La Manga

WARNING: Despite what it may say on the web-site or in Venture Abroad, when we arrived last week (May 2019) they were adamant that they did not and would not accept Overseas Site Night Vouchers. The site itself is spacious and clean (actually eerily empty when we were there!) but is a bit out on a limb and off the beaten track. We would certainly not consider going there again.

Response from the Site: 

We are sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your stay. We must stress that this was a misunderstanding, and a staff training issue. Please be assured we do accept the vouchers.

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We were meant to stay 6 nights here but we lasted one. We are fairly traditional caravaners who like a decent pitch, clean facilities and to be close to the beach/town. To be fair this does have all that and if you are looking for somewhere where you have everything on site, and you do not wish to move for the duration of your stay, then this could be the place for you. The site facilities are all in the centre of the site going down in a line one after the other and the pitches are in sections on each side. This site is massive and walking from reception to the beachfront is close to a mile. The reception and shop are at the top, the pool and bar in the middle followed by the football pitch and then finally the restaurant and beach. In between these sections are 2 maybe 3 big car parks - there are literally vehicles everywhere! The pitches come in 2 size and the bigger 100m are in the front sections closest to the beach, but do not expect to be in the front line or indeed to have a sea view from your pitch. As previous reviews said the white gravel and hedges provide privacy, but you are going to be looking over permanent plots which range from static caravans to metal huts to park homes in all stages of cleanliness and use. Some owners have even created 2 floors and have sun terraces. The smaller pitches back away from the beach but are not so close to these array of park homes. The beach looks lovely and tropical with palm trees but you are on a salt lake so you can walk out for miles up to your knees and it gets no deeper and the water is muddy so it is not ideal for swimming. Lots of water sports on offer but we did not try. The bar/restaurant was nice and we listened to a good solo singer perform which was pleasant, but the flies were horrendous and constantly landing on you or your food. We left the restaurant at 11.30pm and went back to our caravan and were kept awake until 2am by lots of screaming kids still playing football. Then in the permanent caravan pitch behind us their dog was barking at anything that moved and then opposite us in the one of the huts 2 men sat outside and talked until 4.30am. It was the night from hell. The next day we went up to reception and said we were moving on very early they asked no questions and gave me a refund without being prompted. It’s big, busy and noisy. It did not feel like a campsite.

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We stayed here January to March 2018 - caravan pitches in certain areas and ( paid for ) wifi ok, restaurant good. Overall this large site is scruffy and areas of the permanent setups look like a shanty town you would find in Africa in the 1960s. The toilet blocks are 30 years out of date and badly maintained, although the cleaning staff work tirelessly to try and keep them clean. Can't really say anything else, except to avoid it.

Response from Site: 

Thank you for your feedback in relation to your stay at Caravaning La Manga. We have taken on board your comments in relation to our sanitary blocks and this year we have made some significant improvements. We have changed the heaters in the blocks and we have improved the hot water capacity. We are also going to be changing the washing machines in each sanitary block.

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Stayed for a couple of weeks in March 2017 on the plus side we found the staff excellent, the shop well stocked, the restaurant excellent and the location great on the minus side it does look a bit tired. The statics reminded us of a shanty town and the site does need some money spent on it. we had one of the larger pitches which in common with a lot of Spanish sites isn't that large. Overall we had a pleasant time just wish it wasn't a scruffy.

Response from Campsite:

Dear andrew12,

Thank you for your valued feedback. I will take on board your comments and advise my staff of your positive feedback. We are currently looking at our Camping strategy for 2018 and beyond and some reinvestment in certain areas is part of this plan. We very much look forward to your next stay with us. Best regards. Maria Martinez 

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We've stayed on this site 3 times now and nothing changes as far as we can see. On the plus side, it has a decent supermarket, a good restaurant with a lovely view of the Mar Menor, friendly reception staff and security and good size, mostly private pitches. The negatives are that there are no places to sit by the outside pool, no umbrellas and therefore it doesn't entice you to use it, and the sanitary facilities which may on the surface be cleanish but if you look properly they're are really not and the reason would appear to be their age. The blocks could do with being knocked down and rebuilt and new drainage put in as at times, the smell from the grills in the shower cubicles is unpleasant to say the least. Also these days, you expect to have room to take your clothes into the shower and hang them up so they aren't likely to get wet rather than effectively expecting you to leave the on a bench outside the cubicle and suspend all modesty when you have to come out to get dressed. As we have said before, there is a CCC rally for 6 months of the year which must bring in a generous sum to the campsite, so you would think that they could improve on these facilities. We've also mentioned this before, but the tennis courts need resurfacing. It has the potential to be a super sight and even the permanent residential buildings are not an eyesore as far as we are concerned, they simply add character. We visit because its location suits us but it could offer so much more.

Response from Campsite:

Dear Daisy Duke,

Thank you for your valued feedback. I will report all this and more back to the maintenance department who we are planning to reinvest and improve certain areas of the camping for next year. 

I very much hope to see you back staying with us next year. Best regards . Maria Martinez.

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