Hopesy Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Just had a weekend at the CC site at Crystal palace. It worked out at £17 per night for two adults. I thought this was good value for the location and clean facilities, the wardens were very helpful and informative. It cost £2.20 to get in to central London on the bus. As a compariso nour friends hired a 2 bed apartment walking distance form the Southbank and it cost them £80 per couple per night. Brilliant weekend topped off by seeing Roger Waters perform The Wall at the O2 which had to be the best thing I've seen in 35 years of watching live music :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Hopesy - 2011-05-16 11:28 AM Just had a weekend at the CC site at Crystal palace. It worked out at £17 per night for two adults. I thought this was good value for the location and clean facilities, the wardens were very helpful and informative. It cost £2.20 to get in to central London on the bus. As a compariso nour friends hired a 2 bed apartment walking distance form the Southbank and it cost them £80 per couple per night. Brilliant weekend topped off by seeing Roger Waters perform The Wall at the O2 which had to be the best thing I've seen in 35 years of watching live music :-D Sounds superb! Sorry but this is a chance to do some bragging and name dropping as in the mid eighties we were on a camper van and boating holiday on Lough Derg and the Shannon in Ireland. There was a great pub by the Lough side where there was a live session band everynight made up of who ever turned up and all were welcome to join in. I played guitar most nights for free Guiness. Now here is the name drop. George Harrison had a cottage in the village which he had lent to a certain Mr Waters and the chap (cant remember his name) who was writing songs for Fergal Sharkey. One night they quietly turned up with a couple of mates and joined in the band. It was a darkish room and although there were whisperings of celebrities being present there was little fuss and most of us didnt know who they were anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Catching up with this as we're just back from Egypt - we didn't go in the van funny enough 8-) I can't help wondering whether there may well be some mileage in this, The CC asking onwers to ratchet up their prices. We stayed at one of our favourite CL's recently, a site we have visited since it's opening in 2003. We hadn't stayed there for a while, (by our standards) and were expecting a moderate price increase. Well there was, almost 50%! We were unable to speak with the owner or I would have asked about his reasons for this increase. Another CL we use regularly increased his price by 25%. There are no improvements to either site I might add. I left feedback on the CC's CL website regarding these considerable rises, hopefully if others see such dramatic rises they'll comment on the website too. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelling Tyke Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 Allo M'Lord Thanks for your input, this was the the OP was about... trying to ascertain if there is a general increase in the cost of CS's and if the increase is being "advised" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 LordThornber - 2011-05-16 12:07 PM I can't help wondering whether there may well be some mileage in this, The CC asking onwers to ratchet up their prices. Ditto ;-) ...Your Lordship............this week stayed on two cl's one charging £5 per night and another book price £11................. actual charge £12 8-) .........maybe the second one got phoned twice by mistake *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peedee Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Seems to me its all about supply and demand driven by the increased popularity of caravaning and caravanners looking for cheaper places to stay during harder times and the difficulty of obtaining weekend club site pitches. Another factor might be the rising cost of electricity. I note the MCC CLs and other stopovers are similarly priced! The cost doesn't seem to be making any difference, the CL near where I live is nearly always full and it isn't a cheap one at £15 per night. peedee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopesy Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I don't know if there is a grading system for CL's but there doesn't seem to be. Perhaps there should be a transparrent pricing structure so you know what you're getting, i.e. EHU £?, Hardstanding £?, WC £?, shower £?, Location (view, suroundings) £? At the moment it seems demand is driving price and thats the way with a free market but it does seem haphazard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Hopesy - 2011-05-17 9:16 AM At the moment it seems demand is driving price and thats the way with a free market but it does seem haphazard. I agree Rog. As I said, neither of the 2 CL's visited recently had made any improvments to justify such substantial price increases. Utility costs have risen of course, for us all, but not by those percentages I've just witnessed. One of the CL's as I said has been in existence since 2003 so he's well aware of his profit (if any) margins. So demand/greed or a gentle nudge from the CC? Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I’m not sure I like the idea of grading systems or pricing structures for CL's. I quite like the idea that you don’t know what you’re going to get until you turn up. I don’t like the idea of them having to meet certain standards or criteria such as the CC sites probably do (never stayed on one). I also think its supply and demand and whether or not the CL owners are in it to make a few quid or just to have one as a hobby or to maintain a bit of spare land, a CL with electric, showers etc that’s within walking distance of a beach, pub or an attraction is always going to be more expensive than one with the same facilities but in the middle of nowhere and so it should be. There will be more demand for it. I personally seek out the CL's I think will not be as popular and just like Aires in France they often turn out to be the nicest. I can’t thank our CL owners enough for the effort they make. One guy in the Forest of Dean has a lovely field and its £3.50 a night. He told me he just does it for fun, he isn’t bothered about making any money. I have even stayed on a few with EHU for as little as £6 a night. I actually felt guilty handing over such a small amount. Many in the winter have bent over backwards to provide water and on one or two occasions tow us off! All for next to nothing. If they have to put their charges up in those circumstances so be it and I don’t blame them but I sincerely hope there is no truth in the rumour that the CC is actively encouraging this for their benefit. I also hope that there isn’t a move to improve them with more facilities. Just a field, a tap and a hole in the ground will do nicely thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postnote Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 What a load of TOSH, don’t you happy campers realize that the campsite owners don’t run them for health reasons it’s for profit. And who out there moans at the MH dealers cartel; no one, you look at them as Saints carrying out a valuable service for the public Just listen to me mate Barryd999 he speaks sense, listen and follow his words of wisdom 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Barryd999 - 2011-05-16 9:07 AM I thought the CC advised members not to use Aires. . That's because it's the CARAVAN Club :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 malc d - 2011-05-16 10:23 AM Barryd999 - 2011-05-16 9:07 AM Poppy - 2011-05-16 7:32 AM We enjoy the caravan club sites, I think they are ahead of their times sometimes.Things move on.Once upon a time for instance, in hotels most of us didn't expect private facilities, we do now even in BBs.A lot of private sites had dirty toilet blocks and poor facilities, the CC have raised the bar.Many Dutch and Germans join our clubs if they want to tour Britain.AND they do their excellent continental sites guide, best in the business IMHO and they will print Aires if anyone sends them in. I thought the CC advised members not to use Aires. I met a nervous couple in France on the Aire at Dinan. It was there first time on an Aire and they were worried as they had consulted the CC for advice before they went. According to them they were told not to use Aires as they were dangerous and under no circumstances were they to even think about wild camping in France as they would almost certainly be killed! (lol) Well that isnt exactly how they put it but more or less. Long live the CL network though I say. Been on them for the last two weeks, just wish the flipping weather would improve. As Poppy says, the 'aires' that the clubs advise against are the aires on motorways, especially those that are simply rest areas with no restaurants, filling stations etc. The aires in towns and villages are specifically designed for overnighting in motorhomes and in some cases have the same security as small sites. You know that, I know that, and Poppy knows that. Unfortunately the CC seems NOT to know it. They're on record as arguing, at European level, against ALL off-site overnighting. I can't find the reference offhand, but it was the main reason we left the club some years ago. But of course, as John says, they are the CARAVAN Club, and caravans aren't supposed to use Aires (although things are sometimes quite flexible "over there," thank goodness!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Have booked a night at Caravan Club's Ferry Meadows for end June, so out of interest regarding this thread I thought I would compare the prices. Ferry Meadows (Value season) Adult Pitch For 2 Adults 2007/8 £4.20 £5.10 £13.50 2011 £5.70 £6.15 £17.55 Increase 36% 21% 30% Not sure the CC can justify this level, even allowing for increased electricity prices. >:-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 flicka - 2011-06-06 9:04 PM Have booked a night at Caravan Club's Ferry Meadows for end June, so out of interest regarding this thread I thought I would compare the prices. Ferry Meadows (Value season) Adult Pitch For 2 Adults 2007/8 £4.20 £5.10 £13.50 2011 £5.70 £6.15 £17.55 Increase 36% 21% 30% Not sure the CC can justify this level, even allowing for increased electricity prices. >:-( Hi flicka, The rising cost of electricity costs has been brought up on other forums (possibly on here also) There have been 2 main schools of thought. It was pointed out that it is in fact illegal to resell electricity at a higher price by any kind of company. The conspiracy theorists say that this is why it is included in the site fees to disguise this. The other school of thought is that caravanners and motorhomers now have a lot more electrical equipment on board and that a fixed daily fee is not enough to cover some members excesses. As for me, I have been embroiled in enough arguments lately and I am not a CC member now. Therefore I shall not make any judgement on this issue. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasmineAnders Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I recently had to cancel a few C & CC bookings because of some medical problems. For each of them my £25 depost was refunded as I had cancelled more than 7 days before the booked arrival date. Regarding the CC my son wanted to go to the Burford site over the last Bank Holiday but the computer said that there not any vacancies. He telephone the site and got booked in. Is it possible that the computer does not allocate 100% of the pitches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Momma Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I pre-booked well in advance to go to the Caravan Club site at St. Davids. When I checked the site bookings on their website a few days before going it showed that the site was full from the Saturday through to the Wednesday. We arrived on the Saturday (Bank Holiday Weekend) and had a choice of pitches. Although the site was very busy there were several pitches that were unoccupied throughout the week that we were there. Another case perhaps of advance block bookings but no shows (?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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