Camping La Palmyre Estanquet

I wanted to give this place more than one star because the staff are amazing, the cabins are new and clean, the grounds are clean and felt secure, and the pool is a decent size with two good slides. The location is excellent too. That's where the good points end for us. The roads are in poor repair, with large potholes and raised cracks from tree roots. Some holes were so bad I wouldn't even drive through them slowly, and the rest of the site is mostly dry dirt and sand. Lighting is also very poor at night, with many lights out. I needed a torch and badly twisted my ankle after stepping in one of those potholes. The restaurant was hit and miss. We had fantastic food once, but the next time our meal was undercooked, so we walked out and didn't return during our two-week stay. The evening entertainment and other camp activities seemed aimed only at French speakers, with no attempt to include the many other nationalities staying there. Events listed on the board often didn't happen at all. We were told when booking that we could use all the other Sandaya facilities in the area, but that wasn't true. A staff member stopped us from entering another park with our young children and was extremely rude and dismissive. Guests from other Sandaya camps can use this site's pool, though, which can make it very busy. I saw two men put eight towels on loungers, then leave for a couple of hours. Paying guests couldn't get beds, and groups of 10-15 teenagers from other parks made the pool less suitable for younger kids. The pool itself is good, but beds can be hard to find. Internet is shockingly poor and costs 15 euro a week or 25 euro for two weeks per device. A family of five staying two weeks would pay 125 euro for basic service. There was no phone or roaming signal inside the camp, so paying for internet felt unavoidable. The signal came back as soon as we left the grounds. The website said four- and five-star cabins included a grill plate, but we were charged 40 euro a week for it. The advertised inclusion was still on the website. Final cleaning now costs 89 euro if you don't do it yourself; they only give you a yard brush, a wet brush and a filthy rag. Sandaya may say the extra charges are listed on its website, but depending on party size and length of stay you can arrive to a bill of over 300 euro, on top of a 300 euro deposit. For a family of five staying two weeks, the charges were 125 for internet, 80 euro for the grill, 89 euro for final cleaning and 45 euro tourist tax. The Les Mathes/La Palmyre area is truly stunning, with loads to see and do. I wouldn't let the camp put you off visiting, but I'd stay somewhere else.

Coming back after 20 years brought back great memories. I stayed here three times as a kid, and it was lovely to see that they'd upgraded what needed it while keeping the same look and feel. I hope it stays that way for the next 20 years. The staff are very helpful, and the site is wonderfully relaxing. There aren't many camping pitches left, which is a shame, but the holiday home options are fantastic. I hope I don't wait another 20 years to return. Highly recommend!

The pool and surrounding area were lovely, and we had a gorgeous holiday. We stayed on a pitch with private sanitary facilities and also spent some time at the bar and other spots. The staff we met were really friendly.

We found the place clean, relaxed and very well looked after. The facilities are great, the staff were excellent, and the site is high quality. I'd happily recommend it.