Paying for WiFi
We recently stayed a Black Knowl in the New Forest and were disappointed to find we have to pay extra for WiFi.
Considering the premium payed for staying a official sites I we thought this was a bit of a cheek. I guess they knew the mobile signal was poor, especially with everyone on site seemingly trying to get a little bandwidth).
Is this normal for official sites? We have been to a few CL's where WiFi was included (and was excellent).
This is 2022 and not 2002 after all. Even hotels included WiFi in the cost these days!
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Yes, it's the norm to pay for WiFi on club sites. You'll find full details on this website.
Paying for it wouldn't be so bad if it worked efficiently.
Don't forget that nothing is free. Other sites may not charge extra for WiFi but it will be included in the overall price. At least with CAMC we have the choice whether to pay or not and I choose not.
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Agreed it will be included in the overall price, just hate paying for extras.
Means I'll have to actually speak to the Mrs in the evenings then 😜🤣🙂
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Even on 'silver' club wifi sites, I've found my mobile signal to be just as fast.
Also if all you want to use is the club's website to book and/or CT of course you don't have to pay a fee.
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Like others we use our phones where we can but even with two different networks you can get caught out. Buxton and Clumber Park spring to mind. The problem is that you don't always need a years subscription but paying for daily or weekly used is far from economic! The annual pass says that it is 8p a day but a daily pass is £3.50 and even a weekly pass is £1.60 a day. I can see there are economies in selling annual passes but that is no excuse for ripping us off for the short term passes? A daily pass equates to £1277 a year and a weekly pass equals £572 a year. £1 a day and £5 for a week would be fairer.
David
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I really. do think the club is out of step and out of touch with what is now the norm. Most CLs we use offer free wifi , the Camping and Caravan Club is free but yet this club insists on charging and the charge which is to cheap limits one to a single device. The system boots you out routinely meaning one is constantly having to log back in . No other hospitality service I use has the same limitations The term rip off does spring to mind.i really think this organisation needs to rethink its approach to the service offered to members.
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Remember, nothing is free and the wifi has to be paid for one way or another. I’d rather have the choice not to pay than be forced to pay for the rubbish system if it was included in site fees.
I think quality is the main issue here.
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well its absolutely true that nothing is for nothing but if the Camping and Caravan Club , whose site fees are usually slightly less than this club can not just provide it but deliver a better quality product as part of the site fee then why does this club choose to offer a poorer quality service at additional cost. Could it be that the C&CC still see consider themselves a members club , something the club seems to have lost sight off
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The problem is that we don't know how many people use the Club WiFi. Many of us on here use our own mobile data which, even if not cheaper, is usually more reliable and faster. Now the Club have started to upgrade the speed on some sites which I assume is at extra cost so whilst doing that they are not going to make it free? Also the C&CC WiFi might be free but I somehow doubt it will get any sort of future upgrade. I would also add that its not always that good.
David
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My experience has been that where free wifi is offered it is invariably extremely poor - very slow and not secure - even on CLs etc. We are currently on the C&CC site at Charmouth which has free wifi and it's pretty useless - there just isn't the bandwidth there to make it viable.
I have recently bought a TP Link 4G router, a Poynting aerial and mast and I'm getting 35 Mbps download on EE even though the EE phone signal is poor - and it's secure. OK - so it means a bit of an outlay for the kit but the running costs pale into insignificance as compared with this Club's offerings.
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We haven't used that many sites yet but have normally found it OK. However, when we used to use CAMC WiFi that was also the case. The change came post covid, with much higher occupancy rates at the times of year we use them and a different demographic. When we have used C&CC sites they have only been about half full, as it has been pre the main tenting season and many of the grass pitches were empty. On the one we did use in August which was rammed ( so like many CAMC sites most weekends) the WiFi was absolutely rubbish.
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It so just a shame you can’t buy a roaming option when at home. Normally either my EE or OH’s O2 will provide a signal but not always both. I know I’m not supposed to mention France in the UK section, but here as my phone is free to roam I have never yet not got a signal. Perhaps there is some legal restriction on allowing it in your own country. I would happily pay more if I could have access to all four main networks on the same sim, it would be worth it for the convenience.
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If it was included in the price I would think there would be far more complaints about the poor service, at least now there is a choice to pay or not.
It's the present position is that the club doesn't and really I don't see that as being somehow anything to do with being a member's club. It is a club for touring outfits (mainly) and looking after member's interests. I personally don't think adding 'free' wifi is at the top of my list of interests nor a main point when considering to use a club site.
I suspect if it was for many other members then club sites wouldn't be as full?
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Who knows the answer? Maybe C&CC are more business savvy and efficient so are able to include WiFi in the basic price. Perhaps they saw the disaster that this club uses and went to a different supplier for a better product. The permutations are endless but I suspect it's little to do with attitude to members and more to do with having a better grasp of running a business - and they are both businesses.
Only CAMC can tell you why they do things the way they do.
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I would turn that round and say what incentive is there for the C&CC to invest in better WiFi if they are not making a charge for it? Also what need would there be to provide an upgraded service if what they provide gives people a reasonably reliable if basic service? What the CMC seems to be doing by upgrading WiFi services seems to be providing the possibility for streaming according to the reasons they give. That of course increases costs to the Club which means its unlikely they would go down the "free" route.
I have recently stayed on two C&CC sites, on one the WiFi was Ok on the other it was poor and I had to revert to using my own phone data so my comments are based on my recent personal experience.
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I think I would agree with that. It does actually question whether the CMC are actually right in spending money trying to upgrade their site WiFi. I can see the need for a WiFi provision of a couple of sites where it is difficult get decent mobile signal but it is questionable whether that provision needs to be site network wide?
David
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Lebara. 15GB of data, utilises Vodaphone network but piggybacks onto all of the others for coverage…….£10 per month, with unlimited calls, and 100 minutes to other countries.
It might not reach Clumber Park Club Site though, but you can get some sort of signal in Clumber if you drive to a higher point, and are desperate. Probably the NT won’t allow a mast in there, so I blame the NT😁
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It's interesting how the access to WiFi varies. We were on a CAMC site this year, one we've visited a lot to see family. This time we were in a corner, quite low down and our usual WiFi access was useless. We could access the site WiFi so I used it for free access to CAMC website but decided not to pay the daily rate as the signal appeared less than good, a silver rated site. We always switch to any available free WiFi to save on data usage however we never expect too much from any of these things.
TDA Clumber was our worst experience, queuing for the pay phone was like time travel. Have things improved?!
Should add we have stayed in places with absolutely no signal for anything. We found out the emergency contact worked on one CL when friends spotted someone prone in a field!
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Buxton is another site where it is difficult to get a 4G signal unless you sit on the seat opposite reception! I have been surprised this year how we have hardly struggled to get a 4G signal so things do seem to be improving. I appreciate that servicing costs on a mobile phone will be more expensive than just buying the annual WiFi access but, of course, we all use our phones for more than just being on campsites. I pay about £11 a month for 20GB of data, any unused rolls over. In truth I could probably go for a cheaper package by reducing the data allowance but I don't see £11 a month particularly expensive? Margaret pays under £10 but less data and she has the advantage that we are are on different networks so between us can usually manage. I object to paying the excessive short term fees to buy Club WiFi for a few days or a week.
David
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Never stayed on the Clumber Site Brue, but it’s close to home so we do visit the Estate quite often. There are places in Clumber Park you can get a signal.
We visit Dartmoor frequently, the cottage we usually use has no phone coverage whatsoever, you have to drive out and climb a hill. But the owners have got superb wifi, very fast and reliable. Different of course, you haven’t got 100+ outfits all trying to stream Netflix🤣CL we used on Rhins of Galloway had no wifi, it’s one of those almost unconnected rural areas, but thankfully we had enough of a phone signal to tether iPads for everything but streaming.
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Nearly everywhere at Clumber Park not just this clubs site is a nil signal for phones and WiFi,, whether the major refurb on the club site will include an upgrade to the WiFi we may find out when it reopens later this year,
The free? WiFi that the ccc include in their prices was all but useless when we stayed at thee St Neots site as the site managers advised "it is free?"
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If you wander out of the site entrance and a couple of hundred meters up lime tree avenue towards the A614 you can get very good signals on both O2 and EE. However, as far as I know the site itself is a dead zone for all networks. In the area of the facilities around the lake, recently the signal has improved, where as once you were not able to get one, now you almost always can, on O2 and EE at least. There have also been good signals for some time at the bottom end of the lake.
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