Over the past few years, campsites have gone upmarket, and managers don’t hesitate to speak about VIP areas, premium accommodation and pitches, hotel-style services, etc. What are they exactly?
Campsite pitches
Campsite pitches have benefitted from this upmarket drive in open-air hotel services over the past few years. First came the “top-level comfort” pitches with individual access to water and electricity, as well as waste water drainage (dishwater and showers). Some campsites go even further by offering equipment options on the pitch such as garden furniture, a shading device, a barbecue, freeing the camper to carry his own equipment. As an ultimate luxury, some campsites offer bare pitches with a small individual sanitary block with shower, washbasin and toilet.
Accommodation
Rented accommodation has taken the same direction and the range of mobile homes and chalets available has widened, with at the top of the range, what manufacturers call third-generation accommodation. They stand out through their often very high aesthetic appeal, the use of attractive materials, top-of-the-range furniture (leather, etc.) and apparently endless facilities. If you prefer to give your holiday a little taste of adventure and wide open spaces or you want to become Karen Blixen or Ernest Hemingway for as long as your stay lasts, manufacturers have produced “canvas lodges” that are every bit as good in terms of luxury, with top-level furniture, real bathrooms, etc.
A fairly recent trend, top-of-the-range accommodation is now often grouped together in landscaped, pedestrianised "VIP areas" with private car parks. These areas can benefit from VIP services: top-of-the-range outdoor furniture, bicycles for the whole family included in the rental, unlimited high-speed Wi-Fi, television with VOD, private spa, etc. In addition, "hotel services" can be provided, including bed and bathroom linen, beds made on arrival, cleaning at the end of the stay, and board or half-board.
Where can you find these top-of-the-range accommodations?
- CampingFrance offers you a selection of around twenty campsites offering luxury accommodation.
- Les-plus-beaux-campings.com website includes a selection of the very finest campsites in France. Take a look at the campsites with luxury accommodation on offer.
Top-of-the-range wellness area
A wellness area is an increasingly widespread feature in 4- and 5-star campsites. But there are different kinds of wellness areas. Some campsites provide saunas, hamam, spa and a wide range of treatments: massages, waxing, skin care, etc. Others, such as the Mer et Soleil campsite in Cap d’Agde go for the sumptuous, even the pharaonic. The spa has become a business in its own right within the campsite, welcoming not only the campsite's own clientele but also outside customers, sometimes all year round. In addition to the usual facilities (sauna, hammam, spa, gym), there are relaxation rooms where you can spend some time before or after your treatments to "unplug" completely, herbal tea rooms, product lines, etc. In addition, a specialised and professional staff will take care of you.
Gastronomic restaurant
Even if we are now a long way from the simple fried sausage, in most cases, catering on campsites is at best "quality brasserie" with fresh products, "home-made" dishes such as pizzas, etc. Some campsites, however, have opted for gastronomic cuisine by hiring chefs, some of whom are Michelin-starred, and by working only with top-of-the-range products. In addition to the great classics of the genre (pizzas, burgers, salads), which are usually prepared with the little touch that makes them memorable, they have set up a "gastronomic menu". If the restaurant is not necessarily a criterion of choice when choosing a campsite, it is on the other hand... that "je ne sais quoi" that makes you remember your stay and that makes you want to return.
Premium and its +++ services...
The premium offer on a campsite can also be found in other (usually optional) services offered to guests. In the case of a late arrival, some of them can... fill your fridge for the first meal. They can also offer baby-sitting services or even real crèches for the little ones so that you can free up a few hours to think about yourself.
In the field of transport, consider the possibility of the campsite picking up holidaymakers from a station or airport, as well as renting a vehicle from the campsite.