Camping El Balcón De Pitres

The camping area is in a stunning spot, and the villages nearby are beautiful, but I’d choose another campsite. The facilities were appalling: dirty sinks, grime around the washing-up area, and used toilet paper overflowing from every male toilet cubicle bin. It looked as if nothing had been cleaned for at least a week. We left the next day. On arrival, there was nobody at reception, so we called the number. The man who answered told us to wait and hung up. Eventually someone came down, seeming grumpy, perhaps because he had to walk to reception. Checking in was fine, but when we left there was nobody there again. We called and were abruptly told reception was closed until 10am, so we left cash and went.

This place is a dump. I got there at 7pm and nobody was at reception; the restaurant was closed, the buildings were in poor shape, and the location felt very shady. I called the listed contact number four times before a grumpy man answered. He spoke no English, and his Spanish was so-so. He shouted at me for calling in the evening, saying it was his private number, and didn't know the prices. He hung up too late, so I heard him insult my mom. I found somewhere in town that was a thousand times better.

Beautiful setting and a lovely atmosphere, though the showers were cold while we were there.

This campsite is in a great spot for exploring the Apularras district, but it needs proper maintenance and a friendlier approach to customers. I planned to stay a week or longer and found a few things disappointing. The site map doesn't match the pitch layout, which feels more like wild camping. The toilets are modern, but there was no hot water in the sinks or in the men's showers during my visit. Rates stay the same all year, and in May, low season, it was the most expensive campsite I'd used in 22 years of caravanning, especially given the limited facilities. When I asked the office guy about an off-season discount, he immediately started calling the police, as if he assumed I wouldn't pay. I got the impression he'd had trouble before, and his attitude made it easy to see why.