L’Île Cariot — Hotel in Fontenay-le-Comte

I thought I scored a cheap and quiet place to camp but oh how I was so wrong.

Now I know the 14th of july is a celebratory date, however I do not think having a band playing till 2am the night before (13th of july) is the way to go.

I liked the fireworks at 11pm which was still a decent time. After that the band began playing REALLY loud, forcing the whole campsight to listen to their music. Not only was the music loud, but it went on till 2am!! I have nothing against music but atleast at a decent time and volume.

I got out of my tent to see if I were the only one who found this annoying, but I definitely was not. Not only me, a tourist, but also french people staying there. Children were even crying cause they couldnt sleep.

Ofcourse I tried to find the owner but they were nowhere in sight and calling wouldnt help either since no one was at the reception to pick up. I tried talking to a band member to atleast get the volume down but she was very rude and said they will not keep it down and they have a permit till 2. Call the cops if I want.

This is super inconsiderate and I didnt even get a heads up from the owner when I checked in for my pitch. If I had known this earlier I wouldve left asap.

I came to this camping for a relaxing and quiet stay away from all the rucus, as others did aswell, however here I am. It is now 1am and I still have one more hour to wait untill the noise and crying children ends. You'd think an owner would think about the clients actually trying to have a decent night's sleep at their camping, but I guess that is not the case since apparently a loud band till 2am is completely fine.

Tip: don't advertise a quiet camping if you are going force the whole camping to listen to a loud band till 2am! Its inconsiderate and false advertisement. Atleast warn people or tell people when they check in so they know what theyre getting themselves into! Maybe something along the lines of "I hired a really loud band to play infront of the camping till 2am, because I dont care about the people trying to get some sleep on my campground". NEVER AGAIN.

In response to the owner's reply: I checked into the camping and you said nothing about music being played really loudly till 2am. The posters in the sanitary would require me to alrdy have checked into your camping to be able to see them, ALSO they were all in french and nowhere stood that it would be till 2am and super loud! All it said is when things would begin and ofcourse being that it was in French I understood nothing on the poster.

Yes, we knocked for a long while and nobody came so ofcourse we walked away and waited in our tents untill the noise was finally over.

Maybe you should take care of the quiet part of your camping and not let a band play till 2am so loudly. Think about the people actually trying to sleep and children aswell.

Also what do you expect me to do when already have checked in and then see the poster (and understood it)? Go back and demand a refund to sleep somewhere else? Because I gladly would have if I knew the music and crying children would go on till 2am!

I wanted a quiet night sleep and all I got was loud music and cryin children till 2. Its super inconsiderate of you to even let it play so loudly when people obviously want a quiet stay at...

My wife and six children and niece (yes, 9 of us children aged 15 -2) stayed here for three and half weeks commencing the middle of July 2021 in our jumbo sized tent and another dome tent on a second pitch. We took two pitches and had a really pleasant time. Obviously being a large family we have to be very careful about our choice of accommodation. I had stayed for one night on the way further south the year previous and was so impressed i decided to just book Cariot for summer 2021. This campsite is very well run, secure and has a friendly and safe atmosphere with no noise or anti social behavior of any kind. It is very well suited to those who wish to experience an almost textbook French campsite from your schooldays. Most of the guests are French and yes speaking French or at least making an effort will enhance your stay and the cultural exchange benefit for both adults and children. My teenage children made friendships that they still maintain and are full throttle now practising their French on Duolingo. The campsite is well located for a stopover for a longer journey south or a long stay. About 40 minutes from multiple high quality beaches and the exhilarating O'Gliss water park is even closer and well worth a visit. More locally though and of huge benefit to us was the ability to stroll from the site to the local shop in the small village complete with bakery,, church and a couple of cafe bars. Another feature i loved about the village itself is that every Tuesday night the locals organise live music and get together to fundraise for local clubs etc. This is a stroll to the campsite if you wish to experience it live which we did. Alternatively you can just sit in the campsite itself and listen to the entertainment from there. It ends around 11pm and is in no way intrusive. Also there is a football pitch complete with goals next to the site which again is free to use and offers an option for those of us wish to kick a ball around with the children. A lovely tennis court is next to the pitch and available to book o bring your racquet if you like tennis. As for the site itself, the heated pool is simple with no waterslides etc but was adequate for us with plenty of space and always clean. It remains open on rainy days too which of course we had during our stay (probably a few more than we would have liked but in general the weather was good). There is an excellent playground with well maintained facilities and plenty of space and additionally a marquee for indoor board games and for teenagers to sit on their mobile phones whilst looking at each other! Well done to the team at L'Ile Cariot who always managed to keep all sanitary areas clean and the showers were always warm without any nuisance tokens required. We hope to return in the coming years repeatedly and I only wish we had discovered this site earlier! So go on choose L'Ile Cariot and have a proper worthwhile...

Liked: The site is small and friendly. The owners are such a pleasure, always available and made everyone feel welcome. The shared facilities are kept very clean throughout the day and topped up with soap & toilet paper.

The pool was a highlight: heated and clean. There are several recliners and parasols. We often had the pool to ourselves or with one or two others if we timed it right.

The grass pitch was shady and the trees maintained well to avoid overhang causing tent damage. We pitched very close to the facilities which was convenient. There is evening entertainment, but as it’s a small site it doesn’t get rowdy - but just worth noting there is a little noise up to 10pm if you are seeking a 24/7 peaceful retreat. During the day the site is very quiet, I finished many novels!

There is a bakery (and small supermarket) a short walk away, perfect for pastries for breakfast and fresh bread. Larger supermarkets are a short drive and La Rochelle is an easy 30-40 minute drive. There are some beautiful parks and villages to visit closer to the site, the location is ideal for unwinding.

We would definitely...