Belambra Port Camargue, Les Salins

The location is outstanding, and it's great to have a large enough parking lot. The kids' program is excellent, the staff looking after them are amazing, and the pools are nice with enough umbrellas. Those things give us peace of mind, and the kids love the program, so we'll probably come back. Still, at over €350 a night, I feel ripped off. Housekeeping comes only once a week, didn't even make the bed, and left sand in the room. I'd like the option of fresh towels each day, or at least a quick bed-making. I'm not asking for a deep clean. I also expected pool towels in a 5B. Flaine provides them. The rooms are quite small for this price, even for our family of four, two adults, a 6-year-old, and a 20-month-old. The bunk bed is in the corridor, and you have to open the corridor to get them air conditioning. It's manageable, though. At this high-occupancy time, the restaurant is a warzone. With kids it's very hard to enjoy a meal, though honestly with our two boys we're part of the problem, and we kind of expected it. Also, the coffee is insulting at this price. Please stop using machines with powdered milk. The grounds need more attention. Someone should pick up the rubbish people leave, especially around the pool, and clear plates from the bar. The seagulls enjoy stopping by for a snack, though. At €200-300 a night, with better housekeeping, I'd rate it 4-5 stars. As it is, I can't shake the feeling that we've been ripped off.

The local area is fantastic, with lots of activities for kids and shallow water at the beach. The pools are great too. There's an evening catamaran dinner cruise a 10-minute walk away. A nice new place, opened in 2022. All good.

The pools are clean and nice, and the changing rooms are tidy. The restaurant is neat and still fairly new, though all the foot traffic is already wearing it down. The sports facilities are good, but I doubt 90% of guests will use them. The playground is great for its intended age group, though it may be too advanced and short for a lot of kids. A traditional climbing frame with a slide and swings might suit them better than something so focused on being healthy and challenging. The first night, we ate at the restaurant. It seemed good value, with a nice layout and decent starters, mains, and desserts, though nothing special overall. The chilled water and wine on tap were a plus, but the quality wasn't great, which I guess is what you'd expect from buffet wine. The clientele felt like "God's waiting room". We seemed to be the only ones under 45, though with the school holidays over, maybe that was to be expected. Dessert was the highlight, especially the delicious tiramisu and sorbets. The arm-band system is ridiculous. I'm sure there's a reason for it, but after three days I had to cut mine off. You can't remove or replace it, and it's restrictive. It makes you feel sorted into classes, which you are, and it doesn't feel good to be treated as worth less than other people. It didn't seem to be enforced anyway, so I threw it away. Our room had a kitchenette, dishwasher, fridge, toaster, and microwave, but no tea towels, soap, washing-up liquid, dishwasher tablets, sponge, or scourer. Using the kitchen was a regret. The pull-out bed was comfortable enough, and the plugs, switches, and USB sockets everywhere were a bonus. But the bathroom looked rushed, and there were no shower or toilet supplies. We got just one roll of toilet paper for three people over five nights, which was ridiculous. Like others have said in reviews, we went shopping for our own supplies. This doesn't meet even a three-star hotel standard right now. The lower main room with the pull-out bed is the only one with air conditioning. My wife and son slept downstairs, while I was up the dangerously steep, narrow stairs in a sauna. There are four single beds upstairs, including two bunks, but with no cooling and mosquitoes everywhere, the fan was the best I could do to keep cool quietly. The sheets were stained and didn't fit. There was no top sheet, duvet cover, or pillowcase provided. Without protective covers, I couldn't help wondering how clean the bed, linen, and pillows were. The grounds are untidy and unfinished, though I can see they're making an effort. I feel sorry for the staff pulling months of weeds from gardens that seem to have been neglected for months. There's no grass apart from a small strip next to it. The grey buildings and overgrown weeds make the place bland, drab, and kind of sad. Some fountains, little ornaments, and more color would help. This place has a lot of promise, but it seems they rushed to open and then eased off, and overall it's disappointing. I might come back in five years or so to see if things have improved, because there's plenty of room for improvement. The mosquitoes are another thing, but since they're already mentioned in other reviews, just bring repellent if you're coming.

A beautiful water screen in the pool by @ow__project.