Campsites for who...
Dear Campers, I would like to share my experience with people who love camping. I contacted the Warmbaths Forever Resort on 20 April 2016 to find that they have 2 camp site available for us over the long weekend (29th April - 2nd May) , but was told that we must book fast because they are almost fully booked.....well 14 site were available at the time. I then asked for a map of the caravan park to have a look at proper camp sites but were told that they do not have a map and that they work on a first come first serve basis. I then booked the 2 sites and asked if I could arrive early on the Friday. Bianca then told me that it would be a better idea if I arrive early. On the 28th of April I received an sms that we could only check in at 15H00 on the 29th of April. So, I contacted Bianca at the resort to find out what is going on. She then told me that she will speak to her manager of which they then told me that we can check in at 12H00. We then arranged to pick our kids up from school earlier and on our way we go so that we can get good camp site stands for the long weekend. When we arrived at the resort, we checked in. The cost for the 3 days for 2 camp sites were just over R5,000.00 (for camp sites). This was for 4 kids over the age of 4 years and 4 adults, we did not pay for the 2 kids under 4 years of age. When we arrived at the camping area, we we directed by a man to turn right into a camp area, and so we did. Our wifes were fuming as we just stared at the camp area with shock. NO proper grass and a lot of paper thorns all over the place. We then decided to drive back to the gate and turn up to the camp site just next to this one. Quickly we observed that these camp sites were locked. A friendly camper approached us to inform us that the camp sites in this area is the luxury stands. We actually laughed when we looked around and found all the stands poorly maintained, no proper grass, and thorns all over the place. The man then told us to rather stay away from the first camping area because we will not sleep "if you know what I mean". I contacted Bianca from inside the resort to ask if we can rather upgrade to the luxury sites and asked why we were not informed about the so called luxury stands. She then told me that all the sites were fully booked and she can't help me. We then found some sites in the "luxury area" that had no poles to be locked off and they were against the wall close to the main road. Never the less, we then decided to set up camp as the site with NO grass was the best we could get. After our camp were set up, I decided to take a walk in the camp area to find a lot of the luxury stands still available. On the Saturday, the stands were still available. Opposite from us were people busy packing up and so they left on the Saturday morning. Well, we thought that other people would come in and use the vacant luxury stands but to our amazement, a lot of the luxury stands were empty. We were not happy because everything is dirty, and our young kids can't play on the non existent grass. My 3 year old daughter occasionally came crying with thorns in her feet. I took pictures of the open camp sites as well as the thorns and condition of the sites, and will share upon request. When you go to the resort pools, it is filled with day visitors (1500 - 2000). Day visitor people have no respect for your belongings and personal space. I must say; the pool water was nice and clean. Some people might like these conditions, but we camp a lot and we don't. I would like to warn people that the pictures of the camp sites on the website is not a true reflection of what we experienced. John Pelser Booking nr. WB G103766
