Great location, clean, and peaceful
A great site! Clean and well maintained. Friendly and helpful staff. Bus stop right outside the site. Will definitely be returning.
Hillhead Club Campsite
close panel
Log in to write a review
Don’t pitch up near play area.
I feel I’ve wasted £800 plus going here this August. I made the mistake of pitching near to the play area, pitch 239. All day screeching and screaming from feral kids and noise up until 11 pm. If you know the site you will know the Tardis toilets behind the play area. A tiny block of 2 wcs that was used as HQ for the kids manhunt games. They were swinging or thumping on the doors or playing with the windows.
Funniest moment was when I saw one of them hiding in the Chemical emptying point. I laughed about it to the warden who then realised why footprints were seen in the bowl. Every morning the Tardis looked like filthy French municipal toilets.
One day I watched a lad playing basketball in the CE point. His mother sat opposite on her pitch with her bottle of beer, and saw him but said nothing. I normally would have told him to clear off but I didn’t want to tangle with the aggressive looking mother. It got worse, when he’d finished his basketball he walked over to his van and was given a packet of crisps which he tucked into. I’m convinced he had never washed his hands. Also just after that we went down to Bingo and just after that the same boy came in and was running his hand around his coke glass. Beggars belief.
Another bunch of thugs turned up. I’m sure others will have seen the antics of the loud Welsh family who pitched near the office. In the pool they just took over and were so loud it was like a war zone .
When in the play area this particular family were so loud for 2 hours at a time it was unbearable. Again I didn’t say anything cos the dads look like big army infantry guys with a challenge me if you dare attitude. The young girl lifeguards seemed unable to say anything and I don’t blame them. There seemed never any support for them from site staff.
Site is now looking a bit tired after years of being the go to flagship place. Examples are the green moulds on the bar conservatory area, the tiles in the pool looking worn, the shower blocks looking a bit jaded. Also, never think it’s a 11-11 bar and restaurant. This week the bar was only opening at 4pm and no food Mondays or Tuesdays. Lack of staff was the cry but MCC still managed to charge us full fees.
The entertainment and staff were good but I just wonder what they must think of the thugs and feral kids they have to accommodate every August?
In all, my complete frustration at general lack of respect for anything from a lot of children and parents who are bringing up a rabble.
Fair play to the wardens turning early comers away before 1am. Everybody was warned. Over the years we have watched chancers turning up early grabbing the best pitches. Well done.
Good but not great
First time at Hillhead. Easy to find, welcoming staff. Amazing views. Appreciated the privacy. Really noisy people next to us. They were joined by even louder people who arrived at the site 8.30am.
Toilet blocks filthy. And that was soon after cleaning! Hilly but nothing our blocks couldn’t sort.
It was our first time away in school hols but all the kids were all well behaved.
Bar was really loud and expensive so didn’t use it. Overall not as great but still good. Would return.
Disappointed
Too cramped with pitches close to each other. Don’t dare get there even a few minutes before 1pm (we arrived 6 mins early and turned away). Toilets are cleaned well but people mess it up quick but I don’t think they are checked again. 2 flushes inoperable in gents, hand dryer difficulty keeping it on, the road leading to the site is narrow so beware if you have a large vehicle. Bar was nice and staff really good, food was nice. Pool looked nice but didn’t use it. Won’t go back sorry.
Great stay at a lovely site
Arrived after 1pm to a lovely friendly welcome but found driving around the site in our motorhome looking for an empty blue pitch a little frustrating & difficult to manoeuvre in many areas.
The site & grounds were clean & very well kept.
The showers were always powerful, hot and clean.
The toilet block was immaculate after the once a day cleaning but considering it was peak weeks I think more regular inspections were necessary.
The bus stop at the gate was convenient for towns, beaches and Dartmouth
The walks posted in the info room were helpful and pleasant as walking or cycling following sat nav was too dangerous on the narrow fast winding lanes.
Overall the site and staff was lovely. A great stay
Not quite as I expected......
We chose this site for the pool and the coast for our Granddaughter even though the West Country is not a favourite of ours to visit, considering we could be in Antwerp before we got to Hillhead. We were lateish in the day due to a blow out on a tyre, even after checking pressures, tread, van not overloaded but the staff were perfect, we booked in and found we could have an onsite tyre fitter sort us out. then....it all went down hill. We were told you have a choice of pitch 60 or pitch 60 which is a white peg with awning pitch. Well I have a 6.4m motorhome and getting on to that banked, tight pitch was terrible and other have said they also have trouble getting onto pitches. The staff did say "you can move in the morning after others have left"....well to be honest who really wants that. So our neighbours at our visit had van, awning, windbreak, other spare space the other side of their unit where all we had parked on the pitch marker was to be able to put out around 1/3 of out wind out awning.
Wandering around the site I saw many huge pitches with small campervans on them yet small pitches with bigger van's than mine on it. I can see that there really needs to be more control of pitches and unit size including the 2 pegs rule as I have seen many vanners moving pegs this year. The site in the main was okay, the pool wasn't as my granddaughter expected and she used it only once during our 6 days here. Toilet blocks had air dryers not working, no soap either but in defence of staff the soap was being pumped out by unattended children, sinks even left to fill also. Personally, I won't go here again and probably never go further west than the excellent Cheddar site but the rest of the network are much nicer to visit.
I hope the pitches can be levelled better, banks reduced in size, some sized to blue rather than white plus double pegged to stop "creep" of sizing
Big 5 star for the staff a 1 star for the site I'm afraid
Worse site of the year, dangerous entry and not very clean
This is our fourth visit to Hillhead.
Check-in is at 1pm, this is clear, we received a text message before our stay and an e-mail stating this. We had the intention to pull into one of the laybys near the site, however found these were full with motorhomes and cars with caravans, it was manic, caravans stuck out into the road, people trying to park, totally crazy. This is Devon, the roads are not designed for large outfits. We have a ten metre long motorhome, and could not find a pull in. We therefore took the decision to pull into the site, this was at 12:51, we were greeted by one of the male wardens, who was stood blocking two large arrival bays. He promptly refused entry to the park and requested we exited, when asked where we should go, he said, not my issue turn left out of the site. We did not, by turning left this would have taken us to the Dartmouth Ferry the road to the ferry is very small, there are hardly any turning points and would have been very stressful, particularly if you had a caravan. I have no idea why on earth the staff member directed people this way! I felt that the site created unnecessary danger and stress for holiday makers. Outside of the site, caravans and motorhomes all over the place with people trying to find a safe way to stop, meanwhile the staff did not allow anyone to park on the two long new arrivals lanes at the site – is this not what they are designed for? We did not expect to enter the site before 1pm but would have expected to be able to park safely given our arrival time. This is not the welcome you expect and many other people we spoke to felt the same. I understand the sites need to follow some basic rules but this felt intentionally unhelpful. The warden advised that he had received many many complaints from people who were not able to use the arrivals lane – not surprising at all, it doesn’t make any sense!!
Throughout our weeks stay we found the shower blocks very dirty; they were cleaned between 10:30 and 12. They were not inspected at any other point, the toilets in the morning were disgusting, the showers were the same, floors, sinks absolutely filthy. It didn’t appear that the wardens were required to clean the site and they clearly did not check the cleanliness at all either.
The park is also littered with dog poo, mainly around the hedge outside of the reception and shower block. We noted that some of the poo was there on the Monday afternoon and was still there on the Saturday morning when we left. There was no excuse for this as the site has a really good dog walk and visitors should not allow their dogs to foul on the site, similarly this should be dealt with by site staff.
Throughout our stay the bins were often overflowing all over the park, it was hot and the smell from some of them was terrible.
Personally, I would say the Wardens need to be changed.
A perfect stay
We have just had a 5 night stay a this site and it was perfect. We arrived just before 1pm and waited until the allowed time when the friendly staff waved us in and directed us quickly and swiftly onto the site. The view from our pitch was amazing, the facilities were great.
The entertainment and pool were just wonderful for families and couples alike- we enjoy a busy site and the feel of Hillhead was friendly and relaxing. A bus service frequented Brixham and the location was great for exploring the English Riviera. It is August and one of the busiest times, but the site was spotless. We definitely look forward to returning again soon. Thank you Hillhead!
Great site but arrival time ruined it for us
We arrived at 12:55pm and were turned away. When you’ve been travelling for over six hours, this is not ideal. The roads leading from the campsite both left and right are very narrow and dangerous and as a result traffic built up and bottle necked outside the site as everyone then turned up at once as many people had been turned away.
We’ve damaged the back of our caravan having to turn around after being turned away at 12:55 pm. The staff on the site are absolutely lovely, but for the sake of five minutes we now have £500 worth of damage to repair to our unit as there is nowhere to stop or pull into. It was suggested we nip into town which is 5 miles away while we waited but with a van and a 21 foot caravan that’s not really possible. There’s little things like hand and hair dryers not working and showers not working in the toddler room but those things can easily be sorted.
Also, It’s a such shame they’ve done away with the arcade as well but the prices remained the same, so there’s only the pool now and that’s not ideal on a rainy day.
The staff however despite this were lovely and I haven’t a complaint about the high level of customer service that was offered by them, they were all lovely and extremely helpful and polite. It’s just a shame we damaged our unit significantly turning around in a road not fit for that Purpose for the sake of five mins and it was five mins because the staff member held up 5 fingers. Not sure we will come back next year as we don’t want more damage to our van.
An excellent but different site
We’re staying at the site right now - August 2022 - on a serviced pitch. We’ve been here a week and have extended our stay.
The wardens are excellent, pleasant and helpful. The blocks are modern and well liked after. The facilities are good and the swimming pool expertly looked after with attentive life guards.
But some of the pitches are awful - especially the serviced pitches - and too small for 8m caravan and awning let alone a car. And some impossible to manoeuvre into without unhitching (so you have to have a good motor mover). Other pitches are wonderful - spacious and with great views.
We moved after the first night with the help of the wardens.
Parts of the site are livelier but still have a good atmosphere. The prices are high - but so are all club sites at the moment - and there are quality sites nearby for a lot less (Dornafield for one).
There is a huge playing field, dog walk and modern play equipment - all well looked after.
We have really enjoyed our stay and would recommend the site - but take your time picking a pitch.
Oh - and the site phones you to remind you not to arrive before 13.00 so there’s no excuse to moan if you do and are turned away.
