Independent Campsite Reviews

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We were surprised when we arrived, to find the site right opposite a railway station, with trains passing every two minutes. This site resembles a camp for migrant workers. The mobile homes are packed in tightly, and there are hundreds of them! No greenery, no garden, work in progress everywhere, roads full of holes, surroundings untended.

The pool is heated, yes, but not to more than 15 degrees!

We had taken the largest mobile home, three bedrooms and a lounge, but there was only a single aircon, and a single heater for the whole lot! Result: 10 degrees in the bedrooms, and since we have young children, we left the next day. The owners are not on site, being Dutch, so no compensation was possible! A real nightmare, the worst experience that we have ever had!

Be warned, the indoor pool is small (10m x 3m), about 20 people at a time, and the water is not heated, 14 degrees at the most. There is no bubble bath or Jacuzzi as claimed in the brochure from Vacansoleil, I’ll be asking for a refund. On the other hand, for the youngsters, it’s good, with the slides that go into the paddling pool, but again it’s freezing. My 4-year old daughter was often to be found wrapped in a towel in my arms to warm up. But the air was 20 degrees. Entertainment: two singers (same repertoire each evening) and a clown. Very disappointing. In the morning, ‘camping kid’ was similar, just colouring! At reception, they don’t speak a word of French, and the deposit of ¤100 that I paid on arrival was returned, which is good, but it served no purpose! There was no inventory on arrival, nor when we left. But being a respectful person, we did the cleaning before leaving. This campsite is a good enough place to sleep if you’re taking days out at Disneyland (27km) or Asterix and Paris. Max 4-5 days, otherwise you’ll get bored. There’s no entertainment Saturday evening. The showers are good and hot, and overall the campsite is clean. No paper in the toilets, the shop sells baguettes at ¤1.30, and spring water at ¤5! For these basic products, it’s shameful to price them like this. So overall, not suitable for a long stay.

We stayed at Le Chêne Gris campsite for a week at the end of June 2009, we were wondering what to expect after reading the above reviews before we went, but here is my opinion of the place.

We arrived late in the evening at about 8.45pm and we were a bit worried about checking in so late, but there was no problems and they were very friendly, we were able to choose where we wanted to pitch our tent as she shows what’s available on map of the site, the pitches are quite large, but designed for caravans but we managed, it was part grass and part gravel. My 3 kids loved the 3 pools which were very clean, shop opens 7.00am every day and stays open until 8.00pm, toilets were my only problem no toilet roll everyone has to buy some from shop, and they where not cleaned as often as they should be. On site restaurant was not bad but pricey and staff speak hardly any English, only 15 min drive to Disney via toll road which is 2 euros, and we caught train to Paris from Disney train station as works out cheaper than one from outside campsite. Its approx 3 hours drive from Calais to campsite. We are considering staying here again next year, It’s very convenient for us and we enjoyed it there.

We just got back and the site is clean and tidy and the pools are very good for children. The food on site is good and all staff are very welcoming. The only down side is the shop shuts from 11.00 to 4.00. This site is ideal for families and I would recommend it to any one. Disneyland is only 10 to 15 min drive away. All roads and parking on site is tarmac and didn’t see any signs of any mud. Our cabin was spotless and very good with air con.

Positives :

Reception staff: mainly, older lady, very welcoming, friendly and very good english. Very helpful prior to travelling.

Cheap holiday via the Sun newspaper (tokens).

Chalet, adequate, clean, warm, shower excellent.

Near to train station and counter staff very nice.

resturant on site good, friendly.

Negatives:

Disney land not close on train or bus. Travelled to get disney bus 17, colummiers, never came yet.

Evening time: station sign not lit up, no announcement of station (s), so easy to miss stop. last train 8.45 from Paris. No more and no taxi's available in Colummiers !!

Younger staff, male, very curt, not family orientated.

supermarket, on site, expensive.

No facilities open eg: pool.

Agree very white chalky especially when raining.

Large, quiet site - mixture of mobil-homes and pitches for tents. Situated on chalky soil, so you get white marks on shoes and trousers. Really handy for Disneyland. VERY friendly, helpful and responsive staff. Train station next to site - 50 minutes to the centre of Paris, very helpful SNCF lady at counter. Pools at site small and closed (end of October). Nearby town of Coulommiers worth a visit. It rained a lot while we were here but we saw nothing of the Glastonbury conditions mentioned elsewhere.

This is a WARNING and Genuine!

This site does not match its website at all

the roads and car standing area are solid hardcore the size of your fist and not tamped down its like walking on a stone quarry floor, and then when wet it is like a very wet flooded quarry and is just like a bad day at Glastonbury the pitches are ALL mud there is NO Grass to pitch on, when it rains you will be up to at least 6 inches of mud and flooded out, we were swamped and had to spend a week washing and drying the tent and clothes, it is a site from hell.

It is built on a clay base that holds water and then there is plastic sheeting to hold back plant growth so there is no means of water drainage, the site is tiered and when it rains you are camped in the path of a waterfall, after our hell on the first night at least half the site were flooded out and people left the site the next day in droves, the manager agreed the site was poor and not as stated online and that it always flooded (there own tents are up on boards above the water) he refused to give us back our money and when we knew the site was soooooooooo bad with only one shower and toilet block for the whole site we decided to go elsewhere even then he would not even let us have the money back for the week we were not going to stay, so we cut our losses and moved to an ace site only 25 mins away with real grass and excellent facilities. This is not just a story of sour grapes it is a story of a true holiday from hell and this site should be avoided at all cost. Don't say I did not warn you if you decide to go here.

Stayed here in Aug 2007. Overall impression was one of no maintenance - grass not cut, hedging untidy - brambles and nettles present. Pitches available include grass and hard standing. Terraced, lowest level next to railway line although not very busy and noise is short term. Plenty of shade from the trees - if you want the sun then chose your pitch carefully! Young staff at the service point who were often seen to be smoking and chatting - apart from showing us the pitch didn't have any more dealings with them. Reception gave us a far better welcome! Showers though were lovely - plenty of hot water. Only the one shower / toilet block although not overly busy.

Not full in peak season probably tells it's own story! Penty of Dutch and English when we stayed, not a single French person in sight. Would we go back there? Probably not given the other options around.

Around 25 mins to Disney car park. No problem in arriving back late. Gate never closed, barriers on site never down!

Stayed at Le Chêne Gris with family and friends in July 2006.

Positives

• It is very close to Disneyland Paris and allows you to have a full day there without the worries of travelling. Do use the back roads to get there though, as the toll road is a complete rip off.

• It is right next to a train station with regular trains into the heart of Paris which take just under an hour.

• Nice Italian restaurant on site although some complained the portions were a bit small.

Negatives

• Unhelpful and impolite staff. A simple request for the nearest open shop was met with "there are none open today" even though a subsequent drive round found numerous shops open.

• Swimming pool, toilets, showers and site in general were very dirty. Ladies showers in particular never seemed to produce anything better than a cold dribble!

• There seemed to be a number of travellers/workers on the site who let there children run riot. I have children myself and I am used to boisterous children, but this went beyond boisterous and was very intimidating. The people on the pitch next to us actually left after an altercation with some of them.

On balance, great positioning, but not a great site. We won't be returning.

The description is quite accurate. However, there are going to be a lot of changes this winter (04-05). When we were on the site in august, we saw that the campsite has got a new owner. During this winter a new main building will be constructed (including bar, restaurant, snack, supermarket) and there will be a paddling pool for children and a heated and covered swimming pool. Well worth checking their internet site !

The Chêne Gris Campground offers you a warm welcome and friendly service in the heart of Brie country, nestled in the valley of the Grand Morin River.

You will appreciate the peace and quiet as you relax in this picturesque environment full of forests and valleys.

You can reach the center of Paris by train. We also recommend that you visit the medieval city of Provins, the chateau at Vaux-Le-Vicomte, the city of Coulommiers and the both chateau and forest at Fontainebleau.

20mn from Disneyland Paris.

5 hectares of land divided into 160 demarcated campsites (about 120 sq.m. each) with running water, used water evacuation and electricity. There are also sanitary facilities complete with an unlimited supply of hot water.

Although you can reach Paris by train , it does take a good hour on a very slow train. The village is only about a mile up the road and it has a lovely bread shop. It is also the place to stay to be within striking distance of Disneyland Paris.