The Camp at The Wave Bristol

Reviews

1. Liz Farrow (ERFarrow) ★★★☆☆

   The Wave is an amazing place and we are so happy it's back in business, the kids had an amazing time. The Camp was a good experience overall but still room for improvement. I was expecting the tent to be much cleaner considering the price per night. I'll list what we noticed: 1) Bedding didn't appear to be clean as we saw hair from previous guest. 2) Not enough wood for a booking of 3 nights, the tent gets very cold at night and if there's no sunlight in the day. So enough wood to keep the tent warm is a must. 3) Not enough toilet roll for a family of 3 for three nights, though the tent toilet (porta-potty) is for night emergencies, it was actually used during the day as my autistic son didn't want to constantly walk to the shower area where there are proper toilets. 4) Rubbish under beds, old socks from previous guest under bed, food wrappers, food crumbs, a lot of dust, spider webs and spiders living under the bed crawling up to the bed was upsetting. This shows a total lack of proper cleaning of our tent (tent 4) which was unfortunate to see. Of course the odd insect in the countryside is normal, it would be expected that spider webs would be cleared out for guests staying as best as possible. 5) Sign said food up until 8:30pm, but didn't say that food is only served until 5pm on Tuesdays, this was not noted on the signage upon arrival, and went without dinner and ended up with two very hungry kids. That needs updating as it's misleading to guests. Went in to buy snacks and was turned away. 6) The surfing experience was amazing, but The Camp can make some major improvements as noted above, especially for the price that they are asking per night. 7) Staff at the camp generally very helpful, especially the girl with the northern accent, unfortunately didn't catch her name. Hope this is helpful for The Camp to see and make improvements for future guests. Thanks for the experience.

   almost 8 months ago
2. Katherine Booth ★★☆☆☆

   We decided to stay here for one night on our way down to Cornwall. I am a seasoned camper and festival goer, my sweet husband is not. I have had more comfortable camping experiences in the pouring rain at Bloodstock than I did here. The rooms are small with high ceilings, so any heat is immediately lost upwards. The mattresses are thin and worn out. The double bed is actually two single beds pushed together and feels incredibly claustrophobic. The only room that is heated is the living/dining area, the wood burner is a lovely touch but due to no fan aspect, the heat is once again, lost upwards. In the end, we swaddled ourselves in the duvets on the sofa bed in an effort to keep warm and comfortable. There are no towels provided, not even a tea towel or a hand towel. As far as location goes, it's okay, it's near enough Bristol and a few amenities. It is not peaceful or relaxing as advertised though as it's very close to the M5 and there's a freight rail line that runs very close and all through the night. To call this 'glamping' is an insult to camping. For anyone who thinks camping has to be this dire, it doesn't!

   almost 8 months ago
3. Victoria Lorca Cámara ★★★☆☆

   We recently spent four days surfing at The Wave in Bristol and stayed two nights at The Camp. Overall, we had a great time surfing — the wave pool is absolutely brilliant, with perfect waves for all levels and friendly, helpful instructors. However, our experience with the accommodation was quite disappointing. Five days before our arrival, our booking for the first night was suddenly cancelled, even though we had made the reservation three to four weeks earlier. We were told it was due to a booking error with Booking.com, but it was frustrating to receive such short notice and to have to rearrange everything so close to our trip. As a suggestion, better communication between The Wave and Booking.com would help prevent this kind of issue — cancellations shouldn’t happen only five days before arrival when the booking has been confirmed for weeks. We were also not offered any help to store our surfboards during the cancelled night, which meant we had to carry them unnecessarily. When we finally checked in, there was no firewood left for the evening, and no one came to bring any before leaving for the night. The tents don’t have any heating apart from the wood burner, which only warms up the kitchen and living area — the bedrooms stay quite cold. The tent hadn’t been properly cleaned either — there were food scraps and bits of plastic on the floor around the kitchen and living area. There was also no toilet paper in the small private toilet (which is meant for emergencies at night — during the day you’re expected to use the shared shower block). The shared showers are actually very good — clean, with adjustable hot water, which is much appreciated when it’s cold. As for comfort, the mattresses are quite worn out and sink a lot; you can feel the springs. The Velcro fastenings on the bedroom windows don’t close properly, so cold air comes in during the night. The kitchen lacks a proper coffee maker (only instant coffee provided), one of the pans had been stored dirty, and the cookware is of poor quality — food sticks easily. Everything else was fine. In summary, The Wave itself is an incredible experience — the wave pool and the staff (the “Wavemakers”) are outstanding and made the surf sessions really enjoyable. However, The Camp needs much better maintenance, cleaning, and communication with guests. We hope these issues can be improved, because the place has great potential.

   almost 9 months ago

1. Lee Moore ★★★★☆

   Great idea and location, could be fantastic but was let down by a few issues. We were missing a number of items (cups, plates, etc). This was resolved quickly however once pointed out. Some areas would have benefited from better cleaning. Overall the toilets and showers for both the Camp and Wave needed more regular cleaning and have hand wash at basins etc. A little better would make things a lot better.

   almost 9 months ago
2. Geoffrey ★☆☆☆☆

   Booked through booking.com as seemed good value with private bathroom and decent reviews when I got there I was shocked. A smelly hot tent and the private bathroom turned out to be a chemical toilet that you had to manually pump. Couldn’t stay there and requested a refund. Never got it. I would not recommend at all.

   1 year ago
3. Thomas Rodgers ★★★★☆

   We have just stayed at The Camp and we had two tents each with 5 people in. The tents were very clean and comfortable and we all had a great time. The set up is fantastic but we just thought a few things need to be looked at or improved ready for the peak season. Our stay was early March and it was quite cold. They give you a wood burner starter pack and if you're lucky this will last you the first evening. After that they charge you £10 for a new bag of wood. This in my eyes is pretty extortionate as you have no other choice they know you will pay the price to keep warm. Also the camp guests have to use a shower block to use the toilets and shower. This is the case at most camp sites however as the camp also services The Wave guests customers finishing their wave sessions will also use those showers. Twice I tried to shower both mornings and on all occasions the showers were occupied. It didn't help that there was only 4 showers, two were broken and the other the lock on the door was broken, due to this only one shower was in operation. I feel that the shower block should be for Camp guests only and this needs to be looked at. Overall though The Camp is a fantastic place and I will deffinely return one day with my family. It will be buzzing with atmosphere in the summer and will offer a fantastic place to stay.

   almost 3 years ago

1. Sean Moody ★★★★★

   Favourite place on earth! I went during peak summer and had an absolute blast, it was everything i hoped it would be and more! could easily spend the full day there, eat drink and surf. Book up and live the dream, highly recommended.

   almost 3 years ago
2. The Povalls ★★★★★

   We had a really great time at The Wave. My husband is an experienced surfer and my son (7yrs) is just learning. My daughter was too young for a lesson ( 6years plus) but there is a 'play in the bay' for younger kids or anyone that wants to grab their boogie board/floats and have a play. Make sure you book it up as it fills up fast. We stayed in a safari tent and it had everything you need to be comfortable. We loved the whole vibe of the camp and the kids also really enjoyed it. Food available from The Wave which was lovely and reasonably priced. We can't wait to come again.

   almost 3 years ago
3. Row Quinn ★★★★★

   Had a fantastic intermediate surf lesson, special thanks to Jules who is both a brilliant coach and all-round inspiration!! Facilities are great and tons of equipment for rent. Very clean and fantastic friendly vibe. Bring your skateboard if you have one We returned a week later to spend some money in the cafe + surf shop but was told it was a £2 charge per person for the pleasure. We politely declined, but were disappointed to have to return home without a holiday memento

   almost 4 years ago

1. Christie Valeriano ★★★★☆

   We loved our time at the Wave. Everyone was incredibly helpful, the lessons were great (my children were standing by the end of their 90 minute beginner lesson), and the cabins were extremely comfortable and clean. The cafe was pricey, but the food and coffee were very good. Also a lovely playground on the premises for the kids to play. We stayed for 2 evenings, which seemed like a good amount of time for us, since we enjoy surfing but are not aficionados.

   almost 4 years ago

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