Independent Campsite Reviews

Although we haven't been back to this site for three years, we were regular visitors prior to it being taken over by the new owners in 2004. When we started camping at LBJ, our children were small and were kept entertained throughout our holiday in a safe and welcoming environment. Much of the "Entertainment and Activities" were organised by the regular holidaymakers supplemented by the efforts of the small but very hospitable team of staff.

What we loved most of all was the "mix" of nationalities on-site and the opportunity to make friends and enjoy other customs.

After three years experimenting with other Vendean sites, we are returning to LBJ in 2007 and are looking forward to renewing friendships, playing boules and chilling out in the Vendean sun - roll on July!!!!

Our only criticism is that the campsite draws us back every year. However much we say we'll change, nothing comes of it and we go back again. I find this campsite fantastic for the warmth, the activities, the pool, the children's play area, and the entertainment in the evening. I have 4 children of all ages, and I can assure you that they have good memories of it every year. We always hire a (very clean) mobile home. Go take a look at this campsite; I can't guarantee that you will ever leave!

I spent 10 nights here. Very nice site.

We had a good pitch in the shade. Great staff, good pool, and a nice bar.

Individual toilets and showers were also good, and watching the storks flying about was a sight to see.

Shopping in Challans is good just 10 mins drive away.

This site was a strange mixture. This was the first year for the present operators, and I’m told it will be their last, so I guess you can expect some changes. As you enter the site, you can see some very small pitches, and we were very concerned that we would not fit with our folding camper and awning. However, further back, there are much better pitches. We were offered the choice of four, all of which would have been acceptable.

The overall appearance of the site is one of calm relaxation - pitches are all surrounded by trees and hedges, giving refreshing dappled shade without being too claustrophobic. Adding to the air of peace is the ban on car movements after 10pm, and the fact that the toilet block lighting is also extinguished at 10pm, leading you to believe that you will have a peaceful bedtime. But no. Activities in the bar are rowdy, can be heard all over the site, and go on till midnight. This is then followed by the participants coming home, having a few bedtime drinks and jokes with their mates, and going to bed about 1am. So why bother with the 10pm rules? I can’t work it out.

Toilet facilities are adequate, but three of the four blocks are of an old style, with toilet and shower doors opening directly into the open air, and open-air washbasins and sinks. I was happy enough with them, and they all functioned perfectly well, but my wife was a little put off by their "rustic charms". One block is more modern, and its lights stayed on all night, but was heavily used, and used as a meeting place after "lights-out" elsewhere. The "lights-out" policy also saw us washing up in the dark one or two nights.

Swimming pool was pleasant, but not really big enough. One or two boisterous teenagers (or dare I say parents?) and it starts to feel a bit full. Free tennis court, volleyball, table tennis and pétanque.

The location is a bit odd - it seems a long way from anywhere. Beaches in a long stretch from Noirmoutier all the way through Notre Dame de Monts, St Jean de Monts, to St Gilles Croix de Vie are around half an hour’s drive, and in some places really difficult to track down. But they’re all made of good sand, and the water is shallow a long way out, which makes it safe for the little ones. Not much surf: if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll need to go a bit further south, to Bretignolles or Brem, which are still less than an hour away.

There’s a little supermarket about 100m from the site entrance, which sells pretty much all you’ll need in the way of food. Otherwise you’ll need to go to Challans or St Gervais for a big store. It’s worth walking the extra 100m to the crossroads in Bois-de-Céné, where there’s much better bread etc in the boulangerie than in the supermarket.

[The following is a message from the owners of the site]

I would just like to inform you that we are still the owners of this campsite, and we have no intention of changing. On the other hand, at the time of your stay with us, it is true that it was our first season, with (as you might imagine) considerable reproach from regular visitors, who had not been warned of the change. Many were afraid that we would completely change the style, to become a mobile home park. This is not our wish.

Since your visit, there is a barrier to control entry and exit, so there is no traffic between 10pm and 7am (certain regulars having acquired some bad habits) and we have also enlarged the bar, which was much too small for entertainment which, from now on take place inside and under shelter.

We have mobile homes and caravans to hire, but also 80 camping pitches. Our work for the coming seasons will address the repair of the two rather ancient toilet blocks, and the provision of further camping pitches.

I’ve been going to this campsite for 11 years, and I have never been disappointed. I have very good memories, up until the Parisians came to pretend to be country folk. The new owners are only looking for one thing: that the campsite becomes a site for old fogies, with no activities. But a rich old-fogey site as that’s what motivates the cashier, or rather the owner. However, for many years, the site was lively and family-friendly. I’ll tell you that some clients even went so far as to take their breakfast at the bar in Bois de Céné, kept by people much more friendly and smiling than those at the money factory.

This campsite really pleased us! It was our first stay at Bois de Céné. But it was a bit of a shame that from time to time there were no activities during the day.

The owners are kind, and always ready to serve!

We’ve been going to this campsite for several years.

We have known both the old and new owners. It is true that we were concerned that there was to be a change of management, but you have to give everyone their chance, and the new owners do the job very well, and for those that don’t like it, they can choose another site.

We find ourselves every year with previous visitors. Super atmosphere for adults and children alike.

Good quality, no problem with the price, family atmosphere.

Hello. This was the first time we have been to this campsite, and we are not about to return, as we did not find the owner at all pleasant, and the smile was a little lacking. The first day we arrived, we had lunch in their bar, and my parents-in-law had left them €75,and the next day, they did not know they had to leave before 10am, and the owner made them pay an extra €9. As for us, before our departure, she made us pay and extra €40, as we had invited 2 extra people and a baby to stay in our mobile home. We are sure that she was cheating us out of our money. We’ll not give her campsite any publicity.

This was our first time at the Bois Joli. We were welcomed very warmly by the whole team. I recommend it to all holidaymakers to this magnificent region. It was the first time we had had such a good holiday. Our thanks to all the team at the Bois Joli, for all the great moments of relaxation and pleasure. We will be returning this year with the greatest of pleasure.

Positive views, negative views. When all’s said and done, where can you find the campsite that pleases EVERYONE?

However, I see regular visitors, who come back every year, as if it’s home for them, French as well as other nationalities. Who travel 2000km to stay for a single week, who do 13 hours driving to return to this campsite which, despite the change of owner, still attracts plenty of campers.

First of all, let’s talk of what brings people to visit this region, and finally to stop at this site. It’s true that for the youngsters, looking for holidays by the sea, the task is difficult, if you do not have a vehicle. Challans is only 10 minutes away, to do your shopping in a major centre, but you do have to travel for half an hour to find the lovely beaches of St Jean de Monts, and to wander the pedestrian area that swells the town by 20,000 inhabitants in the high season. There are also beaches at St Gilles, St Hilaire, the famous Sables d’Olonnes, the lovely island of Noirmoutier, the sea fronts, the fishing, and everything that means that the region of the Vendée should be visited at least once.

At the campsite, Martine and Eric take pleasure from pointing out the best places to visit, so that you can make the most of your stay in the area. The brochures covering tourist sites, the various aqua parks, or even the Puy du Fou, will perhaps help you to make your decision on how to organise your days.

For the evenings, I think that if you come to le Bois Joli, you won’t have any problems.

The activities offered by the campsite owners are for everyone.

- Pétanque tournaments

- Dance evenings

- Themed evenings (meal and entertainment)

- Bingo

- Night swimming

- Karaoke

- ...

There is not an evening without entertainment, and sometimes there are activities during the day to occupy the youngsters. The pool, contrary to what has been said above, is plenty big enough for the number of campers. No point having an Olympic pool, where no one will go because it’s too cold! Personally, I prefer water at 27 degrees.

If, after all, you prefer to go out in the evening, the external activities are half an hour’s drive away, and the barrier giving access to the pitches remains closed after 10pm. This means you will have to park in the exterior car park, and return on foot to your pitch, respecting campers who sleep lightly.

As for the bar, you can go get your baguettes there in the morning, and there is a small stock of "emergency" provisions, in case you have need for charcoal, bread rolls,, toothpaste... And of course meals from breakfast to evening meal, with pizzas, and twice a week roast chicken to eat in or collect and eat at your own pitch.

Now, a more personal opinion on the campsite.

I came for the first time in August 2006, in a mobile home, where I quickly got a taste for the camping atmosphere, that one finds in evidence here, where everyone is welcoming and very sociable. There is a small lake where you can take the sun for a few hours, for fishing addicts. A football pitch, tennis court, volleyball, table tennis, trampolines will help to keep you, or your children, occupied, for when you decide to stay on the site.

What I appreviated while staying in the mobile home was the ample space outdoors, for parking the car, as well as enough for a table, barbecue, airing the washing, sunbathing in peace on your own pitch, which is not a luxury found on all campsites, and I’ve tried a good number, and rarely found anywhere so calm and friendly.

My second year here was in a tent, and although the weather was not joining in (and you can’t blame the campsite for inexplicable changes in the weather) I was still not disappointed by my stay, as I was able to find everything I wanted to spend some good days, and marvellous evenings in the company of the entertainers and the owners, who do not hesitate to join in to help the mood along.

Nonetheless, I must be honest about the ONLY snag, which will make my review more honest, and thus more credible. I have a small niggle about the toilet blocks. Indeed, these date from before the change of owners, and although they are very well maintained, and so not unpleasant in use, they remain a little "rustic" to take up the expression used in an earlier review. However, the owners being always ready to listen to all comments, be they good or bad, I let them know my thoughts, and not being the first, apparently, they have already planned to replace the toilet blocks, very soon.

I must add that if the campsite Le Bois Joli is this warm and friendly, it’s because the owners have always taken account of the opinions of their visitors, good and bad, and have always been able to arrange for things to meet people’s requirements.

Last year, many previous regulars, who were upset at the arrival of the new owners, have declared themselves satisfied by the change, and by what they have made of the Bois Joli today.

So it’s up to you, old hands and new, to let us know your opinion on this campsite, which in my eyes is classed among the best that I have visited, in France or elsewhere.