Site Fees
I must confess that I haven't been on a CAMC site for several years as we love Keswick and use the brilliant C&CC by the rugby club. I have just searched for the Bunree site and got the shock of my life by how much per night it is even in early September! Unlike the C&CC we don't get any age concession but, fair enough, it's always been like that and the CAMC site facilities are usually very good. However, £45 to over £50 per night is - in my opinion - ridiculously expensive when you consider how much membership is on top. There are many independent sites now that rival, indeed exceed Club facility standards for £30-£40pn - Burns Farm near Threlkeld and Greenacres near Carlisle being two excellent examples. We've been members for thirty odd years but there comes a point where one has to question value for money.
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Unfortunately Seasider that is what club prices are now like. You will get many owners agreeing with your comments and hence the use of Independent sites and CL's favoured by a lot of us.
When living on Merseyside we used Greenacres just off the M6 near Carlisle twice. I was amazed at the wet rooms in the then new shower block and have yet to come across anything of this standard on a UK site.
Home - Green Acres Caravan Park in Carlisle, Cumbria
Colin
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@seaside This has talked about before and (surprisingly) club sites are still middle of the road for prices. But as I've often said before if you can find another site that gives you what you want in terms of quality and value for money the go there, and if as you say there are other sites who exceed club standards the go there, it's a win win situation for you. Club quality for lower prices. Those two you mention are a bit far from Bunree though? And the location and view from the Bunree site is perhaps worth the extra?
From mid september onwards the price drops to around £35 but picks up for the Scottish half terms to £40.
By the way factor in the very cheap deposit and excellent cancellations rules for the club. Some sites want their money up front a few weeks before arrival and if you cancel beyond a certain point you could lose everything.
For example Greenacres (which by the way is £4 per night over BH and Easter) pay up two weeks before arrival, and lose everything if you cancel after that. The deposits one night's stay or 20% if longer than five days are non refundable. Dogs are £1 a night, day visitors £3 each, so one really has to take in the club's T&C which are more generous in my view.
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While it is true the C&mC's booking terms are less onerous than most independant sites surely a booking is not made in the knowledge that you may wish to cancel? For some, with the full intentions of honouring a booking, higher deposits, money up front, charges for dogs and awnings etc. is irrelevant. What matters is the bottom line and the value it offers.
Should there be doubt a booking can be honoured for whatever reason, then it is sensible to leave making it until the doubt no longer exists.
peedee
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Bunree has always been pretty expensive, but maybe more so now that it has just had an upgrade? Certainly too much for our budget these days.
We remain members for the CLs, rarely use a CAMC site these days. We are also CCC members and use a few of their sites every year as we get a discount. Last time we were in that part of Scotland we used their Glencoe site. It could do with a serious upgrade of the facilities, but as we rarely use site facilities we are not really bothered, rather have the lower price.
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I've never understood why people go on about pricing.
Companies set out their stalls, and the public decides whether or not they want to buy. Thats why some people shop in Sainsburys, and others shop in Aldi.
I've just bought some Aldi 'Magnums' that, in my opinion, are just as nice as real Magnums at half the price, but I'm not planning on demanding that Unilever reduce their prices.
If you don't consider a particular site value for money, then go elsewhere
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We choose sites based on value for money, and what our needs might be at that moment. We don’t always need HS, loos, showers, dog washes,hook ups, serviced pitches or even staff! Hence most of the time we are on sites that give us the choice of not paying as much for less. But occasionally, usually for an event, we might use a Club Site, but we know what the prices are likely to be. But a Club Site would not be our first choice for a long, one venue stay of a week or more. Mixing things up gives you good value, cheap when it’s all you need, something a bit more if it’s where your event is. Works fine for us.
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Since we switched to a Motorhome, for us it’s all about location and proximity to what we want to visit, or having good public transport connections. We tend to favour both of the club sites due to ease of booking and in the case of the CAMC the minimal deposit. We generally book in advance and as we typically use 15 during a 40 night tour they can mount up for other sites. However, if they are in the right place we will use them.
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@peedee Of course bookings are not made in the knowledge that you may wish to cancel? as you post, although I would add in a 'not many' before the bookings.
But things do happen that prevent one from taking up that booking and these do happen. Do you have breakdown insurance PD? Do you insure your possessions? According to your logic why? Surely you don't make them in the knowledge you may need them? No of course not, they are made to cover your money in case something does unexpectedly happen. It's not a question there is a doubt you won't be able to honour that booking it is once gain to stop you losing a lot of money.
In the Greenacres example I gave a week would come it at £245, two weeks… and so on. A week's deposit is £50 Then one has to pay all of of the rest two weeks before.
Now I would assume anyone paying two weeks before is highly likely to want to honour that book, but something may happen unexpectedly during those two weeks and then all that money is lost.
So even For some, with the full intentions of honouring a booking, higher deposits, money up front, charges for dogs and awnings etc. is irrelevant. It is in fact highly relevant as things can happen right up to the last minute. I wish it were not so as you appear to suggest?
I'm sure you know with the club, all you may lose in £5. Now to me that is worth thinking about in choosing a non club site?
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I suspect that a lot has changed with the Club’s booking T&C’s since that wording was first included in the new updated booking system. At first, Members had to pay a lot more (wasn’t it 20% of the total cost of a booking?) and the other change was having to cancel a booking three weeks before arrival, rather than the three days it had previously been for decades. The Club possibly achieved what it set out to do, namely curb so many last minute cancellations and rein in the block booking of weekends, so the deposits were relaxed in terms of amount taken, and are now much what they were in the 1990’s. So losing £5 isn’t an issue, but 20% was for many. I know we stopped booking a Club Site in advance, being in a position to go on the last minute, plus we looked for alternatives.
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I would think that losing my site fees, however large they were, would be the last think on my mind had I broken my leg!
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Still not an issue, in the great scheme of things, @TimboC
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@nelliethehooker I'm glad it's not an issue in the great scheme of things for you who goes away a considerable time all year.
But for someone going away from their main family holiday and paying perhaps £500 for a two week stay which is paid upfront two weeks and then losing it if they can't go it might be. Yes they could take out insurance to recover perhaps £400 of it but still an extra cost.
Where as with the club they would lose £5.
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I'm more of an optimist than that. The risk is very low. For example, in 37 years I have only ever canceled twice at very short notice. Broke down once on the way to site, no losses and an injury the second time while on tour and a premature return home with a loss of deposit. I curently have 4 sites booked and paid for either fully or with deposits larger than £5. Like I said up thread, it is value for money that counts not how cheap I can make a booking.
peedee
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I think for many, at the time the new T&C’s were introduced, the Club ceased to be a “Club” and there was little difference from any other holiday providers. Hence the warning around taking out insurance. I think the post lockdown boom in take up kept pitches filled, but beyond that, the Club might just have realised how many Members it was alienating, and the deposits up front started to fall, until it got to the simple £5 per booking it is now. Coupled with a barrage of special offers every few weeks as they tried to fill dwindling take up of pitches. Some kind of “status quo” has probably been reached, but there will be a lot of folks like us who explored different options, and as the prices per night have risen, are making the most of shopping around, which is very easy if your circumstances allow. The Club still offers a good product, but if you aren’t risk-averse, there are better value options out there, particularly if you tour a lot of days per year.
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