Hillhead Club Campsite

We arrived on good Friday and there was very few pitches left. We had no choice of a hard standing so was offered the path between two grass pitches. So we opted for the path. Hillhead is a very good site with good staff, to expensive over the Easter period and the wifi was non existent. Overall we enjoyed our break, but sites are simply not honest enough with their customers.

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1. We stayed from Easter Fri to wed 8th April. On our arrival the site was busy with only a few empty pitches available. Their fore we ended up with a pitch towards the bottom of your site. (its on a hill) You have two toilet and shower blocks on this site. One at the top of the site near the wardens / site office and another towards the other end of the site which we were not far from which was half opened up. On Easter Mon afternoon when a lot of people were leaving the toilet/shower block at the bottom of the site was closed down completely. This meant that all those customers who were staying for longer at the bottom of the site had to track uphill to the one remaining toilet/shower block that did remain open or move to a nearer vacant pitch at the top of the site. Not very convenient for customers who were trying to enjoy their holiday and not spending time moving pitches. We were told by the site wardens that the 2nd toilet block was only opened during busy periods and then not even at christmas when the site was often fully booked.  The closed block was marked closed for maintenance although no maintenance was going on and the site is closed after xmas for 3 months anyway during which time any maintenance needed could be carried out. The restaurant on site is only open for a couple of hours at lunchtime and in the evenings and is in fact a small area near the bar. We asked if it was open for breakfast and told no it was not so we spent our money each morning at Weatherspoon's in Brixham. A lost opportunity for the club to earn some extra revenue maybe. Has the demand versus cost been looked into here? The site was generally kept clean and tidy but my point is if only half the facilities are going to be opened when people make their booking they should be clearly informed via your website. Only the swimming pool opening and closed periods is mentioned. Is the caravan club running this site for the convenience of it's paying customers or the convenience of the club after all the Easter period is one of the most expensive periods to stay? 2. We asked the warden in the site office if they had any Calor Gas light cylinders which they had. But when we then asked if we could exchange our faulty Calor Gas Light Cylinder under the recall we were told NO. But they could sell us one for £25 Seeing you have put Full page advertisements in the Caravan Club Magazine about this recall you can imagine our surprise when one of your own sites refused to do this. Are your members aware of this? We tried to do this before we left for our holiday but after enquiring at several caravan dealers and the calor gas depot in Weston Super Mare somerset, we were told that there were non available in the South west of the country and were put on a waiting list.  It makes me wonder these days if the club is being run for its own convenience and not the convenience of it's paying members.

Comment from The Club:

Many thanks for leaving a review. The wardens have been in touch as they want to address the concerns you raised with your review as they work really hard to ensure everyone has an enjoyable stay at Hillhead. They have informed us that the site was very busy but not completely full and that members choose their pitch on arrival with the option to change pitch if needed and there were only two pitch movements over the Easter period. The lower toilet block was opened early as a gesture for the members due to an increase in the number of bookings although the top block would have accommodated the amount of members on site. Member awareness was put in place and made very clear to everyone concerning the days and times of opening and closing of the lower toilet block. The lower block normally opens in May when another set of assistants arrive at the site. The wardens prioritized the rota (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) to allow them to be able to clean both blocks with limited manpower.  As it is a very busy site, the wardens interrupted their maintenance programme in order to open the lower block. Due to the busy schedule of the wardens there was no grass cutting and members had an added bonus of having peace and quiet all over the Easter period. In regards to the calor gas, their calor lite suppliers cannot keep up with the demand for exchange bottles and the site only carries a few bottles to sell to customers. Subsequently they have been taken off the list for calor exchange in the area. The advice given by The Caravan Club is for people to check the Calor website to find the nearest supplier for exchanging. We hope this helps and thanks again for taking the time to share your experiences and write a review.

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We arrived on Easter Saturday after battling through Paignton traffic. Staff were all incredibly helpful and pleasant and smiley. Full of information. We were told to go find a pitch and let them know where we had decided ASAP (pretty standard for CC sites). We chose a pleasant pitch with sea view. Location was at the top of a hill so wherever you went, you had to go downhill, which meant coming back, uphill! Great if you have a car! We had electric bikes, so easy for us, but if you're not used to walking, you're going to struggle. We ventured down to Kingswear higher ferry and went across to Dartmouth. 50p for pedestrians/cyclists. £4.50 single per car or £8.50 return. We caught a boat up to Agatha Christie's house which is now owned by National Trust. £10.50 each to get in. Free if you are NT members. Back to the campsite, there was an outdoor swimming pool, bar and clubhouse, restaurant and shop. The toilet block was clean and had everything we needed, showers, wash up facilities etc. All in all a lovely weekend. I would recommend this site for caravanners. For motor homers, beware of hills!

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Our first ever caravan trip (wife, son and 2 doggies). Headed for Hillhead in Devon towards end of March 2015. It was a pain to go through the roadworks in Paignton and this marred the enjoyment. The site at Hillhead was around £25 the first night but jumped 35% in cost for the next 2 nights which did not make me happy at all. I was amazed because observation revealed that there were only about 15 to 20 units occupying this huge site. Could not use the advertised facilities as early in the season. Bread at the shop was reduced (no fresh bread because too few people and no sales). There were also no eggs on sale. The restaurant was deserted. The weather at this time of year was unhelpful and most people left. The staff were on the other hand, very friendly and helpful and the facilities were clean. The gate to the dog exercise area had a big gap underneath it whereby a dog off leash could easily nip through to confront anyone on the children's playground just next to it. To conclude - not a site I would go to for what I was looking for at this time of year. CC need to look at their price structure asap.

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We spent two hours battling through the traffic to get to the site and when we arrive we were instructed to get out of the car and go on foot to look for a pitch. Bearing in mind that the site is 22 acres and is half covered with overgrown hedges 4-5 feet wide and at least 6 feet high, we found this extremely difficult bearing in mind we are both over 70. We found that the access drives to be very narrow and the corners extremely tight, not wide enough for today's large caravans. Having struggled to get onto our pitch in some haste. We found that our view was extremely poor surrounded by hedges and a very good view of the club's workshops. We also found that our premier pitch was barely wide enough for the car awning and caravan again as a result of the overgrown hedges. On the plus side the site was very clean and tidy and I believe the staff were extremely hard working and kept a high standard. If I may make a suggestion, please cut down the hedges that separate each of the pitches, and improve the access roads within the site.

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Good to get the touring season off to a good start. We arrived 2nd day it was open and it was well organised clean tidy and ready to go. I had an issue with the gas supply on my van but Chris & Tina, the wardens, rode to the rescue and sorted me out. Great break fantastic site and very friendly staff. That's what keeps us going back for more!

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This was our third stay at Hillhead which previously had been in late Autumn but this time early spring. The site is ideally situated between Brixham and Dartmouth. Brixham itself is a busy working port and interesting to browse around. The main town street is pedestrianized and busy but most shops have modern facades and little has been preserved of the old character. The harbourside is interesting and its possible to spend hours just sat watching everyone else mucking about in their boats. A voluntary organization called Pride in Brixham has smartened up many of the little odd corners around the harbour with plants and fishing port themes. Dartmouth which can be reached either via the lower ferry at Kingswear or the higher ferry direct into Dartmouth. There is a large car park in Kingswear where it is handy to leave the car and cross as a foot passenger for £1-50 each way or walk up along the riverside to the higher ferry where foot passengers are only 50p. We walked up one side and back down through delightful Dartmouth to the lower ferry.The shops in Dartmouth are in sharp contrast to Brixham as there are many with old facades and in particular a stretch of Tudor style shops one of which sells irresistible cakes. Further afield ion the Dartmouth side of the river the road down to Slapton sands is spectacular passing through Stoke Fleming, Blackpool sands, Strete and Torcross. The coastal path takes you to the unique village of Beesands but we chose to drive there and walk on a mile to Hallsands to view the remains of the old village swept away by storms in the early 1900's. Hillhead campsite is difficult to find fault in and if you are lucky enough there are some hardstandings and grass pitches with views out to seas.The toilet facilities are one of the best in the Caravan Club even with underfloor heating. The only fault we could find was that the meagre flush of water in the toilets doesn't do the job and it is often necessary to flush the toilet three times, once to clear the previous users leftovers and twice to clear ones own. Having said that though Hillhead is one of our favourite sites. It must be extremely busy in the summer but caters well for family holidays with a pool and clubhouse and restaurant. We shall definitely be back next year.

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Very helpful & friendly wardens & team

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This was our second visit to the site, the first time was a long weekend in November, which we thoroughly enjoyed, so decided to book a few days between Christmas & New Year. On both occasions, we were greeted warmly by the wardens Tina And Chris who keep this site in tip top condition, and absolutely nothing is too much trouble for them. Chris made light work of manourvering our twin axle caravan into a corner, serviced pitch with his tractor! We can honestly say, they are the best wardens we have experienced during our time as Members of the club. The shower facilities on site, are warm, welcoming and immaculately clean at whatever time of day we visited. The site has cracking views of the open countryside and sea views beyond. Each pitch is spacious and quite private, and the dog walk on site is a plus point too. The bus service at the entrance to the site was convenient for visits into the lovely town of Dartmouth...just a 5 minute ride to the ferry and an exhilarating trip across the water to the town, where you will find many pubs, restaurants and lovely shops of every description, including a couple of small supermarkets . Also, a bus runs into Brixham in the opposite direction. Perhaps one thing we should mention, the bus stop is un-lit at night and maybe the addition of a light at the stop ,would be useful as there isn't a pavement or bus shelter, just a sign, and you do feel very close to the road and passing vehicles when waiting for the bus. Hillhead has a club on site ,and also a well stocked shop selling anything you could possibly need for your stay here. Both the shop and club are well run, with friendly, helpful staff. We have already booked our next visit here to this lovely site, and thank you Tina and Chris for once again, making us feel very welcome. We hope you will have another successful year at this wonderful site.

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First time on this site, and what a fantastic site, the staff are simply the best in every way, friendly courteous helpful etc etc. The clubhouse was a welcome surprise as we never eat out when we go away but we treated ourselves twice and the food and service was superb. As cyclist we found it to be a very hilly area and it was fine going downhill but getting back up was a bit more challenging. We visited Dartmouth, Brixham and we did a superb cycle track just outside Plymouth SUPERB!! Will definitely revisit. Looks to have a lot for children swimming pool, huge play area and fields so maybe noisy in the summer but don't let that put you of worth a visit.

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