Pointe St. Gilles Holiday Park

10 readers found this review helpful

Hi i just got back from pointe st gilles on august 1st 2008 and for any of you out there thinking of visiting this site i would say go for it
It is situated in an ideal location with a local beach right on your doorstep and benodet only a 15min stroll along a coastal path
The site itself is spotless so ignore any bad reports you have read about it
There is plenty for the little members of the family to do in and around the site as im sure my 5 y/o daugter would say if she were writing this and she just didnt want to leave even after 2 weeks
The pool complex (since being renovated last winter) is absolutley fantastic and i would go as far as to say that there wont be many better ones in the whole country and more importantly for all of you worried brit men out there you DO NOT have to wear speedos as most people in the pool wear shorts and these are widly accepted In short this is the first holiday of this kind i have been on but it certainly wont be the last and if i had to recommend this place to anyone i would do so without hesitation
There was only 1 downside to this holiday and that was when we had to come home to the rat race in the uk
So if your off out there soon im jealous and i hope you have as good a time as we did

13 readers found this review helpful

Brilliant swimming pool complex, just built this year costing 2 million euro! My 2 girls aged 10 and 13 loved this. Has a lazy river, 2 winding slides, small slide in the dome and small but deep pool, good sized baby pool and good sized outdoor pool. Half of the pools are covered with what can only be described as a huge dome. On good days the doors are rolled back into the dome. No smoking or drinking by the pool and shoes are left in slots at the entrance to the pool - very clean.
The shower blocks are excellent, like individual wet rooms with a sink and plugs for shavers, extremely clean and excellent for showering children when leaving the pool. Also individual cubicles with sinks only. Excellent laundry room, 6-8 euro for the washing machines and dryers.
The grocery shop on site is friendly and sufficient for fresh crossiants and baguettes but locally the Champion supermarket is 5 minutes away by car - cheaper and better variety. There are a few facilities that are connected to the campsite but down a lane eg: zip wire, table tennis tables, archery, tennis courts and football posts all on a huge field, although I would not have felt comfortable letting my children down this lane by themselves. Lively bar with noise until 12.30 ish.
We stayed with Canvas Holidays in a very compact caravan which was not in a very good position. It was clean although the soft furnishings on seating was grubby. Well equipped with gas oven, grill, hob and fridge, pots pans etc. The shower was much too small to shower in and we ended up showering in the shower blocks as they are very clean and roomy. Also had to store our suitcases in the car boot as there is very little space in the Festival Medi. Very close to bar and quite noisy at night. The reps though, were very kind and friendly. We arrived at 10.30 pm on a Sunday night and they gave us their own bread and milk as everywhere was closed!
Benodet is beautiful. A great wee restaurant right on the beach called 'Le Sans Souci' - absolutely fantastic mussels, burgers, steak and ribs. We went 3 times, the waiters speak very good English and are very friendly and a lot of locals go there too. Only a few shops, all very expensive but worth a look. Best icecream with loads of strange flavours and freshly made waffles while you wait are at the 'Casino' cinema right on the centre boulevard in Benodet.
Out of the campsite, walk 5/10 minutes down to the left through some trees and you will find steps down to a little cove. Stunningly beautiful with complete shelter from any wind - you can sit on the shingly beach and watch boats coming and going. We spent a morning here in total peace and tranquility.
Concarneau is 50mins away by car and the fort is definitely worth a visit, walking into the fort, you are faced with a picturesque village street with great shops.
Quimper City is also a definite must - beautiful old buildings and huge cathedral, indoor market with amazing fish, cheeses, olives etc. Dont miss out on the creperies too - savoury or sweet crepes made fresh.
Weather wasnt great and we didnt pack the right clothes although seemed to rain heavy at night and dry but cloudy through the day. Nights were chilly in the caravan and 2 blankets on the beds were not enough to keep me warm.
Definitely loved Benodet but would travel slightly further south next time. Brittany is a beautiful, friendly and very picturesque place.

7 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from a 10 day break at Pointe St. Gilles.
The holiday park was well ran, clean and had excellent facilities.
The shop was well stocked although not open all day, the takeaway was reasonably priced and staff all friendly and helpful.
A bar is located on site with daily entertainment however the drinks are expensive (4.5 euros for a pint of larger).
The accommodation was a 42m2 mobile home and was perfectly clean on arrival and had everything you might need on a self catering holiday.
The facilities were excellent for children, the swimming pool complex was newly renovated with plenty of loungers, the play park was great for toddlers and the beach is literally across the road.
The weather was changeable but generally good and around the early 20's.
The only downside was that France was a lot more expensive than we had experienced in previous trips. The supermarkets, local restaurants and markets were all more expensive than the UK.

10 readers found this review helpful

This site is doninated by the big tour operators (out of 500 ish emplacements Keycamp have 130) and then there are four other companies. I'm guestimating now, but I reckon the tour operators have around 75% of the site (maybe more), and these are predominantly mobile homes. On top of this are the campsites' own mobiles. There are very few independent campers and fewer tents. Despite this, the site still feels like a campsite rather than a holiday park. I think that this is due to the layout and greenery and the fact that you will not walk past/see lots of mobiles. A lot of the pitch sizes are just adequate. If I parked my car on my pitch then I could comfortably seat my family around the outdoor table, but there would be little room to spare. This applies to a lot of pitches. As a result some mobiles are in very close proximity to each other, and as mobiles get ever larger so the pitch size and distance to next door decreases.
That said, this is an excellent site, clean, well run and maintained. Whenever I used the shower block there was always a cleaner working. Good French staff. Excellent new pool complex although I imagine it will be v. crowded in high season. (It was comfortably full when we were there and the site wasn't even half full. If you want a sunbed you'll be struggling to find one). There is no shade available around the pool area.
The site's location can't be beaten, a leisurely 20 min coastal stroll to the Benodet seafront with beach, touristy shops and restaurants, although the main harbour with more shops and restaurants and the bulk of the town is a further 15 min walk. Small beach by campsite with good rockpools. Benodet is clean and respectable and makes a good base. Quimper is a fine place and one can easily spend a day there.
Foodwise, France is expensive, and not helped by the poor exchange rate. It is still reasonably priced to eat out but buying from the supermarkets/markets is expensive. The Carrefour hypermarket in Quimper is cheaper than the Geant. I could write a long list about the basic day-to-day products we have found (much) cheaper in UK so budget accordingly. Apologies if you already know this but the poor exchange rate caught us out. The only supermarket in Benodet is Champion which is good enough for holiday needs. Weatherwise, we had two decent weeks throughout mid June which always makes your reviews more positive!
The only thing I would say the site takes liberties on, are the prices in the shop and bar. I know site shops are expensive but a 10 pack Kronenbourg was double the price of the supermarket. milk 40% more and the bread was poor, we always went to a boulangerie; it was worth the trip out. A 500 ml (pint) of Kronenbourg in the bar was 4.50 euros. Still, don't drink in the bar or buy from the shop, it's a great site.

5 readers found this review helpful

We spent 2 fantastic weeks at Pointe St. Gilles and were fortunate enough to get some beautiful weather which is a miracle really considering the dismal summer we've had this year!
Keycamp staff were friendly and approachable and both the site and our accomodation were spotless. Site is great with shop/bakery, takeaway, bar, pool and play area and kids clubs for the little ones. We went with our 2 boys aged 8 and 5 and they absolutely loved it. There's a small sheltered beach surrounded by pine trees directly opposite and a stroll of 15 mins or so will take you to the main little town of Benodet with its main beach, shops, bars and restaurants or if you're feeling lazy catch the little train which leaves regularly from the site. If you don't want to eat out much there's a local Champion supermarket 5 minutes drive away which has all the basics, or for more choice there are hypermarkets approx 15mins away which are great for stocking up on the cheap plonk!
There is so much to see and do in the surrounding areas and Quimper and Concorneau in particular are well worth a visit. We like the complete freedom you get on this sort of holiday, so if you don't like being told what to do then it'll be right up your street!! You can just spend your days chilled out at the beach and pool or get out and about each day.
Benodet is a beautiful place and also boasts some of the most beautiful sunsets you'll see setting over the bay - all in all, loved it and highly recommend!

3 readers found this review helpful

The best thing about Pointe St. Gilles Holiday Park is the surrounding area which is fantastic, there is so much to see and the beaches are brilliant (if you leave the Benodet area). The Park itself is quite crammed with holiday homes, leaving not much privacy between pitches but we found it clean and well run. Our mobile home was right at the back of the park and it was quite a walk to the pool, shop and reception. However, there is bike hire available!
The swimming pool gets very crowded and the slides are only open in the afternoons which is a shame. The bar was jolly and friendly, offering entertainment every night, should you wish to go. The facilities were clean and new.
There is a lovely coastal walk around the point into Benodet which offers nice restaurants and entertainment on the beach for children. The kids clubs are held off site (approx 200m) but once there they are good and well run, but there are no toilet facilities there for the children so they have to come back to the camp-site.
Overall it is a good place to holiday, but you can't guarantee good weather, we had 10 days of rain on a 14 day holiday.

1 reader found this review helpful

We had a large 3 bedroom caravan with 2 bathrooms for 4 of us, so the caravan facilities were ok, but it had not been cleaned very well - the Keycamp reps do this themselves, and its obviously not their top priority.
Having said that the reps were very helpful when we were there, and the kids club they run was fantastic - all English kids & very much appreciated by my 7 year old grandaughter. We had pretty bad weather, but whenever the sun did shine (or the rain stopped!) the pool got very crowded and sometimes admission was refused as they were full. The pool area itself had seen better days, but apparently will be replaced for 2008.
We didn't need to use the wash-room blocks, but on the odd occasion we did, they were grim - poorly maintained and quite dirty. Luckily we were sited well away from the bar which did get quite rowdy, showing live English football EVERY night - not to everyone's taste.
The park is quite a long way outside Benodet - we like walking but trekking up and down the cinder path got quite tedious. Benodet itself is a delight although its hard to get any benefit from the river due to the poor leisure facilities - only flimsy plastic kayaks that were guaranteed to give you a soaking, or a riverboat trip up the Odet with a very perverse sailing schedule which typically required you to spend around 7 hours trying to amuse yourselves in Quimper.
I think if we return to this area we will probably choose another site next time.

1 reader found this review helpful

We have just returned from Benodet where we stayed for 3 weeks. The camp-site was great; the staff brilliant; the pizza man very polite and helpful; the bar and pool were great.
Benodet is beautiful however, the weather was not so great which was a pity. If you make an attempt to talk to the French in their own language they really appreciate it. We had 2 young children under 3 and they loved it.
The shower blocks and public toilets were extremely clean. I don't know where some of the reviewers are talking about. For any of the men worried about speedos in the pool don't worry it wasn't a rule mentioned.
La Cabine is a lovely restaurant just before you reach the town - get a sweet crepe and a jug of cider.. gorgeous!

I went to Pointe st Giles in September last year, and its a complete dump!
Fair enough it had only two weeks left before it closed for the season, but it was filthy.
In the woman’s toilets there was litter on the floor for the whole time we were there, so their cleaning wasn’t up to much to say the least...urgh.
If they can’t keep it clean "out of season” what must it be like in the summer months as it stank of pee in sept.
The staff, if you could find them, were just going through the motions and regularly gave out duff info about trips / days out, spent two days trying to get to the larger town!
Pizza man (if you could grab him before he had enough usually before 7pm) served burnt Frisbee pizza or nuggets, all served without looking you in the eye once!!
The "pub" is a hole resembling a portakabin with warm draught beer, right next to the main road so everyone can wave at you as their escaping.
I am not a fussy person and both my partner and myself were in the army so have "camped out" before, after all this I’ve said, the area is fantastic and well worth the visit.
Just don’t make the same mistake of putting cheapness before a little style.

Stayed at Pointe St Gilles with our 3 boys, 10, 8 and 4.
Surrounding area is beautiful. We take our own bikes on these holidays but Benodet not very bike friendly, no cycle paths just frosty stares from locals.
Site quite good, pool area good, slides only open in the afternoon, bit of a shame as pool gets really busy. Would be nice to have an early morning swim occasionally.
Good entertainment in the bar, but too busy so could not be bothered with it really.
Biggest moan was with French Life, they rent mobiles from the site. They are quite close to the bar, it was a bit like musical mobiles with new arrivals complaining then moving to another mobile or indeed off the site.
In the brochure it does say a mini oven, but, thought that meant a slightly smaller oven. It is a stupid oven/grill the size of a small microwave. How anybody can expect a family of 5 to survive 2 weeks cooking on that is madness, you do get the four gas rings.
We can not afford to eat out all the time and try to eat as healthily as possible. The fridge was tiny and the freezer part so full if ice it could not be used, no smoke alarm and generally unclean. We were moved to a mobile slightly further from the bar and with a proper fridge freezer, but still the same stupid mini oven.
We will be sticking to Eurocamp/Keycamp in future.