Les Sables Holiday Park

We had a fantastic time. The site is well positioned for a wide range of activities. The Reps were really helpful and friendly. We would definitely come again

The site was good, with lots to entertain the children. The Couriers were great and couldn't of been more helpful. It was a shame the weather was unsettled on times but it was a good excuse to explore the area. We would holiday with Carisma again.

2 readers found this review helpful

We stayed at the Les Sable Holiday Park in August 2011 with our two children aged 2 and 6. We have recently written to Carisma to make the following points:
- There were not enough couriers to service all the new arrivals, accommodation keys were left unattended and unsecure in the courier caravan while new arrivals waited around.
- On arrival the accommodation was dirty. The floor of the caravan was filthy and old food was found under the dining table.
- On cooking our first meal we discovered the previous occupants meal still on the saucepan lid.
- The loo brush was disgusting and made the loo smell like a urinal and we had to ask for this to be replaced.
- The beach did have access from the site but it was not as exclusive as we were led to believe or very family friendly. Our children were disappointed and struggled to make sandcastles with the gravel-like beach.
- The pool was cold we and we would be very surprised if it was heated at all.
- The site entertainment was so loud that we could hear every word of the lyrics and commentary until midnight. We were not placed right next to the main building and we could see no justification for the volume remaining so loud.
Overall we feel let down by the quality of the accommodation, service and facilities as compared to that promised in their online brochure and excellent marketing. Also beware that the accomodation is not at all spacious in the bed rooms and there is no storage in the bunk bed room of the three bed deluxe. It was certainly not the quality we expect for the price we paid for the holiday.

The website advertising is misleading. It says 'Heated pools' and 'Step out of your mobile home straight onto a glorious sandy beach on this island paradise surrounded by sand dunes, forest & sea, only a water taxi ride from vibrant Les Sables.'
We've just complained to Carisma and here is the main details of the complaint.
We did not receive the holiday that we expected due to false advertising on the Carisma website.
We expected that there would be a sandy beach, suitable for swimming, within a few minutes walk of the campsite. Contrary to the description above given on the website, we could not step out of our mobile home onto a glorious sandy beach. What we found was
1. One beach outside the campsite that was gravel rather than sand with a sign indicating it was too dangerous to swim in - as testified by the abundance of rocks.
2. To the right of the above beach another beach, again gravel, with slightly fewer rocks but with very large waves, i.e. around 8-9 foot, and totally unsuitable for children.
3 A sandy beach an alleged 10 minutes walk away. This was actually a 30 minute walk without all the paraphernalia required for a day at the beach with two young children. In practice we had to drive there and go early to get a parking space. This beach was under lifeguard control and the safe swimming area lay between two flags, initially fifty metres apart (outside the flags was rocky and dangerous), and the lifeguard controlled the separation of the two flags. The safe swimming area became smaller and smaller, due to the risk of being forced onto rocks, and at one point the gap between the flags (i.e. the safe area) was a couple of meters and everyone crowded into this area.
You will also see that the Les Sables website claims that the pools are heated. My partner was looking forward to swimming in the heated pool. However the pool was not heated and much too cold for her to swim in.

We (young family 3 children, mum and dad) have been to this campsite with Carisma 3 times. Cannot fault it. Yes beach is not safe for swimming but great for its rock pools and fishing with nets. My son who is now 6 and daughters, aged 8 love it! There is a much safer beach about 15 minutes walk away.Go out the main gate and take the cycle path to the right. You will eventually find a life guarded beach. The rocks form a natural sea pool. Really safe. Easy to cycle to , aswell. Les Sables beach is also glorious- a huge wide bay. The campsite is great for children - friendly people and the couriers fantastic. Didn't think the caravans were too close together at all! Caravans we have stayed in have been practically brand new and compared to Eurocamp/key camp, much better laid out.
We are trying their Biscarosse campsite this year and here's hoping its as good!
Katy Higgins

3 readers found this review helpful

I have just booked my 11th holiday with Carisma going back to my favourite site at Les Sables. I’ve been reading the comments above and am very confused- one person says you can’t swim in the sea and another person says they did swim in the sea.
It is quite true when you go down to the beach from the campsite gate that if you go to the beach on the left there is a sign saying that swimming is forbidden the reason for this and you look on Google earth is very clear that there are loads of rocks just beneath the water and this is why swimming is forbidden. If you go to the beach on the right there are no rocks just sand. As with the majority of beaches on the west coast of France you have the big waves so you have to be sensible as to when you go swimming because there isn’t a life guard but that is what makes the beach so special as you don’t have thousands of people on the beach along with the arcades and trampolines it’s beautiful and uncommercialised. One of the best things about Les Sables is the town. There are so many things to do there and every time I go there I find new things to do and enjoy. The seafood restaurants are amazing; can’t wait until August.

1 reader found this review helpful

We booked based on the Carisma brochure where the implication is that the site is special with stunning views of the sea - only if you have a telescope or X-Ray vision. Peaceful tranquillity it is not - mobiles crammed in like sardines in a can, a crowded extremely cold and very small pool (not a complex - 1 not 2 if you don't count the pool into which the 2 small slides end up or the baby pool which is part of the bigger one anyway) and blaring entertainment from the bar if your mobile is placed nearby. As for the 2 sandy beaches, they must be referring to one other than the closest which is gritty and not safe for swimming (there is a sign warning about rocks and currents) but there is a sandy life-guarded beach reasonably closeby. The (small) beds in the mobiles are quite the worst I have ever experienced and I ended up with severe back pain for much of the holiday (very pronounced springs). The weather was reasonable but the wind was a problem both when getting out of the pool and in the evenings when we had to wrap up in blankets for the barbecues as our mobile decking caught the full thrust of the wind. Les Sables is, however, delightful and there were some good activities put on by Carisma (though not daily as advertised) e.g. beach party, paintballing, bowling, canoeing.

1 reader found this review helpful

I agree with the previous review , we booked this resort because it was on the beach, there was no mentiom that the beach was not safe for swimming. This is because there are no life guards and also rocks. The sea can have huge waves which i have to say my teenage boys loved but we did keep a very close eye on them and they only went up to waist level and so did most adults.We actually liked the beach location, but to be frank we found the campsite quite loud especially at night (our caravan was on a main walk way) our friends boy all so had his bike taken. His father recognising the bike the folowing morning, with another child riding it! ,the parents not r being bothered that the boy had taken it!
I would not return to this site but realy liked their site at Biscarosse much quieter and safe swimming at the lake!

3 readers found this review helpful

This was our 5th holday on this site with Carisma, so we obviously like it a lot - in fact we love it and will probably go for 3 weeks next year instead of 2. The standard of the accomodation is great, the site is well run, the Carisma couriers are there to help if/when you need them - and they run a great cheese and wine evening each Tuesday and ensure recent arrivals get to know each other. The site is children and teenager friendly, with lots to do in a safe environment - teenagers dont have to go far outside for 10 pin bowling, canooing, paint-balling etc.
The area has a lot going for it. Vendee weather is usually very good and it does tend to cool down in the evenings - so no problem sleeping. Les Sables is a really nice town and all the restaurants we've tried along the harbour are terrific - and competition keeps the prices reasonable.