Not so Cool Camping

We like campsites that are out of the ordinary and a fantastic way to find those is through the website Cool Camping. Many favourite sites we return to again and again were discovered through Cool Camping.

This weekend though I was less than impressed by Cool Camping and since I'm unsatisfied with the response I've had from them I feel compelled to write this blog post.

We booked the campsite Wardley Hill in Norfolk on Thursday, a day before the first night of the booking. Cool Camping immediately took full payment and instantly I received an email confirmation with directions to the site and, what I wasn't expecting, a latest check-in time of sunset which would be 6.20pm.

Now, of course, I fully understand why a site would have a latest check in of sunset, but to wait until after you've booked and paid to tell you this isn't acceptable.

I emailed them today to point out that it's unacceptable to impose restrictions on arrival time that weren't clearly set out at the time of booking. Here is their reply:

'All of the listings, check-in times, and site information are provided by the site themselves and not Cool Camping.'

When pushed further they simply began stating that I'd agreed to their terms and conditions of booking, sending a screenshot of them.

So their attitude is it's not their fault which, when coupled with their refund policy which at the very least will leave you out of pocket by their commission plus a £10 admin fee (and no refund at all within 48 hours of the start of the booking) leaves me no confidence to book with them again.

I should explain that the owner of the campsite said because we were a campervan the sunset deadline was a little flexible, but still, this shouldn't be left as a surprise you get after booking. If a latest arrival time is a condition of the booking then it should be included in the information presented ahead of the booking, not afterwards.