Camping-le-repaire, Thiviers, France

Sorry for typo. It should be 'leased' not least. 

Ray

Ray, if you have friends in the town then of course it’s worth using that campsite,  though I think you will be the one writing a review rather than finding opinions from other Club members.

But the owner who has taken it on will need deep pockets if he is going to match several well financed and well equipped sites within 20 miles of the town. There’s real competition for caravanners in that area, trade is limited to a very short summer season,  and motorhomers will know of the free Aire not far away. He might survive. 

I suspect you may well be right. 

I have since heard from my friend who is going to check it out for me. Although he is not a motorhome or caravaner so may not know what to look for. At least he can give me a general opinion.  I think we were thinking of basing ourselves there for a week but maybe a couple of nights maybe all we go for and also we have looked at a couple about 5 -7 miles out which sound good. Also found out our friends have a cottage in the National Park just to the north so maybe we can link up there. 

cheers

Ray

An answer of sorts. Manzac Ferme is not that far from Thiviers and is a brilliant adults only CL type site. Lovely Brit owners, all necessary facilities, swim in the river or travel a short distance to a couple of lakes. Piegut Pluviers not far away and has the best market in the area. Much more besides. Certainly great for a week.

Thanks very much for that. I have looked at the website.  I have been looking at a few options in the area. I think we specifically wanted any reports on Camping-le-repaire, Thiviers, just because of it's walking distance into town to meet up with friends on an evening. 

cheers

Ray

Recent reviews  from the end of June 2023 on the ACSI website are much better.  Have you read  them?  https://www.eurocampings.co.uk/france/aquitaine/dordogne/thiviers/camping-le-repaire-107467/?reviewSort=date&reviewLocale=&tab=reviews&reviewPage=2

Thanks ValDa,   I hadn't seen this ACSI Euro reviews just the ACSI Camping Card reviews ( link below)  which seem to be more for the Brits. (Plus other various reviews from elsewhere) Certainly some of the Euro reviews are more encouraging but some highlight some of the issues I am aware of. However, the owner who has taken back the management of the site states he has addressed the sanitary issues and some of the other issues identifies. I think we will certainly call in for 2 or 3 days just to catch up with friends living in Thiviers. 

https://www.campingcard.co.uk/france/aquitaine/dordogne/thiviers/camping-le-repaire-107467/

Ray

I think many Brits are a bit squeamish about French toilets.  I've had read reviews by Brits of sanitary facilities complaining that (immaculate) toilets 'Opened outwards, everyone can see you going in, and look at your feet as they pass', and 'You can see the urinals around a corner as you walk across the site'.  And that the toilets have no toilet seats........ the lack of which, according to Jerome the owner of the site, massively improves bacterial counts on his regular testing of the toilets area!

Possibly true but not in our case as long as they are clean.  However, the owner did admit to me that there were problems with things not working properly and maintenance not a good standard. Since he took things back over he has repaired what ever was needed to the toilets etc and also the electric. Improved the WiFi also. 

A new review from this year would be reassuring.

Ray

Update and review after our visit of this campsite.:-

We were visiting friends in Thiviers and so wanted somewhere nearby to stay. This fit the bill but past reviews nearly put us off. In advance I contacted the owner who advised that he had taken back the running of the campsite after leasing the management out and he admitted there had been problems. I was assured that the sanitary facilities were working and that the wifi was in place across the site. he was continuing to carry out work to bring the campsite back up to standard. When we arrived we were told we could choose our pitch before taking the car and caravan through the barrier. It was obvious that there was a lot of on going work going on to cut back trees and hedges as much of that lay in heaps on some of the pitches. Pitches are mainly large but unkept and evidence of heavy machinery tracks on some. Only a few pitches I would say had recently had the grass cut and were acceptable most of the others were over grown. I have to say though during the three nights we stayed there was much tidying up of the site going on with the open spaces and boarders being attended to. There were hard standing pitches we would have preferred but appeared not to have electric points. We eventually opted for a pitch very close to the swimming pool as it had a better outlook and more sun light. It was however in bad shape and areas of the ground looked like it had had longterm ground sheet damage. I later realised that we had chosen a tent pitch. We found the sanitary block next to us to be clean and fully functioning. I could not find however, any where for the chemical waste and had to use a toilet. The second sanitary block was closed for refurbishment. Drinking water taps are few and far between and we ended up using a tap from the washing up area. No issues with the electric our point hd mostly french sockets but there was also a European one. Staff were pleasant enough enough and when we decided to leave a day early a nights refund was no problem. I have just realised though that we were charged 19 Euros a night and not 17 Euros as stated by ACSI. By the way there is a nice walk from the campsite into town that only takes around 15 minutes.