It's a beautiful location but run like an army camp with standing orders. On arrival at the beginning of August I gave the female warden my name, said I'd booked 2 nights, and the motorhome registration number was visible outside reception. She demanded my membership card. I explained I'd just joined before leaving home, so didn't have one. She then demanded to see it on my phone, saying 'You must have it on the app'. As my phone was back in the vehicle, I offered her my driving licence, bus pass, passport - and of course bank card - as ID but none of them would do, I must fetch the phone and show her the App before I was allowed in. I said that the other 2 Club sites I'd just stayed on didn't ask to see it, whereupon she said they were breaking the rules and should be reported. She then asked me why I hadn't read the rules in my membership book, so I reminded her that it hadn't arrived before I left home! At this point I would have turned round and left, except that there would be no refund of the absurd fee of £87.60, so I reluctantly fetched my phone to prove who I was. I felt that if my phone had run out of battery, I would not have been admitted!
When I asked why the Club price was so high compared with private sites, I was given a patronising lecture on the superiority of Club site facilities, as if I were a new camper. My husband and I have a combined age of 160 and have been camping with tents, caravans and motorhomes for over 50 years all over Europe, so I think we have a fair idea of the standards of site facilities, and at Bunree they were far from superior. I've never been subjected to such a reception and it spoilt the two-day stay. I expect to be welcomed and treated as a member, a paying guest, not a number on an accounts sheet.
The facilities at Bunree are not even up to the usual (far from perfect) Club standard, with not even a curtain or screen in the outdated shower cubicles, which had water spraying over the partition and dirty run-off water flowing through.
The cycle path from the site to the bridge near Glencoe is extremely narrow, overgrown and dangerous (and we are very experienced cyclists). Definitely not recommended for a family or anyone with a fear of traffic.
Finally, there were far too many dogs on site, running loose by the shore. One such animal defecated on the grass by our pitch, right next to our doormat. 'Sorry' said the owner, 'she's old and can't control herself' - so perhaps the animal shouldn't be brought along to a campsite? Neighbouring campers (dog-owners one and all) were unsympathetic when I expressed my disgust.
And the members' price of £43.80 per night for this experience (not even at a weekend) was apparently because of a cycling championship in Fort William. I regard this as exploitation - when the site is full, charge them double what it's worth?
Every private site used in Scotland on the same tour was better - and cheaper - than the Club sites, and Bunree was the worst.
