Camping Bel, Vendee - what do you think?

[wickedfairy]

Hi everyone,

We are looking to book to go to Camping Bel and are just wondering if anyone here has been there recently? I have looked back over all the older threads and it does seem to be what we are looking for (I hope).

We have 2 kids (4yo and baby) and are looking for a quiet campsite, that is suitable for children that age. We have our own tent, etc, - there are just so many campsites to choose from.....

Looking at going end June/early July for 3 weeks - it looks close to beach, has a pool so that we can potter about.

Can anyone who has been please let me know what you thought of it, please? TIA

We're going the end of May, so am interested in what people say...

I have to admit when I researched the place on the internet, ALL the reviews were positive, so I took that to be a good sign...

Hi Mary,

Would be grateful if you could post what you thought after you have had your holiday! I saw a lot of good reviews and that has swung my vote, I think. Would just like some feedback from some mnetters to see what they thought.

We are going to book in the next couple of days - just waiting until the weekend when DH finished work and we can book together - always paranoid that we'll book the wrong dates, etc

Anyone else?

TIA

Will do :)

It is great, we went there in the last 2 weeks of August with 6 yr old and 3 yr old. There is a cinema in the evening for the children, the town is lovely in the evenings and the beaches are great. Worth going to the far end of the town for the beach, taking the free bus, we only discovered this in the last few days! Facilities are spotless, only drawback is the pool is not heated. Would go back again with no doubt.

Thanks melrose - we booked a few days ago, so are looking forward to it! Last week of June and first 2 weeks of July....

Also, thanks for the tip re the free bus! Anything else we should know about? Good day trips/things to see? Plan on going to the beach, strolling around town,etc. If you have any advice on anything, it would be much appreciated!

TIA

Hi Wicked Fairy and Mary - we are looking at booking this site for next year in August.... did you have good holidays there? Was the site noisy in the evenings? Our children will be 4.5 and 2....

Thanks

Hi there,

We had a lovely holiday - stayed 3 weeks (our children 4yo, 1yo at the time). Campsite is quiet at night, there is a no-noise after 10pm policy. Only once I had to ask some overexcited older children to be slightly quieter but then 5 mins later their parents came to get them anyway as it was after 10pm, everyone seemed to observe the rule.

They show a kids film at ~8.15pm, I know it sounds late but ALL the children would watch it every night and then go to bed when it ended, it worked really well and you can have a drink at the bar (or bring your own) while the little ones are entertained. A clown came one night instead of the film, the kids were very impressed.

Town is lovely and within walking distance, as is the beach and supermarket. There are other lovely beaches a short drive away too. Pitches were a good size and plenty shade, we camped with our own tent, but the mobiles homes looked good too. The only small possible downside was the pool - we were there last week of June/2 weeks of July and it was fairly cold if you have little ones, although the baby pool wasn't so bad. It only started warming up nicely in our last week but if you are looking to go in August, I am sure it will be fine. It was very clean though and no bunfights for loungers!

The ages of your children are perfect for this campsite to be honest - it is billed as good for young families and it is. Pool has safety gate that needs someone tall to open it, so no little ones can get in and they had about 3 playpark areas around the site, suiting various ages and Keycamp/Eurocamp have a kids club - they let our son go to a few as there were spaces, even though we didn't camp with their company.

Hope you have a good holiday!

Great camp for kids, ours had a blast, but......

Pool - way too cold. In theory heated, but not. Really spoilt the pool experience and one other family said they would not go back to the camp because of that.

Pool gate - well in theory yes, but it broke when we were there, and there was a lax policy of keeping it closed and the Reps on site did not seem to recognise the risk of it being left open.

Movie Night is a great idea, but annoyingly which film is not published in advance, and some films were inappropriate for a younger audience

GreatDad...

The campsite does not advertise the pool as heated at all! It is not heated, and yes, therefore it can be cold. It certainly was when we visited, but it never stopped the kids going in. The jacuzzi apparently is for adults only, but when we were there and the pool was cold, the bubbles were turned off and all the kids played in the glass pyramid (which houses the jacuzzi), as the water was lovely and warm.

Oh, re movie night - I agree!

It is a shame the choice is not published - one night it was Avatar (all the kids were under 10 on the campsite when we were there!). Not exactly appropriate but that was the only film that wasn't really suitable and we were there 3 weeks.

wicked fairy - thanks for the info on campingbel. did you book direct with site, and if so, how?

Hi there, I managed to find a direct email address but in the end we joined the Camping and Caravanning club and booked through their travel people (called Carefree).

Accomodation was pretty much the same price as booking direct but booking the ferry through them (Portsmouth/St Malo overnighter on the way there, Caen/Portsmouth on way back) saved us about £80! Joining fee was £39, so we saved overall. Also, if we want to camp anywhere else in the UK, you have access to a lot more places, if you are a member. They were very helpful.

thanks lots for info.

Wicked: re the pool: reminds me to check the actual site website. The tour operator advertise it as heated!
Nice little site though.

GreatDad - it is definitely not heated. For sure! If they insist it is, they have incorrect information. Heated by the sun, maybe! definitely not heated though. Would be lovely if it was :-)