Angry staycationers blast 'luxury' glamping site after turning up to find a field 'full of sheep poo', deflated air beds and no pump and just four showers for all guests - but owner blames problems on 'overbooking'

Furious staycationers have slammed a glamping site after they arrived to find a field 'full of sheep poo', a lack of tents and just four showers for all the guests.  

Motorsport Camping and Glamping in Bleak Hill, Silverstone advertised luxury camping accommodation for customers who were attending the nearby British Grand Prix on the weekend of July 17 and 18.

However, visitors at the site instead reported a lack of showers, deflated beds and no towels or bedding. 

The owner, named by customers as Wayne Atkinson, blamed travel site Booking.com for the fiasco, claiming his glamping experience had been overbooked. 

One furious visitor told MailOnline: 'We have just returned from 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 £770 out of pocket.'

Another said: 'When we got to the site, which was not signposted and was just a field full of sheep poo and old wool, the police were there as were many other angry 'glampers'.

'There was no food, bar and the tents were not dressed despite him saying all that was missing was bedding. There were four showers for the whole site which broke down on the Friday, due to the generator running out of fuel.'

While a third said: 'I paid £790. There was one cold water tap, no working showers or washing facilities - and this whilst in a pandemic.

Motorsport Camping and Glamping in Bleak Hill, Silverstone advertised luxury camping accommodation for customers - who were less than impressed by what they found

What the advert for the camping site promised - a Moroccan themed interior for visitors

In reality, they discovered a dirty tent with missing bedsheets, towels and in some cases even mattresses 

Staycationers also complained that there were only four working showers - and even they were said to be in a filthy state

'We had to rush to a local Tesco at 10.40pm (it closed at 11pm) to buy airbeds and sleeping bags as nothing was provided in the tents. There was no bar service and no entertainment and the sole member of staff was Wayne and a young kid on an electric bike who claimed to be 'a friend of Wayne's friend'.'

One visitor went as far as branding Mr Atkinson a 'con artist' and said: 'We had booked what we thought was luxury glamping, when we arrived we realised this was not the case.

We were expecting proper beds, bedding, toiletries, fully carpeted, lighting, power socket and showers with daily towel change for glamping customers.

'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.

'In all, he supplied no food, no security, no COVID measures(as advised by the council apparently) no bar, no entertainment (unless you call the police the entertainment). We were on edge the whole time, not knowing if we were going to have a tent on our return and unable to enjoy the weekend, especially after having to roll it all over from last year. 

'We are £553 and £200 out of pocket for the stay and food respectively. Wayne has no empathy and does not care about his customers. He has lots of unhappy customers, even people with children and vulnerable people having no accommodation and having to find alternate accommodation late on a Friday night.'

Hitting back at the complaints, Mr Atkinson pointed the finger at Booking.com.

A tap available to staycationers at the site - many hit out at the state of the site's facilities

It is unclear what is shown in the photo, though one visitor claims it shows makeshift showers that were erected by the glamping site

He said: 'The issue was with Booking.com. We had 63 online check-ins that we were prepared for and had tents kitted out for.

'Booking.com overbooked from that 63 so we are trying to establish how that happened. It is a mess and a nightmare.

'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 get a full refund, but others may not.'

Explaining what happened, he added: 'People who booked in December to March while we were in lockdown, were told they could pay on arrival.

'However 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.

'We sent out online booking forms and made several attempts to contact everyone who had booked to let them know they needed to pay online and check-in online, prior to arrival.

'However many never paid or made any 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.

Another said: 'When we got to the site, which was not signposted and was just a field full of sheep poo and old wool, the police were there as were many other angry 'glampers'

A communal tent where visitors were expected to dine and drink at the glamping site

One visitor said: 'There was no food, bar and the tents were not dressed despite him saying all that was missing was bedding'

Others complained about the lack of electricity available throughout their visit to the site

'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.'  

A spokeswoman for Booking.com said: 'On the rare occasion that a customer's experience at a property doesn't match their expectations or if the property is unable to accommodate their stay, we would urge them to reach out to our customer service team ASAP, who are available 24/7 to offer support and to help find a suitable resolution for everyone involved.

'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.

'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 apologised to all impacted guests and are currently helping with relocations and refunds, which includes covering the difference in cost for any alternative accommodation.'