Despeñaperros

Rated 4 of 5

Overall rating

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

close panel

Log in to write a review

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 3 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

A useful stopover with a good restaurant a short walk away, but not a great caravan park.

The showers and toilets here were clean but more than a bit sad. All of the toilets had had their seats removed. There was no liquid soap provided. All the facilities of shop, bar, restaurant were closed in Jan and March when we visited. On one of our visits it rained heavily and the sites became very sodden and dirty. There is a lovely circular 2 mile walk from the site including a lovely mirador with great views of the Parque Natural. Probably wouldn't choose to stay here again. Staff were friendly and helpful, though without any English language. Thankfully my Spanish isn't too bad.

9 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

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

Camping in the forest at Despeñaperros

Arrived at this site heading north. Please note do not follow the satnav when you reach the village and instead follow the signposts for "camping". We followed the satnav and ended up towing our caravan down a single track road for about 2 miles until we found a turning spot. The campsite is in a lovely setting surrounded by olive trees in the National Park. Found the receptionist/owner very pleasant and we managed with very limited Spanish but you do have to attempt some Spanish and the staff are more than happy to help. The entrance is quite tight through the archway, so line your unit up before driving through. We were allocated a pitch under a tree lined area which we found to be quite cold. The pitches on the edges of the site looking over the olive grove were bathed in sunshine and next time we will ask to move to another pitch. We spoke to a Dutch couple who were allocated a pitch in the same area as us but they just moved to the warmer pitch - it is perfectly acceptable to do this. We found the showers and toilets to be spotlessly clean. There are no toilet seats but this is only for hygiene reasons. The temp was -3C when we woke up, and although the shower blocks were cold, there was ample hot water so didn't have a problem there. Lovely walk /dog walk at the side of the site past the olive trees into the National Park. Took a stroll around the village in the morning which was really pretty and very well kept. There were local shops for bread and groceries, wine etc. When leaving the campsite to go north, turn right at the bottom of the campsite road and drive up through the gorge which is absolutely stunning. It is a very good wide road, and we had no problem with the van despite it being very twisty. We hope to return to this site again later this year when we head south again.

Atkinbrown

Caravanner from Durham

Reviewed on 28/01/2020 15:16

42 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 3 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 2 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 2 of 5

Good for families

Overnight stay on the way south - could have been better

Convenient location next to the motorway, and quite easy to find. Being December, the site was very quiet, with no bar or restaurant open. There is water and electric hookup on each pitch, but no facility to connect a hose to fill the water tank. The toilet and shower block was clean, but quite old, and needing a good renovation. The block was actually cold, so we didn’t bother showering, and headed off pretty promptly in the morning! As we left the guy on duty wouldn’t raise the barrier to let us out, and demanded that we pay, even though we had booked and prepaid through the club - we managed to sort it, but just added to a pretty poor impression. Will certainly not be visiting again.

Diplomatico

Reviewed on 21/12/2019 15:57

3 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

Good NH and Typically Small Spanish Village Location

This site is very convenient for the Madrid to Costa Del Sol auto-via. Access to the actual site through twin arches before you get to reception is very, very tight for larger twin axle or units over 7.5m. We advise that when entering and exiting the site use of the larger of the two arches is on the right on entry and left as exiting so that the outfit is lined up correctly for the reception barrier. Parked cars on the approach road can also make things difficult. Out of main season the pool/restaurant/bar complex is closed and we found that although bread can be ordered at reception delivery to the actual site can be an issue. The surrounding countryside is very picturesque as is the small quite sleepy village. There is an excellent hotel style restaurant nearby and a local bar which also serves very good food.

Grandad Bear

Caravanner

Reviewed on 29/10/2017 13:53

8 reviews

1 Helpful note

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

Interesting stop over

Site good, natural park interesting, good local restaurant nearby

THWoodward

Reviewed on 26/04/2016 17:20

6 reviews

1 Helpful note

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 3 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 2 of 5

Good for families

TLC Required

Stayed two nights on this site and whilst it was adequate a great deal could be done to improve it. Well located off the Motorway and very quiet when we were there but the site is in need of a lot of TLC. Toilets were clean but no seats.  There appeared to be cold and hot water showers so make sure you choose the right one for the time of year!  Motorhome service point and chemical emptying were very basic. Nothing was open on site but the Hotel near the site entrance does good food and makes you welcome.  OK for a stop over but that's about it.

UltraClassic

Reviewed on 15/04/2016 09:02

3 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 1 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 3 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

In desperate need of some TLC

Potentially a very good site. However the facilities are rather poor. Toilet/shower blocks are in significant need of renovation/modernisation. Showers do not work properly [the press button to activate the water need to be pressed continiously] which is not easy unless you are a contortionist! No seats on WC's! The 'First Class' rating is a joke - Caravan Club please note!

Response from the Caravan Club:

Many thanks for leaving your review of Despenaperros on our website.  We are glad to hear that you feel that the site has potential.  We have raised the issues that you have brought to our attention with the campsite and they have contacted us with the following reply. 

Response from Despenaperros:

In response to your email below I would like to respond to the different observations that have been made by this client which require a response:

1)All of the showers heads have been changed

2)The toilets are not covered for hygiene purposes because they are a source of bacteria.

Camping Despenaperros is a campsite in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Autonomous Community of Andalucía

We try to resolve any problems or flaws that arise when we can and try to give to best customer service possible.  90% of our customers are foreign, this number is always growing.  We are in the main European Camping guide and we pass our inspections every year. 

Without further ado I would like to send my kindest regards,

 Ansencio

 

david8846

Motorhomer from Nottinghamshire

Reviewed on 04/06/2015 20:10

4 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

excellent for stop-over

This is the first time we have driven down to Spain and stayed at Despenaperros, and just as a 1 night stop-over. Good sized pitches, good atmosphere and friendly staff. The site is easy to find but the entrance needs care with larger outfits. The facilities are adequate but we were early season so not everything open. Will definitely stay again

shermalin

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 21/05/2015 11:48

10 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 2 of 5

Good for families

Lovely location

Coming from Wales we love hills and valleys and we were so pleased to arrive in Despenaperros (Plunging Dogs) National Park. The town of Santa Elena was very quiet and so was the site, although there seemed to be some sort of lorry park whose access road went past the edge, but the noise was only in the mornings and late afternoon. Very few other campers, which was fine with us, there were permanent caravans with awnings etc. in need of tidying up, which made some parts of the site look scruffy. Walks from the site very nice, either into the park or into town, good restaurants and a couple of shops (avoid siesta!). Very good value for money

60plusfun

Reviewed on 15/03/2015 13:17

27 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer