Alan Rogers Awards – Results 2013
The Alan Rogers Campsite Awards were launched in 2004 and have proved a great success.
Our awards have a broad scope and before committing to our winners, we carefully consider more than 2,000 campsites featured in our guides, taking into account comments from our site assessors, our head office team and, of course, our readers.
Our award winners come from the four corners of Europe, from Denmark to Slovenia, and this year we are making awards to campsites in 13 different countries. Needless to say, it’s an extremely difficult task to choose our eventual winners, but we believe that we have identified a number of campsites with truly outstanding characteristics.
In each case, we have selected an outright winner, along with two highly commended runners-up. Listed below are full details of each of our award categories and our winners for 2013.
Welcome Award
Welcome Award
This award takes account of sites offering a particularly friendly welcome and maintaining a friendly ambience throughout reader's holidays.
Winner
A really first-class, family-run campsite, ideal for families with children up to 12 years old, with activities on a grand scale. A short distance south of Eindhoven, it's 42 hectares of woodland and has 530 touring pitches (up to 150 sq.m). The pitches are numbered and in meadows, separated by trees, with cars parked mainly in dedicated parking areas. All have 6A electricity, TV, water and drainage. There are 60 pitches with private sanitary facilities, some of which are partly underground and attractively covered with grass and flowers. Each group of pitches has a small playground.
Runners-up
Set in the heart of the château region, Sites et Paysages Camping Les Saules has developed into a popular, friendly campsite run by a local family, Laurent and Isabelle, who are dedicated to the environment and nature. They have their own bees, honey and over 50 species of birds present on the site.
Camping Napfény, an exceptionally good site, is designed for families with children of all ages looking for an active holiday, and has a 200 m. frontage on Lake Balaton. The site’s 370 pitches vary in size (60-110 sq.m) and almost all have shade – very welcome during the hot Hungarian summers – and 6-10A electricity. As with most of the sites on Lake Balaton, a train line runs just outside the site boundary. There are steps to get into the lake and canoes, boats and pedaloes for hire. An extensive entertainment programme is designed for all ages and there are several bars and restaurants of various styles.
Progress Award
Progress Award
This award reflects the hard work and commitment undertaken by particular site owners to improve and upgrade their site. Candidates for this award may be existing sites which have undergone a far reaching improvement programme, or possibly may be sites which have passed into new ownership and benefited from substantial investment in terms of time and money!
Winner
Alannia Costa Blanca (formerly Marjal) is a fully equipped site situated 15 km. inland on the southern Alicante coast, close to the towns of Crevillente and Catral and the Parque Natural de El Hondo. Around 1,200 hardstanding pitches range in size from 90-95 sq.m, and all have electricity (16A), water, drainage, TV and high-speed internet connections (charged).
Runners-up
This site is attractively situated in the foothills of the Alps on land sloping down to a lake with a backdrop of mountains. Together with its associated hotel, it has been developed into a first class, family run site with good, modern facilities. All of the 120 touring pitches have 16A electricity and fresh and waste water connections. The grass and gravel pitches are level, some are on terraces and some are shaded by trees. A range of interesting activities are provided, particularly for children, including painting, pony riding and entertainment programmes in summer.
This is an excellent, attractive and well maintained site in a secluded hillside setting with views over the sea and close to the centre of Krk. On arrival you are assured of a good welcome from the staff, who speak good English. There are 361 clearly defined and well spaced out touring pitches, mostly on level sandy terraces, all with 10A electricity and ranging in size from 70-120 sq.m. Of these, 130 plots are fully serviced and include 96 with satellite TV connection. There are also 55 seasonal pitches that do not impinge on the touring units.
Active Holiday Award
Active Holiday Award
This award reflects sites in outstanding locations which are ideally suited for active holidays, notably walking or cycling, but which could extend to include such activities as winter sports, water sports etc.
Winner
Südsee-Camp in the Lüneburger Heide is a large, well organised holiday centre where children are especially well catered for. There are 726 touring pitches of varying types and sizes, 580 with electricity (4-10A), fresh water and drainage; 440 of these have a TV connection. Modern sanitary blocks are well maintained and contain all necessary facilities, including some areas specially built for children. Although centred around a large sandy shored lake, complete with shipwreck, the main swimming attraction is the South Sea Tropical swimming pool. A member of Leading Campings group.
Runners-up
What an amazing experience awaits you at Seiser Alm! Elisabeth and Erhard Mahlknecht have created a superb site in the magnificent Südtirol region of the Dolomite mountains. Towering peaks provide a wonderful backdrop when you dine in the charming, traditionally styled restaurant on the upper terrace. Here you will also find the bar, shop and reception. The 150 touring pitches have 16A electricity, gas, water, drainage, satellite connection and WiFi. Guests were delighted with the site when we visited, many coming to walk or cycle, some just to enjoy the surroundings. There are countless things to see and do here, including a full entertainment programme and a brilliant new pool.
Kamp Koren is situated in the picturesque valley by the Soča River, 500 m from the historical town Kobarid. A unique campsite and sole holder of the eco certificates: EU Ecolabel and Ecocamping. Its policy is to keep the environment clean and have minimum effect on nature. Slovenia’s first ecological site is in a quiet location above the emerald-coloured river, within easy walking distance of Kobarid.
Innovation Award
Innovation Award
This award acknowledges campsites with outstanding creative and original concepts, possibly with features which are unique, and simply cannot be found elsewhere.
Winner
An absolutely brilliant, family orientated, resort-style site that we love, especially for its positive value for money approach. The array of top quality on-site activities is included in the price, as are some off-site attractions (Aqualandia, etc) others are discounted. Jesolo International is located on a beautiful promontory with 700 m. of white sandy beach and slowly shelving waters. The 368 pitches are flat, mostly shaded and with 10/20A electricity, water and drainage, WiFi and satellite TV connection. Some have private bathrooms. The superb pool complex, has an excellent entertainment programme, presented nightly, which rounds off this outstanding site.
Runners-up
This picturesque and conservation-minded site is situated in an open, sunny lower valley in Madrid’s only beech forest in the Parque Natural Sierre de Guadarrama. The area is ideal for walkers and nature lovers and offers many opportunities for outdoor sports enthusiasts.
Beerze Bulten is a large leisure park with superb indoor and outdoor amenities, so you can enjoy yourself whatever the weather. A large, partly underground ‘rabbit hole’ provides a big indoor playground for children, a theatre for both indoor and outdoor shows, a buffet, a superb full wellness spa and a very large, specially designed indoor pool. Beerze Bulten has 550 pitches, mainly for touring units, but also accommodation for hire (all year). In the shade of mature woodland, all the pitches are level and numbered, and all have 10A Europlug electricity, water, drainage and TV connections. To the rear of the site is a large lake area with a sandy beach and new, exciting adventure play equipment.
Small Campsite Award
Small Campsite Award
This new award acknowledges top quality small campsites (less than 75 pitches) which offer a friendly welcome and top quality amenities throughout the season.
Winner
With panoramic views all around the Sierra de Valdefuertes mountains, Camping El Mirador de Cabañeros is set in the Cabañeros National Park. This is a well-cared-for, landscaped site with 44 terraced pitches on gravel, all with 6A electricity. Although pitches are level once sited, the approach is steep, which may cause difficulties for larger units.
Runners-up
Situated on the southwest edge of Dartmoor, this holiday park has been developed on the grounds of the old Langstone Manor house. The touring pitches are tucked into various garden areas with mature trees and flowering shrubs or in the walled garden area with views over the moor. There are 40 level grass pitches, which vary in size (35 with 16A electricity). A popular camping area has been terraced with open views over farmland and the moor.
Lazy is a real mini site of ten hectares and only 15 pitches (ten with 4/6A electricity). This means pitches are up to 300 sq.m. or more and there are panoramic views over the sloping countryside. Pitches are off one meandering, gravel access lane, some with shade to the back. Lazy is a working farm, more or less in the middle of nowhere. This makes it ideal for nature lovers (deer may be seen by day or night), with several marked and unmarked walking routes available. A great site for exploring the Slovakian countryside.
Seaside Award
Seaside Award
This award is made for sites which we feel are particularly suitable for a really excellent seaside holiday.
Winner
This amazing site is very large, offering absolutely everything a camper could wish for. It is extremely professionally run and we were impressed with the whole organisation. It lies along a 1.2 km. long, broad sandy beach which shelves very gradually and offers a huge number of sporting activities. The site itself is regularly laid out with parallel access roads under a covering of poplars, pine and other trees. There are 2,200 pitches for touring units, all with 6/10/16A electricity and 1,969 also have water and drainage. Because of the size of the site, there is an internal road train and amenities are repeated across the site (cycling is permitted on specific roads). A member of Leading Campings group.
Runners-up
Le Petit Rocher has a seaside location (150 m. from the beach) set in a pine forest, with an air of peace and tranquillity. Although the area is undulating, the 132 good sized touring pitches are flat and arranged in terraces throughout the wooded area. Electricity hook-ups are available (10A Euro plugs) and there are adequate water points. A grassy play area for children is thoughtfully situated in a hollow, but has limited equipment. Various accommodation types are available to rent.
This very attractive and well-kept site is situated under tall pines on the edge of the rather select, small resort of São Pedro de Moel. It is a shady and peaceful place in low season but can be crowded in July and August. There is space for some 400 touring units, including a few small marked pitches; otherwise you choose a place between the trees in one of two large camping areas; one has plentiful 6/10A electrical connections, the other a very limited provision.
Country Award
Country Award
This award contrasts with our former award and acknowledges sites which are attractively located in pleasant, rural locations.
Winner
Castel Camp de Florence is an attractive and well-equipped site on the edge of a historic village in pleasantly undulating Gers countryside. The 197 large, part terraced pitches (110 for touring units) all have 10A electricity, 20 with hardstanding and 16 fully serviced. They are arranged around a large field with rural views, feeling spacious.
Runners-up
Lake Ledro is only 9 km. from Lake Garda, its sparkling waters and breathtaking scenery offering a low key alternative for those who enjoy a natural setting. The drive from Lake Garda is a real pleasure and prepares you for the treat ahead. This site has been owned by the same friendly family for over 40 years and their experience shows in the layout of the site, with its mature trees and the array of facilities provided. The 180 touring pitches (70-110 sq.m) all have 6A electricity. Situated on the lake with its own sandy beach, pool and play area, the facilities include an outstanding wellness centre.
Camping De Pampel has the most congenial atmosphere and caters both for families (great facilities for children) and for those seeking peace and quiet. This is enhanced by its situation deep in the forest, with nine hectares of its own woods to explore. There are 280 pitches (20 seasonal) with 6-16A electricity. You can choose to site yourself around the edge of a large, open field with volleyball in the middle, or pick one of the individual places which are numbered, divided by trees and generally quite spacious.
Family Site Award
Family Site Award
Many sites claim to be family friendly but this award acknowledges the sites we feel to be the very best in this respect.
Winner
Camp du Domaine is located along the coast just outside the town of Bormes and is 3 km. south of Le Lavandou. The same family has run this large, attractive beachside site for 70 years. With 1040 touring pitches, 957 of which are level and have 10/16A electricity, you can pitch either in the shade in one of the pine forests or the most popular pitches beside the beach with a sea view. Pitches are generous (80-150sqm), but those located furthest from the beach are the largest with more shade. There are also 280 mobile homes/bungalows to rent situated on the hillside with superb views.
Runners-up
This high quality campsite, set in the heart of the Dordogne, has fine views looking up to the fortified town of Belvès. It is a splendid rural estate where there is plenty of space and a good mixture of trees and shrubs. Set in the grounds of a former mill, the superb traditional buildings date back to the 18th century. There are 219 level pitches with 159 for touring units, all with 10A electricity, a water point and drainage. The remainder are used for mobile homes to rent. The site is ideally suited for families with young and teenage children as there is so much to do, both on site and in the surrounding area.
Situated in the lovely wooded hills of central Luxembourg, this is a top-quality site with fees to match, but it has everything! A large, central building housing most of the services and amenities opens onto a terrace around an excellent swimming pool complex with a large fun pool and an imaginative water playground. This peaceful area has many excellent walking and cycle trails, and day trips to Luxembourg, Vianden Castle and the Mosel Valley are accessible from here.
Alan Rogers Readers Award
Alan Rogers Readers Award
Alan Rogers readers are invited to nominate (by means of an on-line poll at www.alanrogers.com and www.alanrogers.nl) their favourite site.
Winner
Beverley Park is an amazing holiday centre catering for every need. It has been developed and run by the Jeavons family for over 50 years to very high standards. It is popular, busy and attractively landscaped with marvellous views over Torbay. The pools, a cabaret area, bars and entertainment, are all run in an efficient and orderly manner. The park has 190 caravan holiday homes and 21 lodges, mainly around the central complex. There are 159 touring pitches in the lower areas of the park, all reasonably sheltered, some with views across the bay and some on slightly sloping ground. All pitches can take awnings and 87 have 16A electricity (15 m. cable), 42 have hardstanding and are fully serviced. Tents are accepted and a limited number of tent pitches have electrical connections.
Alan Rogers Special Award
Alan Rogers Special Award
The Special Award is presented to campsites which we feel have suffered very significant setbacks and have not only returned to their former condition, but can fairly be considered to be better than before.
Winners
Camping Grubhof is a beautifully laid out, level and spacious site set in the former riding and hunting park of the 14th-century Schloss Grubhof. The 250 touring pitches have been carefully divided into separate areas for different types of visitors – dog owners, young people, families and groups, and a quiet area. All the generous XXL pitches (at least 180 sq.m) provide electricity (16A), water and drainage (also in winter), many along the bank of the Saalach River.
Although Camping Caravaning Saint-Avit Loisirs is set amidst rolling countryside, far from the hustle and bustle of the main tourist areas of the Dordogne, the facilities are first class, providing virtually everything you could possibly want without the need to leave the site. This makes it ideal for families with children of all ages. The site is in two sections. One part is dedicated to chalets and mobile homes which are available to rent, whilst the main section of the site contains 199 flat and mainly grassy, good sized pitches, 99 for touring, with electricity (6/10A). With a choice of sun or shade, they are arranged in cul-de-sacs off a main access road and are easily accessible.