We all have reasons that would stop us going to a particular site, for me it is charging extra for visitors or charging for showers.
What about you?
What about you?
What would stop you going to a particular site?
- Thread starter ricky_s
- Start date
Parksy
Moderator
A very pertinent topic for me because we use a C&CC certified site every year for a couple of nights before we go half a mile up the road to a music festival.
We think that the site is owned or at least run by the wife of the partnership but for the past couple of years the husband has collected the site fees and has tried to charge significantly more than the advertised price.
Obviously we told him in no uncertain terms that we would pay the previously advertised price, but we're considering switching to a different certified site which is a bit further away and not so convenient to save the hassle, so our main bugbear is overcharging, closely followed by road noise. These are apart from the obvious turn offs like dirty toilets which we,ve been unfortunate enough to encounter a couple of times since we started caravanning.
We think that the site is owned or at least run by the wife of the partnership but for the past couple of years the husband has collected the site fees and has tried to charge significantly more than the advertised price.
Obviously we told him in no uncertain terms that we would pay the previously advertised price, but we're considering switching to a different certified site which is a bit further away and not so convenient to save the hassle, so our main bugbear is overcharging, closely followed by road noise. These are apart from the obvious turn offs like dirty toilets which we,ve been unfortunate enough to encounter a couple of times since we started caravanning.
Firstly how do you decide you don't like the site?
UK Campsite ticks our box.
Sorry to say PCv top sites freebe still includes horror sites. One of our worst was Sandilands Ayr. Close to the Arran ferry but gruesome. The week before we went someone was stabbed to death.
There were drunks in clubhouse. The toilet block was a worn stinky portacabin.
Generally but with exceptions, eg Hillhead,the two cubs sites are ok. But woe betide the extra chargers.
Two dogs at £2.00 each a night is £56.00 for a fortnight. Then the awning at £2.00 a night. View £2.00.
You only get caught once although sometimes an overnighter in transit you just bite the bullet.
UK Campsite ticks our box.
Sorry to say PCv top sites freebe still includes horror sites. One of our worst was Sandilands Ayr. Close to the Arran ferry but gruesome. The week before we went someone was stabbed to death.
There were drunks in clubhouse. The toilet block was a worn stinky portacabin.
Generally but with exceptions, eg Hillhead,the two cubs sites are ok. But woe betide the extra chargers.
Two dogs at £2.00 each a night is £56.00 for a fortnight. Then the awning at £2.00 a night. View £2.00.
You only get caught once although sometimes an overnighter in transit you just bite the bullet.
Very rarely go back anywhere, - like change. but price is a consideration. Very rarely go anywhere on 'spec' these days, used to do but like to know we can get in now before we arrive. Much easier these days to get a picture of where you're going in advance. With web sites - Google maps, reviews etc. so we nearly know what to expect before we get there. But of course price does have a big influence on decisions. don't mind paying but there are limits.
This comment is really to reinforce the the fact that even with some pre-search about a sites details things can still go wrong.
My wife booked me a CL Site a couple of years ago for five nights.
The picture on the web site looked really good.
When I arrived I pulled up to the gate of a lovely flat field with well defined pitches and a couple of tourers already on site.
I went towards the farm house as a very pleasant young lady came out to meet me. She asked my name and that's when it all started to go downhill.
She told me that the site was her fathers and he had allocated me a pitch on the newer area of the site.
Because I would need to turn around she said to just walk with her and she would show me the pitch.
Well we walked back along the road about 50 yards to what was a small triangle of uneven and isolated land alongside the road. I thought there is no way I'm leaving my van there whilst off fishing for perhaps 10 hours a day. She started to look in the hedge bottom for a cable that when found must have been over fifty metres long dissapering into a barn back towards the farm.
I said that I was uncomfortable leaving the van there and I did sense that that she was a little embarrassed herself at the contrast between the advertised field and the one she was now offering me. I mentioned the web site picture and she said that her father was trying to establish this new area of the site.
Needless to say I said that I was sorry but wouldn't be staying.
It was now about 16:00 in the afternoon and being quite deaf I'm unable to use a phone. So I drove back along the main road until I found a spot to pull over and texted my wife. Luckily she was able to find me another CL Site in the area and got me booked in.
I have noticed since, that the site I refused is still in the book however there are two listings shown now under the same address. I just hope they have brought the triangle of land up to the same standard as the lovely field I first saw.
I won't be trying it again though.
My wife booked me a CL Site a couple of years ago for five nights.
The picture on the web site looked really good.
When I arrived I pulled up to the gate of a lovely flat field with well defined pitches and a couple of tourers already on site.
I went towards the farm house as a very pleasant young lady came out to meet me. She asked my name and that's when it all started to go downhill.
She told me that the site was her fathers and he had allocated me a pitch on the newer area of the site.
Because I would need to turn around she said to just walk with her and she would show me the pitch.
Well we walked back along the road about 50 yards to what was a small triangle of uneven and isolated land alongside the road. I thought there is no way I'm leaving my van there whilst off fishing for perhaps 10 hours a day. She started to look in the hedge bottom for a cable that when found must have been over fifty metres long dissapering into a barn back towards the farm.
I said that I was uncomfortable leaving the van there and I did sense that that she was a little embarrassed herself at the contrast between the advertised field and the one she was now offering me. I mentioned the web site picture and she said that her father was trying to establish this new area of the site.
Needless to say I said that I was sorry but wouldn't be staying.
It was now about 16:00 in the afternoon and being quite deaf I'm unable to use a phone. So I drove back along the main road until I found a spot to pull over and texted my wife. Luckily she was able to find me another CL Site in the area and got me booked in.
I have noticed since, that the site I refused is still in the book however there are two listings shown now under the same address. I just hope they have brought the triangle of land up to the same standard as the lovely field I first saw.
I won't be trying it again though.
Went to a very nice looking, cl site in the Cotswolds, it seemed very nice, and the owner asked us for comments to improve the site. When we hitched up we noticed it was only 6 amps, The owner was charging £4 a night for the power, when we queired the cost, and the low amperage, he said it was a condition of the C&CC, to stop Campers from using blown air heaters in tents. Never heard of that before.
We will not be going back.
We will not be going back.
First of all I do tons of research, mainly using UKcampsite - you can't beat it as a site finder.
The things that would prevent me from booking would be:
Cost
Added extra's like paying more than £1.50 for awnings, paying for showers
No showers
No loos
No Ehu
Existence of a clubhouse (shudder)
Proximity to busy roads
Too many negative reviews
Jobsworth wardens (we've not had many, but put us right off C+CC sites)
Tricky access
We tend to stick to a couple of sites that we know, and also try a couple of different sites, too. It means we know what to expect, and it's something to look forward to if the previous site was a let-down!
The things that would prevent me from booking would be:
Cost
Added extra's like paying more than £1.50 for awnings, paying for showers
No showers
No loos
No Ehu
Existence of a clubhouse (shudder)
Proximity to busy roads
Too many negative reviews
Jobsworth wardens (we've not had many, but put us right off C+CC sites)
Tricky access
We tend to stick to a couple of sites that we know, and also try a couple of different sites, too. It means we know what to expect, and it's something to look forward to if the previous site was a let-down!
I do not trust sites that charge extra for lots of things, it just smacks of cashing in although we normally do not use an awning or take a dog.
Basically we need a nice well maintained site with friendly staff. We do look at prices but the choice is usually between the two clubs as with them we know what we are getting.
Not interested in social clubs and other facilities so tend to avoid those sites although a shop is helpful for odds and ends.
Basically we need a nice well maintained site with friendly staff. We do look at prices but the choice is usually between the two clubs as with them we know what we are getting.
Not interested in social clubs and other facilities so tend to avoid those sites although a shop is helpful for odds and ends.
Bring quite new to caravaning, I look for...
Easy access
Good reviews
10 amp EHU (Minimum)
Mutts allowed
Distance to nearby towns
and most important is cost
Easy access
Good reviews
10 amp EHU (Minimum)
Mutts allowed
Distance to nearby towns
and most important is cost
For me to avoid -
Bar and pools on site. As others have said, a good pub up the road will do nicely.Dirty facilities. Rude wardens. Poor quality pitches. Road noise. Anywhere in yorkshire - just kidding on that one. Sites that aĺlow groups of teenagers.
Bar and pools on site. As others have said, a good pub up the road will do nicely.Dirty facilities. Rude wardens. Poor quality pitches. Road noise. Anywhere in yorkshire - just kidding on that one. Sites that aĺlow groups of teenagers.
I have long used UKcampsite to check venues and have reviewed a few sites myself over the years. Price and in particular the add-ons and surcharges turn me off from a site especially if the site is already charging royally for the pitch in the first place. Charging extra for children grinds my gears (probably because we have two).
I was looking at a site in the north of the New forest which is actually in a field behind a decent enough pub that we have stayed at before in a tent. For a June or July weekend seems quite reasonable at £28 per night until you read that children 3-16 are charged at £4.50 per night and electric hook up is £6.50 per night, dogs £1.50 (although that doesn’t affect us) and so on. The extras add up quite quickly.
Another thing we look for now is access to a supermarket if we are going for anything more than a weekend; we found that a week on the outskirts of Swanage on a wonderful site became very expensive due to the reliance on the small convenience stores in the town and the onsite shop for replenishment of food and beverage ( a box of 10 cans of branded cider was nearly twenty quid whereas you could pick up two boxes of twenty at two of the main supermarkets for £15, meat and stuff was also very expensive).
Electric hookup doesn’t really bother me that much over the warmer months as we don’t take a television with us and the wireless will run adequately on batteries (these new-fangled DAB machines are most excellent).
I was looking at a site in the north of the New forest which is actually in a field behind a decent enough pub that we have stayed at before in a tent. For a June or July weekend seems quite reasonable at £28 per night until you read that children 3-16 are charged at £4.50 per night and electric hook up is £6.50 per night, dogs £1.50 (although that doesn’t affect us) and so on. The extras add up quite quickly.
Another thing we look for now is access to a supermarket if we are going for anything more than a weekend; we found that a week on the outskirts of Swanage on a wonderful site became very expensive due to the reliance on the small convenience stores in the town and the onsite shop for replenishment of food and beverage ( a box of 10 cans of branded cider was nearly twenty quid whereas you could pick up two boxes of twenty at two of the main supermarkets for £15, meat and stuff was also very expensive).
Electric hookup doesn’t really bother me that much over the warmer months as we don’t take a television with us and the wireless will run adequately on batteries (these new-fangled DAB machines are most excellent).
We require a well maintained site. Not worried about toilets, clubhouses or the rest.
Have refused one site which was literally a mud bath.
Have refused one site which was literally a mud bath.
Only require well kept site, toilet/shower block, ehu, hard standing pitches, no more than 30 - 40 pitches, no club house and no more than £20 night with no extras. Hence we never go to club sites but stick to I dependant sites. No arrogant wardens just friendly owners!
On our first trip out in our first caravan, a Sterling Eccles Jewel, 8 years ago, at Standdlake park , mid May, almost empty site, took the rubbish to the bins about 100 yards, about 10 pm, dog, right next to me, not wandering off, about 20 min later, knock on the door by a warden, "DOGS ON LEADS AT ALL TIMES" no please etc, I apologised told him we were new to caravanning, got a very gruff reply. Will not go back there, due to the wardens bad handling of the situation. Our dogs are always on leads now, unless on a site where they are allowed off lead, which there are a few of. But you must always pick up , as all responsible dog owners do.
Just opened the new PC magazine and it seems us forumites have made a coup on page 23: Raywood, Gabsgrandad,Mel, Emmerson, Craigyoung and myself are all in Reader Tips!
Excellent , I'm in again !!! Was in a few month ago with the picture competition !! 
file an orderly queue for autographs!!!
file an orderly queue for autographs!!!
Arrogant members! I think some of them would look good in brown shirts.KeefySher said:Djvc2711 said:
Which club has arrogant wardens? Does the same club have arrogant members?
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