Location, Location, Re-investment?
22 August 2015 at 13:37:37
This is a good campsite but it could be great. With large pitches, plenty of mature trees for shade and direct access to the river it has the basis to be something more than it is.
There is a severe lack of both reinvestment and care in the site. All staff would benefit from some customer service training... - particularly the female owner/manager who seemed to spend most of her time having a fag on the terrace outside the "restaurant" and bar area. I use the term "restaurant" very loosely. The one night we ate in the 'Local Tourism Accredited' eatery on site we were served cold, raw shellfish which had seemingly bypassed the microwave on its way to our table from the freezer… When my husband called attention to this, Madam shouted at the younger serving girl to sort it out. No apology was proffered. When the young girl later cleared our plates, she asked if the Coquilles St Jacques had been hot enough for us... Fine thanks, but cooked in the first place would have been enough. We bought a few drinks from the bar over several evenings and were slightly amused by the fact none of the staff could come up with same price for the same drinks two nights running. (Tip: Buy your own G and T from the local Super U and save both money and time.)
The amenities were kept clean, but toilet paper within the toilet cubicles would be helpful. Beware, if you use the loos too early in the morning, you may be shouted at by the cleaner. A site of this size really should have 2 amenity blocks, it doesn't so be prepared to queue at rush hours. The site should also have a second washing machine and perhaps a tumble dryer wouldn't go amiss. Then again, maybe it did which is why they don't have one. (Tip: Bring your own loo roll and hand sanitizer.)
The volleyball/badminton court was unusable due to the amount of rubble/hardcore which had been spread over one end of it... Both the swimming pool and table tennis table should have been placed further away from the car park; but they're not so perhaps the management will plant hedges to screen the car park from view? (Tip: Leave your badminton gear at home.)
The proximity of the pool to the car park didn't seem to bother the older kids, they were more concerned about the lack of WiFi which the campsite management claimed to have available… Like it or not, WiFi is an important part of peoples' lives, both adults and children, and a fast capable connection from an accommodation provider shouldn't be too much to ask. Yes, I was on holiday but as a small business owner I had planned to check business emails every afternoon while sitting poolside. The kids wanted to email absent friends and grandparents with photos of the daily adventures. Neither of these things were possible due to the lack of appropriate connection.
The layout of some of the site is somewhat puzzling and not really conducive to that holiday feeling. And this is where the re-investment into the site should begin. Parts of the site should be both screened from public view and fenced to prevent access; an area used to store wood, water piping, piles of rubble and sand and an old unused static caravan is an open area which has become an unofficial shortcut to the amenity block from one part of the site. The rubbish bins are on the edge of the unusable volleyball court and within whiffing distance of the petanque pitch. The delivery trucks either rumble past the entrance to the amenity block, on one occasion prevented access to the facility, or reverse in at poolside… From a safety point of view the fencing off of the area containing piles of wood and rubble is a bare minimum.
Speaking of safety… Our kids made friends with other children of a similar age who were staying in a site owned Canadian tent, the type that is pitched on a wooden deck. We were invited for an evening meal at the Canadian tent and as I approached the tent I could see that some rotten wood had been flung under the deck. A new piece of decking had replaced it. My first thought was "Why stop at one plank?" followed by "Why leave the rubbish behind?" Swiftly followed up with "I hope no-one was hurt." … The bruising on jom935's leg was rather large and painful looking.
We still, however, enjoyed our time in the area - kayaking and swimming in the river, peaceful early evenings watching kayakers and swimmers drift past our pitch and spending time as a family.
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