Caravanning in Holland
My wife and I recently had a short break in Holland staying on an ACSI site . Our visit was most enjoyable but with reservations.
The site (Camping Amsterdamse Bos) was reasonable in it's location being convenient for travelling into Amsterdam on public transport. The downside was that it was very close to Schipol airport so lots of aircraft noise from early morning until late at night. If this is a problem it is a site to be avoided. Toilet facilities were adequate (but bring your own toilet paper!). The pitches were quite rough but part of the site pitches are in process of being relaid.
My reservations about recommending this site are due to the fact that it has a site manager who is on a par with Basil Fawlty in terms of customer relations. On leaving we were denied the ACSI discount on the spurious excuse that we had only deposited an ID card on arrival (as requested) and not our membership card also. Had we been asked for it we would have been happy to leave that also.
Having toured extensively throughout Europe using ACSI sites we know that this is not usual practice.The manager,s arrogance and smugness had to be seen to be believed. The sting in the tail was that we were also required to pay a 5% surcharge for the use of a credit card. Had we been prewarned we could of course have made sure that we were able to pay by cash.
Our experience may prove useful to anyone considering this site.
Moderator Comment - Moved from the Story Section as more of a site review.
Comments
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Stuart
We stayed there some years ago and some of the practices seem to be still in place like the surcharge for credit cards (hasn't the EU banned such charges?) I have to say that I have found it quite usual for some sites to retain the ACSI card on arrival, either that or the Camping Carnet. Is it not a condition of using ACSI to make clear that you will be using the card when you arrive? Perhaps what you should do is add a review on the ACSI website, you might even find you might not be the only one.
I have a review of the site on my website here http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_het_amsterdamse_bos.htm A lot of it reads in a similar way to what you have written although I don't remember reception being difficult but there could be new people since our visit.
David
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Gaasper Camping over the other side of the city has its idiosyncrasies - such as the need to collect shower tokens and hot water tokens - but is a far better bet in every way - less aircraft noise, more helpful staff, and easy access to the metro. As Oneputt says, the reviews on UKCampsites give a clear enough picture of it.
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There are newer reviews but not in English. You can use the translate function but they don't always make sense. There is only one review on UKCampsites. The Trip Advisor ones which are mainly to do with accommodation are pretty bleak!!!
Having said that and putting to one side what the owner may be like it is not a bad campsite and fairly convenient for Amsterdam centre. Apparently there is a cycle path all the way.
David
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We have just returned from the Netherlands .
We stayed at delftse hout . This is quite a way from Amsterdam but many people on the site either used public transport to visit Amsterdam or used the park and ride.
My son lives in the Netherlands and quite close to the Amsterdam bos and the airport . This was just a 40 mins drive for us . We had a look at this site a few years ago and said we would not stay there . I have to agree the manager was not very helpful or friendly . Also the whole site looked as though it needed some improvements .
The site at delft was lovely and in a very nice location . Dutch public transport is excellent but expensive .
The netherlands has some very nice sites also the mini sites are very good .
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