What's your Basil Fawlty campsite/aire?

[SmithsInFrance]

Ours was a municipal site at Chambéry a few years ago, shortly after the introduction of the 35hr week in France. A new couple had taken over, the site was - of course - open 7 days a week, so that meant they could only work 5 hours a day... So, from memory, 3 hours in the morning checking people out, cleaning the facilities, admin etc, then 2 hours in the afternoon (5-7pm) for checking people in.

By the time it got to 5pm there was a huge queue of MHs, cars with caravans and the occasional car with tent. Each one had to be meticulously checked in with a very complicated system, and you HAD to have an allocated pitch. Luckily, we were one of the first (having arrived at 2pm) and it (only!) took about 20 minutes to go through the process, so we were pretty weary and fed up by the time we got to the pitch - only to find there was someone else already on it. We just parked up on the pitch next door and went back to the office and told them, fait accompli.

Friends arrived a little later. They had a tent and were told they absolutely could not have EHU for H&S reasons, the only site we have ever been to where tents were not allowed EHU. I asked if it wouldn't be safer than say a gas cooker/heater/lantern in a tent, but he would not be moved.

I can understand that the couple wanted to work exactly the same hours instead of staggering slightly (work/life balance eh), I can see that the municipality didn't want the expense of extra staff (although they did employ someone part-time in July and August apparently). But it just doesn't work! When I had an amicalbe chat with the guy (though he was pretty stressed out already and this was end May/early June) , his response/justification was "But Madame, in France we have the 35 hour week". Oh. OK.

 

[Tighchris]

City Camp Frankfurt. Great location next to U-Bahn to centre with trains every 2 to 3 minutes. The only camp in town so usually works out at close on €30 per night for what is really just a stelleplatz with a sanitary block. However, on the many occasions I have stayed here the owner has made it all worth while with his rudeness to one and all. It is like going to those pubs where the landlord is so rude that people come to be entertained. If you arrive at 5pm he will send you away until 6pm even though the sign says check in from 5. If you have booked he says he can't find the booking and if you haven't booked he launches into a rant about people not booking even though the site is almost empty. He has sent people away just because they have the temerity to have arrived at his site. You park where he says but it is wrong and you have to move. If you want to stay an hour later he will charge a full night and this on an empty site. It might be "Stockholm" syndrome but I actually quite like him now and can't wait to tell my daughter who I am visiting what his latest attack has been. I particularly like the bemused Germans who think that he is only rude to people who are not German. He is seriously rude to the locals! Read TripAdvisor and Camper Contact for more reviews of his strange behaviour.

 

[rangi]

Haven Burnham on sea.

Complete and utter "gentleman" that spent more time with his hands down the front of his trousers!! was the WARDEN.
We booked in, and he gave us a pitch, it was MUD with a few bits of bark strewn around, we went back and and complained, he reluctantly gave us another pitch.
Across the way there was a family group occupying 3 pitches, that spent all day kicking a bloody football around.
Once again we went to him and asked to be moved, he said no!

I went to reception and asked to see the manager, he was "not available" I said OK! I'll just stay here until he is!" An hour passed and a security joker turned up, "Are you the Manager?" "No!" "Then go away!" "What is your problem sir?" "Are you the manager?" "No" " Then go away!"

Manager finally emerges from his Office (the one with the opaque door!) I explain our problem , he immediately looks over the map of the site and gives us another pitch far away from the footballers, one with Grass!! We move, the Warden comes steaming down to tell us to leave, that pitch is reserved!!!
I tell him to go check with the manager. Nicely!

They have this thing, the usual BS "How was your stay?" We filled it in, and instead of leaving it in the letter box at the wardens shed, that we were supposed to do, we put it in an envelope addressed to the manager "Our new friend"

 

[maison]

A site on the Rhine about 15 years ago.

There was no drive over grey water drain so I spent twenty minutes draining down into a bucket and carrying it the disposal, making several trips.

Just as I finished and was putting away the bucket the owner came across and started about Filthy British who just let their water run onto their pitch. When I looked there were a couple of drips falling from the waste tap spigot. I showed him the bucket but he was having none of it, continuing to rant and rave, eventually saying he would call the Police. I told him to do so but he just stormed off.

We decided to leave so packed up and I went over to the office to pay. He asked me if I had enjoyed my stay.

To make matters even more bizarre his wife, who must have been bed bound, was in a bed just behind the reception desk.

He was of an age to have served in the War and probably reflected it in his attitude.

The unfortunate thing was that, after that experience, we didn’t revisit Germany until last year so missed a lot of beautiful sights.

 

[Rosemary1]

Had to go and read the reviews after all this - no plans to go!!!

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[Dorwyn]

It was a campsite just passed Rouen a few years ago. The underpass at Rouen was closed, we were diverted into Rouen centre at 6pm, and it was absolutely solid, we were stationary for longer than moving, so were well behind schedule. Near Evreux we followed a campsite sign, we were absolutely cream crackered. The campsite was passed its best, uncut grass, no obvious signage, no evident reception. So we were of course 1 hour behind French time. Went to plug in the electric, the pole was bent and rusty and beetlles poured out of the unit as I tried to plug in. Decided to give it a miss. Trains passed right next to the campsite every half hour. At 7am, there was loud knocking at the side of the van, it went around every window and we took a while to realize what was happening. Of course the knocking centralized on the driver's door (being the European passenger side). I sleepily opened the door, there was this very irrate lady demanding our passport. I refused, saying I had no intention of staying another night in this ******* place. Paid her cash there and then, and of course have never been back.

 

[Nasher]

Who is Basil Fawlty and what campsite/aire does he work in?

 

[In a Pickle]

We stayed on a site on the banks of the Ebro river last year for one night which I had pre-booked on PitchUp as it was August. It resembled a gypsy camp, when we parked up there were two blokes cutting the back doors off a transit van! With nothing else available for miles we decided to stay but I don’t think either of us slept well and I think its the first and only time I’ve left a shower block because i would have come out dirtier than when I went in!
The other site which probably qualifies under the heading is also one of our favourites! It’s only an hours drive from home and great for a weekend getaway, it’s called Camping El Cantal at Mojacar. Despite the fact that we are there often we are never acknowledged by the surly owners and when we went down there a couple of weeks ago they have put the price up from 25 euros to 32 euros a night and it is now a minimum of two nights. There were about six other vans there, they don’t seem to understand that if you reduce the price and make people feel welcome they would most likely be very busy. The facilities are old but clean but I’m afraid they’ve priced themselves out of our price range now.