday after discovering black mould, filthy carpets and chewing gum stuck to the walls in their £1,000 caravan at the Craig Tara Haven resort in Ayrshire. Vicki Kilburn, 33, her partner Liam Lemancyzk, 33, and their three children Lyle, 10, Oscar, 7, and one-year-old Jude checked in on July 1 but cut their trip short after just four days.
Ms Kilburn, a hairdresser from Dundee, said she found black mould on the pillows she, her partner and baby Jude had been sleeping on. Baby Jude was born four months prematurely and has a chronic lung disease, having spent 123 days in hospital with a collapsed lung and recently coming off oxygen. “I can’t believe he spent a night sleeping with us on mouldy pillows. It is shocking,” she said.
She also reported a broken gas fire, dog hair, torn curtains and a hanging gate. A complaint to reception on Tuesday, July 2, was reportedly ignored, and Ms Kilburn said she was left to try to clean the caravan herself. The family handed in the mouldy pillows to reception on Friday, July 5, and told staff they had had enough.
Haven apologised for the state of the accommodation, admitting it fell short of its “usual high standards”. A spokesperson said: “We are sorry that our accommodation didn’t meet our usual high standards of cleanliness and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. We have strict cleaning and hygiene policies in place which we regret were not followed on this occasion and we have taken several steps to address these with our team on park.”
The park insisted it had not been aware of the mouldy pillows until Friday, though maintenance had been notified about the gas fire issue. Ms Kilburn called for the caravan to be condemned as a “health hazard”.
