Camp Bongo

Liked Location and evening music

Disliked Dirty toilets , exspensive for just a pitch as you have to pay for any activities seperate , had to wait 1 hour 30 for 1 pizza and ran out of ingridients for certain cocktails and field was on a hill side with not many flat spaces to pitch .

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From the manager: Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We’re sorry to hear that some aspects of your stay didn’t meet your expectations. We would, however, like to clarify a few points for anyone reading your review.

Our pitch price gives you access to Camp Bongo, your camping pitch and our live music. Activities and classes are optional extras, rather than something included in the pitch price. We offer a wide range of additional experiences, including paragliding, cocktail making, wine tasting, axe throwing, holistic therapies, yoga, archery and clay shooting. These are all priced separately and, we believe, very fairly. It would be a little unreasonable to expect all of these activities to be included in the price of a camping pitch.

With regard to the pizza, it was extremely popular on the evening of your visit. When ordering, guests are advised of the expected wait time so they can decide whether they are happy to wait. The longest wait that evening was just over an hour. We appreciate that this is longer than anyone would ideally like to wait, but we were upfront about the wait time when orders were placed.

Regarding the toilets, unfortunately we were let down at very short notice by our usual toilet provider. We managed to secure a replacement company just 24 hours before opening, which meant we were able to open as planned. The toilets were cleaned every few hours and were not dirty. On the final morning, however, they were understandably at full capacity as a large number of guests were checking out at the same time. We’re sorry if this impacted your experience, but this was a short period on the final morning rather than an ongoing cleanliness issue.

This is an issue we have already rectified by arranging even more toilets for this weekend. Camp Bongo takes great pride in reflecting and reviewing every weekend, and we always strive to improve as well as recognise the key things we do well. This is why we have a large number of returning guests, weekend after weekend and year after year.

It’s important to also note that we are not your typical campsite that offers toilets and showers in structured buildings or pitches that are marked out. We are a pop-up campsite, and this is very much part of the Camp Bongo experience.

You have also mentioned the field being on a hillside and having limited flat areas. We have two camping fields, one of which is considerably flatter than the other. Pitches are not allocated, so guests are free to choose where they would like to camp. Had you mentioned this to our team during your stay, we would have been more than happy to point you towards a flatter area.

We were also surprised to see customer service marked down, as our team are renowned for going above and beyond to help guests and make their stays enjoyable. This is exactly why we encourage guests to speak to us while they are here. Had you approached either of the owners (who are on site throughout our weekends), or a member of our team about any of these issues, we would have had the opportunity to try and rectify them for you at the time. Unfortunately, we can’t fix something we don’t know about.

Finally, regarding the cocktails, a busy bar can occasionally run out of individual ingredients towards the end of an evening. Stock is replenished each day, so this can happen temporarily during particularly busy periods. Our converted horsebox bar offers a huge range of drinks, including wines, beers, ciders, spirits, non-alcoholic options and, of course, cocktails.

If our team had known that you were upset by your chosen cocktail running out of stock, they would have been more than happy to make you a cocktail that suited your taste buds or pointed you in the direction of one of our other 11 cocktails that we have on offer (we have 12 in total).

We absolutely accept that Camp Bongo may not be for everyone, but we do feel it’s important that the full picture is represented. We work very hard to offer a unique camping experience with live music, a wide range of optional activities, friendly staff and the freedom to make your stay as relaxed or as adventurous as you wish.

We are transparent across social media, our website and partner sites about what we offer and what we are. We are a pop-up campsite for adults only, with that festival vibe. Nowhere do we state that activities are included in the price.

We’re sorry that your experience wasn’t what you hoped for, but we do wish you all the best for your future travels.

Many thanks,

Mikey

Camp Bongo

Liked Lovely location, nice people.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked All staff so friendly, enthusiastic and informative. Easy to find, price was spot on. Lots of toilets on both fields. Plenty of room to go round.

Disliked Would of liked later entertainment. Seemed early as an adults only site and so remote that the entertainment went off early.

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From the manager: Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback.

We’re super happy to hear that you enjoyed the Camp Bongo experience and, in particular, our wonderful and friendly team. We’ll be sure to pass your kind comments on to them.

We would, however, like to address your comments regarding the music finishing at 11pm. We’re sorry that this impacted your stay. While we are in a remote location, we still have neighbours around the valley, and it’s incredibly important to us that we respect them and don’t cause disruption late into the evening.

The 11pm cut-off for live music is also not something we have chosen ourselves. It is a condition of our licence from the council, which we have to follow. Without this licence, we would not be able to provide the live music, bar or food offering that forms such a big part of the Camp Bongo experience.

It’s also worth clarifying that Camp Bongo is not a festival. We are a campsite with a mini festival vibe. We completely understand that, because we are adults only, some guests may expect the music and partying to continue later into the night. However, being an adults-only campsite doesn’t mean we can simply do as we please. We still have to follow our licensing conditions, council guidelines and, importantly, respect our neighbours and every guest staying with us.

We also have a midnight quiet time. Not every guest wants to stay up late and party, and we have to find the right balance so that guests who want to enjoy the music can do so, while those who want to relax and sleep can also have an enjoyable stay.

We really appreciate your feedback, and we’re pleased that overall you enjoyed your Camp Bongo experience. We hope to welcome you back again in the future.

Many thanks,

Mikey

Camp Bongo

Liked Chilled, great activities on site, amazing food and drinks!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Really enjoyable experience, bar and food were excellent. Staff were fabulous and worked really hard, entertainment was excellent on both nights. Great atmosphere.

Disliked Never a fan of portaloos 😂 although they were cleaned every morning and always had toilet roll.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hello

Thank you for taking the time to give us your wonderful feedback.
We will pass this onto the whole team and our performers who all work incredibly hard to create and offer that Camp Bongo experience you have so kindly shared.

Hahah, porta loos! Thank you for taking the time to reflect and review the cleanliness. It’s not a job that anyone wishes to do but our team do it throughout the day and still with a smile on their face. Thank you for recognising this.

We hope to welcome you back again in the future to Camp Bongo.

Many thanks
Mikey

Liked Fantastic stay! Brilliant people!

We will be back

Thank you

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