So, what’s a Eurocamp Esprit Mobile Home really like?

234

Recently I’ve written a few posts about our AMAZING holiday to Venice (Part 1, Part 2) and then Eurocamp Ca Savio, Italy (Part 1, Part2), and they covered much of what we got up to on our holiday, but I thought it would be useful for potential ‘Eurocampers’ to see what the accommodation is like, in particular a Eurocamp Esprit Mobile Home like the one we stayed in for the duration of our stay. 

228

When it came to our trip, it was mobile home all the way for us rather than a tent (which are lovely by the way), only because we wanted to have air conditioning, something that I thought was crucial in hot climes with young children. I have to admit though, I was a little nervous about what to expect when it came to our accommodation of choice- would it be clean enough? Would it be big enough? I had read mixed reviews about various mobile homes on various campsites run by various holiday companies, so I didn’t know what we were letting ourselves in for. Having ‘done’ Eurocamp on 3 different occasions as  child, I was feeling very nostalgic and prayed that my excellent experience as a youngster (hello, bunk-beds! Croissants around the table! Orangina on the decking!) would be the same now that I was an adult and parent. 

Well we breathed a sigh of relief as our rep showed us our Esprit- all of our worries were completely unfounded. Our two-bedder was spotless, spacious and I relaxed immediately, knowing we had made a good choice. As well as the two bedrooms (1 double, and 1 room with bunks and space for 3 children), we had a shower room, separate toilet (SO handy with kids!), and kitchen/diner that could seat up to 8 people. Outside was a huge decking area, complete with table, chairs and sun umbrella, and a couple of sun loungers thrown in for good measure. 

Here’s a mini tour of our Esprit…

207

^^Our double bedroom wasn’t huge, but actually had a terrific amount of storage- a double wardrobe with plenty of hanging space and shelving, plus decent bedside and over bed storage. I’m notorious for not traveling light, but on this occasion I had more storage than stuff- hurrah! The double bedroom also has a door through to the shower room, making it an en-suite should you want it to be, which is a great idea for those wanting a bit of post-shower privacy. When it came to the bed sheets, we pre-booked these and they were clean and waiting for us to put on the beds. A bit of a pain I guess, but one of the only downsides of going self-catering like this. 

215

^^Freddie and Sasha were delighted with their bedroom, and took it in turns each night to sleep on the top bunk. Since they don’t have bunks yet at home, these were a HUGE hit! Again, all bedding was clean and waiting to go on the beds, and since we flew and didn’t have our own car, pre-ordering them really is the best solution all round. The kids’ room also contained a small wardrobe and bedside table, plus some under-bed storage too.

213214

^^The kitchenette. Again, considering overall space is fairly limited in a mobile home (although weirdly I never felt cramped or claustrophobic), the kitchen area maximised the space and there was plenty of storage and basic equipment to use, such as glass, plates, bowls etc, utensils, pots and pans and chopping boards. The fridge was really big, and ideal for even a large family, plus the freezer was handy too for the ice pops we bought for me at the on-site supermarket. Okay, so there’s not a huge amount of prep space, but more than enough to whip up a simple meal for tea. The oven seemed in decent nick, although we only used the grill a couple of times for toast (I have to admit that a toaster would be the only other real welcome addition to the Esprit). The kettle was of the whistling, boil-on-the-hob variety, but this wasn’t an issue at all and didn’t take much longer than a normal kettle to boil. Believe me, as someone needing coffee QUICKLY in the morning, this is a very important thing!

206

The living room area was of a good size, and the seating much bigger than I remembered even as a kid (and when you’re a kid, everything seems bigger!). The table folded out on two sides to create a big dining table if needed, and there were an extra few folding chairs stored away, should you all want to sit down together for a meal. Once again, I was impressed with the storage in this room (3 cupboards and a sideboard that the fan was sitting on), plus they’d made good use of some shelving for extra wine glass storage (crucial- see pic below!). 

The seating actually turns into a double bed if required, so you could house an extra two people in your Esprit, but personally I would just go and book a 3 bed home- I couldn’t be doing with tripping over an extra person or two or making and putting away the bed on a daily basis, it would feel too cramped then for me.

217

218

^^The decor is basic in the Esprit, but that’s to be expected in a self-catering mobile home with a high turnover of people. Still, there were nice touches such as the curtains, which made it seem a little homelier. 

The air conditioning unit was also in the living room, and we started off by purchasing a 20 euro card from reception, that lasted 40 hours. I was concerned that we might need the air con on 24/7, thus making it an expensive addition to our holiday costs, but as it happened we only used the whole card for the entire duration of our stay (5 nights). We tended to turn the air con on first thing in the morning for an hour, then for an hour or two during the day when we came back for lunch, then in the evening before going out again, and finally maybe a quick blast on our return from a night out. We used the provided fan the rest of the time and were just fine. 

209211

^^The shower room was surprisingly spacious, with enough room to dry ourselves without getting the corner of a sink unit up the bum- result! One thing re the shower, and ended up being a bug-bear of mine throughout our stay, was that the water temperature wasn’t consistent- it was either cold or scalding hot which wasn’t ideal when child-wrangling at the end of a long day at the pool. Turns out (and we only discovered this on our final day) that the boiler temp in the kitchen was turned up to the max, making the hot water absolutely boiling, so if you’re having issues do check this and turn it down as necessary! On arrival there was a slight crack in our shower tray, which we were going to report, although it didn’t effect us using it, but on our second day 2 campsite repair men arrived to fix it, so it had already been reported and the reps were on the ball. This gave me confidence that if anything needed fixing, then it would be pretty quickly. Other than those two little factors we were pleased with the bathroom, and the rest of the mobile home. 

To keep your mobile home clean and tidy, a mop/bucket, broom ,dust pan and brush and outdoor clothes airer were provided, and we decided to spend 15 euros and pre-order an ‘essentials’ kit, so we had washing up liquid, dish cloths, tea, coffee, WINE among other bits on arrival- a godsend after a hot afternoon traveling with children. 

224 230 229

The setting at Ca Savio, with mobile homes and tents nestled in the pine forest is idyllic. We spent many an afternoon and evening chilling on the  HUGE decking area, with and without the children, and despite hysteria on Trip Advisor about mosquitoes we didn’t encounter many (although did spray just to be on the safe side!). I came back with 3 bites, ditto Adam, and the children (who obviously just weren’t tasty enough) had none. 

Overall we were delighted with our mobile home. Okay, so it’s not 5 star luxury but if you’re booking Eurocamp you’re probably not expecting that. What it is though is a lovely, spacious, clean home-from-home in an awesome setting, and as far as self-catering goes it’s pretty high up there when it comes to brilliant mobile homes. We were very happy, and are looking forward to staying in another Esprit home for our Eurocamp trip next year, this time to one of the sites at Lake Garda. 

We highly recommend an Esprit if you’re booking a Eurocamp holiday! 

 

*We booked this holiday ourselves and would have done regardless, however we are reviewing the Ca Savio site for Eurocamp in exchange for another Eurocamp break next year. All words, thoughts and opinions are honest and my own. 

Follow:

6 Comments

  1. Claire
    September 12, 2016 / 10:18 am

    Great review thanks Becky. We stayed in a French owned mobile home this year but its very geared to the French market, which meant no kettle, oven or toaster! Another draw would be the English speaking kids club, did they try it out? X

    • Becky
      Author
      September 13, 2016 / 4:02 pm

      They didn’t try the kids club on this occasion as they were happy to be with us for the time that we were there, and Sasha wasn’t keen on being left. It looked great though when we walked past it, and give it another year and a longer holiday and I think we will definitely use it! x

  2. September 12, 2016 / 11:05 am

    That looks like a great mobile home. I’ve not been to Eurocamp before, but I have been to Siblu in France a couple of times and their mobile homes are great too.

    • Becky
      Author
      September 13, 2016 / 4:03 pm

      It was fab Joanne, we were so pleased with it!

  3. September 12, 2016 / 6:41 pm

    This looks lovely – we usually stay in mobile homes abroad (and in fact did this year). I think they are perfect for families as the kids can make friends with nearby kids and nothing beats sitting on your verandah for breakfast or with a glass of sangria in the evening.

    This caravan looks very modern – I love the table that folds down – genius idea!

    • Becky
      Author
      September 13, 2016 / 4:04 pm

      It was great, Sam, and you’re right, the decking area is brilliant! The kids could go off and play within the vicinity and we felt they were completely safe 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *