We booked for a weekend, intending to do some birdwatching at the nearby nature reserve and took our tandem with us as the site advertises it is ideal for cycling. We were most disappointed when, on asking about cycle routes to be told immediately that the area was not suitable for cycling - as indeed it is not. The site details should be amended to show it is not suitable for cycling. We did not wish to drive anywhere as that defeated the object of a relaxing weekend so we set off on foot to visit the surrounding area. It is a reasonable walk to get to the reserve - not a problem, we are keen walkers - but it is largely uninteresting, along a road. The reserve was a disappointment - not the site's fault, of course - as there were very few birds and the reserve information suggested the variety of birds was only limited. The walk round the reserve was lovely, but it is not a circular walk. The sea walk is along a busy straight walk or on the beach, which has very soft sand so not easy to walk on. Slapton is a pleasant village, but a good long way on foot, and not for easy walkers. Once you have done that, there is really not a lot left to do on foot and you would need to drive to see anything else. We had intended to cycle...
The site itself has insufficient showers - in male block, only four plus washing cubicles with curtains. The female block has 6 showers, 6 curtained cubicles and 6 toilets, not enough for the size of the site when busy. It was quite busy when we went, in September.
We were not happy with the reception we received. The male staff member was very friendly on our arrival but passed us on to his female colleague, who dealt with us in a very abrupt, not-particularly-friendly or helpful way. On returning to reception to notify which site we were on, my husband was roundly and unpleasantly told off for having driven too fast. My husband is not a fast driver, he may have slightly exceeded the 5 mph limit but did not get above 2nd gear and caused no danger whatsoever. He was spoken to like a child and given a real ticking off. There are ways of speaking to someone if there is cause for complaint without being unpleasant and my husband was shocked by her manner. It adversely affected our whole stay and would deter us from booking this site again.
