Camping Les Tropiques — Hotel in Perpignan

We travelled with a touring caravan to this site from the UK. We are a family of 4 (children ages 10 and 5).||Site - Well laid out, nice landscaping. Flat pitches which are of good size. We had a fully serviced pitch which was really big, probably enough room for two caravans plus tents and parking. The ground is a mixture of grass and sand which is expected in a hot climate, this can be quite dusty though, especially when people drive on your pitch to get by other vehicles / pedestrians. There were quite a lot of Mosquitos (we were there in Aug) do make sure you have repellant.||Pools - There is a decent size adult pool (1.7m depth) which is refeshing but not too cold. There is a smaller kids pool (1.5m depth) which is heated, on some days it felt like a bath (my son called it the hot tub) this wasnt to my liking but the kids loved it. There are two toddler pools, one with a small slide and water fountain shaped like a mushroom. There are also two slides, 4 person bumpy race slide and a curly one, both really good fun.||There is an issue with sunbeds, but if you are patient you can usually get one. There is an area of astro turf with palm trees which is comfortable to put a towel down on if you cant get a bed. ||The pool toilets can get a bit messy but there is a small footbath at the entrance to try and keep things clean. They are obviously wet and slippery as it is a pool.||There are usually about 3 guards on duty, all seemed friendly and we did not have an issue with swimwear. I think as long as any shorts are above the knee you will be fine. There were people wearing board shorts and the guards didnt seem to mind. I would have trunks as a reserve just in case.||The only negative about the pool for me is that it gets stupid busy, i am not sure that any capacity rules (if there are any) are being adhered to.||They do a foam party in the pool which is really good fun and also do a night swim once a week with music (starts are 2130 hrs) which is great.||Bar / Stage / Restaurant - there is a Cuban bar (beer €5 large) and area in front of the stage. This is quite a nice area with games room for kids. There is a restaurant which looks quite nice, we didnt use it but looked popular. There is also a Pizzeria which does fast food which was reasonable priced and good quality.||Shop - this is quite cheap and stocks all that you would need. Croissants and Baguettes made on site and available. Opens at 8am and shuts in the PM and opens again mid afternoon.||Amenities - Toilet blocks are of a good standard, they do get in a mess but this is due to volume and dirty residents, the site seem to do all that they can to manage this, simple fact is some people are disgusting. There are ample showers and wash facilities. The water can fluctuate from hot to cold on occasions. There are toilet roll dispensers and you are expected to take the sheets you need to do your business, i guess this is to control use and stop people throwing loo rolls down the toilet and making a mess. My only crititism of the toilet blocks which seems to be quite common in this area is that there are no toilet seats, didnt bother me but slightly uncomfortable, my wife saw it as being more of an issue and didnt like it. The toilets are totally communal.||Activities|The animation team seems to make a real effort, there is always something going on. It is all timetabled and the kids club appears popular.||There is a really good play area, this includes 2 x table tennis tables, volley ball court (on hard ground not sand) tennis court, football / basketball area and also a good playpark and bouncy castle. This is where most teenagers congregate in the evenings. There is a spa (we didnt use it) but it seems to have all the things you would expect. There is also an outdoor bodyweight gym which is old and could do with an update / some TLC.||General Area - Its about 600m walk to a nice beach, this is quite stoney at the entry point to the sea, it is not soft sand but the beach is good a clean. There are a few beach bars / restaurants along the beach, some quite expensive though. There are good parking areas (free) which enable you to travel a bit further. We liked the beach area near to the Casa Pardal beach bar. There are water sports etc in this area.||On the walk to the beach there are some fast food places to get food and a restaurant (Miami beach) there are not that many restaurants in the area other than those on other campsites, so if you are looking to eat out its the beach or head for one of the towns.||There is a fantastic activity area which has karting, climbing and zip wire areas, junior jet skis, mini golf, frenzy jump palace and other small fairground type rides. Really good area and value for money we felt. There is also a small fun fair opposite the site with bunjy trampolines, small rides etc.||We took a day trip to Aqualand, this was really good fun, it took us about 30 mins to drive there. This cost €80 to book online for 2 adults / 2 children. There is a good mixture of slides, my 5 year old could do most. ||We also took a trip to Barcelona for the day, 2 hr drive and really worth the visit. Especially to the Camp Nou!! The metro is cheap and easy. We booked parking online.||Noise - There are a number of reviews that make reference to this. It is noisey, there are noisy residents that are not considerate, the entertainment at this site and neighbouring sites does run until about 1am, if this bothers you then this is not the site for you. Most of the time there is noise until around 4am. It didnt bother us as we can sleep through a hurricane but might not be to everyones taste.||Overall we were really happy with our visit and would return but will be heading a bit further south next time to the Spanish coast...

||Firstly, can I state that we have previously stayed at a Yelloh Village resort and were very impressed with the high standard of accommodation and facilities so had no concerns about booking into another one of your resorts.||||On arrival at Les Tropiques, and into the mobile home we were met with a horrible smell which was throughout the whole home. On closer inspection, we realised that it was coming from the fridge. The whole place smelt like vomit due to sour milk that had been spilt in the fridge and had dried up within the fridge. ||I find it astounding that someone from the cleaning team had been in that mobile home and ignored the smell rather than attempting to find out the source and solve the problem and felt this was ok for someone to move in to. ||We then had to go back to reception to ask for someone to clean the fridge. A member of staff did come and clean the fridge which I supervised to ensure it was done thoroughly. Unfortunately, the smell persisted and we felt ill and sick in the morning even though, we had given it a night for the smell to clear. We went to reception the next morning to ask to be moved accommodation. We were told this wasn't possible and that they were prepared to replace the fridge. Therefore 2 members of staff came to move the fridge and it was then we could see why the smell had not dissipated. Underneath the fridge was a tray full of sour milk and congealed mouldy cream. On removal of the fridge, much of it was spilt in the home and on the decking. This was then cleaned with a dirty mop which was already full of sour milk therefore not really solving the problem. We were left and told to keep the windows open.||The smell still persisted and by this point we felt we were spending more time trying to solve problems that should never have happened in the first place. We demanded to speak with management and asked to move into an empty mobile home next to us. We were told this wasn't possible and asked if we were after money! At no point were we looking for compensation other than being able to enjoy our family holiday. ||Eventually, it was agreed that we could move and we were also told that we would be compensated for one night as being asked to move meant during our first full day we had to pack everything up and wait for the new accommodation to be prepared. ||The new mobile home was also problematic and the electric went off on 3 nights leaving us with no power. So fridge was off and AC...

Ok good- beach is 600m away not 400m, but is a nice walk with two cabins selling ice cream etc, plus local produce items (veg/meat/wine..) on the way. Eurocamp staff and facility are great and as expected. Pools are very good with slide choice. Entertaining at night (now that it’s July- less so in June). ||Bad- must wash feet entering pool area- but both my kids slipped and cut themselves on slippery wet concrete in the pool area due to chlorine- mats on the outside area. I said this to the lifeguard but nothing done. Must be awaiting a claim!! ||Oh lifeguards come on duty in July, not June as nobody I guess drowns in June! ||WiFi- supposed to be 30mins every 5 hrs, you get 20mins every 6 hrs per household and it is 1bar at best- just missing the dial up tone. I was told go to McDonald’s by reception for better WiFi (2km away)!||Also barrier issues on the drive in- ‘lovely’ older lady in reception was as grumpy with that as she was with the WiFi- she needs a course on customer service skills and to learn to smile once a year. ||Their year is short yet their slushy/ice cream bar does not open till 4pm, despite I been told 1pm, then at 1, it’s 2pm,then 3.. the siesta is taking the ..., oh hold on I’m in France not Spain- so what’s with the 4pm opening? The bar is open to cool down the adults from the morning but no the kids won’t need ice cream /slushes in the 35oC heat? |So it caters for the young teenagers to twenties. |Talking about the above- some parties in the camp homes to 1:30am, no security about and a number at reception that does not answer calls or texts!|So safety issues for people walking alone in the large complex, and no consequence for parties/noise during the 10pm-7am curfew ||Pool toilets are awful, communal but constantly ‘wet’ and smelly and no toilet paper nor holder, no toilet seats, bad for a man, worse for my children and others. | Lastly kids park is behind new toilet/washing facility (for tents etc) and toilet pipes are leaking into the park. ||I have another week here so guess will uncover...