Nice relaxing holiday, no regrets in booking just a pity Kids Club doesn’t incorporate English speaking children
3 August 2023 at 02:29:43
We booked a Mobile 3 bedroomed Cosy Home in October 2022 for 11 nights in July/August 2023 costing £1380. We are a family of 4, (2 adults 2 children) meaning we paid £27 per person, per night. For me this was good value for a simple, clean site, with simple accommodation in a lovely, tranquil location.... For context, we are English, we drove to Dover, got Ferry from Dover, and then drove onto the site. We booked through Vacance Select which is part of Tohapi Campings.
Site
The site is set around a lake with plenty of duck activity with both mobile homes and pitches for tents. It appears well maintained and clean. Where we were located (which seemed the area allotted to Vacance Select) mobile homes are evenly placed and not crammed together. There is a good amount of space outside each mobile home to park a vehicle as well as having space to set up a BBQ and allow children to run around. The site feels safe to walk around and most drivers stick to the speed limit. The only immediate frustration we felt is having the access pad at the security gate for both entrance and departure on the left, which made it a challenge for lone drivers in right drive cars. Something I have already fed back to reception.
Accommodation & cleanliness
On first appearance, the accommodation looked disappointingly small compared to pictures on the website (there was no separate leisure sitting and dining area) however there is space under the beds to store suitcases, clothes storage was workable and as we had booked accommodation with a deck we utilised that space a lot, even when there was light rain as the overhead canopy was very robust and partially covered the decking quite well. The home was clean upon arrival. I would suggest that an extra room is booked, ie two people book two bedrooms, a family of four book three bedrooms etc just to give you additional storage space. The inventory on the website is correct; there is no oven, just a hob and microwave. The kitchen is small, but there is good cupboard space. The shower is small, and the change in pressure causes the temperature to go hot to cold and vice versa. We abandoned use of the accommodation shower in favour of the showers installed for use for people camping, which were cleaned regularly, had plenty of space (better for children showering) and the pressure/ temperature was pleasant. The beds were surprisingly comfortable, but I would recommend taking your own pillow. We paid for bedding and towels which was the usual continental Europe sheets but blankets were also available.
Swimming Pools
There are two swimming pools; the outdoor one is the bigger one with slides and is slightly heated. The outdoor pool was never uncomfortably crowded but if you are someone who likes a morning holiday swim, go at pool opening (unfortunately not until 10am) and you can complete “laps” in reasonably deep waters. Both my kids loved the pools. The indoor pool is quite small, and has an odd depth; very deep in the middle with sloped sides. It’s great for those who get cold easily and want to mess around in warm water, not really designed for length swimming.
Kids Club / On-site activities
The kids club appears very active, but doesn’t really accommodate English speaking children. I should add that the site is seems to be marketed to French and Dutch holiday makers, with English being very much in the minority. If you are a group of English speaking adults, you can easily get by on the site; some staff do speak English and having Google Translate to hand helps; but if you are an English speaking family with children of the Kids Club age then don’t book to stay here thinking that they will attend the Kids Club. My six year old was quite upset that she couldn’t take part fully in the Kids Club due to the language barrier, something that wasn’t an issue in Spain. She did however do the pony ride which she loved and both my daughters loved the Disney show.
The on-site play park kept my two kids entertained and there is an additional good quality public park with a zip line located about 5 min walk away (see below for directions). The site is good for scooters and bikes; most of the site has tarmac and there is a good bike path that takes you around the back of the site.
Prepare for wet day activities if you have kids though as there aren’t any on-site indoor kids facilities unless linked to Kids Club.
On-site Staff
The staff are very pleasant, reception staff speak English as do some of the bar staff.
On-site shopping / laundrette /catering
There is no on-site shopping, apart from the fresh bread that can be ordered from the bar the night before and the literal bare essentials that you can get from the bar, so be prepared to do an off site super market trip prior to or after arrival. The nearest super market is in Isigny-sur-Mer which is a 5-7min drive and a 15-20min walk (take a short grassed path on the left as you come out of the site; walk along paved street, then cut across the public park to the motor home park, then take the path along the road heading into town).
The on-site laundrette functions well; no need for change as you buy tokens from reception.
There is one on-site restaurant/ bar. Does good pizza for takeaway.
Off-site
During our 11 night stay as a family of 4 we:
Went to McDonalds in Isigny-sur-Mer (it has a small soft play area)
A couple of trips to D Day beaches
A day out to Festy Land (a theme park near Caen, would recommend for toddlers to 12 year olds)
A day out to a non D Day beach
Additional Note; if you don’t pay a cleaning fee, it is likely that you will be expected to do a thorough clean before you leave so prepare for a full inspection (shower drain and all!) before your deposit is given back.
Reading the Trip Advisor reviews below, I think it is safe to ignore the reviews prior to 2022 as I don’t think comments made prior are relevant now.
Overall, this was a very positive holiday for us. The price meant we could afford a longer than a week stay which we really benefited from and we enjoyed the ambiance on-site. If I didn’t have to consider the need for us to have access to a Kids Club that my children could engage with, I would definitely consider a return visit.
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24 August 2023 at 02:36:09
13 August 2023 at 06:41:21
3 August 2023 at 02:29:43
