August 2018 stay at Esterel Caravanning.

We arrived at Estérel Caravaning in the South of France at about 1800 on Sunday. We were met at the gate by a young French lad who checked us and our friends in and informed us that there had been a change of plan and the two pitches that we had been originally allocated had been given to two other families who arrived the day before and hadn’t been happy with their pitch allocation.

We were escorted to our new pitch allocation and the two families were in the process of moving their single axle caravans off the pitches. I and my friends were shocked at the size of the pitches, we both had twin axle caravans and knew straight away that we were going to find it impossible to manoeuvre our vans cross ways and be able to erect our awnings. So we complained to the manager and he said there was nothing he could do because the site was full. He did offer to move one of us but that would only be for a week and then we would have to move again.

We phoned caravan club who were very helpful and agreed this should not have happened. They said they could arrange for us to move to another site with a more suitable pitch but it was late in the day and we had been traveling all day and needed a break so we decided to manage with what we had

My wife had recently had knee surgery and we were so looking forward to holidaying in the South of France on the pitches that we were originally allocated that were level and large enough for car caravan and awning.

We sited our caravans length ways and erected our awnings with only about 18 inches either side between the awning and back of the caravan so we had to put our table and chairs outside the end of the awning beside the a frame of the caravan. We we went and had a look at the pitches we should have been on and they were far more spacious and level and much more suitable for long twin axle caravans like we have. It appeared that we were down graded to a lower spec but when we challenged the management they really couldn’t care less. In all my years of Caravaning we have never had to do this. It was awful how we were treated by Estérel Caravaning.

Now I feel I should add some positives, the facilities on the site are of a high standard and are kept clean. The pool area is very good and is well facilitated for children and adults alike.

The staff work very hard and are a credit to Estérel Caravaning. The entertainment is very good and well presented. There is a well stocked shop on site with fresh bread and produce every day. There is a restaurant which looks very nice but we didn’t use it. The site is in a beautiful picturesque area.

It was so disappointing that we were treated like this but we got over it and got on with the two week holiday. When we got home we contacted the Caravan and Motorhome Club and put our case to them. The were brilliant, they took the pitch issues up with Esterel and we were awarded a full refund. I’m giving 4 stars because of all the initial stress it caused.  But we had a great holiday at Esterel Caravanning and we would go back.

It’s well worth being a Club member, they listened and acted and we didn’t expect a full refund. Thanks Caravan and Motorhome Club.