La Carabasse Reviews

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!

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.