‘You would not have been shot’: Park owner’s bizarre reply to negative TripAdvisor review

A CARAVAN park owner has hit back at a negative review in an extraordinary comeback that’s left people scratching their heads.

A HOLIDAY park owner has been slammed as “stupid and offensive” after replying to a negative TripAdvisor review in the character of a Nazi SS guard.

John Brookshaw, the owner of Plassey Holiday Village in Wrexham, North Wales, posted his response to the review in German after a guest likened the caravan site to a “concentration camp”, The Sun reported.

The reviewer, known on the site as but2n22018, complained about the “lack of privacy” during his stay and said it felt like they and their family were “constantly being watched by a warden”.

The original complaint about the caravan park on TripAdvisor. Picture: Daily Post

As well as calling the owner “equally as rude” as the staff, the angry TripAdvisor reviewer detailed the distress on their family caused by the wardens, who they say made their daughter cry.

Showing no mercy, they said the owner of the site was “the rudest man I have ever encountered”.

Mr Brookshaw then responded to the one-star review in German, under the guise of an SS commander.

The reviewer complained about a 'constant lack of privacy' at Plassey Holiday Village in Wrexham, North Wales. Picture: Google Maps

Translated into English via Google, the owner’s response repeatedly mocks the “concentration camp” review, with remarks relating to being “locked up for hours,” meeting “the Gestapo commander of North Wales” and assuring the reviewer that they “would not be shot”.

The translation read: “I am very sad that you do not enjoy my concentration camp, but assure it is one of the best in North Wales.

“My camp commandants did not want to make you cry much, but it’s inevitable with the hard work, you’re locked up for hours, and the constant patrol of machine guns armed guards with bad dogs.”

The owner's reply, in German. Picture: Daily Post

“I am disappointed that I did not meet you myself, but I assure you that you would not have been shot, as I am a very nice commander, better than the Gestapo commander of North Wales, who can be quite strict!”

“Kind regards, John Brookshaw SS Camp Commandant of the Plassey.”

Despite the review and Mr Brookshaw’s response being deleted from the TripAdvisor website, the comments received strong criticism from representatives in the Jewish community.

Professor Nathan Abrams, an academic responsible for British Jewish Contemporary Cultures Network at Bangor University, explained the upset the owner’s response caused for the Jewish community.

The guest compared the site to a concentration camp and said it felt like they were 'constantly being watched by a warden'. Picture: Google Maps

“It is offensive and demeaning from a Jewish perspective and is insulting to the victims and the seriousness of the events that took place,” he told the Daily Post.

“It is a silly comment by the poster and it is a silly reply which is trying to be funny — although the original post is by far no means as bad, for him to reply like this is just stupid and offensive.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.