Bungalow Essential Banya - 4 persons

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Where do I begin…

We arrived on Saturday afternoon - there was 1 person in the reception with a queue of 7 people/families. Already a bad sign.

We got to our “premium” bungalow (xaloc) and at first it was nice - very spacious and new. The only bad thing here is the kitchen - it’s very small (no space to actually cook) and for a bungalow for 4 people - it had 4 plates, 4 coffee cups, 4 glasses, 4 forks and knife’s etc. meaning - every time you prepared a meal and ate it - you had to clean. And there’s no dishwasher like in other premium camping sites.

The location is weird - there’s no beach in front of the camping, there’s sea with rocks. You have to walk 10min to a normal beach (with sand, not huge stones) and 15min to a dog beach. And still it’s full of algas and the water is dirty.

Also it’s far away (30min walk) from any other supermarket. During our stay the supermarket on site was open from 8-13h and then 16:30-19:30. Even then, it doesn’t have much stock. Saturday afternoon - no ice, no meat, no fresh produce.
It’s very random and unexpected what you can find there. The croissants, local vermut and local olive oils are good.

And the last- “dog friendly” - more of “dog accepted”.
Dogs can stay with you in the bungalow, but the bungalow is not fenced in any way (the terrace), so dogs can easily escape - you find yourself watching your dog 24/7.
There’s no any dog equipment provided- water bowl etc.
dogs can’t enter the pool area (so if you are single or a couple with a dog, you basically can’t use a pool together, as your dog can’t stay “home alone”).
The restaurant allows dogs on the terrace - for lunch it’s ok (a bit hot), but in the evening it’s sooooo many mosquitoes that it’s impossible to stay outside.
The dog park is a joke. It looks like abandoned construction site- dangerous. Foto attached.

And the worst thing - mosquitoes. It’s impossible to be relaxed outside in the evening. 20:30 mosquitos are out everywhere- on the way from the beach, pool, camping site, the restaurant. Crazy…. There are soooo many ways the camping management could deal with this, but decides not to.

Last tip - we visited over the weekend of June 24th which is San Joan holiday. It happens to also be a local festivities over the whole week. There were parties in the town for whole week from midnight until 6am. Nothing loud during the day- just in the night when you try to fall asleep and relax - techno / dance music until the morning light.
We also hoped that as the camping is dog friendly and we are in environmental protected zone, there won’t be much of san Joan noise (fireworks). Wrong - even though it’s not allowed to use fireworks in the camping zone, it’s allowed outside on the street - meaning you feel like you are in the center of the war zone for 24hs.

I think there are so many better ways to spend your money than to be in this camping.

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We’re giving it one star because you can’t give it a 0. We went in June and stayed on a campsite with our own tent. Right when we arrived, they tried to charge some friends of ours (who were also staying on a campsite) for fees they had already paid. Later, when we got to our campsite, we found it swarming with mosquitoes. In less than an hour, while we were setting up the tent, we ended up completely covered in bites all over our bodies; plus, when we woke up, the whole tent and campsite were absolutely swarming with mosquitoes. We don’t think the mosquito problem is directly the campground’s fault, but it’s something they should have warned us about before we arrived because it’s absolute hell. We used candles, incense, spray, and body mosquito repellent, but even so, we couldn’t get rid of them or the bites (this ends up being a significant additional expense if you’re staying for several days). Also, the only mosquito repellent sold at the campground’s supermarket costs €9; since it’s essential, we think that’s a bit excessive (at Mercadona it doesn’t even cost €3, and we went through an entire bottle every day).

As for the facilities, the showers left a lot to be desired. The water temperature couldn’t be adjusted properly, and you also had to constantly press the button for the water to come out (specifically for 5 seconds). The showerheads were also in terrible condition, with water spraying out in all directions. At least the bathrooms weren’t dirty.

The pool was our favorite part; the only downside was that there weren’t enough shaded areas for all the people there.

We didn’t like the location at all; the nearest beach was a 25-minute walk away. The sea is right in front of the campground, but it’s not a swimming area, and besides, the water was very murky. To go grocery shopping, you absolutely have to take the car to Deltebre, since if you want to shop at the campground’s supermarket, you’d have to sell a kidney (though the supermarket cashier was a real sweetheart).

At the front desk, we had to sort out a few administrative issues, such as problems with car access and license plates, as well as the fees we’ve already mentioned. We got the impression that the staff didn’t really know what they were doing, although most of them were very friendly—especially Guillaume.

Finally, we were very concerned about security. They gave us wristbands to access the campground, but they were never checked. At night, there was a fence blocking vehicle access, but the gate was open to everyone and there were no security guards. We felt unsafe because it seemed like anyone could walk in, especially since our luggage was in a tent that couldn’t be locked.

In conclusion, we won’t be returning, nor do we recommend that anyone go there with a tent, since we haven’t tried other types of accommodations.

I'm giving it 2 stars because the mosquitoes are a plague and it's a very basic campground with little to offer

L