Fred Pontin did not invent the package holiday, but he was one of the early pioneers in bringing it to the mass market. In the early 1960s, foreign holidays were still largely the preserve of the wealthy or the adventurous. Pontin believed that ordinary British families could be persuaded to holiday abroad if the experience was made cheaper – and rather less foreign. Or, as he liked to describe the idea: “Blackpool with sun.”
The formula was deliberately familiar. British food and drink would be served, British entertainers would provide the evening shows, and plenty of British staff would be on hand at airports and hotels to guide inexperienced travelers.
The Pontins board showed little enthusiasm for the idea, so Pontin decided to go it alone. He established a private company, Pontinental Holidays, and went into partnership with an Italian company. Among the early financial backers was American Express, which invested £50,000 in return for one million shares.
In 1963, the venture prepared to open its first resort, the 150-room Pineta Beach Hotel in Sardinia, built at a cost of around £400,000. A fortnight’s holiday was advertised for just £45 per person, including flights, airport transfers, all meals and free wine – bringing a Mediterranean holiday within reach of a much broader section of the British public.
Getting the resort open, however, proved considerably more difficult than selling the idea. Equipment was regularly stolen from the building site, contractors staged several strikes, and frequent power cuts disrupted construction. When the first holidaymakers arrived, they found the hotel still unfinished – much to the delight of the tabloid papers back home.
The problems delayed the official opening by around a month, but the Pineta Beach Hotel finally opened in September 1963. Despite its chaotic beginnings, it marked the start of what would become a surprisingly important and profitable overseas arm of the Pontins empire.
The following year, Pontin opened the Cala Mesquida resort in Majorca, but, like Pineta Beach, it suffered a host of teething problems. No fewer than three British managers came and went during its first season. That same year, Pontinental also acquired an existing hotel in Ibiza, while Fred Pontin persuaded the board of Pontins Ltd to advance his fledgling overseas company a £350,000 loan.
Despite the rapid expansion, losses were mounting. On several occasions the Pontins board was persuaded to provide further financial support, with the loans personally guaranteed by Fred Pontin. Although many of the early operational problems were gradually ironed out, Pontinental was still losing money and had accumulated losses of around £250,000 during its first two years.
In June 1965, Pontins Ltd finally brought the overseas venture into the main company, acquiring Pontinental through a share-exchange deal valued at around £500,000. For every 25 Pontinental shares held, investors received seven Pontins shares – representing a substantial loss for many of the original backers. The partnership with the Italian company was dissolved, and the Ibiza hotel was given to a Spanish bank in return for their 35% stake in Cala Mesquida.
Slowly, however, Fred Pontin’s gamble began to pay off. Pontinental moved into profit just as growing numbers of British holidaymakers were beginning to embrace the package holiday abroad. For many guests it was their first experience of foreign travel, and the influence of the traditional British holiday camp remained obvious – some reportedly even referred to their hotel rooms as “chalets.”
With the business now on firmer ground, Pontins pressed ahead with further expansion. In 1970, construction began on a third Pontinental resort, the new Hotel Pontinental at Torremolinos on Spain’s Costa del Sol. It proved sufficiently successful that five years later a second, similar hotel was built alongside it.
Fred Pontin was never one to overlook a publicity opportunity, and even his passion for horse racing became another way of promoting the company. One of his horses, appropriately named Cala Mesquida, won the 1970/71 Schweppes Gold Trophy, while another raced under the name Go Pontinental. Pontin reportedly instructed his trainers and jockeys that his horses should always finish among the first three or four – not simply for the prize money, but because it ensured that the commentator would keep repeating the names Cala Mesquida and Go Pontinental throughout the race.
In 1973, Pontins significantly expanded its overseas interests by acquiring a 92% stake in SA Holiday Club of Luxembourg for £1.25 million. The company owned or leased six resorts spread across Majorca, mainland Spain, Greece and Morocco.
These properties were not initially brought under the Pontinental banner. Instead, they retained the Holiday Club name and were deliberately marketed as something rather different from Fred Pontin’s familiar “Blackpool with sun” formula. Whereas Pontinental attempted to provide British holidaymakers with many of the comforts and customs of home, Holiday Club was aimed at the more adventurous traveller, offering more local food, entertainment and atmosphere.
Pontins made no attempt to disguise the difference. As its 1976 brochure rather bluntly explained: “If you like only English habits, like bingo, and chips with everything, then Holiday Club is probably not for you.”
By the late 1970s, Pontinental had become a highly successful part of the Pontins empire, accounting for around 20% of the company’s annual profits. In 1978, Pontins was acquired by Coral Leisure, which was itself taken over by Bass two years later.
As millions of Britons grew accustomed to travelling abroad they became increasingly comfortable with foreign food, customs and entertainment. By the early 1980s, the former Holiday Club and Pontinental properties were merged together under the name Holiday Club Pontinental.
Under Bass ownership, the Pontinental name was gradually phased out, with the overseas resorts initially marketed under the Holiday Club International banner. From 1983, Bass began transferring the operation to its Horizon Holidays division, increasingly separating the foreign resorts from the traditional Pontins holiday-camp business. By the mid-1980s, the overseas properties had disappeared from the main Pontins brochures altogether, effectively bringing the Pontinental era to an end.
List of Pontinental Holiday Club resorts
Pineta Beach Resort, Sardinia
The first ever Pontinental resort opened in 1963 at a cost of £400,000 (equivalent to over £10 million today). At its heart was a three-storey, 170-bed hotel, later complemented by 50 small self-catering bungalows scattered across the 50-acre grounds. Remarkably, the site is still operating today and looks much as it did in the 1960s – though its original swimming pool has since been replaced. It is now known as the Villaggio Dei Pini Hotel.
Cala Mesquida, Majorca
Opened in 1964 as the second Pontinental resort, Cala Mesquida featured simple brick chalets scattered among pine trees beside a picturesque beach. Each consisted of a double room with a bed, wardrobe and washbasin, while guests shared communal bathroom blocks dotted around the grounds. In 1965 the resort was expanded to almost twice its original size, with the addition of two-storey “luxury” chalet blocks, each offering the advantage of a private bathroom.
In 1965, a two-week holiday at Cala Mesquida cost between 42 and 47 guineas (£44.10–£49.35) per adult, depending on the time of year, with the new luxury chalets costing an additional two guineas. Remarkably, the price included return flights from Gatwick, airport transfers, three meals a day and even free wine with dinner. Food was served by “attractive Spanish waitresses” which was a unique feature on the island where all waiting on tables was usually done by men
A new 180-bed hotel followed in 1971, bringing total capacity to around 700 guests.
The resort remained under Pontins’ ownership until the late 1980s, when it was sold and later mostly demolished. By 1999 a new holiday complex had opened on the site, with little surviving from the Pontins era – the original small chalets are gone, replaced by modern hotel blocks. Fred Pontin once owned a villa in the village.
Pontinental Torremolinos, Spain
The third location was opened in 1970, and in 1975 a second similar hotel was built next door. The two became known as Pontinental I and II: the original offering an outdoor pool and tennis courts, while the newer addition featured an indoor pool and conference facilities. Guests were free to move between the two. The two buildings were later sold off independently and are now run as separate businesses. The original 1970 hotel is known as the Ibersol Torremolinos Beach Hotel while the 1975 building is known as the Hotel Puente Real. The road that runs down beside the complex is still named Calle Hotel Pontinental
The following 6 resorts were all acquired during the acquisition of SA Holiday Club in 1973. Some were owned by Holiday Club while others were leased.
Club Tropicana, Majorca
The resort had 356 rooms scattered over 25 acres. Some rooms were in the hotel building, while others were in chalets dotted around the grounds. Still open as Club Hotel Riu Tropicana
Club M’Diq, Morocco
Built in 1969 and located on the edge of a large beach. The hotel had 300 rooms. Demolished 2000 and the land used to build the Sofitel Tamuda Bay resort which opened in 2016.
Poseidon, Greece
Rooms were available in the hotel or in bungalows in the grounds, all with private bathrooms. Still open but extensively enlarged and rebuilt, looks totally different today. Now the Wyndham Loutraki Poseidon Resort
Eldorado Resort, El Arenal, Majorca
Consisted of chalets spread throughout the grounds. No children under 12 were admitted. Still open today as Sun Club El Dorado
Club Del Sol, Malaga
Accommodation was in one of the two hotel buildings, or in chalets within the grounds. The buildings are still standing, and it still looks much the same, but at the time of writing it appears to be closed. Click here to see it on Google Maps
Club Romantica, Majorca
Accomodation was in chalets, most with private bathrooms. Still open as Cala Romantica
Other resorts connected to Pontinental/Holiday Club
None of these were owned by Pontins/Holiday Club, some were leased, and in others they were acting purely as booking agents, along with several other companies.
Hotel Zorna, Zelana Laguna, Yugoslaivia
Known in the early days as Hotel Lotos II. Wasn’t owned by Pontins, they just acted as booking agents. Still open today as Hotel Zorna Plava Laguna.
Club Olympia, Evia, Greece
Still open and now called Palmariva Beach Hotel
Ten Bel, Tenerife
The resort was launched in 1963 by Belgian entrepreneur Michel Albert Huygens, who built more than 2,000 apartments along with shops, a chemist, a post office, and the island’s first shopping centre. 8 complexes under the umbrella name of Ten-Bel were built. These were Alborada, Frontera-Primavera, Carabela, Drago, Eureka, Bellavista, Maravilla and Gemini and could accommodate over 5000 holidaymakers. Now ,mostly closed and falling into ruin.
