CAMPING SANDAYA LE MOULIN DE L'ÉCLIS

Firstly let's talk about the beach. In the adverts they make a big thing about being right on the beach - but - what they fail to mention is that it is tidal so for most of the day it is just a mile or more of mud. For the few hours that the tide does come in it is really muddy and only knee deep so impossible to swim (annoying as we brought our snorkel gear) and when it goes back out it leaves loads of rotting seaweed along the waterline. They use a tractor and trailer to clear the worst of it. Also we were told that you shouldn't go in the sea in this area as there are reports of e-coli.The adverts also show what appears to be a fantastic shower and toilet block. When you arrive and first walk in it looks great. However, when you use it a few times you soon notice problems. Some of the toilet doors don't lock. Some of the taps on the sinks don't work. The showers look great but don't have enough ventilation so when you dress you still feel damp from the steam and you notice mould on the ceilings. Also they only have two washing machines (one of which was broken) and one dryer. Each costs five euros per use. If a machine is used 10 times per day for a week that is 350 euros which pays for the machine? Seems a bit steep to me.These two things alone have made me drop the rating to three stars. Failing to be honest about the beach and the somewhat shoddy shower/toilet/washing facilities.Having said all of that we did actually enjoy our stay. We had one of the static mobile homes which was really nice. A little cramped in the bedrooms but that is to be expected. Worth noting that it had a dish washer (which we never used) but had neither an oven nor a washing machine which would have been much more useful. Amazingly it had a really big shower. Our friends have a VW camper and they said their pitch was quite small compared to other sites. They told us about the communal shower block so my wife gave it a try and discovered the hard way that the shower door lock didn't work as she made a surprise new friend when a guy walked into the shower and got an eyeful of my wife in all her natural glory....Good bits. The pools were great so me and my daughter spent many happy hours on the slides. There is a kids' club which she also loved. Most evenings there was entertainment that was surprisingly good. The restaurant is also good, there are maybe two dozen choices but most people seem to go for pizza, burger, steak or fish. Prices 13 to 18 euros. Steak a bit more. Drinks are pricey with a pint of kronenbourg 1664 at about 7 euros. Some people we spoke to jokingly suggested that the static homes do not have an oven to force people to buy pizza from the restaurant and likewise do not have a washing machine to force guests to pay to use one. The restaurant gets booked up on Friday and Saturday. Weirdly there are daily 'exceptions' so one day you can only have pizza, another only moules, another anything except pizza. Go figure.The site has a tiny convenience store which is again a little pricey but has the essentials. Also you can buy fresh bread and pastries daily from about 8am.It wasn't a disaster, we had a good time but won't be rushing back. Sorry Sandaya. We have heard that some of your other sites are much better...

This is a very good campsite. It is pretty packed in, but it's in prime position right on the beach so somewhat expected! We stayed in a dog friendly cabin (no. 41) we were the closest to the facilities of nearly all the cabins which was super convenient. I was worried it would be noisy, but not a problem. So quiet from 10pm til 8am, nothing like an English campsite. The pool and slides were a massive hit with our 9 yr old (really fun). There were some organised activities which were generally very good. Highlights include their version of the Olympics, a night market and a Breton dancing exhibition which the kids then got involved with.We hired bikes one morning and they were good quality and we had a nice ride towards penestin.Market in penestin on a weds and Sunday. Smallish Carrefour supermarket and petrol station also here.Quite a rural site so it's 30 min drive to touristy things to do mainly.Dog friendly and a nature reserve next to the campsite where you could walk the dogs on the lead.

Pros -The staff were the nicest of all the sandaya sites we have stayed at. Reception helped us find a more suitable pitch for our scared dog, the lifeguard went out his way to be helpful and my daughter absolutely loved the little bucket he let her use. The bar staff were brilliant and shop staff friendly. Really brilliant.It's right next to the beach. Great in evenings as was practically empty (stayed in May), interesting beach finds, like oysters, jellies, even a sea urchin shell! Not much for rock pooling. But as the tide goes out, we watched clans bury into the sand! So cool!The dishwasher!! Loved this. The Maison de Eau part was clean and really useful.ConsIt's small and a little dated but tbh that didn't matter at all.The shop has very little fresh food and is a bit pricey.The beach is very busy with kite surfers during the day. Which is great if you do it! You can take lessons there too.The pool was a little dated but it was kept clean and was warmer than some other sandaya sites at this time of year. My daughter loved getting to use the bubble areas and the slides.Overall we found it brilliant and those little things didn't matter. There's a decent carrefour 7 minutes away too. Although it was small, it meant we were right next to everything. The playpark looked great too

Beautiful beach front campsite. We stayed for one night on route to roscoff. One part of the pool wasn't open when we stayed but the other part is lovely (although small)with a great few slides to keep the kids happy. Water features in toddler pool weren't working either which was disappointing. Our accommodation was absolutely beautiful, so so spacious and spotlessly clean on arrival. We ate in the bar which was delicious and the shop on site is very well stocked.

Excellent park in a quiet area with beautiful walking trails around. All major facilities for adults, children and pets.