Independent Campsite Reviews

Phone:

Fax:

Website:

Email:

Online maps:

Paper maps:

Institut Géographique National TOP25

Michelin Yellow 3-digit

Latitude:

Longitude:

Very poor campsite, with no attraction at all. Very nice pool, heated to 17 or even 19 degrees by the sun. Bungalows from another era. Very nice breaks in the power supply in the evening, averaging 45 minutes 4 days out of 6. I heartily recommend against it.

We booked to go to this campsite for two weeks , my husband, my 5 year old son, my mother and father in-law and myself. The holiday was booked with French Freedom via Camping Direct. We have been to this area of France for many years and always booked with either Keycamp or Euro camp and have always had great, happy holidays. I read lots of reviews on the site before booking, some bad and some good but remained open minded as we all have different expectations and standards but please carry on and read this review.

After an awful ferry crossing with LD Lines (never again) they also will be receiving a review much the same as this. Please, travel with Brittany Ferries instead, highly recommended.

[Note from Webmaster: The rest of this review is primarily concerned with the mobile home, hired from French Freedom. The state of this mobile home, and the attitude of the French Freedom representatives, is not the responsibility of the campsite, and just because a French Freedom have delivered poor service does not mean that the campsite itself is similarly poor. Read some of the other reviews here for other opinions.]

On arrival at the site, first impressions, ok !! We arrived just after 3pm, our booking-in time was supposed to be 3pm so timing was great, at the main reception the staff spoke very little English and actually ignored me twice, we waited 45min for a French Freedom rep to turn up and that was after having to phone company back here in England to tell them we had arrived. The rep was a young girl, very pleasant. She walked me to our caravan while the others followed in the car. As I walked through the park my first impressions were that the site had quite poor maintained areas, over-grown hedges, weeds, and then she presented me with the caravan!! Well, where do I start? The pitch was tucked in a dark dingy corner with very little space to park our car, the so called decking area was over grown with weeds and the table and chairs on it, a pub picnic table was so old if I'd sat on it I would have got splinters in my bottom!! When the rep opened the caravan door the smell hit me, mould, damp, and oh my god what a dark, dated interior !! We had ordered linen packs, which consisted of mis-matched duvet covers thrown on the beds and the pillows had no covers, well they did, covered in mould!! The curtains were hanging off the rails and I'm not even going to describe the bathroom!! I took one look at my mother-in-law and burst into tears! My son is a chronic asthmatic and to spend one night in this awful, dirty, smelly hole could possibly have meant we spent the rest of our holiday at his hospital bedside!! We turned the caravan down and asked the rep if she could sort another one, her comment was, 'but they are all this bad'!! After messing around for the next 3 hours trying to sort out what on earth we were going to do and lots of exchanged words the company agreed to give us a full refund on my son's health terms, says a lot doesn't it!! Luckily having been to the area for years my husband and father in-law were able to track down the last remaining caravan on a site we had visited the previous year, le Clarys Plage, a wonderful, highly recommended site. When we explained to the reps on the new site our situation we didn't even have to tell them the name of the problem site, obviously its reputation is known!! All I can say is please, please do not consider this site for your family. Awful, dirty, what more can I say !!!

Just returned from a fortnight at Les Amiaux. My whole family thought it was fantastic. Pitches were huge and well serviced. More English spoken in reception than I speak French, and they were helpful, moved my pitch on request away from a bees nest with no fuss. Takeaway restaurant was fine, pizzas etc very nice. The pools and slides were fantastic. Don't be put off by the picture of the waterslide pool, it is very clean, just doesn't look good in the picture because it is a sandstone coloured cement lining, not tiled. Waterslides were great fun. Services on each pitch were excellent, with a mains water tap, grey water drain and chemical loo drain on every pitch. The shop was well stocked with essentials for BBQ's etc. Beach nearby was a good walk (You wouldn't want to forget anything and have to walk back) but very pleasant. Cycle paths up and down the Vendee coast for miles each way. I would recommend this site to anyone and for the first time, would consider returning to the same site 2 years running. The showers were powerful, plenty of hot water and never a queue whatever time of day you go, not bad for August. The shower blocks could do with new fittings, but they work fine and were always clean. Go and enjoy it!!!

Just returned early from our first and last visit to Les Amiaux. Should have stayed two weeks but only lasted one.

Very, very unhelpful in reception. Barely any English spoken and extremely overpriced in bar and restaurant. Wifi advertised, but conveniently only in the bar, where I was advised to buy drinks or put away my laptop! My family had been drinking in there nearly every day. Wouldn’t let us use their printer to print documents and sent us to St Hilair de Riez to use a printer in Tourist Info....surprise, surprise they didn’t speak English either!

Our caravan was also very close to another one containing four kids, who were allowed to jump on their beds until 1 a.m. in the morning. My Daughter, aged 16 yrs was bored stiff and actually asked to go home early.

Oh, and we arrived there off the Ryanair flight which only saw us arriving at the site at 10.55. By the time we found someone at reception, as it was closed by then, they informed us that they closed the barriers at 11 pm every night and we had to carry all our cases and bags through the site. Then we were stopped by security and we had to try to convince them who we were before they would let us get in. No offer of help there either....

My Husband calls it A PRISON CAMP.

Just returned from Les Amiaux, not the best of sites, our caravan was located in quite a shady position, the tracks around were very narrow just enough space to get your car around. The water pressure was poor, the toilets did not have any toilet rolls, the small outdoor pool with slides looked manky, though this was due to the colour of the paint in the pool itself, the indoor pool was ok but had a thin line of green scum around it as though it had not been cleaned properly, the bar and club were too small for the size of the site and amount of people there, the drinks were overpriced. The highlight was the sports programme where football, boules, basketball, table tennis and tennis were available and run by a very polite friendly member of the staff. What was worst of all was the ignorance and arrogance of the site manager who ignored our pleas for help when the electric tripped in our caravan we had to get a private caravan owner to help us. We were then informed that the manager fully understood English but did not talk to anyone and was not very helpful and were we to upset him he would have us removed from the site. Will definitely not be going back to this site!

Just returned from this campsite. I wanted to review this site as I always read reviews before booking or going on holiday. I hope this will help others.

I will try to be as honest as possible. We went to France last year to a Siblu campsite and were very impressed and wanted to go back, though it was very expensive. This year we did not think we could afford to go to France but I found this site for £1,000 less than last year. It was really cheap. When we arrived it did look at bit shabby compared to last year. The pool area needed smarting up. On the plus side it is near a lovely pine forest beach. It has two pool areas. The caravan we stayed in was fine. There's plenty to do in the area.

On the downside there were no lifeguards, we did not see any evening entertainment. Not much to do on site and near to the road.

But for the money we paid it was great and we had a good time. Holidays are what you make them!

I spent an excellent holiday at Les Amiaux.

I had a large pitch, quite sunny. It was close to the toilet block, but not really noisy. There are numerous pitches for tents and caravans, and the site is not a mobile home park.

The site has a recent covered pool, with slides that really kept my kids amused. I didn't use the bar or the restaurant, so I can't comment on them.

As the weather was grey, we only went to the beach on three afternoons, but on the other hand, we often went for walks in the forest. We also explored the surroundings by bike, with cycle routes passing right by the site.

The staff were welcoming and helpful, with a special mention for the young lady activity leader in charge of the little children.

This is a campsite I would recommend to families.

We stayed here for one night and should have stayed for seven, that's how appealing the camp site is. Toilets and showers very dirty, but hey it's 'High Season' in the Vendee and there's also NO toilet paper in the toilets. NO plugs in wash basins and lukewarm water to wash in. But hey it's 'High Season' in the Vendee! No one seemed to give a damn about the grass on the pitches or the general tidyness of the place. And lucky us our pitch was next to the 'dog turd tree' were everyones dog came and did what they do best! We had disco noise from this camp site plus the one next door, and also from 4 cars on site with their stereos on full blast. The place just kept getting better and better! I had my bike stolen overnight, so we decided we had had enough, and moved back to civilisation in the Loire.

We spent 10 days on this site in the maxi tent, taking 4 children aged 8,7,3 and 1 and had a lovely holiday. Like many, we read reviews and noted some of the criticisms many of which we feel are unfounded. Yes we agree the pool is not great, a little too deep and grotty (my daughter asked why people were swimming in the pond!) and there were no lifeguards. However, the beach was 5 mins away and fantastic. In fact all the beaches are great particularly Les Mouettes which is about 5 miles away or St John de Monts which is 5 mins away by car. If you are after fab nightlife then you will be disappointed but then again Spain is probably more your thing. We were happy to be able to have all the kids settled by 10.30 and sit outside. The toilets and showers were fine (it was something we were apprehensive about) and there are so many available some are hardly used. They are also cleaned twice a day. The pitches are great although I can maybe see where some of the critics on this site went wrong. Generally Canvass have the best pitches on the site reserved for them so if you decide to cut costs and go direct to the site you will inevitably end up nearer the main road and the main complex which will be noisier. The only noise we heard came from a neighbouring campsite about a mile away. The weather was good despite it apparently being the worst summer in memory - we still got at least 6 days on the beach and only one day when it poured. Some places to visit if you are thinking of coming here - La Rochelle is beautiful and about 90 mins drive south. St Jean De Monts has a fantastic promenade with loads going on and loads of restaurants and you won't see a better sunset believe me. We are well and truly hooked and will be looking to return to the same place next year albeit via a different port than Calais as the 400 mile or so drive was draining despite being broken up with a stay in a B&B. In a nutshell, if you want a more English resort with more English food then go towards St Gilles. If you want a more French experience then I would recommend St Jean de Monts but with regular visits to Notre Dame de Monts to sample a few waffles and Crepes not to mention mussels and chips!

My family and I booked this site last year July 2007 for 2 weeks, we have a tourer, we loved the site and ate going back in August this year 2008. The toilets close to the shop are not very modern but there is a new block down the road that are fab and clean and it is I have to say the French who leave the toilets in a smelly state......

My kids loved the pools and the site is lovely. The staff are great and will do anything to help.

Myself and my family have just returned from our first camping holiday at this campsite. We also went with another couple and their 3 kids. We were delighted when their caravan was right next door to ours. As we had five kids ranging from 2 years to 10 years old between us we were hoping for plenty for them to do. This campsite did not disappoint. The pools were really clean and there was always a lifeguard, a kids club and kids disco and entertainment at night in the bar. The takeaway was a godsend. We had a fantastic time and will definitely be going back next year.

We have just returned from this site (June 08) and found the site to be ok but not what we expected. We arrived after some 18 hours of travelling to find the office shut and had to wait at least one hour before it opened to be booked in.

When you have been travelling some 18 hours you just want to get set up as you are tired. (Touring caravan).

We went as a family 2 boys age 9 and 7 and me and my husband. The site had a few amenities basket ball, very small playground for toddlers, and a small golf course.

It also had water slides which where brilliant but could be very dangerous, as my boys kept on cutting there toes and feet on them.

There was no life guard, which to be fair was a worry when you are watching your children but there are children there without there parents and they are just coming straight down the slides after you, nearly drowning you.

The pub was very over priced app £5.00 a pint etc but the staff were friendly although at the prices we did not spend a lot of time there. There did seem to be a bit of entertainment but again not what we expected.

The toilets are very old and unpredictable (cold most days) but they where clear although a simple thing like toilet roll was not to be.

The site stated they had a kids club which they did but only if you booked with canvas or freedom and if you never well you couldn't go to them.

The site is in a good position and within easy walking distance to the beach and we where very lucky as the weather was fantastic.

The office stated english speaking but a simply thing like the electricity tripping on the pitch proved very difficult.

We paid more for taking our own caravan and after speaking to others we could have hired one at a fraction of the cost from freedom including all ferrys etc, so if I was to go again I would hire one and save myself some £500 as it cost such a lot with diesel etc.

Overall I would rate this site 5/10 but cannot believe that the caravan and camping club gave it great reviews as it was nothing like what they stated.

Several of the reviews I've read on this page are beyond belief, and written no doubt when in a bad mood - wasn't what we expected because it had rained - the office was closed etc after our 18 hour journey. For God's sake! Of course the office would be closed!

All offices in these sites close at 6 or 7 pm at the latest and it is entirely up to the traveller to make sure they arrive when the office is open. The barrier closes at 11pm prompt in line with French law.

We have been to this site 4 times now and find it ideal, clean and well run. If you want a nearby beach then it's just over 1/2 mile away.

We aim to stay at les Amiaux again in July 2010

I've just returned from spending 3 weeks on this site with our own caravan and thankfully my experience is very much better than Christine's above. I was on the opposite side of the site to where Christine's pitch was and as she said, the pitches there are grassy and well spaced. Also, as it's clearly the newer side of the park, its got less tall trees and more direct sunlight gets in etc. The swimming pools were excellent, the kids really enjoyed them and with a very safe cycling route both to St Jean de Monts and Notre Dame de Monts and along the seafront in St Jean De Monts, we were able to leave the car at home most days. There's a lot to do in the area...we came home planning where we would go next year and fully intend to return to this campsite. We found it to be very well maintained, toilet facilities plentiful and in good repair. Water and electricity (both UK and continental connections) on each pitch etc. Excellent bar/restaurant on site together with a shop and take-away. Overall, definitely top class and will return again.

Hi,

my family and I have continuously returned to this campsite for the past four years and we find it absolutely fabulous. There is plenty for children and for the older young adult the pools keep them occupied, also the people in reception are always most helpful and the site itself is beautiful.

We have made friends there every year especially with the dutch and this year our friends are coming there with us!!! so what more can I say-- except I am looking forward to going back there again in July 2008.

We arrived at Camping Les Amiaux after a perfect week in the Loire at Parc de Fierbois. We were looking forward to a relaxing beach holiday on a top class campsite.

We arrived at the site and it looked totally depressing although to be fair it had been raining - bit of a shock as we had been boiling in the Loire and had been told the Vendee had a sun-sure micro-climate.

We were put off by the traffic jam outside the site and the road which had loads of campsites one after the other on both sides of the road as we approached and they all looked old and tired.

We were travelling with Canvas holidays to one of their tents - when we saw the pitch we were allocated I almost cried - it was small, dusty and really dark due to the trees. I went to the toilets and they were dirty, smelly, 2 were locked and 1 had a broken loo seat, with no loo roll unlike the previous site. Not a good start.

We then decided to get a pizza as we were tired after the drive - the takeaway took over 1hr (I am not exaggerating) to deliver up 3 pizzas!

We put the children to bed and settled down to a well earned glass of wine - then we realised that all we could hear was the traffic from a road, we went to bed and we could hear every word said in the static caravan that was sited less than 1ft from our tent, and the bass from the entertainment on the site next door, and then the stomping up and down as people walked about in the static.

The people next door finally stopped moving around 12.30am, the noise from the site next door quietened at about 1am, the road at about 2am - but it started again with big lorries at about 5.30am!

We tried to get moved on the site or to another site but we couldn't so we had to stick it out - it got better after I bought some ear plugs, but I could still hear the road noise. This was the road at the back of the site between the beach and the site - not the main road that runs right through the middle of the site.

It has to be said the indoor pool was nice, although my son and several other people cut their feet on it, and the slides even in the newer pool were rubbish and both outdoor pools needed a refurb.

The toilets never improved - to be fair to the campsite I think we were sharing with some very manky people, often you would go in and find faeces on the seats! I complained to the Canvas rep and the campsite but nothing happened.

No way would I go back again - and it has convinced us to take out own tent this year so that if we don't like somewhere we can vote with our feet.

In its defence the pitches on the other side of the main road towards the front of the site were grassy and well spaced - there was more road noise but because it was constant (the road outside the site is nose to tail traffic jam most of the time) it was somehow less intrusive.

There was very little evening entertainment to speak of and the play areas were useless for kids over 4.

However, if you just want a base with an indoor pool near to the beach then I guess it was OK. For us it was just a huge letdown compared to the other sites we have visited with Canvas.