ACSI

[jcshill]

I would be more than interested to hear from fellow members their opinions on their good and bad sites. Having for the first time purchased the site book. No matter how good the comments are in this the actual outcome when visiting are not always the same.I note that Acsi say that they are not responsible for the star grading and do not guarantee that they have inspected the site. The outcome of a stay can be very disappointing.
I would appreciate your views.
John

 

[DianneT]

We have been using ACSI CC Sites for 7 years now. Every year we have been to Europe for 2/3 months and have used 90% ACSI Camping Card Sites and have never ever had a bad one the stars are usually good to go by but like in Austria where they do not have much of a star system it does not mean to say you will not get the equivilant of 4/5 stars if they do not have any. A lot of Sites have ADAC recognition which is excellent to go by too. Most of the sites in the ACSI CC Book are also included in the Caravan Club Europe Book's 1 and 2. which are recommended by Caravan Club Members.

 

[DavidKlyne]

John
I have used many ACSI sites in their discount scheme and I can only think of one that was really disappointing but even that was not too bad. If you Google a campsite you want to visit it will always come up with some sort of review so that you can get an idea of what its like. The very nature of using schemes like the ACSI Card or Camping Cheques usually suggests a touring holiday and because you turn up on spec you can also leave if the campsite is not up to your required standard.
David

 

[JohnGriffiths]

I submitted a similar post a few months ago after we toured down the east side of France with just ACSI and had a couple of bad sites. Previous years we had very good experiences but we also took the extremely detailed C&CC book in addition to ACSI. The problem I find if you just use ACSI book alone is that there is insufficient information to make a solid judgement on whether a site will suit you. The conclusion to my post was that I should have researched better on the web beforehand, I should have bought the ACSI DVD and also the CC handbook. My only excuse as usual was time pressures but I shall be doing a bit more research in future.

 

[ValA.]

We've had only one bad experience with an ACSI site - and we've stayed on quite a few now, but generally research 'likely' sites first. As David Klyne says, if you're 'touring' then the most you need commit to is one night and if you don't like a site you can move on. If you do like the site then you can stay for as long as you wish.
I would say, though, that what people want and expect from sites can be very different, so even one person's experience of a 'bad site' will not necessarily reflect the opinion of the majority.

 

[DianneT]

A good site by our book is Friendly owners and Reception, well kept organised site with good pitches and services and spotless toilets, showers and laundry facilities. This we have found on every ACSI Camping Card site we have visited in Germany, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Cannot say about France as it is a country we have only visited twice or Spain only once. I always plan our trip by the ACSI Disc but do not buy a new one every year. If you go on the ACSI Camping Card website and clikc on the country and then site you think of visiting it will gove you an overall figure out of 10 of visitors review. Sometimes you will be lucky and find an English spoken review among the total reviews.

 

[ValA.]

I would be more than interested to hear from fellow members their opinions on their good and bad sites. Having for the first time purchased the site book. No matter how good the comments are in this the actual outcome when visiting are not always the same.I note that Acsi say that they are not responsible for the star grading and do not guarantee that they have inspected the site. The outcome of a stay can be very disappointing.
I would appreciate your views.
John

I've just noticed that you say 'Having for the first time purchased the site book' - I hope you mean advance purchase for 2011, or that you intend to use the book you have during the remainder of 2010. You need to buy the book each year, in order to use the current card for that year, and find the current sites. Sites won't give you a discount if you don't have the current card. I hope this isn't stating the blindingly obvious!

 

[jcshill]

Thanks to all of you that have replied.
Only time will tell and after our two trips each lasting three month tours around France I am sure that our views will be posted later in the year. Opinions are purely subjective and we are not all alike thank goodness.
Watch this space. Many thanks
John

 

[ValA.]

Have some great trips John - and come back and report on your best and worst sites!