Caravan & Motorhome Club site prices
Comments
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Yes, maybe the word "typical" was a poor choice. I was really thinking of the many thousands of families and couples (and singles) who choose to use club sites (or, come to that, any UK site) for their main annual holiday. In the context of the earlier part of my post, for them the ferry fare would be a considerable additional expense.
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Yes, very similar to us, but then we and you are retired and have a greater degree of flexibility than when we were working. 7 days in one place is the most we have stayed for several years now but for most folk of working age the sort of long term touring mentioned on here is just not possible is it? Hence they are likely to take their main holiday in one place before heading home again (exactly as we did when both of us were working.)
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for them the ferry fare would be a considerable additional expense
know what you mean M, our ferry costs this year are £445 plus £175 for single trip red pennant that’s £620 before a wheel turns and had to cut our trip back to 25 days so £24.80/night on top of site fees.
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thrifty, of course...I used to drink Tropicana orange juice but I now have, and prefer, Lidl's equivalent..
weve done all types of sites from Concierge to open fields, but we always look for value....if that's thrifty then guilty as charged.
I'm sure your site is lovely, Im equally sure I'll never stay there, but that's neither here nor there...
the thread (and several others) suggest that club prices are already too high and rising and points have also been raised about how suitable they might be for today's families compared to some of the commercials.
ive stayed at Hillhead, we wanted to try the clubs 'all singing' site and gave it a go.....we liked it, a lot....have been twice. however, it is blooming expensive but made a nice change from the usual club sites.
we used the pool, the bar, the restaurant and all facilities seemed to be appreciated and made use of while we were there.
the question is, is this the dorection the club might(should) go in the future?
BTW, the 'murder' comment was a joke.....you're sooooo serious
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You could always drop the Red Pennant. It’s extremely expensive and the alternatives are much cheaper offering (on paper) the same cover. I hear cries of “but wait, you'll find out how expensive the cheap one is when you need it”. That maybe the case, but it’s unproven and I’ve saved hundreds of pounds in premiums in recent years, I’ll continue to take the risk.
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I agree not all families will want or can afford holiday park facilities and it is not about cost for everyone, especially when you only have the opportunity for a 2/3 week break once a year. However, there is a problem to which even the Club acknowledges.(2018 AGM minutes) The majority of sites are not doing as well in peak season as outside of it which to me indicates the prices are too high for what is being offered. It could be the Club is not appealing enough to either pockets. Those who cannot afford holiday parks or the Clubs' peak prices could be turning to the cheaper alternatives which offer similar or not a lot less than those of the Club?
peedee
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M, there's no way I'll ever book 21 days on a club site, anywhere, so no issue regarding refunds or whatever.
we had aready tried HFO last year in the same week we had a few days at SF. for us it was a no brainer as to which site we wanted to come back to for Henley week this year....we only booked 8 days and didn't get fed up.
BTW, following on from JK's definitive post re the state of club sites re facilities and prices, it would seem everything is in rude health and the older, moaning members don't know what they're talking about.
QED? time to close all 'price' threads now we have it 'officially'.....?
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I have also enjoyed Hillhead in the past but in off peak when they did the wine tasting! I am still hooked on Brown Brothers Chenin Blanc and their half bottles of sweet desert wine. It is not easy to get though.
I have also stayed at Seacroft but didn't much care for the old set up but if the change to the Wanderer is like that of Knarsborough I would probably enjoy it but not in peak season. It is certainly a good location.
peedee
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BB - of course you wouldn't but as you know, that post was in reply to yours saying that club sites (having to be booked in advance) made changing your plans difficult. I was simply pointing out that, actually, as far as the UK is concerned, it was easier to do that using club sites than with any other organisation.
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...but not everyone, even club aficionados, always use club sites, so the refund (carry forward) may not be appropriate to all in (say) that particular tour.
yes, I can see it's nice to have that credit 'in your pocket' but how long does it last, is it usable in parts, does it give priority bookings (as you've already paid)....
all rhetorical really as it will never happen to us, unless we get urgently called home but then it wouldn't be a priority..
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a warden and two posters have commented thus....
so, why are outfits being turned away from club sites.....doesn't everyone have a confirmed booking?
surely no members would turn up in late July, early August on spec?
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BB - you are missing the point I think, which is simply that if one is booked on a club site for so many nights that you run out of things to do you can move on (that should at least appeal to your style of touring) to another club site with no financial penalty. So in that sense the club makes it easier to be flexible than any other major provider in the UK. Surely even you'd concede that?
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yes, I understood that the first time you said it.....
it doesn't make it more attractive the more you type it, though...
my answer was that that was fine if your tour took you to more club sites, no use whatsoever if moving to a CL, THS, CCC or commercial site...
our tours would never be all CC so, while an advantage to some (I'll 'concede' if I must actually write it down....
) it's of little use to us...but thanks for the info, again..
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so, getting a favourable response, you book the pitch....if not you wouldn't go...
hardly rocket science.
surely the queuing folk can't be 'knowledgable' members?
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Club sites form about 50% of our sites when touring. When we were on a club site about 4 years ago and car damage meant being on site 7 days rather than an intended 4 days whilst waiting for a part. It was handy to be able to phone ahead and freely cancel the next site rather than visit for two nights.
A similar time ago we were booked on Hawes for 5 nights at the start of a tour. In the event I had finished all jobs at home, car and caravan clean, garden in check and we had we would really have been twiddling our thumbs waiting for the off. Instead we went 4 days early, We did not want 9 days at Hawes and so we changed that to 4 nights and moved to an additional site for 5 nights.
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Afternoon
All the turn away's I mentioned in my previous post were without bookings. 90% were motorhomes touring.
JK
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I don’t suppose you know if they were members, JK, as you'd have no reason to ask seeing there was no room at the inn.
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there is a problem to which even the Club acknowledges.(2018 AGM minutes) The majority of sites are not doing as well in peak season as outside of it which to me indicates the prices are too high for what is being offered.
Out of the main season, we use club sites as they tend to be much cheaper and I can just about cope with paying £25 for a posh site with a posh toilet block which I don't actually need but use because I've paid for it. Once we get to school holidays, especially July and August and the price goes above £25 I am not prepared to pay any more for that unwanted posh toilet block so seek out no facility sites, CLs CSs CC&C sites or smaller private set ups no more than £25. Which seems to be inline with peedee's reference to comments at the AGM... People, including me, are sometimes avoiding CC sites in peak and school holidays on price. Minimum facilities is all we actually need and this year we have used 4 CC no facility sites so far simply because they are cheaper yet have all we need.
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my point wasn't whether they had MH or caravans, merely wondering why any member would pitch up at a popular club site in peak season on spec...
must be a lot of 'cavalier' club members about.
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after being water boarded...
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M......when I was working we still toured, first with our son, in the 70s and 80s, and then with our daughter in the 90s and later, going somewhere for a week or two has never been our idea of an interesting holiday.
Over the school summer break we managed to fit in 2 trips, one of just over 3 weeks, sometimes abroad, and one of just over 2 weeks in UK.
Every 5 years or so I was able to take all my holidays in one go, which enabled us to go to Norway, first with tent, later with caravan.
Those of us in the office who had children at school were given priority for taking time off in the school holidays, while those who could be more flexible were able to take advantage of the lower prices out of peak period. After our daughter left school we would go away in June and September, which were much more reasonably priced back then.
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We use club sites because of the consistent high standards as against some private sites we have been to.
We joined the club about 26 years ago and booked on a private site for a trip with our niece. I drove in and out of the site it was a dump. Club rescued our trip.
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