Les Ranchisses

We stayed for 4 nights en-route to the South. The site is in a beautiful location and has superb facilities. The restaurant served good food and also did takeaways. We loved the beautiful area including the small town of Largentiere which is very close by. We found the service to be friendly and welcoming. The downside to the site is the small pitches, however the location overlooking the small river was lovely. We had pre-notified the length of our caravan but only just managed to get on the pitch and parked on a vacant pitch close by. We had to request that the two pitches on the route out be kept clear if possible otherwise we certainly would not have been able to leave. The sanitary facilities are very clean and well appointed, however the water pressure was poor so the showers were not great. All in all we had a very pleasant stay.

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I spent the night here in our motorhome with our 9 year old whilst following Le Tour de France. It is difficult to rate this site. The location is beautiful, as you would expect in L'Ardche. The staff that we met were generally friendly and helpful. They called us as we were travelling to check whether we were still arriving, which was nice - we were delayed in traffic and looking for somewhere to stop and tell them. The pitches are small by comparison to the other sites we stayed at (7 others on our tour) but the price is higher, so not great in the value stakes. The sanitary facilities were ok in terms of cleanliness, but I'd expect to get a toilet seat at a place that claims to be 5 star - the cold porcelain is normally expected from lower starred establishments. Next time we're in L'Ardeche I'll try somewhere else and hope to get better value.

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A very strange experience and difficult to categorise. On the one hand there is no doubt that Les Ranchisses is one of the best campsites in the Ardeche - really beautiful and almost idyllic in its location. However the owners/managers of the site seem rather to luxuriate in this fact and appear content in the knowledge that their site is over-subscribed and probably always will be no matter how they treat people. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the owners of a site being proud of their service and facilities but when you are treated like a line in a profit and loss statement no amount of beautiful scenery can compensate - or so it was for myself and family. On arrival in 35 degree heat and after two days of travelling we (myself, my wife, two teenage children and a labrador) were given our pitch - in full blazing sun (despite our numerous requests for a shady pitch) . The fact that the site is covered in trees makes it really hard to find a pitch in full sun - but Les Ranchisses managed this. We also expressed our disappointment over the lack of river despite booking a riverside pitch - much to our surprise we were told that we had one! This was akin to being told that a hotel in Birmingham has a sea view. So when we politely complained about these two factors we were told (impolitely) that if we didn't like it we could leave! So things kind of started out bad and then proceeded to get a whole lot worse. Later, having spoken to a receptionist we were told another pitch was available up and until the last evening when we would have to vacate - this was totally acceptable to us but not it seems to the owners when they learned that one of their employees had attempted to use a modicum of common sense and compassion. I had by this stage moved the caravan and started unpacking the awning and all the gear. The owners appeared and asked us to move the van - I declined this offer. We were then offered a (much smaller) riverside pitch that had miraculously become available as well as first choice of any pitch we wished to book for next year! This came as somewhat of a surprise as we had previously been told that guaranteeing a particular pitch was impossible. So, I declined this offer on the basis that my wife informed me that it would be a cold day in hell if we ever came back to Les Ranchisses. The next day there were tantrums and ultimatums on the part of Mr and Mrs Ranchisses. At one point Mr Ranchisse threatened to tow the van off the pitch and his lovely wife stated that "You do not understand - you are only here for two weeks - this is just your holiday, we have to live here!". I suppose with attitudes like this who needs customer service? Just when things seemed to be calming down we were confronted by a camera wielding Mrs Ranchisses intent on taking photos of me and the family. The purpose? So she could inform all her staff to refuse to serve us. Thankfully all the staff ignored her request. So......a bientot? Non.

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We have been to Les Ranchisses many times over the years, and have never been disappointed. Sometimes with our children and grandchildren, and sometimes on our own. Exceptional facilities, excellent restaurant/takeaway. Beautiful surroundings, and many new places to discover every time! Every year there are improvements. This year, it seemed to be one of the few places in France that didn't have rain.....we were there for 3 weeks in September. The owners keep a constant check on everything, nothing seems to escape them. A few more sites could do with a similar daily check! Well done Les Ranchisses!

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We stayed at Les Ranchisses as a family of 4 plus 2 dogs for 4 nights and absolutely loved every minute! From the minute we checked in with a very friendly and English speaking receptionist, our few days started off perfectly. Our pitch was huge but slightly closer to the main road than is ideal but not a major problem for us. The onsite lake with canoes was a firm favourite with the kids and dogs who were able to paddle in the shallow water. The couple of swimming pools for kids were great, the onsite spa was perfect for an afternoon of pampering for mum and the kids entertainment was fabulous with brilliant kids hosts. The restaurant was brilliant within a beautiful setting. The site is second to none and having stayed at 5 different sites during our summer trip to France, this one came out top for onsite facilities. The only negative I would say from our point of view was that as we couldn't use our bikes much to visit the surrounding area as access to the local town was along a stony path but we would definitely visit again - Stunning surroundings, stunning place, loved it

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