Rainbow Retreat

Positiv: We spent 2 nights here, could have stayed for longer had it not have been for work commitments.

We stayed in the hideout for comfort as we put a lid on DIY camping a few years ago.
What a great lovely place this is.

Luke was responsive to messages the day before and we were greeted with a warm welcome on arriving.

The hideout was very well equipped and had everything we needed. It was so nice to have so much space inside and out.
Great cooking area with a double stove that heated water very quickly. Everything we could have needed to cook with - even had teabags and coffee 😍
2 double beds and a single with the option of an extra trundle bed that was stored under one of the doubles. All bed were kitted out with bedding.
A comfy 2 seater sofa, 2 comfy chairs with pillows and a blanket inside
A table with 4 chairs inside and a seating area outside on the decking.
The lights inside were cool at night, and we didn't need our torch.

We didn't make use of the communial kitchen area other than washing up (we had everything we needed to hand) but it was resourceful and a great space for campers.

The showers were hot and had enough space to get dry and changed.

The eco toilets were very clean and as a first timer using them, I was impressed.

The fire pit was great which was located within the woods and at the back of the hideout - had a table and 4 chairs. Great space to enjoy a bbq and fire.

Loved using the wheelbarrow to get our things to and from the car, what a clever idea. Luke offered to help with our things on arriving and leaving which was lovely, but it's a must to do it yourself and no more than a few to a 5 min walk.

Recommend to take wellies for the shortwalk if the weather is wet.. we stupidly wore our trainers on day 2 as we left our wellies in the car.

Luke spoke briefly about his plans moving forwards with this site and upgrading it - putting wood chip on the path and their plans with different areas of the woodland. I wish them well with the planned work and I hope we get to visit again soon before this gem of a place is hard to book up.

Daughters review - "I liked how spacious it was and the beds were comfy, can we go back?"

Negativ: Having to leave.

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Positiv: Not much

Negativ: Signage pretty poor, and so tired of the country game, where you have to drive around guessing country lanes, to find the site.
No recepting or instructions.
The images may lead you to expect a more open and better equipped site. It is not.

If you want to spend a nigh or two, in a 2 man backpackers tent in the forest, then this would be great. Anything more would be a stretch.

Apart from the very narrow trail to the pitches, there is no walk through the forest - too steep, overgrown and all surronding land own by neighbours. No country walk, no open space, for kids to run around.

When we did eventually meet the organisers they were very friendly and helpful.

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Vom Platzbetreiber: Hi,
Whilst we appreciate all our reviews this seems like an extremely unfair representation of our site, so I will address your comments here. In our welcome email we ask that guests call us on the number provided if they encounter any difficulties finding us. We do not currently have an onsite reception which is why we request a call on arrival. You did not. We sent you a text to check you had arrived ok and if you had any questions to get in touch. You did not. During a routine check of the woodland we saw you and you explained you arrived without tent poles and so could not stay so we felt sorry for you and your son and offered you a spare tent to stay in. You declined the offer. We welcome families here all the time and the pitches are more than adequate to accommodate family size tents so implying only a 2 man tent would fit is inaccurate especially as you didn’t even have a tent to put up to test the theory, but again out of our 7 camping pitches most accommodate a 6 man tent. Im unsure what you mean by narrow path to the pitches or its relevance. The pathways are natural woodland pathways created by simply being walked on.
Guests are welcome to explore the woodland if they wish, we don’t yet have arrows guiding guests around.
We have not misled anyone with our photographs it’s impossible to do so. I’m struggling to understand what more you expected from a woodland campsite. We have a warm shower block with toiletries provided , fully equipped kitchen shelter, fire pits, nature tick lists for children and a toilet, we also have a box with spare items for campers to use if they forget things.
We pride ourselves on our site being low impact on the environment by being surrounded in nature. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy walking around the woodland, trails are not yet in place, it is a work in progress sympathetically making areas of the woodland more accessible and will evolve over time to enhance campers wider experience within the woodland, but we still let guests explore at their leisure if they wish. I’m also struggling to understand your comment re lack of space for children to run around in, there are vast areas of open space for children to enjoy within the 7 acres.
The woodland is surrounded by a cow field and horse field, we understand you left the woodland and entered the horse field to which you were approached by our neighbours. Signs are now in place to make it clear this is no entry, you are however the first guests to have crossed over into our neighbours field.
There are many wonderful country walks to enjoy close by also. It’s a real shame you left such an inaccurate review after all the help we offered you. I can only hope this does not put other campers off from trying our family run, friendly campsite where we pride ourselves on being as helpful as possible to our guests to ensure an enjoyable stay here.
We are only in our second full year and many additions will be added over time to enhance the experience for our guests but our price will reflect this going forwards. There are very few small woodland campsites offering a back to nature experience with the luxury of warm showers and all that we offer here this close to the centre of Exeter.
Best wishes, Sammie & Luke

Positiv: Great host, lovely scenery, hot showers and kitchen facilities. Literally everything we needed we had. A great site that we will definitely be going back too.

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Vom Platzbetreiber: Thank you, we are so pleased you enjoyed your time here and look forward to welcoming you back.
Happy camping,
Sammie & Luke

Positiv: Nice setting

Negativ: However, when arrived we observed the track, we elected not to stay as the track was steep. My partner has issues with knees and would have found the track too steep to walk up and to cart the tent etc up and down .

It appears to be a newish site so appreciate that there might be 'teething problems'. Great for a young family wishing to be out in nature ...

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Vom Platzbetreiber: Hi, Thanks for your review , I just wanted to update here to say we have taken on board yours and others feedback on the length of the journey into the woodland and now have a drop off point at the entrance to the woods as well as much closer parking.
Whilst we still don’t allow cars into the woodlands itself we feel this closer parking and drop off point without having to negotiate the steep track carrying tent supplies is much better for everyone.
Best wishes,
Sammie & Luke

Positiv: Peaceful and beautiful location, friendly hosts. Tent was roomy and well stocked with kitchen utensils and lights.

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Positiv: Venue, our Glamping accommodation was comfortable and the host family are very friendly and kind.
Our little man enjoyed the fire pit every night and he is missing it already. Peaceful environment for retreat.

Negativ: Pushing the wheel barrow from the car park to our accommodation as we cannot drive the car there due to unsuitable road.

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Positiv: It was very peaceful, the people were very helpful and friendly. Once the site has everything finished it will be an amazing place to stay.

Negativ: Having to carry all your camping gear up and down was tricky but there was a wheel barrell to use and the man helped which resolved the issue and was always on hand if you needed help.

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Positiv: Location - really close to Exeter, yet very quiet rural site deep in the woods. Great open kitchen area. The access is tricky, but this is part of the adventure. You park your car up then use a wheel barrow to transport your kit to the site, down a slope, over a corrugated iron “bridge” up a slope, down a slope, you get the idea - about 150m. The campsite is in mixed deciduous woodland - oak, hazel, ash - and the pitches are cut into the slope to make level terraces. Lots of bird life in the woods. The compositing toilet works well and the shower provides plenty of hot water. Luke, who owns the site is really friendly and will help you transport your stuff from your car to the pitches. This is a small family-run campsite, with people who really care for the environment, and we were really happy to support their exciting woodland project. No Wi-Fi - did not expect that for this sort of site - but great mobile and 4G signal.

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Positiv: We received as very warm welcome from Luke, who very kindly went the extra mile to make sure that our stay in the dreary rain was as comfortable as possible!

The pitches are nestled in-between beautiful oak trees and each pitch has an awesome fire pit. Would recommend a cosy stay here and will no doubt return!

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Positiv: Level pitches, lovely clean hot showers, covered area for cooking/eating/washing up.
Situation amongst the trees andcthe sheep next door.
Very friendly, helpful owner

Negativ: The long uneven walk from the cart to the tent pitch area

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