An unhappy stay in Grand Fort Phillipe (Camping de la Plage Grand Fort Philippe (France))

Member Name: kirlykird

Product:	Camping de la Plage Grand Fort Philippe (France)
Date:	25/01/09 (190 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sorry, I cannot think of any

Disadvantages: The lost is endless

We came across this campsite during a last minute change to our itinerary during our summer driving holiday. The camp site which we were originally due to stay with had double booked us, leaving us with a dilemma of where to stay and the time approaching to 7pm, this campsite was recommended by them.

*Our arrival*

To reach the campsite, we had o drive through a housing estate, passed an Aldi with barbed wire around it and up towards the campsite which was located next to the sea as promised, however, also next to cooling towers and with a fantastic view of the ferries arriving and leaving Dunkerque. We were not impresses so far!
We arrived here just after 7.30pm, and made a mad dash to the reception area as we were advised that this closed at 8pm. When arriving here the assistant behind the counter had obviously had enough of his day and really appeared to be very disinterested in my request. I was so disappointed with the area and the staff attitude that I did ask how close the nearest campsite was (thinking third time lucky) but apart from our original site that we had just visited, we were looking at quite a drive. As we needed to get our tent up before dark we had no option but to stay here. I was asked if we would like an electronic key for the gate for a deposit of sixty Euros. As I found this pretty steep in price and the fact that we would not be driving out anywhere I declined the offer and was told that if we wanted to go anywhere, the gates were locked at 9pm.
I asked where we should head for our pitch and we were advised to find a space wherever we liked.

*Our stay*

After driving around this very disorganized site we finally found some space in between everyone's randomly placed tents to be able to get our tent up and park our car.
I left my husband to erect the tent with the help of our twins whilst I headed off with our one year old to find a shop where I could purchase some milk. No shop...
I decided to head off to main area of the town to see if there were any shops open in order to get the milk. I did not feel too comfortable in this area, especially having to walk through a housing estate to get to the shops. Sadly, nowhere was open that sold milk and I headed back to the site.
I arrived back at 8.45pm to find that the huge gates had been locked and there was no pedestrian way in!
I could not believe that this campsite actually locked people in at night, this made me even more dubious of the area. Luckily for me, a French lady noticed me standing outside the gates with the baby & came to help. Luckily for me I speak French so was able to communicate and she unlocked the door with her card otherwise I may have been locked out all night.

Eventually, our tent was up and we made some food and it was soon time for bed. We went to use the facilities in the campsite to find that the showers were dirty, the toilets were missing seats and the washing up facilities only had cold water.
We gave up and went to bed where we were kept awake most of the night by the loud noise of music and parties on the campsite. We like music and having fun but not on a family campsite until 4am!

The next morning arrived and we woke up as the sun rose, packed up and were sat in our car by the gates waiting for them to be unlocked at 9am so that we could leave and find somewhere else.

*Would I recommend this site?*

No, I certainly would not recommend this site to anyone, not even for an over night stay. The area was unpleasant , the campsite facilities were not up to standard and as for being locked in, I think that explains it all.

Summary: Not a good base for a family holiday!