Staycationers were enraged after arriving at a glamping site in Silverstone only to discover a field “full of sheep poo,” no tents, and only four showers for everyone.
Motorsport Camping and Glamping in Bleak Hill, Silverstone offered luxury camping accommodations for those who attended the British Grand Prix on July 17 and 18.
The visitors, however, reported that there were no showers, flatbeds, and no towels and bedding.
Customers identified Wayne Atkinson as the owner. He claimed that Booking.com overbooking his site was responsible for the disaster.
An infuriated visitor called it “a terrible Luxury Glamping experience.
“On arrival, there were no showers, no beds, bed linen, towels, food, drink, electricity, the list is endless of what we were promised. I am PS770 out of pocket,” the visitor said.
Another stated that they found the site unsigned posted. It was a field of old wool and sheep poo. The police had to be involved as there were a lot of enraged glampers.
They also said that the only four showers, which were not enough to cater to the whole site, were inoperative due to the generator running out of fuel on one Friday. They expressed their disappointment, noting “and this whilst in a pandemic.”
Some glampers reported having to rush to the nearest Tesco at 10:40 pm (it closes at 11 pm) to purchase airbeds and sleeping bags, as nothing was provided in the tents. They also said that the owner was the sole member of the staff.
Another visitor called Mr. Atkinson “con artist” while another said he” has no empathy and does not care about his customer” and expressed dismay that they had booked luxury glamping but discovered this was not true when they arrived.
‘I have tried on numerous occasions to contact Wayne via text, email, and voice. The man is a con artist and has told so many different excuses and stories to different people.
Atkinson reacted to the complaints and blamed Booking.com.
He stated that the issue was with Booking.com, saying the booking site has overbooked his site. He also said they had 63 online check-ins, which they had prepared for and tents set up for.
The owner said they are looking into the matter and will reimburse eligible guests.
‘We’re working hard to establish what has gone wrong, who was entitled to be on-site, and then we’ll look at working out what we think is fair for a refund.
“Some people will receive a full refund while others may not.”
He also explained that customers who booked during the lookdown from December to March were informed that they could pay upon arrival, only for authorities to prohibit it.
“We were told by authorities that pay on arrival would not be acceptable in case the card machine failed and there ended up being a backlog of traffic,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson also added that they distributed booking forms and informed those who had booked about paying and checking in online before arrival. However, the majority of the guests “never paid or made contact.”
‘The 63 tents accounted for had beds, but a lot more people arrived than had checked in. We had more than 100 tents needed.
‘The air beds were an emergency measure because we had so many people there who had nowhere to stay.
‘With the bar, because there were so many people there, we were advised not to open, and that’s where the food would have been provided too.’
Booking.com spokeswoman said that in rare cases where a customer experiences a problem at a property, or if they are unable to stay there, their 24/7 customer service team is available to provide support and help find a solution.
‘We will work with the partner to address how they prepare their property and facilities to ensure all future guests have a good experience.
‘We have apologized to all impacted guests and are currently helping with relocations and refunds, which includes covering the difference in cost for any alternative accommodation.’
Booking.com has suspended Motorsport Camping and Glamping from their website.
‘In this instance, as this is not the experience we would want for any of our guests, we have currently suspended the property from taking any reservations on our site.