Village de la Guyonniäre and la GARANGEOIRE

[Mark_374310615]

Hi

Has anyone stayed at eithor of these sites in the Vendee?

Village de la Guyonniäre or la GARANGEOIRE in the Vendee. Both are a few miles inland.

I have been able to find some reviews on la GARANGEOIRE (generally favourable) but not on Village de la Guyonniäre

I am going in September so am assuming the sites will be quiet. I have two young children (ages 2 and 4) so am looking for a site suitable for them.

Thanks for any information

 

[Mark_374310615]

If it helps the web address of the sites is:

for Village de la Guyonni

 

[ValA.]

La Garangeoire - there have been some very good reports on it, on another forum I use - in fact during the 'peak season' it can be booked up almost a year in advance.

La Garangeoire take Camping Cheques in September. http://www.campingcheque.co.uk/en/ Just in case you've not heard of Camping Cheques before, basically each cheque costs

 

[ValA.]

Reviews here http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=3126.

 

[Robtel]

Hi,

We've have stayed at La Garangeoire twice and would highly recommend it, one of the best sites we have visited in either Britain or Europe. The pitches are very large, most separated with hedges and trees for shade. Toilets and shower blocks modern and kept very clean. Outdoor heated pool kept clean also.Bar with cafe and seating area adjacent to the pool also restaurant and food takeaway. Some activities arranged, kids club (no extra charge) but extra for Archery and Horse Riding. Limited entertainment provided in bar area in high season but this does not run into the early hours. Nightwatchman on duty who did go around and have quiet word with anyone making too much noise late at night. A couple of small lakes close to the site but not that close that very small children would be likely to be at risk of playing around them unsupervised. Plenty of walks in the adjacent woods, paths signed posted with coloured markers for different lengths of walks. Static vans and chalets on site but mostly separated from touring vans.

Decent supermarket in nearby village,and within easy travelling distance of several seaside towns and beaches but out of the way of the rush. Les Sables D'Ollone has good beach,some nice shopping plus a small zoo. Zoo is good if you like that sort of thing,level shady paths and not too big for young kids to walk around. La Rochelle is about an hour and a half drive away and also worth a visit. There is an excellent aquarium there, ideal for a not so nice day.

I have never been to the other site you mentioned and would make La Garangeoire my first choice if going back to that area.

Hope this helps, anything specific please ask.

Robert

 

[Mark_374310615]

Thanks for the replies

It looks like La Garangeoire will be a good choice

I will be going probably 10th Sept for a couple of weeks, right at the end of the season. I note the bar etc close on the 15th.

Would I be correct in assuming that the pool will stay open and heated to the end of Sept, and is it likely to be warn enough to use it?

 

[rambler1]

Hi Mark,

We were at la Garangiore September 2005 stayed to about 25th the weather was good pool no problem nice and warm,I would agree with all previous comments it is a great site,we are retired but I know that my grandkids would have loved it very family orientated,the poolside bar was open and there were theme nights in the bar most nights,also at the end of the season there was a closing down night with entertainment which was free .Agood site to visit the coast and all other attractions.Enjoy and hope you have a good holiday.May see you as we are going that way in Sept

 

[GeorgeB]

Mark,

Having stayed there last september (1st 2 weeks) can vouch for all of the above, whilst we were there the CC&C were there on their anuall rally.

if i'm right in thinking where you are going to be pitched, dont worry, you'll be at the top of a large grassed area, over looking the mobile homes & looking down onto them, to your right will be the full service pitches for caravans, about 10 of them.

the nearest toilet/shower block is about 50 metres away and they have "family" showers, really a proper bathroom, toilet sinks, baby bath + large walk in shower, oh and by the way they were kept spotless.

If we ever go back to the Vendee (usual haunt is Frejus on the riviera) we'd most definately go back to La Garangeoire, it's a superb site

 

[Charlie]

Just returned from La Garangeoire.

Never to return. My husband is still ill having been very badly affected by a new strain of caterpillar. he was covered in a rash from head to toe which caused him extreme discomfort, kept him awake, and made him extremely miserable. Not the same one the Caravan and Camping Club advised us about before we left. On arrival on site we were assured that the problem of caterpillars had been resolved. This was a complete lie. People were using the pharmacy in the village in droves to get anti-hitamine, lotions and creams to treat the dreadful itchy rash. My young sin was stung one hour after arriving on our pitch. He was stung again the day before we left, two weeks later. Three out of four of us were affected. We were underneath Oak trees and at least 8 pitches adjacent to ours were affected. Also several other pitches around the site. The reception staff did not report our concerns to the owners OR the owners chose to ignore our complaints. They were unable to change our pitch until just before we were about to leave. It was not until I contacted the Caravan and Camping club in England did we eventually got a visit from the owner. The next morning at 9.00 we have termite and pest removal company around our pitch removing some of the 18 caterpillars crawling on our caravan that morning. Needless to say we received absolutely no compensation whatsoever, not even a bottle of wine to say sorry. The arrogance of the owners is unbelieveable.

On another note take great care of your young children at the top of the site. There were several near misses as bikes cars and pedestrian mix between the pool the shops and the pitches.

Obviously we went at a busy time and had to wait for toilets and showers - which was a pain.

The majority of the visitors were English.

Restaurant is very good.

Site is quiet at night.

Not the best Castels site we have visited. I was expecting a lot more. It has changed owners in the past 2 years and the daughter and son-in-law are not a people persons- very must business orientated.

Bar Staff were seen serving under-aged kids alcohol.

Entertainment is OK but not brilliant.

Sports were good. My children enjoyed the rugby and petange

There is a very large number of mobiles on the site.

Pool OK.(take care with some of the tiles they have sharp edges.

Site not well lit at night.

Beware the owls- who leave their calling card on your car.

Have fun

 

[dawn_374315483]

can anyone please recommend a good site with decent pitches in the frjus/st. raphael area. I'm looking at domaine du colombier in frejus but can only find one review which says its not very good, we have 8m twin axle caravan and need a large pitch,thanks dawn.

 

[Simon_374316900]

Just returned from La Garangeoire.

Never to return. My husband is still ill having been very badly affected by a new strain of caterpillar. he was covered in a rash from head to toe which caused him extreme discomfort, kept him awake, and made him extremely miserable. Not the same one the Caravan and Camping Club advised us about before we left. On arrival on site we were assured that the problem of caterpillars had been resolved. This was a complete lie. People were using the pharmacy in the village in droves to get anti-hitamine, lotions and creams to treat the dreadful itchy rash. My young sin was stung one hour after arriving on our pitch. He was stung again the day before we left, two weeks later. Three out of four of us were affected. We were underneath Oak trees and at least 8 pitches adjacent to ours were affected. Also several other pitches around the site. The reception staff did not report our concerns to the owners OR the owners chose to ignore our complaints. They were unable to change our pitch until just before we were about to leave. It was not until I contacted the Caravan and Camping club in England did we eventually got a visit from the owner. The next morning at 9.00 we have termite and pest removal company around our pitch removing some of the 18 caterpillars crawling on our caravan that morning. Needless to say we received absolutely no compensation whatsoever, not even a bottle of wine to say sorry. The arrogance of the owners is unbelieveable.

On another note take great care of your young children at the top of the site. There were several near misses as bikes cars and pedestrian mix between the pool the shops and the pitches.

Obviously we went at a busy time and had to wait for toilets and showers - which was a pain.

The majority of the visitors were English.

Restaurant is very good.

Site is quiet at night.

Not the best Castels site we have visited. I was expecting a lot more. It has changed owners in the past 2 years and the daughter and son-in-law are not a people persons- very must business orientated.

Bar Staff were seen serving under-aged kids alcohol.

Entertainment is OK but not brilliant.

Sports were good. My children enjoyed the rugby and petange

There is a very large number of mobiles on the site.

Pool OK.(take care with some of the tiles they have sharp edges.

Site not well lit at night.

Beware the owls- who leave their calling card on your car.

Have fun

We visited La Garangeroire at the end of July & had a lovely time. I think the site deserves its reputation & we found the owners friendly & helpful. We were warned about the caterpillar problem before leaving the UK & decided it was rather like arriving in a Med resort to find the sea infested with stinging jelly fish ...Just one of those things. Bloody awful if you did get to touch one of the little blighters but we werent aware of hordes of people breaking out in rashes. I feel really sorry for those that were affected but please bear in mind camping is likely to bring you in to contact with nature in all its forms, so it seems a touch harsh to blame the owners. I think the caterpillars you are talking about are the Oak Processional Moth which usually by early July have all transformed in to Moths. Unfortunaterly they leave behind their hairy skins which can blow around in the wind for some time after.These can now be found in the UK so beware.