Liked We stayed at Alderford Lake for three nights over the weekend in one of the glamping tents. There are definitely some lovely aspects to the site. The lake itself is beautiful and the overall setting is really attractive. We had a great time as a group and there is lots of potential for this to be a fantastic place to stay. However, there were a number of things that really let the experience down. Firstly, the road noise is quite significant. The site is right next to the A41 and there is a steady flow of traffic, including heavy vehicles. When you are staying somewhere surrounded by countryside and a beautiful lake, you expect a degree of peace and tranquillity, and unfortunately the road noise does spoil that. I was also surprised that, despite paying to stay on the campsite, access to the lake itself wasn’t included. I completely understand paying separately for additional activities and equipment, but given that staying at Alderford Lake isn’t particularly cheap, I think basic access to the lake should be included for overnight guests. Another disappointment is that when the lake closes at 4.30pm, the other facilities close too, including the café and children’s play area. For people actually staying on site, particularly families, 4.30pm is incredibly early. It would make a big difference if campers could continue to access some of these facilities into the evening. The camping facilities themselves also need considerable improvement. There is no permanent amenity block and the washing facilities are extremely limited. There was just one sink available for the whole campsite to wash dishes. The site was virtually empty during our stay, so it wasn’t a major problem and I only had to queue once, but I can’t imagine how this would work when the campsite is full. The biggest issue for me, though, was the toilets. There are six toilets in total – three for men and three for women – and they are essentially festival-style port-a-loos. For a campsite charging these prices, and particularly one offering glamping, I don’t think this is acceptable. Proper permanent toilets, showers and washing facilities should really be a basic expectation. Alderford Lake is in a beautiful location and we did enjoy our weekend, but the facilities don’t currently match the price or the impression of a glamping experience. With proper toilet and shower blocks, better facilities for campers, later access to the café/play area and lake access included for overnight guests, it could be so much better.

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Liked There was a lady who name I didn’t catch. She worked on reception and cleaned the toilets etc. She was super friendly and nice.

Disliked I honesty have no idea how this campsite is rated as high as it is? On the face of it it should be a lovely stay but it really wasn’t, it has so much potential but is unloved and generally uncared for. You don’t get a set pitch you just turn up and hope for the best. There are leads going everywhere for the electrics so you just plug in where you can. The ground is uneven and so muddy. The grass isn’t cut and there is dog mess. The shower/toilet ‘block’ is knocked together with bits of wood. I tried over 2 days to get a shower and one day no water came out and the next day only cold water came out. I wondered why there was no queue for the one shower available in the whole site and now I understand why, I think everybody just gives up and waits until they get home! There was no hot water for the dishes either and I couldn’t get to the water tap a couple of times as people had piled their rubbish up against it. There were lots of noisy groups when we were there, up way past midnight singing and drinking. My 6 year old couldn’t sleep. It was lights out at 11pm but this was ignored and no one from the site management came around to check. There is a bar which is mainly outside with a log fire which looked lovely but we couldn’t get around it because it was where all the staff liked to sit and I felt as though we were in the way! It could be lovely but i found it very rough around the edges and some of the other campers were the same unfortunately. I’m no party pooper and like a laugh and a few wines but swearing And screeching in the early hours in earshot of my daughter isn’t my idea of fun sorry. Oh and it’s just off a major road, I knew this but people on here were saying you can’t hear it but you definitely can!!

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