Camping Homair - Le Chêne Gris — Hotel in Meaux

We just got back from a week here (2 adults, 2 kids - 9 and 12) and I must admit, reading over the multiple one star reviews before we left really had us worried that it was going to be a disaster... I can only review our own experience but it was good.||We arrived slightly late, around 19:40 but thankfully there was still someone at reception who checked us in, and gave us the bedding and towels we had pre-booked.||We stayed in a Comfort XL cabin, which was perfectly clean. One of the two bathrooms had a strong musty smell of stale water, but just closing the door solved that problem. The pool was closed for one and half out of our 7 days, but other than this we had no problems with water (hot or cold) in our cabin at any point. ||The beds aren't the most comfortable, largely due to the plastic covers on the mattresses and pillows but if you've ever been camping, they're much better than most camping beds! The rooms and bathrooms in the cabin are very snug (I had to walk through the doorways sideways) but the kitchen/dining area was easily big enough for all of us to hang out, although we mostly sat out on the decking.||As other people have mentioned, there is no kettle, which was a shame but the kitchen appliances, crockery/cutlery and pots and pans were all decent.||The shop on site isn't huge but still has a great selection of essentials, snacks and drinks. The fresh bread can sell out quite quickly, so don't plan on it always being there. There are also pastries in the morning, behind the counter. ||I just want to make a quick note of the staff on site, as each and every staff member we dealt with could not have been more friendly or helpful. They all spoke excellent English, so we never needed to rely on our terrible French at any point. Our kids didn't want to take part in the entertainment but watching the 'Animation' crew run around the site keeping gangs of kids entertained was great.||We ate in the onsite restaurant twice, the food is totally fine, especially for kids. The first night, we ate later and it was very quiet. The second time, it was much, much busier and the staff were clearly stretched very thin. They were really apologetic and we weren't in any rush but be prepared for a wait if you plan to eat there when it's busy.||There is entertainment every evening and it was lovely to see and hear the kids belting out karaoke and people generally laughing and having a good time. None of the entertainment ran past 10pm and we didn't have any issues with noise during our stay.||We travelled by train from Paris and it was extremely straightforward. For anyone planning to use the train station (which is so close, it's practically inside the site) I would advise purchasing a Navigo card from Gard de L'est or the station near the site and topping it up with a few Metro-Train-RER tickets for your journey's to and from Paris. You tap them on a contactless point on the station at the start of your journey and each €2.50 ticket is valid on any train, tram, metro or funicular (at Montmartre) for a 2 hour period. One word of warning, if you do need to top up your card(s) before heading from the station by the site, don't leave it until the last 10-15 minutes as there can be long queues as there's only a single machine. Also the French do NOT mess around when it comes to people not having a valid ticket...||I would also recommend heading to the nearby town of Coulommiers, especially if you're at a loose end in the afternoon. It's 10 minutes on the train from the campsite, and there's a beautiful, massive park to stroll around and a handful of small shops if you need to pick up any supplies. We had lunch at a small pizza restaurant in town and it was great. The staff spoke limited English but were incredibly friendly.||Ultimately, our stay was exactly what I expected when we first booked. It's a budget place to stay, 50 mins outside of Paris with a good train connection and we spent each day exploring offsite. I will also add that we only used the pool twice in our seven day trip, and even then only for an hour or so max. If you're planning on staying by/in the pool all day than your experience may be very different to ours!||All in all, we had a great time and the staff really...

HONEST REVIEW

I stayed in a luxury Ottawa tent at about total of £40 for all 6 persons per night with a wooden pallet outside the front door to lift me from the mud on entry in Mid August. Bread and Quassionts are reasonable at about £1 each in the camp site shop open from 8am to 8pm. Best to bring your own car as getting anywhere is near impossible without one and humping bags up the hill to the tented area, I'm told it is only 3 hours drive from Dunkirk or Calais. (How about you drive and the wife and kids fly across to Charles DG Airport and pick them up the next day, it's only about an hour away avoiding toll roads. Don't attempt France without pre-programming your sat nav by selecting a land mark on the map and scroll across to where ever you want and save. Main points of interest seem to be Mc Donalds, Paris CDG Airport. Don't hire one though as you will just panic about getting any scratches on it whilst it is in the very cramped parking area. (Individual parking slot if you have a Porto cabin with heater and aircon though for the rich ones of you)

There is one toilet for men and one for women in the tented area although loads more including showers, one washing machine and one drier in the big purpose built block opposite the camping pitches about 6 mins walk away. Always kept very clean though. A breakfast in the restaurant is 3 Euros and consists of a drink, quiescent and butter.

Any problems such as theft is best to get a translation done at the camp site and take it to the police as they all say they can't speak English. Dread to think what would happen if there was an accident, I suppose it would automatically be your fault. Some of the reception staff are good at English and some are not so good, but they are friendly and polite, which is refreshing in France. It would be a great benefit if the Internet was available in the peak weeks as well as in off peak and a printer even if at extra cost so that any problems could be typed out and translated in Google translate, printed and taken to police or who ever needs the information. Or failing that takes a hand held translator device. Most tourist information places are not so good and not well mannered but the locals in the places like the Aldi and the superb supermarket adjacent to both directly opposite side of the road from Mc Donalds in Coulommiers are absolutely pleasant.

Take a lighter with you for the 4-ring burner in the tent (not a cooker) as matches can soon become damp. The nights are bitterly cold so you will need at least one quilt each which you can take or buy from Ikea, which is located about 12 miles from CDG Airport.

In conclusion not as warm as the French Riviera and cold at night, take your own car and quilts. Stay in cabin if you don't want your car scratched. But hey ho, for less than £50 a night for up to 6 persons = less than a fiver each per night is a bargain. It has a swimming pool that is not freezing but not hot, entertainment for the kids, a bar, chip shop, shop and restaurant. So it’s a bargain.

I just want to add that Disney is dated and more burger joints than rides, kids now days don't even know who Mickey Mouse is and expensive at £50 per adult and £48 per child for a vouchers that you have to queue 2 hours for changing into a turnstile ticket and still same queue for cash at 80Euro per child and 88Euro per adult all per day. Take my advice and go to Lego Land near Heathrow then over to Sunny beach in Bulgaria and back to Lego Land using Tesco Vouchers and staying a the nearby Travelodge, sorted. If you still want to go Firefly are the least hassle car hire people. The only thing that keeps Disney profitable is the Arabs and Eastern Europeans who still find it a novelty, even with no 3D or 4D affects or interactive things...

This is a site to be treated purely as a base to explore elsewhere throughout the day, such as Disneyland, which is a 25 min drive away. Also there is a train station right next to the site which has train running to Paris every hour & is quite cheap. The cabins (ours was a 3 bedroom, 1 x double bed & 2 x 2 single beds) are pretty new inside, but very small and very small storage places in them. The shower was the best proportioned room. Good size fridge and freezer, a hob & microwave, no oven. We had a nice veranda & our cabin was on the side of a hill with plenty of space between us & our neighbours. My sister was at the furthest away cabin & they were all very close together and back to back, felt like a bit of a ghetto, but it was also a decent standard of decor inside. The pools are fun pools and suitable for all ages and abilities, but no slides etc. The bar staff were very friendly and laid back, drink prices were fine and you can order snacks there, go to the fish/chips/pizza/burger place & eat at the bar area. Or you can go to the restaurant, which I didnt try. There is the mandatory too much energy member of staff whom keeps the kids activities going & they seemed popular. The biggest downside to the site is the company owners attitude towards it. This campsite is blatantly a cash-cow, stack-em & rack-em. Its run absolutely on the limit of min staffing, provision of additional bits & site maintenance. Down at 5he bottom level where the tents & caravans are, a number of people we spoke to had rats in their tent. We didn't see any up in the cabins, but we did hear a lady make a complaint, to be told in a very blasé fashion that area had a rat infestation.....in a waddya want us to do about it attitude. Another brit we were speaking to at the bar had a similar complaint. They charge very high prices for absolutely everything they can, once you have queued for a millenia to ask for it. And the goods are low quantity eg bedding, kids high chair and cot. The cot is basic, has the world's thinnest mattress and no sheets etc. If when leaving on the final day, you need to leave before 8am, it's 20 euros a cabin to have your inspection/check for staff to attend. If you don't want to clean it to the same high standard you expect to find it in, 50 euros a cabin. Most people expect to clean the place up before they leave, but if its not immaculate, you won't pass the inspection when you are inspected (and looking at the itinerary & the ethos of the camp, we suspected most people won't). Given my review I was surprised myself to give it 3 stars. This is purely because of the proximity to Disney & given the prices of alternatives, its ok, if you go there knowing its not a go there to enjoy the camp facilities, but purely...