I entered the reception area to book in at aprrox 15.00 on the 02/08/23. I was greeted by a female member of staff. I told her my name to book in, she then turned and looked out the window and took a look at my van which is a Renault Kangoo Maxi which i have converted myself and includes a side awning. I understand that this is a slightly alternative type of vehicle to say a T5 or larger camper, however it has all the equipment we require to sleep in etc as well as the awning and is more of a micro camper which i use to drive to work. The female member of staff then stated to me that this was not a camper van and was just a small white van and that i could not stay here with that vehicle. I was slightly shocked and stated that it had everything required to camp in. She then started to say that it is just a van and that it needed to have Vents? which i have fitted an air fan. I had requested a hard standing with awing pitch which is appropriate for cars with a roof tent, which i did suggest to the member of staff she replied that i did not have a roof tent, i then asked what's the difference to no reply. As we were talking a Volkswagon T4 entered the park which had no Vents and was only slightly bigger than my van. I then asked why are they allowed in and i am not, again to no answer which indicated to me that there was slight prejudice towards me and my van . The women then demanded to see the rear of my van witnessed by my partner who was sat in the front wondering what on earth was going on. I then opened the rear doors (no Pun intended) to show that i had a sliding bed, electrics and diesel heater all installed in the van. After giving the member of staff a free full tour of my Renault kangoo maxi we then returned to the reception. She stated that the caravan club has strict rules on this type of thing regarding the size of vehicles, i am yet to find these policy's so any direction to these would be of great help. The member of staff continued to go on about the small size of the van and how i should not have booked this pitch or the park. She then said if i were to stay that her big bosses would kick off at her and that they patrol the park but were currently off site. Seeing as the situation was not going to be resolved I asked if i could then have a refund and would then have to seek other accommodation meaning that i would have also missed the Football Game i had purchased tickets for that evening kicking off shortly. The member of staff then said that she could put me in plot 44 which is tucked away and no one could see me parked there such as management. I then entered the park and parked at 44 plot. I don't see how it matters what vehicle i park in the plot as i have still paid the exact same amount of money as someone with a motor home would have done. I booked a hard standing pitch as vehicle are not permitted on the camping field.
Comment from the Community Manager:
Thank you for your review. I have shared this review with the appropriate management team. With regards to your outfit, if you can contact the Club with details and images, we can review and confirm suitability for membership, but based on what you describe it sounds suitable. This is in our guidance and available when signing up for membership.
Vehicles used for accommodation on The Club's Site Network should generally meet the following criteria:
Seats and a table
Sleeping accommodation which may be converted from seats
Cooking facilities
Storage facilities
This equipment should be rigidly fixed to the living compartment; however, the table may be designed to be easily removable. Where these criteria are not met by a given vehicle, it may still be considered acceptable if the following condition is met: The clear intended design and purpose of the vehicle is to provide leisure accommodation use during the course of a recreational holiday.
I hope this helps.
