Some things that I like on C&MH Club Sites

13

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  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,431 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #62

    Agree with all the points by ET 

    I like the booking in process, no deposits, and change upto 72 hours.

    Then on site as mentioned the high standards, the certainly of getting them, but also the wardens. They are club members, experienced caravaners/MHers themselves. And far more than just paid employees, they take a pride in their site and on hand 24/7 (within reason) to sort out any problems with your stay. I don't think bought in staff would do as much or clean as well. They live on site and any problems they can't really pass the buck.

  • nelliethehooker
    nelliethehooker Club Member Posts: 13,647 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #64

    Wouldn't it just be easier to just ignore them and keep to the OP? There's too much going off thread these days.wink

  • RowenaBCAMC
    RowenaBCAMC Forum Participant Posts: 1,732 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #65

    A number of posts have been removed from this discussion as they were off topic and some contravened the community guidelines. Please ensure you keep conversation on topic and please be respectful to other members at all time to be able to contribute yo our forum. Many thanks. 

  • RowenaBCAMC
    RowenaBCAMC Forum Participant Posts: 1,732 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #66

    I have spoken to the Regional manager for the area who has advised  that each and every pitch was fully measured upon our purchase of the site and as a result, some pitches were permanently removed from sale and others had been altered from a standard with awning pitch to that of a non-awning pitch in order to fully comply with regulations. As a result of those changes and to avoid the spread of fire, there is at least 6 metres spacing between facing walls of adjacent caravans, motorhomes or trailer tents and a minimum clear space of 3 metres between adjoining outfits in any direction on all pitches at this site.

    I hope this information clears up any confusion. 

  • RowenaBCAMC
    RowenaBCAMC Forum Participant Posts: 1,732 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #67

    Back on topic, I've stayed at two Club Sites this year (Longleat and Abbey Wood) and have stayed at other sites in previous years. As a family the reason why we love Club Sites is because of the amazing facilities. My son loves the play parks and it is so great to have the family bathrooms - I have a three year old who seems to attract mud so to be able to give him a bath of an evening when needed is very handy!! The sites I stayed at this year were amazing locations for us as we loved Longleat Safari Park and also went to Wookey Hole. I ate way too much Wookey Hole cheddar cheese in the awning that evening!!! Going into London via the ferry bus from Greenwich was great fun for us all! We went to see Aladdin at the West End and it was a wonderful experience. I found personally that as always the site staff were friendly and helpful and the sites were kept well maintained. The other guests on the site were all so friendly and we got lots of warm greetings. smile

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited August 2019 #68

    Up to the end of July we have done 122 nights (just counted) all on cc sites ,all been very busy and some turning down bookings,especially for weekends and apart from Thirsk racecouse (not cc fault)the general condition of the sites and ablution blocks have been clean, warm, and with plenty of hot water which we accept as normal if booking the sites in the areas we want to visit,,which is a high priority for us, hence the amount of  club sites we have used and will continue to use as long as we can ("adventure before dementia wink"

  • nelliethehooker
    nelliethehooker Club Member Posts: 13,647 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #69

    We might have done similar but we just can't afford the cost of them....it's alright for somewink We've now spent over 150 nights away in our van this year and I would suspect that had we been using club sites the cost would have been at least twice what we've paid up to now.

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited August 2019 #70

    Don't you have a home to go to? wink

  • Justus2
    Justus2 Forum Participant Posts: 897
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    edited August 2019 #71

    We quite like club sites and the way they do things. So long as the price is no higher than £25 we are happy to use them. More than that we look elsewhere. For us the price is the most important consideration. 

  • nelliethehooker
    nelliethehooker Club Member Posts: 13,647 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #72

    Yes but only for a couple of weeks after each trip so that we can prepare for the next one!!laughing

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited August 2019 #73

    I can appreciate that Justus. The prices of all sites similar sites have increased significantly in the last few years I find.

  • Justus2
    Justus2 Forum Participant Posts: 897
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    edited August 2019 #74

    We are currently on a small private site, in a place we want to be, toilet block is poor so we are using the van. It's got a tap on each HS and is £20 so a big saving against CC prices in August.. 

  • Tammygirl
    Tammygirl Club Member Posts: 7,957 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #75

    We don't mind club sites but not in high season, way to expensive for what they are. Not that we have time to go away in high season as that's when we get the work done.

    1. Arrival time doesn't really matter to us as we generally  travel for more than 4 hours so its always after 12 when we arrive, if not then we have a later start.

    2. complete opposite to ET as I much prefer the bins out of the way at the entrance to the site. Its quieter, less flies and smells.

    3. OH likes the privacy cubicles for having a shave in a morning. Can't say the last time I used one.

    4. This one I agree with 100% I tend to use the cubicle that has been adapted, so that I can lift down the shower head. Push buttons don't bother me though as long as its more than a few seconds wink

    5. No comment wink

    6. Agree 100% although would like to be able to book H/S

    7. Agree, I'm very hard to please wink

     

     

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited August 2019 #76

    1. Arrival time doesn't really matter to us as we generally  travel for more than 4 hours so its always after 12 when we arrive, if not then we have a later start.

    It is partly the 'later start' that I don't like. We are both up by 7am and I am likely to have gone for a shower around 6.30, so by 9am we would normally be ready for the off after the morning rush hour and try to have journeys of 70 to 110 miles - 1.5 to 3 hours tops. 

    2. complete opposite to ET as I much prefer the bins out of the way at the entrance to the site. Its quieter, less flies and smells.

    Indeed we are different smile Not experienced problems with flies or smells but then the bins are emptied pretty frequently on most sites. I often see folk struggle lifting lids to recycle at the large waste skips by site entry.

    3. OH likes the privacy cubicles for having a shave in a morning. Can't say the last time I used one. 

    In times past privacy cubicles were a rarity and usually there would be a line of blokes at sinks shaving with safety razors. If you walked in and said 'Good Morning' you could almost guarantee that somebody would cut themself when replying. OH likes a privacy cubicle. I do for my once every 5 days beard and moustache trim and shave. 

    4. This one I agree with 100% I tend to use the cubicle that has been adapted, so that I can lift down the shower head. Push buttons don't bother me though as long as its more than a few seconds  

    It isn't the push buttons that are a problem for me either but simply the fact that on such showers I cannot regulate the temperatures and cannot tolerate too high water temperature on lower back and belly.

  • Unknown
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    edited August 2019 #77
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  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited August 2019 #78

    You realise how bad such setups are David when you see someone of shorter stature struggling or somebody trying to lift the lid with a crutch or walking stick hanging off their arm whilst depositing glass, then repeating for cans, plastics and paper. For less able folk the lids can be heavy to hold as well.

    I think that the C&CC used to have bins by the water and waste in the past but now favour the skips by the gate scenario which I consider not user friendly, 

     

     

  • Unknown
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    edited August 2019 #79
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  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,670 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #80

    We also dislike the big bins with the big heavy lids.  OH is usually the one that takes the refuse away and she has had 2 broken shoulders, with one replaced, so cannot lift her arms much above shoulder level these days.

    Add to that that we are both quite short, and using these bins is a struggle.  It is not so much the weight of the lid, but the height of the bin.

    With her (slightly better) left arm she can lift the lid just about enough to try to throw things in with her right arm, as long as it is nothing heavy

    No problem with them all being in one place.

  • Tammygirl
    Tammygirl Club Member Posts: 7,957 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #81

    The big bins we come across while 'over there' are not of the heavy roll top type, more a plastic lift lid.

    There is usually a bin for glass like you see in the recycle centres (why must folk smash the bottles) another bin for paper/cardboard and another for plastic bottles etc.

    The bin area on C&MC sites are usually by the water taps, this is an area we always avoid when pitching, smash bang wallop all day long with the inevitable gossip groupies too wink not forgetting the warden in his tractor a couple of times a day. Way too much noise going on for me wink,

    It is partly the 'later start' that I don't like. We are both up by 7am and I am likely to have gone for a shower around 6.30, so by 9am we would normally be ready for the off after the morning rush hour and try to have journeys of 70 to 110 miles - 1.5 to 3 hours tops.

    ET, neither of us are early risers and haven't been since we retired smile if its moving day we're generally ready to leave the site by 10.30 ish.

    The difference in where you tour and where we tour is that sites 'over there' sometimes close for lunch, so arriving at that time could mean a couple of hours wait to get in, on the other hand some sites allow you to pitch up and go to the office when it reopens.

    When we tour in the UK its usually the winter months, so dark chilly mornings tend to be a later start.smile

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #82

    The ability to book just that one night or twenty one nights or anything in between is a real bonus. The ability to amend bookings at anytime across the whole network, even at short notice, is also a fabulous benefit for all who tour.

     

  • SeasideBill
    SeasideBill Forum Participant Posts: 2,112
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    edited August 2019 #83

    Agreed, but I don’t like feeling that you’ve been put on the ‘naughty step’ when, for no fault of your own, you need to cancel a few bookings at very short notice. Given the demographics of the Club there must be many of us with elderly parents for whom we are carers to a greater or lesser extent. Their needs can be unpredictable and very disruptive. I’ve planned many a trip with the full intention of going, only for some kind of crisis to unfold immediately prior to planned departure. Accumulate too many of those and you get a warning letter from the Club. I don’t know what the answer is (deposits to minimise loss to Club?), but dealing with elderly parents is hard enough without having the shame of cancellation to deal with as well.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited August 2019 #84

    When MIL was giving us the "probems"you encounter we did only receive one automatically generated  e-mail, but when we had a conversation with HO we found out the auto matic  e-mail and not to worry as it would take three per annum to generate any other response from the club if a less than 72hr cancellation had occurred, and even then they quite understood the problems that some members have 

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #85

    And that's the 'beauty' of being a member of a network of club sites. All we need is some understanding of the challenges we face and a recognition of the fact that some will take 'advantage' of this but why should the few spoilers dictate! 

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited August 2019 #86

    The few who spoil it for the many is the reason that most rules anywhere have had to be written into, I would think,  all organisations to give some redress, if it really starts becoming a problem

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #87

    What came first, the rule or the problem it addresses? Chicken/egg? wink

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,431 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #88

    I think shame of cancellation is a bit too dramatic? Firstly you are not pubically named and secondly shame is a personal thing. If I cancelled for  no good reason and got a letter I would be ashamed but if there was good reasons to have cancelled like you have I certainly wouldn't feel ashamed.

    From memory I think the club has stated that in a case like yours the best thing to do is to let them know directly to the membership department and you shouldn't get a letter.

  • SeasideBill
    SeasideBill Forum Participant Posts: 2,112
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    edited August 2019 #89

    Clearly there isn’t any naming and shaming, or public flogging as far as I’m aware. However, there is a process which includes formal notification that a member is in breach of Club rules which, by inference, places you into the same category as the type of people who make bookings and just don’t show. I’m sure the Club takes a reasonable view in such cases, but I just don’t like the fact that it automatically happens. Constantly dealing with this type of problem is stressful enough, without getting letters warning you that your membership could be suspended or worse.

    A few years back my MIL was taken seriously ill and we had to travel to Bournemouth urgently instead of a planned overnight at Exeter Racecourse Club Site. As we had to more-or-less drive past the site en-route to Bournemouth, we called in to explain the situation as I was aware that it would be my 3rd transgression that year (all due to elderly parent issues), but as sympathetic as the site staff were, there was no way it could be dealt with other than as a cancellation without the required notice. 

  • Sumitra
    Sumitra Forum Participant Posts: 154
    edited August 2019 #90

    It can't be beaten for ease of booking.

  • moulesy
    moulesy Forum Participant Posts: 9,402 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited August 2019 #91

    We have been in the same situation and, to be honest, where we have had difficult situations to deal with with my dad, the email from the club was the least of my worries. It's just automatically generated and you know yourself that the club deals sympathetically with genuine causes, though I've no idea how that works with multiple "transgressions".

    Don't forget, too, that with the club you don't actually lose financially as you would do with most commercials unless you took out insurance.

    But, sb, I'd got the impression that you didn't make extensive use of club sites anyway from your other posts.