Hillhead Club Campsite

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 3 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 3 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

Disapointing Stay

After travelling 6 hours with the Grandchildren I was at first very pleased to arrive on site, once pitched it was time to entertain the girls 5yrs and 8yrs old. Play area is very well equipped for this age group, unfortunately much older children 13+ congregate and take over the facilities on a daily basis and spoil it for the younger ones. Next best thing to keep them occupied is the TV.....this was poorer than poor when a channel did appear it was so bad you could not watch it...and this was using the booster provided by the club. Food in the onsite restaurant was dire cold, over cooked/dry, on the first night of promoting the Autumn menu they could not provide me liver and bacon 30 min into service, and when i asked for some tomato sauce for the kids chicken nuggets I was told I'm to busy...in the end went to my motorhome to get our own. Swimming pool and staff saved the days..thanks lads. Overall this is a very over priced site that needs a lot of thought if you want the right cliental or you can leave the site as it is and turn it into something less desirable....maybe out of season is the best time to visit. One last rant of all the sites we have visited the toilet/shower block is the dirtiest we have seen, probably needs inspecting twice a day here!! Out of season I am sure all is ok

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Davo1953

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 03/09/2018 20:38

8 reviews

2 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 2 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Disappointing stay

We recently stayed here with our grandchildren, which we have been doing for many years. We used to love it but we have noticed, over the years, problems arising with groups of teenagers congregating around the site, especially in the play park where they take over the equipment preventing younger children from using it. On our first evening our granddaughter had her scooter stolen from the cycle/scooter rack outside the Complex whilst we were watching the entertainment. She was obviously very upset. We walked around the site (it was getting dark) looking for her scooter and eventually found it thrown down in the road outside the play park. I went into the play park to confront whoever had stolen it but was greeted by a large group of teenagers smoking and drinking from cans (can't say whether it was alcohol or not). I felt very uncomfortable so decided to leave it. That same night, at around 11.30pm, young people were running around, shouting at the top of their voices, and banging on caravans and motorhomes. This went on until after midnight. Unfortunately there is no-one that you can call to come and sort out this unruly behaviour. After 8pm you can only call the on duty warden for emergencies. The fact that someone had stolen a scooter and were creating a noise at midnight probably wouldn't be classed as an emergency. I know that in previous years there have been patrols by security services at night - maybe this is what was needed this year. I did mention about the stolen scooter and the unruly behaviour to a warden the following morning but all they could suggest is that I write to Head Office, which I will do. It's not the wardens' fault - it's down to the parents who should know what their children are up to, especially at midnight! The site itself is well kept, the facilities are clean and the staff are great. Unfortunately, our grandchildren didn't enjoy their stay this year and don't want to return to Hillhead so we will be going elsewhere next year. It's a lovely site out of season and we shall continue to visit then but we wont be returning during school holidays.

1 reply

Margie50

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 28/08/2018 19:33

1 review

8 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 1 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

A great site

Just had a week here with two kids aged 4&8. The bad points: Arriving is extremely stressful. The site is large but the main problem is the many cul de sacs and the fact that the staff don’t tell you the free pitches, (because there’s so many ppl coming and going) so you’re expected to have a second adult who can get out and run down all the lanes looking for you. I, however am a single mum, I had my elderly mum with me but she was pretty useless. So I’m trying to tow the van & read the map at the same time as not running all the kids over that are in the road. i mistakenly went down a cul de sac which was full and got stuck...very stressful. Then I had to block the single width road whilst legging it round trying to find a pitch annoying other people. Eventually found pitch 246 which is by the top field. At first it seemed a lovely spacious pitch, even though it was so uneven it was impossible to level, but after all the stress I didn’t care at this point. However the second night the staff just added a new pitch right next to me with some random pitch number. Spacious pitch suddenly gone, apparently they do this when they’re fully booked (or overbooked). But more annoyingly if I’d have known that was a pitch I’d have gone there myself because mine was so uneven, even with my levellers my water didn’t drain properly and all the tables/chairs in awning very rocky. If you don’t have kids I would not recommend going during school holidays it’s too loud and stressful. It’s a very busy site. The biggest problem was the playground. Not saying this is the wardens fault as it’s up to parents to look after their kids, but unfortunately some guests prefer drinking all day and night and don’t care what their kids do, the pitch opposite to us certainly didn’t care about their kids swearing at young children. The last few nights my kids weren’t allowed in the playground at nights as it kept getting taken over by young teens sweating prolificly and climbing on top of all the play equipment, that the younger kids were trying to copy.or blocking the slide so that they couldn’t use it. My 8 year old son got sworn at a few times when my 4year old was there too. I would suggest that there’s an upper age limit for the playground I don’t think 13/14/15 year olds should be sharing a playground for primary kids, some who haven’t even started school yet. I felt it was unfair that my kids had to be cooped up inside because of the poor behaviour of other people’s kids, again, I appreciate it’s not the wardens fault, but it’s not mine either and I paid a lot of money to stay here & my kids couldn’t play out. Having said this overall we enjoyed it, especially the pool. Great views from playing field.

2 replies

Leighrache

Caravanner

Reviewed on 10/08/2018 23:38

8 reviews

3 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Great First Time

After many years going on holiday to Spain, we decided to stay in the UK this year, so what better than the English Rivera! We did drop on some fantastic weather, anyway back to the site. After reading many reviews of this site I was apprehensive we live near Sheffield so it’s a fair old drive down. The site is fantastic, the staff are great, the pool was brilliant, we had several meals, all cooked fresh and no issues, the bar and catering staff couldn’t do enough for you. A fellow member commented earlier about bar staff shirts hanging out, so what !! it was probably 30+ degrees heat, They were all clean, and well mannered, and helpful. Previous comments about unruly teenagers etc, we didn’t see or hear anything. I must admit reading some of the negative comments nearly made me cancel it, I’m so glad I didn’t. The toilet block closing at 10.30am until 12.30 was initially a pain, until you find loads of toilets in the pool and bar area. It must have one of the largest fully enclosed dog walks on any caravan club site, great to let them off for a run. I would recommend the site, I must admit I think the pitches up the top are probably better than some near the bottom (more space) we was on pitch 7 service pitch. Thank you to all the staff and wardens.

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sglilley25

Caravanner

Reviewed on 10/08/2018 14:27

2 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 3 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Great family summer holiday

Hillhead is a cracker. We are a family of five (including two teenagers) staying in the school holidays so I appreciate our needs are not the same as they are for everybody, but for us, it was perfect. Enhanced by lovely weather, which obviously helps shape the experience, it is a superbly run site, offering some of the facilities you may expect to find on some busier commercial sites (swimming pool, clubhouse, games room, etc.), yet in the knowledge that you are very much on a Caravan and Motorhome Club site, with well maintained pitches and immaculate washing facilities. The wardens were all excellent - very friendly, helpful and hard working. They also adopted a sensible policy of allowing people to arrive from 09:00. On some days, there were up to 90 arrivals and many people seemed to drive through the night or set off very early to avoid the traffic, so it was a sensible policy. This helped us too as we were one of the early arrivals and managed to get a beautiful pitching offering sea views and plenty of space. There were many different kinds of pitch although we noticed that some of the fully serviced pitched were not neccessarily in a great position. The play area and ball game were great, as was the swimming pool. It was warm and well run, with seperate sessions for adults and inflatables. The clubhouse was pleasant enough with a nice atmosphere. The food was not spectacular but met out expectations and we had no complaints. As for the area, the site is well placed. Torbay is one one side and Dartmouth and beyond on the other. We didn't use the bus ourselves but this a popular facility and very handly for those not wanting to use a car or motorhome. We would definately go back and reccommend to others. Thank you for a great holiday.

2 replies

WillandSara

Caravanner

Reviewed on 08/08/2018 09:35

19 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 1 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Great site with problems.

We have stayed at Hillhead for the last 5 years, this year we have finally got a good pitch after spending over £4,000. This year we have got a great pitch with a lovely sea view, as usual the site is immaculate, I have no idea how a small team keep the grass and hedges to tidy. The club house is a different matter, I have never seen such a scruff brigade; training shoes, shorts and shirts untucked the manager real needs to pull her squad together and make a professional appearance, if you are at work you should dress like you are at work. Standards are slipping in the club house, they ran our of simple ingredients like eggs! The kids food is OK and includes a drink.... thanks - simply fruity, it includes sodium benzoate, aspartame, cellulose and a whole host of other nasty stuff. I asked if we could have fresh orange, apple juice or even milk but no, this was with the menu. I won't even mention the dodgy sausages with 32% meat.... god only knows what the rest of the ingredients are, if you don't believe me ask for the allergen register that shows the ingredients.

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JTCamper

Caravanner

Reviewed on 07/08/2018 23:15

8 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Wonderful stay

Just returned from a weeks stay at this site and has a brilliant stay. Managed to secure a pitch with the sea view. The on-site shop was very handy and the pool with adult only schedule was taken advantage of . Although the site was not within walking distance of Brixham the bus service just out front was excellent. If you are a keen walker I would recommend doing the trek down to mansands cove which has a stunning dog friendly beach and an excellent coastal path to Brixham if you are agile great base for touring Devon and we visited Paignton Torquay totnes and Kingswear to Dartmouth which was our favourite.The onsite facilities were excellent and up to usual Caravan club standard. The wardens as always were hard working friendly and helpful.

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the bains

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 04/08/2018 16:31

13 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Wonderful fortnight enjoying the Great British Summer

Enjoyed a two week break at the beginning of July (ie before the school hols). The only criticism I have is regarding our arrival at the site. We arrived at 1pm on a Saturday afternoon to be told that there were very few pitches left to choose from and that they couldn't tell us which ones were available. We then discovered that you are allowed on this site from 9am despite our confirmation stating arrival between 12-2pm. Apparently if we'd have rung up they would have told us this! Just a thought - why don't they put it on the booking confirmation?? We were also advised that there were a lot of people leaving on the Sunday and we were free to move pitches if we couldn't find one we liked. This we did on the Sunday and were very happy with our sea view. We tried the restaurant but weren't overly impressed, although ok for a lazy meal. Being members of the National Trust we made full use of our memberships and can't begin to say how fantastic Coleton Fishacre is - so brilliant we visited twice. It really is a gem, as is Overbecks, although the road leading up to it offers very limited parking it is worth the trip as the views are truly stunning. I agree with earlier review regarding the Ferry saver card going over to Dartmouth - £20 for 10 trips in the car is a huge saving on £6 it costs without the card. We had a brilliant holiday (our 3rd to this site) and found the wardens very friendly and helpful. Toilets and showers were kept spotless.

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snapesrus

Reviewed on 27/07/2018 16:52

6 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Summer break 14/07/2018. 21/07/2018

Third visit to the site. Just missed the influx of children as week before kids holidays. Lovely hedged pitching areas that give an element of privacy. Plenty of grass pitches which is great for a summer site. Hope it stays that way! The only issue I will say is because it is on a hill, the children that I did see hurtle down the site roads on anything with wheels!! Just be careful turning onto a down hill road. I love the site and will visit again next year. Hopefully the Slapton beach road will be open again.

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KEVFIONA

Caravanner

Reviewed on 24/07/2018 19:29

7 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 3 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

A very rude example of a total lack of customer service

We have stayed at this site a few times and love the location, however after being totally insulted and basically told we were liars by the woman in charge of the restaurant tonight our desire to return has diminished. We're still on site leaving in the morning and cannot wait! We ordered food at 6.30, we know this was the time because kids entertainment was just starting, when it hadn't arrived by 7.15 my wife went to query it, she was told very rudely that she was wrong and we'd only ordered it 13 minutes ago, so to go away and wait and it would be out within 15 minutes. This rude person then came to our table 10 minutes later at 7.25 to again tell all four of us we were wrong and couldn't have ordered when we said we did, basically calling all of us liars. She said that she could show us the till receipt with the time on, I suggested that something might have gone wrong with the tilll and the order hadn't been processed. A very abrupt response came back, telling me that was impossible and if I understood anything about the tills I'd know that. I also pointed out that people who had arrived and ordered after us were now finishing their meals, I was told I must be mistaken because all orders come out in order, and anyway they couldn't have taken payment if it hadn't processed through the till.....more poor till knowledge on my behalf! Later when the lad who had taken our order was clearing the table and asked if everything was ok we said it wasn't because of the wait. He immediately apologised and said that he though that it was his fault as he'd not logged in correctly and didnt realise, when he went back to the till and logged in again after doing other jobs our order was still there. If only the manager had had the decency to check and say sorry rather than telling us we were liars, our view of this unfortunate incident would have been very different, as we know everyone makes mistakes! So beware if you eat in the restaurant beware of liar manager!

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papakilo58

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 23/07/2018 21:41

1 review

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