Solley's Ice Cream Campsite Reviews

Couple new to van life

We got a new campervan and wanted to go and test everything out, so only stayed the one night. Nice little location for walks across miles of fields (dog loved it). There were only 2 campers there, so very quiet but looking at the facilities they have I can imagine that this place would come to life during the season. Lovely little bar area, tractor rides for the kids and an ice cream parlour. We will definitely book a longer stay later in the year.

Disappointing

We vacated our pitch early due to the poor facilities for this time of year. Being in a campervan and staying more than one night, we would have expected a heated shower room and somewhere to hang clothes as you showered. As the days are very short this time of year, we would have expected lights on the site to show paths, where toilets were and other facilities but there were none at all. The washing up area was outside with no shelter and the hardstanding for our van was next to a very loud generator going on and off all the time. There was no site manager on site after 4pm and before 8am if any accidents or incidents occurred. It is set on a farm in a lovely setting, but to accommodate campers who require basic facilities, I felt it was not suitable for this time of year, certainly not at the price we paid of £35.

Site's response

Good Morning Alison - I am Managing Director of Solley's Farms Ice Cream where you recently stayed in your campervan and I have been asked by my father in law, Stephen to respond to your review All comments are welcome, no matter how negative. I would just say to start that, as there are a number of us on site most of the time, it would have been most helpful if you had raised concerns and issues with us so that we at least had an opportunity to address them in situ. On the issue of "no one on site" out of hours, I am unaware that any caravan site particularly offers such a service, however there are two generations of the owners who actually live on site and mobile numbers for both are on the caravan notice board. The site is also fully covered by infrared CCTV. With regard to lighting, we are a rural country site and lighting pollution and the planning issues that would raise would be unacceptable to us as owners, and indeed to most of our visitors. Most visitors bring their own lighting when visiting a countryside based location. With regard to heating in the toilets and showers - there is some available in both but they had been turned off following a drop in visitor numbers. Had you mentioned this to us on any day, we would of course have been delighted to turn the heating back on, my apologies that this didn't happen. Again, if I don't know about things, I cannot make them right. Many thanks for visiting us and we hope to see you again. Kind regards, Keith.

Great stay

Great stay. Most welcoming and friendly staff/owners. Very relaxing, safe for children to go and play, and for dogs to play as well. Would definitely recommend going. Very relaxing if you love the outdoors. Shops are very local as well and The Plough pub around the corner is very lovely, honestly, I rate them a 10/10.

Site's response

Thank you for your kind comments, Theresa. I hope you will return in better weather when we are fully open so that the children can enjoy the ice cream and trailer rides etc. Hope you have a Happy New Year. Stephen

Good

Only stayed for a short time. Good site. Tight roads getting in and if raining, it's really muddy. Motorhomes etc will be fine but caravans would probably be a pain to get in, unless you were an experienced driver. Toilets were fine. We felt no separate ones for male & females was the main downfall. Dogs next to me were off lead so it would have been appreciated if they had controlled them. However, campsite was large and in a good location. Owner was nice and helpful to me.

Site's response

Thank you for your comments, Grace. Unfortunately the weather has been bad this winter so conditions have not been so favourable, making it difficult to place units so they didn't get stuck. I note your comments with the facilities. These are being upgraded for the new season. Hope to see you again in the summer. Stephen

Clean and peaceful site

Nice, clean, well maintained site. Only fault was the shower room needs updating. Also could use something to put or hang your towel and clothes on while taking shower.

A camping site with a very big, surprising difference

Our stay was out of the normal expectations of a camping site. They sited an ice cream parlour, a pub, Maize Maze and tractor rides. Now the insight: The ice cream parlour was very popular and offered a wider menu for lunch time meals, sundaes and an amazing range of ice cream that tasted as the label said i.e. Apple Pie. A barn with a fully installed pub. Then, an active aerodrome with 2 plane hangers. It was mesmerising to see small planes taking off on a short grass run way whilst enjoying a cold drink from the bar. A duck pond, a couple of paddock horses to say hello and talk to, tractor rides and two go carts for kids (adults too if small enough) to enjoy. There were a lot of local walks including down to the beach, which brought a lot of ramblers and walker into Solley's. We stayed on a weekend where there was a display of vintage cars and a group of bikers with their pride in their bikes very apparent, so lots to see and enjoy. The plots for camping were generous and well kept. The only downside was the toilet facilities, however understand they are being upgraded next year. They were very basic but definitely usable and with hot water - we don't live in a toilet block! Lastly, every one was helpful, wanted to help and brought a smile. Book and find out yourself - enjoy.

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Jill. I am pleased you and your family had an enjoyable stay. As you mentioned the shower block is being replaced for the new season. Hope to meet you again in the future Stephen

Lovely stay

Fantastic campsite. Small and intimate site. Great pub on site. Site great for kids. We'll definitely be back.

Site's response

Thank you for your kind review, Jane. We look forward to seeing you again in the future. Stephen.

Lovely, quiet site

Hard to reach as narrow roadways. Beautiful, quiet campsite. Bar onsite which was popular. Toilets, but we couldn't find the showers. Nowhere to empty grey water.

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Pamela. I'm sorry it wasn't made clear to you were the to find the facilities' we will try and do better next time. Regards, Stephen.

Loved our stay here, will be returning!

This campsite really has everything you need for a relaxing and fun night under the stars. My partner and I are by no means experts when it comes to camping but we found the site very comfortable and easy going with friendly guests and staff. The facilities do the job and we loved the addition of the bar and ice cream parlour on site. It's the perfect location to explore the Kent coast, Deal is 10 minutes away and we went to St Margaret's Bay which is also easy to get to and you can explore the rest of the beautiful countryside and other coastal towns close by. We will definitely be returning with friends next time and would highly recommend!

Site's response

Thank you for your kind review, Liz. I'm glad you enjoyed your stay and also managed to visit the surrounding area. I look forward to seeing you in the future. Regards, Stephen.

Beautiful place to stay

A very friendly site and lots to see and do 😁👍🌞 What an amazing place to stay and yes, we will definitely be back to Solley's. A new pub area has been constructed and, together with Solley's Ice Cream Parlour and the odd small plane or microlight taking off or landing (quite a spectacle and novelty), we absolutely loved it. Only one negative, the shower block, which if I'm honest, is probably the poorest we've ever experienced. However, I have been reliably informed this is to be updated at some point very soon. So yes, we will be back.

Site's response

Thank you for your kind review, David. Yes you are correct, we are updating the shower block this winter. Look forward to meeting you again. Stephen

September nights

Very friendly and helpful staff. Pitch as expected. Disappointed by the quality of the showers, toilet blocks and cleanliness.

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Ian. I'm sorry that the facilities were not to the standard required. Just to let you know we are changing them over this winter. Hope to see you another time. Regards, Stephen.

Lovely stopover on our way to Europe

Lovely site for a brief stay. Shower facilities were just okay (cold shower) so would not sustain a longer stay. Bar was lovely and quite inexpensive. No Wi-Fi, which we were happy with, but some wouldn't be 😊

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Andrea. I'm sorry the showers were cold but as soon as I was made aware, they were rectified. We also have Wi-Fi on all of the site. Hope to see you again in the future. Regards, Stephen.

Campsite with bar and ice cream parlour

Access to site not the easiest due to narrow lanes. Lovely big pitches. Facilities OK.

Lovely place but unluckily too short to try the ice cream

Lovely place a bit hidden away in the middle of the fields. Unluckily we stayed only 1 night...too short to try the ice cream!

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Christine. We hope to see you again. Stephen.

Great campsite

Lovely site. Friendly staff. Kids loved the tractor ride, the maze, watching the owner take off in his plane and of course the ice cream. Will definitely be booking to camp here again.

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Kayleigh. Hope to see you in the future. Stephen.

Always a pleasure

An absolute pleasure to stay here. We have now visited three times. It is an extension of the wide range of interests of the family… each explored with passion and care.

Site's response

Thank you for your kind words and glad you had a pleasant stay with us, Victoria. We look forward to meeting you again. Regards, Stephen.

Perfect family break

We had the best time at Solley’s. We were two families with 4 small boys and we had the most wonderful time. The pitches were big and well spaced, the tractor ride and the maize maze were both brilliant and the ice cream was absolutely delicious! Added bonuses were the runway right on the campsite where the boys could watch the planes take off and land and the free go karts and mini tractors to ride on while we enjoyed a drink at Solley’s pub. The toilet and shower block was a bit dated but they are getting a new one very soon. It was very clean though. We also felt they could use a communal fridge on site to help keep things cool. That being said, we still had the best time, made even better with the glorious weather. Thank you to everyone at Solley’s for a lovely break. We will be back!

Site's response

Thank you for your very kind review and sorry for the delay in responding, Rebecca. We are always trying to improve, so hopefully when you visit again you will have an even better experience. Stephen

Lovely campsite

We had a lovely 3 night stay at Solleys, friendly welcome at the bar and all staff very kind and informative. Pitch was a great size, slightly sloped, but nothing we couldn't manage. Showers and toilets were ok, toilet paper kept topped up, paper towels for hands ran out by end of day. The facilities are in need of a spruce up, but do the job. Push along go karts for kids by the pub kept them entertained were great, but sadly some families totally disregarded the sign to keep them by the pub, which resulted in our family being woken early by other children tearing past our tent loudly (which was about as far from the pub as you could get).

The time stands still

Nice guy with a lovely place with good value for money. Would recommend to stay here.

Site's response

Hello Claus. Thank you for your kind words and look forward to you visiting us again. Regards Stephen

Super place

Great place. Owner takes care of everything personally. Friendly and open-minded. Wonderful place in beautiful landscape.

Site's response

My apologies for delayed reply, Thomas. We are glad you enjoyed your stay with us and I look forward to meeting you again in the future. Regards, Stephen.

Lovely site

Such a lovely site. The grass is well maintained, the owners are very friendly & the ice cream parlour on site does the best ever ice cream! There's also a bar onsite that is lovely to sit inside or outside in the evenings, which was lovely. The only thing I would say could be improved is the toilet & shower facilities. There are 2 showers with toilets & 3 toilet cubicles for the whole site. When the site is quite busy, it can be a while to wait to use the showers. They could do with being modernised as they seem a bit dated. But don't let this put you off, we'd definitely return if we were going away again for a few days.

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Anouska. Just to let you know, the shower block has been under review and will be replaced ready for the new season. Hope to meet you again. Regards, Stephen.

Probably more suitable for families

Solley's is probably more suitable to families, for us as a couple we prefer somewhere quieter. We found that the rules about go-carts allowed in the camping area and dogs on leads were ignored. We were woken Sunday morning at 7.15 by screaming.

Could have been perfect

This is such a great site with lovely staff in a great location. Unfortunately, the facilities are just not big enough to cope with the amount of guests. Two small toilet blocks and two showers is not enough and they are in urgent need of an update and were not very hygienic. Such a shame as the site was great and the ice cream and café were fantastic.

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Anthony. I'm sorry you didn't find the facilities up to standard. They have been under review and are being replaced ready for next season. Hope to meet you another time. Regards, Stephen.

Wonderful family safe campsite

This was our very first time camping. We were made to feel welcome the second we got out our car. The site is very nice and the views are amazing...having the ice cream shop is just the cherry on the cake. We are definitely booking again next year.

Site's response

Hello Stephanie. Thank you for your review. I'm glad your first experience in camping went well. We look forward to seeing you again. Regards Stephen

We loved the ice cream

Nice camping. Very good ice cream.

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Miek. The facilities are under under consideration which we hope will be completed for next season. also glad you enjoyed the ice cream. Stephen