The Dorset Hideaway

Liked This campsite was amazing and just what we envisaged. The site is secure behind a coded gate entrance and upon arrival you are greeted by staff who provide detailed instructions on the site. The site itself is well maintained and everything is laid out in an easy to find manner. The amenities are brilliant and the communal shower area was immaculate as was the washing up area and laundry room. There are even washing machines if required. The showers are fantastic, the water pressure is possibly one of the best pressures I’ve encountered at a campsite and the water is lovely and warm and consistent throughout duration of shower. Only downside is it turns off dead quick, you get maybe 30 seconds tops before it depresses but again the pressure and temp more than make up for it. The radio playing in the facilities is a great touch and makes the place feel homely and welcoming when you go to freshen up. You can see the pride that goes in to maintaining the site. We particularly loved the dog grooming station as these attention to detail and thought for pet owners was appreciated and it made it easy for us to wash the salt and sand off after a busy day at the beach, the shampoo and conditioner was provided and the doggy hairdryer is a genius touch. The pitches are nicely mown, well kept, even grounded and spacious. We also liked that at night the light pollution was to a minimum and so the stars were super visible and made the place feel even more special. A head torch is definitely required for trips to the toilet in the middle of the night! The barn had multiple games tables such as ping pong and table football and provided entertainment when a leg stretch was needed. The campsite was nice and quiet and felt like a really lovely place to relax in the evenings after a busy day. We would definitely recommend this campsite to anyone who wants a quiet, calming experience that is super clean and caters for dogs and we will be back again. It’s also relatively close to charmouth, bridport and west bay (around 20 minute drive to each destination) so makes day trips accessible and relatively hassle free. Really impressed overall.

Disliked I really don’t have anything other than personal preference nitpicks but I would prefer a hand towel option over a hand dryer in the toilets as they are too noisy for me but again this is a total nitpick and not something that would ever deter me from returning.

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Liked Facilities very clean
Well kept site
Clear instructions with check in
Good value for money

Disliked Only one shower / toilet block. Was quite far away from pitch

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Liked Facilities were fantastic. Pitches were generous and the setting beautiful.

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Liked How quiet the sits was.

Disliked Lack of showers n toilets both male and female.
Lack of service in the toilets for toilet roll and the ladies were not very clean according to my partner.

Ladies showers were overflowing and the bins were overflowing.

Tent pitches not very well kept huge cracks and big roots growing up needs more upkeep tbh.

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Liked A great flat camping site.

Disliked A few things....

Our power supply, didn't work. it cost me a new leisure battery to confirm it was the site not my van that was the issue.

I told the staff who seemed not that interested and said I should just hook up to another outlet. Not that easy when you have fully pitched the awning.

We ended up having to move our van 8 ft so we could plug in across the road. a bit annoying as we would have preferred to have stayed attached.

The bathroom facility's were ok but lacking in numbers. The site can have 90 groups staying in the field and there are 2 showers for each sex... but they were hot and clean.

And this is not a quiet and friendly site. large groups do camp together and some of the large groups seem to enjoy a large amount of herbal relaxation in the evening... not great when your putting your daughter to bed explaining the funny smoky smell from the neighbors!

But things quietened down around 10:30 pm.

An ok stay but I dont think we'll be heading back next year.

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Liked Peaceful
Beautiful area
Well set up
Easy check in and communication

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Liked It was lovely and peaceful and not too far away from Charmouth and Lyme Regis perfect for our fossil hunting holiday!

Disliked Phone signal wasn't great, which caused our 5 year old to have a little melt down due to not being able to watch her tablet.

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Liked Quite open space, fishing lake and fire pit

Disliked Toilets were not cleaned often at all and were very dirty, they ran out of toilet paper aswell.

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From the manager: Hi Glenda

Many thanks for your review.

Apologies that our toilet roll ran out at 6 a.m. and that this ruined the entire stay for you. I’m afraid our staff don’t work at this hour. But once we were back on duty, the issue was soon fixed.

To confirm, our shower blocks are cleaned daily, and looking at our other reviews, it seems shower block cleanliness is the least of people’s concerns.

We appreciate this ruined your stay, but for a family-run business, a review of your stature can really harm a business. Hopefully, next time you can speak to your hosts or the owner before you try to hurt another business.

Many thanks
TDH

Liked Quiet - big pitches - facilities clean and well maintained.

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Liked Quiet and not too busy.
Clean amenities
Not overmanaged and left alone to enjoy the space
Would visit again

Disliked Narrow country roads

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From the manager: Thank you so much for taking the time to review your stay, Jamsey! We’re really pleased you enjoyed the peace and quiet, and that our amenities were up to standard. We do try to give guests plenty of space to relax without feeling overmanaged, so it’s great to hear that came across.

Kind Regards TDH