Reviews of Chy Carne Camping & Touring Park ( Chycarne)

Management response: Thank you for taking the time to leave your comments. We are delighted that you enjoyed your stay with us

Just on one point you made regarding next year and our prices. All our prices have been held at this years tariff so I am not really sure why they would be higher.

Please contact us and we will be happy to help you.

Thank you Chycarne

Management response: Thank you for leaving your comments. Overall we are delighted that you enjoyed your stay with us.

A few comments that you have made we feel require a response from us. Firstly there are a number of dog bins situated around the park. Most owners understand the rules and will clean up after there dogs. Of course from time to time there are owners that don`t and this is wholly unacceptable. We do monitor the park and any mess will be cleaned up when reported or spotted.

All our electric hook ups meet the required 17th edition regulations .The attachments are merely plugs and are all safe to use, there is no danger associated with there use providing they are used correctly.

We appreciate that we require more toilets to this area so in 2013 a further 6 toilets will be added and a further three washing up stations. But clearly if everybody decides to use the toilets at the same time then a queue will form and of course it depends how long an individual spends in the toilet. The showers you are referring to are one year old, and fitted with Anti vandal heads and non concussive water saving valves. The shower cubicles are fitted with seating and are tiled. The showers are powered by state of the art water pumps from our pump room.

We did experience a double problem during the 5 days of your stay. Firstly our borehole pump failed leaving the tank empty overnight, and secondly our mains water pipe was damaged due to a spike being driven into it accidentally. This alone meant that not enough water was available to satisfy demand. Both problems were dealt with robustly as soon as they were reported.

Charging for the showers was introduced by customer recommendations to reduce waiting times at the showers. This has clearly worked as we have no reports of excessive wait times occurring during peak periods. Non concussive valves are fitted to prevent water wastage as water in the south west is very expensive. For example for each shower alone the water and sewage costs approx 40 pence per 5 minute shower. We decided that to off set the shower charge that we reduced our overall camping tariff.

Recently we were regraded by the AA and our new grading is a AA 4 pennant at 86% just short of a 5 pennant, the highest grade possible.

Camping at Chycarne for two adults per night is £16.00 less 20 % VAT in real terms thats £12.80 Out of this comes all the other costs such as wages etc .The lights within the shower blocks works on noise and movement sensors. Any movement or noise will reactivate the lights .This is an energy saving device. If the power had failed then the showers would have switched of as they work to a solenoid valve in the pipe work.

We hope that this answers the points you raised and that it will not cause any confusion. Be rest assured that we are listening and we do act upon all comments and clearly we can not always get it 100% right but we are working hard to achieve this.

We hope to see you again Chycarne

Management response: Thank you for your review. We feel that you have made a few points that need clarification as to not misrepresent Chycarne holiday park and that these comments are your opinions and not that of many of the visitors we welcome to Chycarne every year both camping and in our static caravans.

We offer real value for money in our static caravans A three bedroom static in the peak of season at £450.00 is a real steal compared to the parkdean site down the road at nearly a thousand pounds. All the caravans have undergone a programme of refurbishments and that includes the toilet seats. We have had a problem with the fixing bolts but sadly this as been associated with larger people. Our engineer did visit on 5 occasions to tighten the bolts but they seem to have worked there way loose, Strange that.. Your remark regarding that the statics are well past there sell by date is silly, A 1970 vw camper to hire for a week costs £600.00. They call that" glamping" If you want a new caravan then you better get your cheque book out as you can double what we charge. Some of the caravans have been totally refurbished and a programme is in place this winter to to complete the remaining statics.

All the caravans are inspected yearly and your suggestion that health and safety is a worry is unfounded. Clearly you should only be reporting on what you do know and not making assumptions on things that you don`t. The doorway from the lounge is a means of escape in the need to exit the caravan quickly. Most caravans to day only have one door and most visitors find that one door is enough. To most this is not an issue but its funny what some people will complain about.

We further note your comments regarding the touring pitches. We do not charge extra like some parks for sea views and therefore we do not guarantee them. The weather and ground conditions this summer as meant that we had to make changes to the pitch plan. This situation was forced on to us and sometimes a little understanding would be appreciated by some visitors instead of just bringing up the negative.

Chycarne is not a stuffy site and welcomes visitors to relax and enjoy themselves without worrying whether the caravan is pitched straight or the lights are out at 10pm. We appreciate that for most of us life is stressful enough without owners going around barking rules and regulations. Our only rule is respect your fellow campers, whilst on site and everybody will be happy but I suppose there will always be one person that will upset the apple cart. I suppose given your review that you are a regular visitor to caravan club sites but there are horses for courses and maybe Chycarne is the wrong type of course for you.

Clearly we are in business to earn a living and our busy period the summer 6 weeks, and thats it. Outside of this the whole area is quiet with few visitors about. Chycarne is a popular site in the summer for very good reason We appreciate your positive comments. Yes we are friendly, unusual that. Our toilet and shower facilities are very expensive to maintain. Clearly visitors will complain if standards are not met, For very good reason, This will never happen on our watch. The charge for showers was introduced as some visitors were found to be misusing the showers and spending up to 40 minutes at a time. Clearly this would not have effected you but then again thats why you would have been charged for the electric hook up. Since we introduced the charge we have not suffered one complaint for long queues, Funny that. And it's not mean either because as mindful owners we lowered our camping price to reflect the charge giving the customer the choice on how many times that want to shower and in some cases not to shower at all. Hopefully that explains the charge. Not odd really but makes perfect sense.

You make a mention of your charge of £353.00 clearly 20% of this is VAT. So lets get real, thats £70.00 VAT (Blame the government) So in real terms we have charged you £280.00 for 14 nights. Thats £20.00 per night again a real steal compared to other sites charging well in excess of this for a AA4 pennant site. Sadly whilst you visited we did have the unfortunate situation that the water flow was cut off. Sadly we can not control our water supplier but it was only off for a very short time.

We are pleased that our other facilities met with your approval and I will pass on your comments to all the staff and make sure that they get a real good pat on the back. Possibly we will see you again in the near future

Management response: Thank you for your review. Clearly we are delighted that you enjoyed your stay with us. A few points you have raised to others to read that we feel need clarification.

The white marker posts are only situated on the top main touring fields. All our pitches are of a oblong shape. We have found that more visitors prefer them to not as they clearly define the pitch. No arguments like on many sites as to where the tent pegs should be. Many of the pitches do have a stony subbase this allows the pitch to drain much faster in wetter weather. Sadly this year we have seen far too much off.

The shower charge was introduced following a number of complaints of excessive overstay and misuse, often commented on in other reviews. We looked at ways to discourage this from happening and the only way that felt suitable was to introduce a charge. We are pleased to announce that this has clearly worked and we have had no reports of excessive queues occurring. To off set the charge we lowered our camping tariff to reflect the charge. This gives our visitors the choice - most sites make the charge in their tariff but we believe that this will soon change with the increase of business operating costs.

The shower temperature is set through mixers. This is a safety precaution to prevent individuals from scolding themselves. The water heater associated to the showers is very large in capacity and works by storing hot water and reheating the cold water on demand. I can assure you that this boiler is never working at maximum. The showers are set at 40c, some people like them hotter some like them colder. Sometimes it can depend on the outside temperature. The Non concussive valves installed prevent water wastage. All campsites have them fitted, water is very expensive and it only requires you to push the valve in. There is on the market a device that holds the valve in for you.

The coin meter operates the water solenoid that opens and allows the water to flow. We have found that most all visitors feel that 5 minutes is adequate time to shower. Clearly if you like to spend longer then this is the very reason why the meters have been installed. We have had cases of visitors being in the showers for 40 minutes, I know if that was me I would be very irritated and complain that there was not enough showers when clearly it's a misuse situation.

Further points: Of course the hair dyers will attract a charge. They simply cost money to buy, to install and electric isn't free. They require maintaining and then servicing and then replacing. All the ladies showers are fitted with the same shower seat as the mens, just a different colour.

Sadly the only phone signal that seems to work better is Orange. Our WiFi is new to the site and is provided by an outside source. From time to time we have had a few problems but the company have assured us that as the newer and better equipment becomes available then we will be upgraded.

Well we hope that this just clarifies your points you raised and look forward to your return visit in the near future.
Thank you
Chycarne