Latest Reviews for Marseille

The ratings above for the resort refer to the town which is only open during the tourist season and is pretty generic along with neighbouring Canet Plage and St. Cyprien - tourist shops and tshirts but nothing genuinely French. For that the nearest town is the older Argeles Ville which can be reached by public transport but closes early.

The campsite itself is spotless especially the toilet/shower blocks. They are the best I have ever experienced and spotlessly clean. The campsite has an excellent supermarket and bakery where the staff are friendly and multi ligual although it helps if you can say a few words in French. They really appreciate it. The entertainment complex is also well above standard and puts on everything from musicals, eg, The Lion King, Caberet, Blues Bros to rock including a Beatles tribute band who were excellent although I personally dont like the Beatles. At the neighbouring campsite L'Hippocampe there is usually alternative entertainment if you don't like what is on at La Sirene and that too was top drawer but avoid the karaoke as the choice is limited in English and it is a bit amateurish in the presentation - I know all the performers are amateurs d'oh!

A word of warning - unbelieveably, the bar terrace at L'Hippocampe is closed about 3 days a week in high season so if you want to avoid Mrs Doubtfire's Bingo at La Sirene, get the excellent trainbus service into Argeles sur Mer. This runs till about midnight 5 times an hour in high season and covers a variety of routes all passing La Sirene. During the day there is the pool where there are regular games for kids and adults incl. water polo and intrducion to scuba diving. On the beach, approx 2 miles whatever the brochures say, there is free windsurfing for clients of La Sirene and L'Hippocampe. There is also excellent horse riding nearby about 100m from the campsite gate and it is very reasonable, about 20 euros for 2 hours and they try to match the horses with the rider's ability. There is also a funfair and go karting just a bit further on.

It is expensive in France compared to Spain. I found that eating out was approx twice as expensive for the equivalent meal. Don't let that put you off though as the local wines are dirt cheap and excellent. How about 10 euros for a 5litre box of wine which would set you back anything up to £5 a bottle in the UK. The only drawback about this site is the bike hire. You get young children cycling about like demented mosquitos and coming at you from all angles while you are trying to avoid driving into pedestrians who won't move over an inch to let you past. Thank goodness for the wine (after the car is parked). Forgot to mention that teenagers are well cared for after the sun goes down, there is a disco and a bar where they congregate and have a great time meeting new friends from all over.

All in all an excellent holiday which I would recommend to anyone who enjoys campsite holidays and also anyone who thinks they would like to try one. A car helps though for getting about although there is a free bus to the beach with multiple trips daily in high season (July- Aug)

This short revue refers only to one aspect of L'Hippocampe campsite. The full revue of the town and the sister campsite is under Camping La Sirene. La Sirene, the larger of the sites and L'Hippocampe share certain aspects of the entertainment programme and clients of both sites have access to all facilities of both. What is NOT mentioned in any brochure is that the attractive terrace bar at L'Hippocampe is CLOSED for 3 days a week even in high season which means that it is either the entertainment at La Sirene or a trip into town. Bear this in mind as the trip into town means a 2 mile drive or use of the public transport, a trainbus of the type found in the Costas. Tickets for this are 2 euros per single journey unless you purchase a boof of tickets at 39 euros for 25.

This holiday was booked independantly but the house was found through the website Frenchholidayhomes. Booking was for 2 weeks. We drove down to the house taking 2 days split by a stop at a Campanile north of Paris.

On arrival we had to go down a long track which was very overgrown with tall grass and long brambles which were scratching the side of the car. As we had a lot of luggage we got out of the car so that the bottom of the car did not hit the raised bed in the middle of the track. We walked up the track and were delighted when we reached the house. It looked beautiful.

It was a little dark when we entered but the kitchen area was nice and modern and after a quick look round all seemed pleasent enough. I went to put the kettle on and noticed that all around the kitchen surfaces and on the cooker top were mouse droppings. On further inspection, while making up the beds we found mice droppings in 2 of the 4 bedrooms. They were also in the utility, en suite and upstairs bathroom. I found them on my quilt when I made up our bed. Not a good start.

Next day we explored the garden. It was in lovely surroundings. Pool was good size and clean. Good recliners by pool but again mice dropping on cushions when I got them out of the utility. There is a lovely terrace at the top of the staircase outside to sit which is under cover. Lighting inside was poor although kitchen area was bright enough. Only one lamp in double and twin bedrooms. There was 2 good sofas and a futon which seamed to collapse when it was sat on. Washer was broken but repaired then broke again. All other appliances in good condition. Windows were filthy, I cleaned then in and out as it spoilt the view. Mouse droppings every morning in kitchen even though we kept all food and waste in sealed containers.

Went home after 1 week as the mice were running round the bedroom while we sat in bed having our morning cuppa. Very disapointed. Owner unhelpful when we complained. Area lovely, Villefranche de Rouerge has fantastic market on Thursdays. Will not be returning to this house though.

Travelled down by vehicle taking by passing the East of Paris with a overnight stop in Lyon.Initially dreading the journey, but roads fantastic.Approx tolls £60.00
This was our 2nd Al Fresco holiday, our 1st being in Spain at Camping Sanguli in 2006 which was fantastic and best holiday we have taken with the kids and because of this, we decided on another and fancied the idea of driving.
Arrived at the campsite which was in the middle of nowhere with marshes and stagnant water pools in adjacent fields to the site.
Entrance was nice, however on driving in it was not a patch on the Spanish site.
Everthing crammed in and no space.
Accommodation was spotless and excellent, but spoilt by being positioned by an old toilet and shower block which was not attractive to look at.

Camp site was untidy and could have done with money spent on it.
Outdoor Swimming pool was fantastic and heated and couldnt keep the kids out of it.
Beach very clean and sea warm and great for kids and couldnt fault.
Apart from the pool and the beach,hardly any play areas for kids except a very small climbing frame for under 3s.
Our biggest letdown of the holiday was the uninvited guests that arrived each night, the squadrons of Mosquitos.
These arrived at 7pm on the dot and bit everthing and everyone.
Even the reps said they had never seen a place with a mosquito problem like this one!.
To make matters worse, the Thomson caravans did not have mosquito nets on the windows, so i advise a bee keepers outfit if you intend to drink on the wooden decking at night or stroll around at night.
Journey back, we took the straight route to Paris and Calais, which was a 12hour in one go jorney and £50 in tolls, again the roads were good.

All in all, the campsite was a let down, so its back to Spain next year.

We had never booked through Keycamp before, we have always travelled with camping life, french freedom and matthews holidays as we have been camping in france a long time. I was impressed with the reservations staff whilst booking, and found them very helpfull.

When we arrived onsite, we were greeted by a fed up looking female rep. She showed us through to our accommodation, which turned out to be the wrong mobile home which we had booked.it did not look like it had been cleaned and it was just as filthy as her attitude. After some heated converstaion (she argued that it was the right mobile home), another rep was sent to us. this time a male rep who was most helpfull and helped get our holiday off to the start that we wanted.

After a tiring start, we headed down to the pool. the pool complex is a reasonable size and the children were very happy with what was on offer there.
The beach is a short walk out of the campsite and is very nice. however i reccomend the beach in st jean de monts for a better day out. There is pretty much everything that you need around the campsite. bars, restaurants, pubs and a laundrette which is better value for money that the machines onsite.
The quality of food in the area is wonderfull and the mussles are a must!

An enjoyable holiday and would definately reccommend the resort, however i wouldn't risk going back with keycamp because of the reps that were there this year.

We had a fantastic holiday at this site with Keycamp and we plan to return in 2007.

We stayed in one of the Keycamp mobile homes and found it to be modern and well presented. The accommodation is cleaned by the reps on site, and ours was spotless when we arrived. You get everything you need from knifes, forks and plates to outside furniture, including sunlongers and a bbq - fantastic!

The site itself was quite lively with a good pool complex. It was also within close walking distance to a lovely beach as well as restaurants/supermarkets etc.

We stayed for one week last year, but we are hoping to stay longer this time as the kids didn't want to leave!

Hope this helps - I would definately recommend Keycamp and Les Genets to anyone with children aged from toddlers to teenagers.

This holiday had pluses and minuses but for me the latter far outweighed the former.

Firstly, and of course we should have realised this, it was far too hot in the S. of F. for a caravan in summer. The mobiles were very tightly packed (compared to Brittany where we had camped 3 times before), and our mobile had very little living space for a 3 bdrm with 5 adult sized people in it. We had been informed that this was a very shady site and not too hot but this was not the case. The campsite is split into a ";quiet side"; ie Charlemagne where we stayed and a lively site, Nouvelle Floride, which is the side nearest the beach. In reality they were both packed and quite noisy, not least because the entertainment people went around in a car with a loud hailer twice a day to relay info about activities...entirely in French. I have reasonable French, but it was just a sqwaking sound twice a day.

The area itself is very blackpoolish, ";holiday"; shops etc. with cheap clothes and gifts. At night it was really busy with some strange characters amoung the holiday makers. Of course the teenagers loved the buzz but it wasn't for me. The keycamp rep told us that the main complaint she got from UK people was that they found the place tacky and there was no denying that.The restaurants in the resort were not great, and also much dearer than those in Agde or Cap d'Agde. There were not many English speaking people on the site, and this is our first holiday ever that we haven't met up with new people so we did feel a bit isolated. There were keycamp and eurocamp people in another part of the site, called the Annex, but it was a bit away from us and none had kids the same ages as ours.

Marseillan town and port are lovely, and well worth a visit, as is Agde and Cap d'Agde. We drove down into Spain one day as far as Port Bou which is lovely.

I could not recommend this site, unless you are someone who likes living in hot cramped conditions and who likes cheap clothes and Neon lights !! The sports facilities, football, table tennis were good, and the beach, though quite full was lovely, but the animation team did not make much effort with English speakers, although they spoke good English, and there was a huge fuss made on the last day because although we had cleaned the caravan thoroughly (per instructions....some holiday)there was a bit of dust on the cooker hood and slight marks (which I subsequently wiped off) on two of the doors.

My advice...book an apartment or a villa with air-con and stay away from Marseillan Plage.

We arrived in the South of France on the 25th August and after staying a night in a hotel near Montpellier, made the 40 minute or so journey to Vias-Plage where we were to find the Siblu site - La Carabasse.

With a wide age range between our 4 children we were hoping the site would offer something for everyone. In fact if it wasn't for the weather we would have been extremely disappointed.

On the first morning we woke to rain which made for a difficult day for all. With no indoor evening entertainment we tried to busy ourselves by driving to Beziers, a nearby town but with little ones who would have liked to have found something to buy to play with - clothes shops and cafes were not very impressive. There was a merry go round in the centre which took up about half an hour before we decided to go back to the site.

Our overall opinion of the site was mixed. There was an outside stage which was ideal for the weather but not great for a party atmosphere and the entertainment was poor with a group of youngsters providing nearly all performances which were often nothing more than simple dance routines to music that you would see in a school performance. Out of the seven nights, there was only a childrens tiger club on three of them which our children were really disappointed about as we have holidayed in England with Haven for years and are used to enthusiastic childrens entertainment nightly. There was a small games/arcade room which was filthy with litter in the corners and not much to do except an air hockey table which our children enjoyed.

The main plus for us was the huge pool area. Once the sun shone from day two, and it really did shine reaching 36 degrees, lounging by the pool was lovely and the children loved the slides and waterchute.

The accomodation was also very good, although we paid for the top grade so would have been disappointed with anything less. Little things were annoying - no electric kettle - boiling a tin kettle on the hob for ten minutes in temperatures of over 30 degrees wasn't pleasant! A blunt can opener, few cooking utensils and cookware, a dirty wooden spoon made some of the simple things difficult. Also, Mum had the job of making up five beds as soon as we arrived as that wasn't done for you - something that is usually included in Haven England with top accomodation.
We asked about the beach access from the site but despite our efforts never did manage to find it. Instead we made the short walk through the parade of shops where we found a lovely beach and clear sea - gorgeous!

That really was how we spent our week, mornings on the beach, afternoons by the pool, evenings sitting outside watching the ameteur entertainment and night times - WIDE AWAKE! Our biggest disappointment was that you could hear music from other sites banging until 2 oclock in the mornings and on one night there was music until after 5 o clock. Our children struggled to sleep and headaches loomed in the mornings. The sun was out by 8 in the morning but we never managed to be out before about 11 oclock! We kept asking at reception and were told there was nothing much that could be done about noise from other sites. I complained one morning to a French lady in reception who told me that we couldn't possibly have heard noise intil 5 oclock. However that morning many guests were talking about it. I had also phoned the site about a month before we left as I had read a review which mentioned the noise. Our seven year old son is autistic and we were worried about how he would cope if his sleep pattern was disturbed too much so I asked to be placed in accomodation where we would not be affected. I was assured the noise wouldn't be a problem.Staff seemed to be in complete denial!

The area of France was lovely. Sandy beaches, blue sky, palm trees and clear sea. The pools were lovely - well manned with lifeguards and clean. The accomodation was very good with patio areas, sun loungers and a much needed fan.

The site was grubby. The entertainment was poor and if the weather was bad would be disasterous. The kids clubs were not well organised - posters were scattered about with events scribbled over them in French and English, difficult to decipher. The staff were not ever so helpful - our son had his 2nd birthday on our holiday. I approached a member of the stage staff and asked if they did anything for childrens birthdays. She told me she would call him when the character came out and bring him onto the stage to sing happy birthday but the character came and went and there was no mention. She mad eye contact with me on numerous occasions that evening and didn't apologise or comment at all. Very disappointing.

The noise was terrible at night time and restricted plans for the next morning.I would return with my family to the area of France but not to La Carabasse - perhaps when it's had a good clean and some energy and organisation injected into the entertaiment programme - oh, and once it's been sound-proofed!

Our stay at the Port Bourgenay Pierre et Vacance resort was for the second week of our 2 week holiday. We were there for the week commencing Saturday 13th August 2005, still the French peak holiday season. We had come from the quieter Ile de Re (gorgeous!) and were a bit worried about finding a resort that felt crowded and overrun. Even though the resort was full, it did not feel that way.

Our fist impression when we arrived on the Saturday evening and joined the queue to get in was that it was like a Florida Disney resort. This was a busy Saturday change over day, but check in was smooth, efficient with friendly English speaking staff.

We stayed in the L'Archipel block that overlooked the port itself. The view from our balcony was great over a green and out to the harbour. The studio was described as suitable for up to 5. My wife and I and 8 year old son felt a bit claustrophobic as the studio was small! As you enter the studio, there was a ";room"; about 7' by 7' where the bunk beds were. On through the hall with storage cupboards, past the bathroom (horrible yellow) and into the kitchen/diner/lounge/bedroom.

Overall the studio was clean, but lacked the ";spit and polished"; look. It did look tired and a bit worn. The brochure did say there were 2 sofa's that were also beds and a pull out bed. Thus making sleeping room for 5 with the bunks. Well, the 2 sofas were against opposite walls and the pull out bed was actually under one of them. So if you want to sleep next to your partner, you will be disappointed in these studios as there is no way to get any of the beds together. So much for the romantic French!

The studio was well equipped with all the usual essentials plus a dishwasher (not husband!). We were surprised by this feature in the previous studio. Irritations in the studio (apart from beds) were:- no shower curtain, short pipe on shower and no where to hang shower head so you could actually stand up and shower! The only way of ventilation was to have either the door to the balcony open or the window at the front in the bunk room. We would not leave this open as it would be easy for someone to climb in at night and do whatever!

The P and V resort itself has all the essential facilities and all the staff are friendly and mainly bi-lingual. The pools were nice BUT you are NOT ALLOWED to eat and drink ANYTHING by the pool area, you have to go to the café deck area! We saw an attendant telling off a French mother for allowing her child to eat a cereal bar! As usual, there are always too few sun beds for the people wanting to use the pools. If you leave your stuff too long while you go to lunch, it will be moved off a sun bed by an attendant!

Parking is hit and miss. There are about 600 units and in the area we were, far too few parking spaces.

We felt the Restaurant by the lake was the best in the immediate vicinity. Hardly traditional French, but a wide range of reasonably priced dishes and of good quality. We were surprised how mediocre most of the other restaurants were around the resort - chips with everything! Fortunately some friends who have a holiday home nearby took us to a rural Auberege restaurant which turned out to be everything you would dream a traditional French restaurant aught to be. Awesome - with menus starting at just 15Euros. They are out there!

The nearby beach is fabulous. The was ample parking but the car park did not fill until after lunch. Seems the French shop in the morning, then lunch then beach. There is a free land train for P and V guests from the resort to the beach. The beach is blue flag and there is a great restaurant on the beach by the car park. Fantastic Skate with butter and caper sauce, potatoes and salad 8.50 Euros. There are other beach hut cafes along the beach as well. There are also toilets by the car park. Beach activities include a surf school and soccer. When the tide is out there are some great rock pools.

Talmont is a really nice town with some nice restaurants, a castle and good supermarkets. The surrounding countryside is pretty and you should go to ";Green Venice"; and hire a boat on the canal.

This holiday has been our first main holiday in France and we really enjoyed it. Even with the few niggles; P and V was very good although I still think £800 ish was a lot for the studio for a week. We rarely return to the same destination more than once, but aside from that, we would go here again.

This is one of Haven's own sites and is run very professionally.The site is quite large but very flat so no problems with anyone with mobility problems.

We had our 5 year old grandson with us and he really enjoyed himself, visiting the Tiger club most days, which runs for two hours in the morning and one and a half hours in the afternoon.
The swimming pool is huge, with a separate toddlers pool as well as a slightly deeper one,it also has a 4 lane waterchute and flume.

Most of the entertainment on the site is provided by the "; Haven Mates,"; a bit cheesy but all the kids seemed to be enjoying themselves.Groups also provided some of the entertainment.

Prices on the site aren't that cheap, 4 euro's 80c for a pint, 2 euro's for a glass of coke.The site was just starting to liven up for the main season when we were there ( 4-17 june) so I would imagine it gets pretty busy at that time.
Plenty to do off site and a lot of it is within walking distance.The beach is a pleasant 5 or 10 minute stroll, passing a few local bars and shops.There is a large supermarket about 5 minutes drive away and Vias town, where they hold a local market every Wednesday, is again about 5 minutes away.

A thoroughly enjoyable holiday, but quite a long drive from the ports.It takes a good 11 hours from Calais with a couple of stops, but the drive down the autoroute is pretty stress free, if a little expensive due to the road tolls.