Pros and Cons - Good location, pity the basics are poor
Camping de l'Ill Colmar
First the positives. This is a convenient NH with easy access from A35 Junction 25. At the end of the slip road you can go either left through the town, or right as we did to avoid rush hour traffic. Some road noise is to be expected but this didn’t bother us. Reception was welcoming and helpful and forgiving of our poor French! The refurbished toilet blocks are first class and were being cleaned as we arrived. Washing up area and chemical toilet disposal also fine.
We didn’t use the pool or the eatery so cannot comment on these.
The negatives are the three points repeatedly raised by previous reviewers. Firstly, the only practical source of potable water is the motorhome service point at the site entrance and we were at the far end of this long site. We were told we could get drinking water from the nearby toilet block, but could not get a hose on the taps or get a decent sized container under them. Frustratingly there was a perfectly good tap on the outside wall, but this was locked off, for staff use only we assume. Secondly, there are no drains to take waste water. Distributing this on the ground is fine for a CL but not on a big site with outfits very close together and a significant number of long term residents. Thirdly, the pitch itself. This would have been impossible to access without a mover as the upper road is narrow and lined with trees on the pitch side and a steep bank on the other. The pitching area can best be described as scruffy. The surface was poor, any grass was long gone and replaced by slithery mud. A delivery of hardcore and a shovel would not come amiss! The surrounding grass was long and unkempt so not much sign of regular maintenance. We suggest that it is well worth paying the extra for a ‘Riverside’ pitch on the lower road, as these looked better.
We found all of this just about tolerable for an overnight stop but if you are contemplating a longer stay do consider carefully whether for you the pros outweigh the cons.
We booked this site, despite the mixed reviews, because it is listed in the Club’s Venture Abroad collection, which says ‘we handpick and inspect our sites so that we have 100% confidence in endorsing them for you’. There must be very good reasons for its inclusion but we left feeling that it didn’t do the Club’s reputation or image any favours.
