The Alan Rogers / Caravan and Motorhome Club Awards - Results 2016
Presented at the Vakantiebeurs, Utrecht in January 2017
The Alan Rogers Campsite Awards were launched in 2004 and proved a great success. For 2016 we joined forces with the Caravan Club to present the joint Caravan Club & Alan Rogers Awards for the very first time.
The awards have a broad scope and before committing to our winners, we carefully consider more than 2,000 campsites featured in the Alan Rogers guides and The Caravan and Motorhome Club 'Venture Abroad' program, taking into account comments from our site assessors, our head office team and, of course, our members & readers.
The award winners come from the four corners of Europe, from Spain to Germany, and this year we are making awards to campsites in seven different countries.
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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 a highly commended runner-up. Listed below are full details of each of our award categories and our winners for 2016.
Thanks go to Russell at Russet Marketing for the photos & video of the awards ceremony & Thomas Lambelin for the presentation photos.
Yelloh! Village Turiscampo is an outstanding site run by the friendly Coll family. The site provides 240 pitches for touring units, mainly in rows of terraces, 216 of which have 6/10A electricity, some with shade. There are 75 deluxe pitches with water and drainage. One hundred thirty-eight bungalows for rent occupy the upper terraces.
Camping le Domaine du Logis is an attractive rural site with enthusiastic owners, set in the grounds of an old château. The site’s upgraded modern facilities are housed in traditional converted barns and farm buildings, which are well-maintained and equipped. There are 203 pitches, 67 of which are for touring units. The grass pitches are level, of a generous size and divided by mature hedges and trees. All have 10A electricity connections, water and drainage.
Situated just north of Augsburg, this beautifully run site, with its own small lake, is a pleasure to stay on. Gabi Ryssel, the owner, spends her long days working very hard to cater for every wish of her guests – from the moment you arrive and are given the key to one of the cleanest toilet blocks we have seen, plus plenty of tourist information, you are in very capable hands.
Our Innovation Award acknowledges campsites with creative and original concepts, possibly with features which are unique, and cannot therefore be found elsewhere. We have identified innovation both in campsite amenities and also in rentable accommodation.
Camping Caravaning Esterel is a quality caravan site east of Saint Raphaël, set among the hills beyond Agay. The site is 3.5 km. from the sandy beach at Agay, where parking is perhaps a little easier than at most places on this coast, but a shuttle from the site runs to and from the beach several times daily in July and August. It has 164 touring pitches (tents are not accepted) with 10A electricity and a water tap. Several ‘deluxe’ pitches are available with a heated bathroom, jacuzzi, dishwasher and washing machine. Pitches are on shallow terraces, attractively landscaped with good shade and various flowers, giving a feeling of spaciousness.
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.
Situated across the yacht harbour from the Canet-Plage resort, Yelloh! Village Le Brasilia is an impressive, well-managed family site directly beside the beach. There's much to praise here, from the state-of-the-art reception to the sensational water park, excellent spa and park-like grounds. Although large, it is attractive and well kept with a remarkable range of facilities – with good reason, it's always a popular choice.
This large, mature site is alongside the main N340/A7 Costa del Sol coast road, 12 km. east of Marbella and 15 km. from Fuengirola. The Costa del Sol is also known as the Costa del Golf and fittingly there is a major golf course alongside the site. The site is set amongst tall pine trees which provide shade for the pitches (there are some huge areas for large units). The 250 touring pitches, a mix of level and sloping (chocks advisable), all have electricity (10A), but long leads may be required for some. There is a separate area on the western side for groups of younger guests.
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.
Centro Vacanze San Marino, at 400 m. above sea level and positioned on an attractive hillside, has lovely views of the Adriatic. You'll arrive via twisting mountainous roads winding through dramatic scenery and will discover an excellent, modern site with a variety of well-tended trees offering welcome shade. Make sure you visit the ancient city of San Marino at the top of the mountain (4 km).
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.
The site is located beside the estuary of the Segura river, alongside the pine and eucalyptus forests of the Dunas de Guardamar Natural Park. A fine sandy beach can be reached through the forest (800 m). This is a brilliant site with a vast tropical lake-style pool with a bar and a superb sports complex. There are 212 pitches on this award-winning site, 158 for touring with water, electricity (16A), drainage, high-speed internet and satellite TV points. The ground is covered with crushed marble, making the pitches clean and pleasant.
This popular site is run in a personal and friendly way. The 200 pitches for touring units (some with hardstandings for larger units) are laid out in small groups, divided by hedges and trees and all with 10A electrical connections. Cars are mostly parked in areas around the perimeter and 100 static caravans, confined to one section of the site, are entirely unobtrusive. Reception, a pleasant, good quality restaurant, bar and a snack bar are grouped around a courtyard-style entrance which is decorated with seasonal flowers. The site has a small outdoor, heated pool (13.5x7 m) with a separate paddling pool and imaginative children’s play equipment. A member of the Holland Tulip Parcs Group.
Camping Château le Verdoyer has been developed in the park of a restored château and is owned by a Dutch family. This 22-hectare estate has three lakes, two for fishing and one with a sandy beach and safe swimming area. There are 110 good-sized touring pitches, level, terraced, and hedged. With a choice of wooded area or open field, all have electricity (5/10A), and most share a water supply between four pitches. There is a steep incline from the Chateau, where the majority of pitches are located.
The first impression on arrival at this impressive campsite is one of space. The site covers a 30-hectare expanse of farm pasture where (on different areas) cattle graze and children play. The nine-hectare camping areas are set among rows of mature and shady trees giving a dappled effect to the grassy touring pitches. All have 6/10A electricity and are very large with direct access to wide, unpaved alleys which lead on to the few tarmac roads around the site. Some serviced pitches are available.
