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Hi,
I was wondering has anyone seen the new Series 7 Bretagne.  We have one on order from our dealer, but as our annual holidays are fast approaching (with no sign of the van) we were wondering if we should wait for it or opt for the Swift Charisma 540.
What I would like to know is:
How bad is the "bailey teak"?  Is it REALLY dark?  Does it look like real wood?  Having seen the Bretagne, would you buy it?

Would you wait for the Bretagne with the possibility of having to postpone your holiday or just go with the Swift 540?

Which would have the most practical layout?

Finally, our last van had a dedicated space for the tv which meant it wasn't an issue, but both vans have a flip down table to put the lcd tv on.  Has anyone any experience of this design and what are the benefits and nuisances regarding this feature.

Thanks for your reply in advance.

Regards
BobD

Swift everytime, the wood in the Bretagne is an acquired taste I hear. Build quality on Swift is far better than Bailey - my opinion of course...! I have my LCD on a table and its no bother flipping it around when we retire. All I would say is you would always have to have the flip down 'down' as if i remember rightly, there is nowhere else to put it.

As for layouts, the Charisma is a little more adaptable I think. However, layouts are purely for people's tastes so its only an opinion. We had to choose between our current Elddis and the Charisma 6 berths - and it was a hard choice.

I dont like one thing about Baileys, so this isnt particularly an unbiased opinion.

We've owned both a Swift and a Bailey, however there was 10 yrs difference in the age of the vans.  Both very well kitted out, but I do think the Swift had a better build quality, however that van was nearly 10 years old and I don't know if build quality is still the same.  Our Swift however could only be discribed in the end as a sponge, very damp, not sure if it was down to design or luck. 

Good luck in your choice, our Bailey is serving us very well and we love it.

Wendy

Had both a new Sterling (Swift) and a new Bailey. Serling had serious damp problems repaired after its first year. 3 years later was "written off" with damp down both sides. Swift customer services were appauling, did not want to know. With hindsight, the damp was already beginning to show when we picked it up. Then bought a Bailey. Guess what, damp round a window on first service. Would not buy either again.

Martin