Only stopped one night, but seriously considered leaving and staying in a hotel. When we arrived there were a large group of young men congregating and lying around near the entrance - which seemed odd. The staff spoke little English and did not seem to understand any French spoken by me or other English speakers. We were put on a pitch next to a group of men drinking playing music and being quite loud and looked like manual workers. We asked to move pitch, but we’re refused at first, even though others were free, but eventually were swapped for someone who hadn’t arrived yet. Other pitches looked like people were living in the tents - it looked a little like a transit or workers camp in places. The toilet and facilities block seemed too small for the number of people there, it was dirty and many toilets were blocked & overflowing, with dirty puddles on the floor of the showers. I wouldn’t use the showers or washing up facilities as it was not clean. There were very few lights at night with some not working. I did not feel entirely safe. When I asked if we could leave at 6.30 for the boat they repeatedly said that the gate only opened at 7, when I returned with my booking information saying it could be arranged for 6.30, they said that would be fine, why they wouldn’t let me the first time I don’t know. I would not recommend this site even though it is extremely close to the Caen ferry, another family there were treated very badly at the pool and the manager was very rude to them. Felt grotty and definitely not a holiday place.

Club Response: We were very concerned to read your review as having inspected the campsite earlier in the season we found it to have been of a good standard, with clean wash blocks, well tended pitches and a good range of amenities. We are aware of the ongoing presence of some migrants around the campsite and there is occasionally a small group at the campsite entrance but we are assured that none of the migrants have ever entered the site and no problems have resulted from their presence.
We contacted the campsite for an explanation on your feedback and they advised that they don`t have workers living on site. However, they did have a small group of travellers around 15th August who were noisy and, at times ill behaved and they were asked to leave the site. The campsite management have asked us to pass on their apologies for any disappointment or inconvenience resulting from the behaviour of these campsite users.
Site management have also apologised for the unacceptable state of the waskblocks at this time. It seems that, unfortunately, 2 members of the cleaning team unexpectedly left the site at a very busy time, leaving the cleaning team badly depleted. Although considerable efforts were made to maintain a good standard, this problem occurred at the peak of the high season, and regrettably some cleaning problems resulted. They have also apologised for the confusion about your early departure time and have confirmed that any pre-booked guests arriving late, or departing early will be welcome at Camping Riva-Bella.
The management team have assured us that they have the cleaning under control now but we will continue to closely monitor this campsite which is as you mention in a very useful location for those using the Brittany Ferries service. As Ouistreham port is so close by it remains a useful choice for those arriving late, or departing early on the ferry.