Really Lovely Well Equipped Camp... rules aren't as bad as you read...
29 November 2017 at 19:11:56
Well we loved it here! I can kinda see why others may have complained, bit suspect they are not very relaxed people who pay campsite prices and expect 5 star hotel service.
First time camping for me since I was a teenager myself. I normally love a 5 star hotel, so this was definitely outside my comfort... zone! Brother twisted my arm!
I camped here with my 14 year old, on a pitch next to my brother and his family in Aug 2017
Travel from UK:
We live in Hampshire and decided to get the Eurotunnel and drive down, as we'd decided a couple of days at Euro Disney at the end of our holiday would be a great idea (it wasn't 😱😱)
My brother drove down in one day... factoring in nature and fuel breaks, it took my brother 4 hours from home to Folkstone and then 8-10 hours from Calais! Not ideal arriving at a campsite in the dark!
Also the tolls were really not cheap.. varied but some were €25, and there were loads between Calais and St Trojan Le Bains.
I worked it out that we spent as much on tolls as we did on diesel!
If we ever did this again it would definitely be worth investing in the ferry to Le Havre.. cuts driving time in half (and I like ferries👍) especially as I was the only driver!
I chose to stop for the night at THE loveliest hotel near Deauville called Le Manoirs de Tourgeville... heaven! (I'm writing a seperate review on it) Quite a nice idea in advance of 12 days on inflatable beds in a tent!!! May do 3 days there next year en route! Lovely!)
Arrived at the campsite mid afternoon and the young lady on the desk was delightful, and booking in was easy.
1. Lovely looking well set out campsite:
Big pitches, LOVELY cabins! (I'd definitely prefer a cabin next time! Setting up camp took a couple of days tweaking to get it exactly how we wanted it (I am a Glamper not a Camper!)
Downside of the pitch: Our water supply was next to a bloody fire ants nests! I was bitten alive! Horrid raised blisters... leave them alone and they go down after 3 days... if you knock the tops off they scar badly though!
Mossies!! Rare here apparently, but the first 3 night LOADS of mozzies! Again, loads of very itchy bites (they love me!)
(5 mths later I still have some nasty itchy red scars on my ankles! Won't go away!)
Take tonic water! G&T puts them off!
(Great chemist on the seafront near the skatepark/port had great mozzy spray and cream... buy theirs not Boots!)
2. Fantastic immaculate facilities!
-The dishwashing area and laundry area is lovely! (Can't believe I'm saying that about a wash area, but you'll see!)
- Sometimes a bit of a queue for washing machines but everyone was civilised about it.
- BBQ area and benches are by the dishwashing area (get there early to secure one.. no booking system) We did not bother.
- Showers are all immaculate. (The ones in the bigger block further away from the entrance are the best! Bigger and newer)
- Loos were generally immaculate (unisex) but one loo remained broken for the whole 2 weeks. No out of order sign on the door so folk kept walking into it. 🤢
- site was not too large, so didn't feel too busy.
And I got on very well with the owner.
I always said hello when I saw him.
Practised my dreadful French on him and he was very nice and patient (I made him laugh with my atrocious but enthusiastic Franglais!. (If you are nice to people and smile they tend to smile back.. he has a hard job)
2. BRILLIANT facilities for kids!
Enclosed basketball court/football pitch, 2 outdoor table tennis tables, WONDERFUL huge adventure park for smaller kids. Seriously can't fault it. (Make sure your pitch is not adjacent to it though! Bit noisy)
The kids all mixed well (all ages) and played together.
Mainly French Families there, and their children do not generally speak English, but they all bumbled along nicely. (Football and Basketball brought them all together)
There were only 2 or 3 other English families whilst we were there... so it would be a better experience if your kids spoke French, but not essential. (Mine refused to practice his French, too self concious!)
Nice families though. No hooligans 👍
The owner was not how he is depicted in some of these reviews, but he is a character. Was a little cranky with kids (told my son he could not shoot hoops on his own... no idea why but my son (who does not understand French well) came back to the tent very upset. I went to ask what the problem was and apparently you can't use a hard bouncy ball on the court, they wanted him to use a sponge ball.
I said that was ridiculous as you cannot dribble a sponge ball or get it high enough for the hoops!
(kids had played with proper balls entire time we were there... may have just caught the owner at a bad time)
There are a lot of rules you probably need to be aware of. None are deal breakers for us, but when I asked for a set in English in advance they did not have them. (I offered to translate them for them)
3. The Pool
Lovely and clean. And pretty quiet before 3pm as most folk are at the beach.
- No food/bottles (water is OK)
- You have to leave your shoes outside and walk through a footbath (fair enough.. I like hygiene)
- No 'surfer' trunks. Now this is the daft rule.
Men and boys have to wear speedos! (Budgie smugglers or the short short versions)
This basically meant my 14 year old and his 2 cousins refused to use the pool as they were just too self concious to wear the speedos we had bought them! 😡 This was annoying on days when we did not go to the beach.
I asked the manager why this was and it is because people come back from the beach all sandy and apparently surfer shorts carry a load of sand and block his filters. 🤔
On the pmus side it was quite nice for us mums to be able to lie quietly and sunbathe without our noisy boys splashing around 😜
4. The Food
So the food and choice was nicer than we'd read on here. Yes, chicken nuggetts/pizza/burgers/chips (best ever!), but kids liked it.
Really nice pizza!
Funny opening hours though, so worth checking. Not terrible though, you order in advance and pick up at alloted time. Worked out ok. (Can sit in the bar next door whilst waiting👍)
We set up a kitchen between my brother's pitch and ours, and cooked big family meals each night. Made friends immediately with the lovely English family next to my brother and all 3 families hung out most evenings. Lovely time.
Lots of good live music laid on at the bar (we could hear from our pitch)
Read a lot about the 'curfew' too but we only got asked once to bring the noise down (very politely by the young man patrolling.)
The poor French family backing onto our pitches did have to tell my brothers to shh at about midnight one night! But they were being so loud, and sound carries!)
5. Beaches
Gatseau:
By FAR the best of the 3 beaches is the closest! (We did not find it til 3 days before we left 😱)
Literally turn left out of the campsite and drive to the very end of the road.
Gorgeous calm golden sandy beach in a wide sweeping cove that protects it from harsh winds of the Atlantic, le Grande Baie du Gatseau.
Perfect for just chilling out sunbathing, or floating about on inflatables...
Shallow calm waters so ideal for younger families with kids who are not confident swimmers.
Toilets, lifeguards, but no cafes or food bars.
(Novotel Hotel/Spa is here too, just before the car park for the beach.. you need to book the spa treatments weeks before you travel to secure what you want... we could not fet in. Looked gorgeous.. Thalasso therapy spa.
Fab restaurant that is on the beach. Nive hotel!!)
Le Grande Village Plage:
About a 10 minute drive through the village and forest. Get there early in the day or later afternoon for car space close to the sea.
(We dropped off the beach stuff 1st and drove back up the road to park and walk back)
The beach is fab, miles and miles of wide golden sand. But the 4 times we went there it was just SO windy! (No sunbeds/umbrellas/shade, so had to use my beach umbrella.. spent a fair bit of time chasing it down the beach!!! Hammer it in deep!)
Toilets/bins/food truck there.
Lifeguards (very attentive, you can only swim between 2 flags, because of surfers and general rough conditions.
Great for bodyboarding and surfing and wave jumping.
Not good for smaller kids, elderly, unconfident swimmers.
Exhilarating, but we got totally fed up of the wind. Not relaxing at all.
Town Beach:
There is another local beach in the village along the front (to the left of the big skatepark on Boulevard de la Plage and Boulevard Felix Faure that looked ok, (I think there may have been dinghy sailing available) but we did not go there. Parking was difficult, and nowhere near as nice as Gatseau!
There are nore lovely beaches in the North of the island but we did not sample them.
Things to do: (apart from gorgeous beaches!):
- Centre Aquatique Ileo (Waterpark) - about 25 mins easy drive North in Dolus. Lovely smaller waterpark. Well maintained. Not huge exciting slides but perfect for smaller kids up to around 12 I'd say.
Wave pool, funny body board wave slide (not for little kids! The teens loved it cos no queue and lots of wipe outs!)
Nice indoor floaty about lazy river (no ringos)
OK for a break from the beaches, but don't expect Siam Park!
- Bike Hire:
Totally recommend! Much better way of getting about. Less faff.
Bike hire can be arranged via campsite, or just go left out of the site and 500 yards up is the big hire place..you can hire trailers to load up with beach stuff!)
- Horseriding:
We did not manage to go 😰, but there are many stables on the island. (Stables du Carbet is closest to St Tro Park, but I do not know what they are like)
I'd better stop now! You are probably asleep!
Lovely little island. Lovely campsite.
Great for families with kids up to 12 max I think. Wish I'd brought mine here when he was younger.
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