Camping Homair - La Pinède — Hotel in Rochefort

We were in La Pinède end of June, beginning of July and had a GREAT time! Don’t listen to others as I read so many reviews before we arrived and had felt nervous but as I quickly found out, there was no need!||The first biggest concern I had was with the Wi-Fi, due to other reviews – we were staying in a ‘3 bed Ultimate’ in the second site on La Pinède approximately in the middle. There were no Wi-Fi issues, streaming was around 30 MB which was ample for us, it was also included for free with our unit . It did mention that only one device was usable at one time but we found that 2-3 were able before we had to remove one to add another. At the pool there was a different Wi-Fi connection that gave 60 minutes for free, I used this once to watch a rugby match and the connection was as at 100 MB (it can be purchased for longer prices attached in image).||The phone signal was also no problem – as we were EU roaming we were able to use the Orange network which gave us a speed of 50 meg – there were no problems with this signal and I did check around the park as I had noticed complaints in other reviews but be assure there are no connection issues to the Orange network. I did notice other network providers in the area but Orange worked 100% for us!||I have to mention the staff, they were so friendly and welcoming. Anais at our check-in was so thorough and helpful, we really appreciated it after a 7 hour drive! Our two youngest went to the kids club (on from 10am-12pm and again from 3pm-5pm)and loved the staff down there - a special mention to Sonia. The staff mostly spoke French but were so helpful as they always tried to speak English when they could – we really appreciated this! It wasn’t until the first week in July the older teenagers club opened and our 12 year old was able to attend, even though he wasn’t really of age to go (14 upwards) they allowed this and the reception staff, on request changed his colour wrist band so he felt included.||On arrival to our unit, we found it spotless and extremely clean - there were no issues here! The fridge was a generous size and just enough room in the freezer. Kitchen is well equipped with plenty of glasses/crockery and cutlery. Our unit did not come with an oven but we decided in advance to bring our Air Fryer and to us it was brilliant to have! The outside bbq was a gas unit with one burner which was perfect for our dinners each night! The rooms were a good size and our room was en suite. We also had a shared bathroom and separate toilet for the kids. Unfortunately, the TV was useless to us as it was French channels only, pity as BBC news or something similar would have been great to have. For the techies out there, I had brought our firestick to log onto a streaming service on the tv but unfortunately the Wi-Fi connection needs a mouse to navigate a webpage to click t&c's which I couldn’t do as I had no mouse! The units are within a forest with high trees, we had some sun in the morning but due to the orientation of our unit we had no sun in the evening, no complaints though as we could see some of the sites had no sun at all! Word of warning, the trees drop sap on the cars so we covered the windscreen and used hand sanitiser to remove.||The site is not within walking distance to any restaurants (except the onsite one) but we could have had dinner in other neighbouring parks, we considered it but decided not to. Unfortunately, the sites restaurant/bar seemed very overpriced, a pint was €6.60 and the cheapest bottle of wine was (for memory) was approximately €20…couldn’t understand this in France! While we were there Ireland were playing South Africa in the Rugby and there was some Euro football games on, it as a pity that there was no effort by the bars to have a ‘happy hour’ or similar to get people in to meet – I thought this was a missed opportunity.||Luna Park is opposite the second site at the park, we couldn’t hear it from our site but I can imagine if you were closer to the entrance you could. It’s a good fun night (reminds me of an outdoor Funderland, if you live in Dublin). Wasn’t expensive either, most rides were €3 each.||BIG RED FLAG HERE!! Under no circumstances are men or boys allowed to wear ‘normal’ togs or swim shorts into the pool area!! I was approached by the lifeguard on entering and was told very nicely that it was ok for today but I would need to buy the tight swim shorts in order to use the pool from tomorrow. They are available in the site shop at a cost of €15. I don’t understand this rule and it made no sense to us but ‘when in Rome’ I suppose. I found the lifeguards extremely friendly and helpful, I also felt that they were very attentive while working and it gave me comfort allowing our kids to use the pools and waterslides. I also thought the staff entertainment at the pool area was very good and they tried very hard, unfortunately if they only used even a little English while entertaining instead of only French it would have encouraged us to participate a little more. But all in all you could see everyone was working very hard to entertain.||The site is within 10 minutes drive of the local town, which was quiet when we were there but id says that was because it was the beginning of the season. There is an Aldi and a Super U around 10 minutes drive from the park, we found the Super U much better for what we needed.||The shop onsite is adequate if not a little more expensive than the supermarkets. I can understand this and didn’t find it a complete rip-off . It is well stocked with bread, beer wine and general cooking ingredients.||All in all, we REALLY enjoyed our experience in La Pinède. I would have no hesitation in coming back or recommending! One piece of advice is that we found the drive from La Rochelle by google maps a little tiring, there was an alternative route by a tolled motorway that is slightly longer but it is the way I would go if I was making the journey again.||I have tried to give the best review for this site as I found so many other reviews unhelpful, I hope this will help others making their decision.||Many thanks to all at La Pinède, we...

Well where do I start? Check in was easy in fact too easy we were told nothing handed a map and a key that was it. No security checks on ourselves I had passports at the ready but not even looked at. We found our Ultimate Mobile Home it was at the edge of the park quite a way from reception. Parking by some of the other guests was extremely inconsiderate we couldn’t get into ours as the next mobile home had 3 cars all parked randomly and partially obstructing our access. I had to ask for a car to be moved so we could get to ours. It wasn’t received very well but hey ho!|First impressions weren’t great the decking was filthy a dirty towel, chairs table thick with dirt. We only had 1 sun bed which was again filthy. The window had water in it so was obscured with damp and had been there a long time|There were flies everywhere and we were infested with moths. We wouldn’t get our clothes out of the cases and kept everything zipped up|The toilets were foul both smelling of stale urine floors weren’t clean either.|I opened a cupboard and was treated to dead bugs which hadn’t been cleaned out. The coffee machine was still full of smelly water we put that in a cupboard as I wouldn’t use it|Behind furniture and radiators the dirt was so thick and a real fire hazard. I don’t think the cleaners actually cleaned if I am honest and the mobile home was just so old they couldn’t be bothered.|There was no toaster no hairdryer the kettle was dangerously as the water poured out from everywhere even pouring it very slowly. I could go on!|The place was old and just unpleasant not Ultimate which we had booked that’s for sure. We did have a dishwasher which worked well unlike the TV. That had 4 French channels and that was it.|The second shower door wouldn’t open we didn’t force it and went to report it to an unfriendly reception girl who really didn’t look like she had any interest in anything. The maintenance man to his credit was there within an hour and was excellent sorted it and was very pleasant.|My husband cut his head on the lethal sharp cupboard edge I also had a facial bruise form the shelves in the on suite the place is just ridiculous|Showers were also lethal just like an ice rink I had to go out and buy a shower slip mat. The on suite shower was a game of Russian roulette do you want to freeze or be scolded? So uncontrollable |My 2 positive points are the internet was excellent and was included in the ultimate package and the bed was comfortable sadly the pillows were not thank goodness we did bring our own!|We found the reception staff very disinterested and not engaging at all we reported the lack of sun beds and the dirty conditions 3 times and nothing was done it was a total waste of time|We didn’t go in the pool as there was no shade the bar was pleasant enough area but staff again not that friendly. We tried a cocktail named Grey Beach and it resemble wet concrete and was like drinking pure sugar it was horrible!|Shop was adequate for bits and bobs takeaway was also fine|Location wise you are a way out from beaches etc and the roads do get congested hate to see what it’s like in the height of summer|There was lack of management here which was obvious by the attitudes of staff and the inconsiderate parking|To top it all our home was next to what I describe as some sort of industrial unit where the noise was horrendous at times. Heavy machinery banging, drills and just went on and on no chance of relaxing sometimes we couldn’t hear each other speak.|La Tremblade is a lovely little town and it’s enjoyable for watching the world go by having a coffee in the square|All in all not a great experience at all and something I would not recommend. |This is a totally honest review...

We spent 11 days at La Pinede at the start of the French summer hols and while we were disappointed with the mobile home, we really liked the site. So we booked an Ultimate mobile home through Eurocamp and the photos did not reflect the mobile home we got. ||On the website, a modern mobile home is shown with recent looking interior and fixtures/fittings. In fact the website states that Ultimate accommodation is the most recent. Not the case. I know from doing lots of French mobile home holidays that the website photos may differ slightly from the reality but we haven't ever been so underwhelmed by our accommodation. It was tired and dated and frankly dirty. It was obvious that the home had had only a superficial clean. ||There was dust/grime in every corner of the floor. The curtains in the living space were filthy and had what looked like mould along the bottom. Then in the 2 bathrooms, the shower attachments couldn't be adjusted and were fixed so high up the cubicle that only someone over 6ft would be able to wash properly. Finally the floor everywhere needed a deep clean. I mopped it myself when we arrived and found it was filthy. It really wasn't the Ultimate mobile home marketed on the website. If I had booked the cheapest accommodation, I would expect a dated and worn decor and furnishings but in an Ultimate I did not and Marvilla and Eurocamp should make sure the description matches the actual accommodation.||That said, we really liked the site. It is set among lovely pine trees and has a really friendly atmosphere,|a good multi sport court for the kids, table tennis and our emplacement was spacious and private. The pools were great and thanks to a very animated "Animation" team, we all had a lot of fun at the pool. The same team provided the evening entertainment and again they were great. We loved the Asterix production and the NRJ disco. ||The snack bar was really handy on days when we didn't want to cook, with pizzas to takeaway and roasted chicken, panini and sweet stuff too. The bar was good especially during the Euros and I enjoyed a good morning coffee there.||The mini market didn't have a lot of choice, but with so many supermarkets in the area, we only used it to buy baguette.||Bike hire on site is a good feature. We took out bikes for 24 hours and didn't regret it, the cycle paths here are so rewarding. ||So in all, la Pinede is a very good site, made better than average by its position amidst the pines its pools and its staff. It is let down by its very dated and dirty Ultimate mobile homes.| |As a comparison, we extended our break and moved to a site just across the road run by a different operator. The Premium accommodation there was exactly as pictured on the website and so we weren't...