Hidden Valley Rathdrum

elaverty

We stayed here just for the night on Saturday and i just think it deserves a mention on here for anyone that may not know about it,,its definetly the best campsite i have been to in Ireland,and ive been to a good few,Location,Organisation, Cleanliness,Facilities,it has it all,,I would imagen on a really fine day you would think you were on a campsite in France,,10 out of 10......


I have no association with the above Site,,just a happy camper,,

denmar

Stayed there last Thursday night and I second everything said. Would highly recommend it.

Martin_D

How much did it cost?

denmar

Martin_D wrote: »

How much did it cost?

€26 Motorhomes 2 adults, 1 child and hook up

killalanerr

elaverty wrote: »

you would think you were on a campsite in France,,

Now lets not get carried away here.Its a fine spot ok but @€;26 a night in France you would get a heated pool,bakery/restaurant and bar with entertainment all on site,

elaverty

killalanerr wrote: »

Now lets not get carried away here.Its a fine spot ok but @€;26 a night in France you would get a heated pool,bakery/restaurant and bar with entertainment all on site,

Some people will never be happy im afraid,,

Tabnabs

We (two adults and two small kids) have stayed there twice for weekends in the cabins they rent out.

For us, the plus points are convenient to Dublin, playgrounds and lake for kids, camp-fire and paddling in the river, welcoming and laid back staff.

The negatives are the town is really only accessible by car, it's a fair slog up the hill and the other thing is the toilet block, although well fitted out, is quite far when camping on the other side of the river, especially emergency night-time visits

But I'd also recommend the site and am thinking about another trip in September when the cabins are available for weekend renting again at a competitive rate.

Ildere

killalanerr wrote: »

Now lets not get carried away here.Its a fine spot ok but @€;26 a night in France you would get a heated pool,bakery/restaurant and bar with entertainment all on site,

You are correct and justified in pointing this out and just to let you know that I got all that for €14 a night in France in June.
Prob not available in July/August but it does put the cost of Irish campsites in perspective.

*Kol*

killalanerr wrote: »

Now lets not get carried away here.Its a fine spot ok but @€;26 a night in France you would get a heated pool,bakery/restaurant and bar with entertainment all on site,

Unfortunately the majority of us are not in France for 48 weeks of the year if at all, and have to find the best value sites in Ireland for stays. Unfortunately pools and restaurants are not standard in Irish sites for various reason and perhaps never will be.

killalanerr

*Kol* wrote: »

. Unfortunately pools and restaurants are not standard in Irish sites for various reason and perhaps never will be.

For the money we are paying they should be,i have stayed in this site and in redcross that has a bar they are fine sites,but the highlight for me most years is my trip to France where i seem to get more for my €,it seems to be much better value,i realize that not every one is in a position to make a trip like this but when you do you cant help but be under whelmed with what i available to us here
Maybe some one can explain to me why the cost of staying on Irish sites is so expensive and with 1or2 exceptions why the the cost to stay on them is more or less the same country wide

Ildere

killalanerr wrote: »

For the money we are paying they should be,i have stayed in this site and in redcross that has a bar they are fine sites,but the highlight for me most years is my trip to France where i seem to get more for my €,it seems to be much better value,i realize that not every one is in a position to make a trip like this but when you do you cant help but be under whelmed with what i available to us here
Maybe some one can explain to me why the cost of staying on Irish sites is so expensive and with 1or2 exceptions why the the cost to stay on them is more or less the same country wide

Like you, I would like to find out why the Irish sites are so expensive AND the uniformity of pricing regardless of the facilities on offer.

At a saving of up to €15 per night over 21 nights (using an ACSI card), over 3 weeks in June say, works out at €315. The ferry crossing is nearly covered.
Thats the choice I make, stay in Irish campsites for the holidays or go to France for the holidays, as well as the cheaper food and drink AND the fantastic Campsites its an easy choice to make.

The Irish campsites have priced themselves out of the Irish market, the British market and the European market and no sign of any change coming either.

ronan45

Tabnabs wrote: »

We (two adults and two small kids) have stayed there twice for weekends in the cabins they rent out.

For us, the plus points are convenient to Dublin, playgrounds and lake for kids, camp-fire and paddling in the river, welcoming and laid back staff.

The negatives are the town is really only accessible by car, it's a fair slog up the hill and the other thing is the toilet block, although well fitted out, is quite far when camping on the other side of the river, especially emergency night-time visits

But I'd also recommend the site and am thinking about another trip in September when the cabins are available for weekend renting again at a competitive rate.

looks like they rent for weekends during the summer also

Short Break Rates:
April, May, June & Sept
2 nights €180
3 nights €240

http://www.irelandholidaypark.com/self-catering/rates/

unfit2006

I for one am not looking for swimming pools, bars or restaurants on site.
But on the other hand, I expect that Irish sites should price themselves according to what they are and what they offer.
Most Irish sites that I have come across are just about on par with 2 star Municipal site in France which charge in the region of €10-€14 per night.
Many Irish caravan site owners started to assess the "value" of their asset back in the Celtic Tiger era when the location of the parks meant that they had development potential.
They then equated that overexaggerated capital value of their land with what they felt it should be capable generating for them in terms of annual income. ("Sure why shouldnt it earn me €150k per annum, look what I would get for it if I sold it in the morning")
Unfortunately It appears that it is not enough for a relatively modest caravan site to generate reasonable income for it's owner. It must generate 5 star income for 2 star service.

mcquill

Hidden valley last Friday night 2 adults, 4 kids under 7 := €44.
River valley last Saturday night same crew := €43.
Showers, kids clubs, kids disco's all extra.

The facilities are very good by the standards we have here, but there is no doubt it is very expensive by any objective yardstick.

Mellio

You cant compare a 1 week or 2 week stay in France to an overnight or weekend in Ireland.

For the majority of people who take a summer they more than likely will go to france or elsewhere to appreciate some sun.

For a weekend away or a night over that is less than 1 hour away in your own car the cost of getting there is minimal.

Would you get the Ferry to France for a weekend, no so this is why the local sites are still appealing for what they offer.

For a start we dont have the weather to have outdoor pools like france and from what I have read they do offer restaurant food and pub grub as well as kids activities and cubs.

Not quite the south of france but still worthy of your money I think.

Now ask me if hotels are worth going to with kids in Ireland I would say thats a joke and absolute robbery espeically at weekends.

Tabnabs

unfit2006 wrote: »

But on the other hand, I expect that Irish sites should price themselves according to what they are and what they offer.
Most Irish sites that I have come across are just about on par with 2 star Municipal site in France which charge in the region of €10-€14 per night.
.

What does Municipal mean? Is this owned and operated by the local council?

T650

Here's an example of one we stayed at crossing France two years ago. Lovely site. Town by-passed years ago by the motorway. The town cut the their public park in two. One side has a green area and kids playground. The other half has been turned into the campsite

http://www.campingiledelaronde.fr/fr/Article/51/Tourisme-Hebergement-Campings-TARIFS-SAISON-2012

killalanerr

Mellio wrote: »

You cant compare a 1 week or 2 week stay in France to an overnight or weekend in Ireland.

For the majority of people who take a summer they more than likely will go to france or elsewhere to appreciate some sun.

For a weekend away or a night over that is less than 1 hour away in your own car the cost of getting there is minimal.

Would you get the Ferry to France for a weekend, no so this is why the local sites are still appealing for what they offer.

For a start we dont have the weather to have outdoor pools like france and from what I have read they do offer restaurant food and pub grub as well as kids activities and cubs.

I dont except your reasoning,i know i mentioned pools restaurants and bars in a previous post but that was just to highlight the facilities that would be available to you in France for the money we are paying here,the fact that you only have to travel an hour to your chosen site doesnt add any value to the quality of the site
The fact remains that Irish sites are expensive and represent poor value

On a side note may be we should move the comments on the cost of Irish sites to its own thread as the hidden valley is one of the better sites and i wouldnt want them to think we are singling them out