In 2022, it was rated the worst British holiday park chain out of a field of 19 in a survey by consumer association Which?

[2] As of April 2024[update], two of the remaining Pontins resorts (Brean Sands and Pakefield) were closed to the public for a temporary but extended period due to serving as accommmodation for construction workers on nearby projects.

[3][4] Fred Pontin opened his first holiday camp in 1946 on the site of a former U.S. army base (built during World War II), at Brean Sands near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset at a cost of £23,000.

On 30 November 2023, Britannia Hotels, owners of Pontins, suddenly closed the parks at Prestatyn and Camber Sands with immediate effect, affecting people who had made bookings for the Christmas period.

[12] In March 2021 a whistleblower provided the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) with an internal Pontins document listing what were considered to be common Irish surnames, deeming people so named to be "undesirable guests" whose booking was to be refused.

[16] The practice was investigated by the EHRC, which found Pontins was "directly discriminating on the basis of race", breaching the Equality Act 2010.

[13] The Britannia Hotel Group, which owns Pontins, made a legal agreement with the EHRC to investigate and end the practice, and change its policies and systems accordingly.