Nore Valley Kilkenny, bad experience

cathyouch

We have just returned from the worst camping trip of our lives.

On arriving at Nore Valley, Kilkenny, my family, like many other annoyed campers,were seperated into 3 different fields. We were very rudely told that the site do not accept group bookings. This is not advertised on their website. Many campers stayed 1 night then left the following morning.

We were given a list of camp rules, of which included "everyone in their own tents at 11.30" and "lights out at 12.00". The owner goes around with a flashlight at 12.15 making sure no-ones talking in their tents!
My sister was in my parents tent when he was doing his rounds and they were asked to go asleep!
The following day my sister was asked to pay a 50e fine for breaking the "no talking in the tent after midnight" rule!
My parents refused and we were asked to leave....at 10pm with 6 small children.

We have travelled all over Europe and have never come across anything like this before. The campsite owner and his wife are the rudest people we have ever met.
We do not recommend you stay here if you want to spend quality time with your family.

*Kol*

cathyouch wrote: »

We were very rudely told that the site do not accept group bookings.

That was your cue to leave at that point.

I have been there 3 or 4 times and not experienced anything like that. I haven't been part of a group though. I do recall the night time rules though.

peasant

I was on a campsite once (which shall remain unnamed) where the kids were still sreaming their heads off at 1 o'clock in the morning in the play area (which happend to be besides my van)

I would have appreciated someone enforcing the night time rules then

dollydishmop

Oh yes...stayed there once, never again. Rude, rude, rude!

Had virtually the same experience.

Was camping with 2 friends. 2 campervans. We had a BBQ in the evening, then sat around it chatting quietly. And I swear, we were not only being extremely quiet (chatting in whispers), but we were parked in a wooded glade, well away from the main site area, and well away from any other campers.

He came around with his torch and told us it was time to go to bed. I laughed at him, thinking he was joking. And he said about the No Noise rule, which was kind of fair enough, although we weren't really making any noise. So I suggested to my friends that we move inside one of the camper vans to resume our conversation, and finish our bottle of wine.

Campsite owner told us in no uncertain terms that no, we had to get to bed, in our own vans, and he'd be back around in 15 minutes to check all our lights were out, otherwise we'd be asked to leave, there and then.... :rolleyes:

I left boarding school nearly 20 years ago!!!

I would never, ever camp there again...and happily tell people of my experience any time the awful place is mentioned!!!

unfit2006

Hi,
We all agree that camp-sites need to have rules in order to ensure that everyone enjoys the camping/caravan experience.However, reading these accounts would suggest some very extreme enforcement of camp-site rules.
I stayed there many years ago when the kids were young.They liked the attractions that the site had to offer. We do remember some rules about noise at nighttime but it was never an issue for us at the time. That could have been 12-15 years ago, maybe more.
I feel uncomfortable with the idea of someone walking around amongst tents with a flashlight listening out for unacceptable nocturnal noises..... I mean to say.... "we had to get to bed, in our own vans, and he'd be back around in 15 minutes to check all our lights were out,... come on folks is he for real ??

unfit

bido

cathyouch wrote: »

We have just returned from the worst camping trip of our lives.

On arriving at Nore Valley, Kilkenny, my family, like many other annoyed campers,were seperated into 3 different fields. We were very rudely told that the site do not accept group bookings. This is not advertised on their website. Many campers stayed 1 night then left the following morning.

We were given a list of camp rules, of which included "everyone in their own tents at 11.30" and "lights out at 12.00". The owner goes around with a flashlight at 12.15 making sure no-ones talking in their tents!
My sister was in my parents tent when he was doing his rounds and they were asked to go asleep!
The following day my sister was asked to pay a 50e fine for breaking the "no talking in the tent after midnight" rule!
My parents refused and we were asked to leave....at 10pm with 6 small children.

We have travelled all over Europe and have never come across anything like this before. The campsite owner and his wife are the rudest people we have ever met.
We do not recommend you stay here if you want to spend quality time with your family.

Totally agree that park is a KIP because of the owners. there is a warning on every Forum telling people not to go there, people just dont listen.

unfit2006

How is this park surviving with this type of publicity ? Has anyone had a positive experience in this location in recent times ? There must be other opinions out there.

deadl0ck

Thanks OP for the review of the site.

It's now on my "don't go" list.

I think it would be good to have a campsite review website for Ireland, where people could post details about the experiences they had at different campsites in Ireland that they stayed at.
I'm not sure what the legalities of such a site would be (i.e. could campsite owners sue the website owner if they god bad reviews?)

paddyb

Camp site reviews

deadl0ck

Cool - Thanks !

zagmund

I've had loads of good experiences there. I can see how some people get rubbed up the wrong way, but I have to say I prefer to have someone making sure that people are quiet late at night rather than allowing the noise to go on to the early hours. I've had enough of that in other campsites, thanks very much.

It's probably overkill to have everyone in their own tent/capmervan by a certain time, but it does avoid the situation where someone stumbles out of their friends campervan with their beer goggles on and "BEING REALLY REALLY CAREFUL NOT TO MAKE A NOISE . . . . bump, ouch, haaaa haaaaa".

Some people just really don't like this place. Last time I was there, someone beside me was giving out that they were 'gouging' by charging (I think) €1 for a tractor ride or a go in the mazes or a go on the pedal buggy yokes out the back. Maybe it was €2, but I know we can get our kids entertained for a good few hours there for not a whole lot of money - and that's only if we decide to go for the pay activities instead of the free ones. Most other campsites would provide a swing, a slide and a telly and that would be the measure of the entertainment. They don't gouge because they don't provide any interactive facilities.

Having said all that, it still bugs the crap out of me that he insists on walking each arriving campervan around the site and saying "that's your one there" and when you point out the much nicer pitches over there he comes back with "those ones are for the caravans".

It's not all bad or not all good there, but as above I would prefer to have someone keeping the noise down at night than to have to endure noisy people running around late at night.

z

Malta1

Been there once and have to say that I had a good experience over all. The "strictness" of the site didnt cause me any hassle but then again, I didnt cross the "boundaries"

I honestly think that they have a good facility but agree that they need to change their approach

zoltar_boi

I'd agree with the last 2 comment. We were there on the October bank holiday last year, and have to say, we had a great time. Yes - the owners have a "way" of saying things, but they really let the kids loose with the animal feeding and he made sure everyone got their turn to hold a bottle or rabbit.

The charging for rides / go carts is just like anywhere else that extras are provided. At least he provides the option - and it's not like it's going on all day so the kids are not always looking for money.

The setting is ideal - views to die for, and the peace and quiet is something which we enjoy. We never encountered the late night visits, but then were not late night revellers, but appreciate a curfew of sorts, so as not to be looking for a refund if rowdys have been causing trouble - there's some current posts on other boards about sites in Kerry where the type of nightly patrol sounds like it's missing!

The owners of Nore Valley run a certain type of camp, and people know what to expect, and can decide if it's what they want. For us, this is not an issue, and appreciate somewhere that we know won't have all night parties keeping us awake.

zagmund

zoltar_boi wrote: »

The charging for rides / go carts is just like anywhere else that extras are provided. At least he provides the option - and it's not like it's going on all day so the kids are not always looking for money.

Yeah, just in case I wasn't clear . . . I don't mind paying a few Euro here and there for the rides. It sure beats most other sites which don't provide anything and the per ride charge isn't worth worrying about. Thumbs up from me.

z

unfit2006

Seems like it's horses for courses on this one folks. It would appear that the site rules are clear from the check in and that is what you "sign up to" when you book in... however the late night inspection with the flashlight is a bit OTT.

walter sobchak

unfit2006 wrote: »

Seems like it's horses for courses on this one folks. It would appear that the site rules are clear from the check in and that is what you "sign up to" when you book in... however the late night inspection with the flashlight is a bit OTT.

Just a bit - wonder would he interrupt if you were getting it on :eek:

KoNiT

what he said > zoltar_boi

every kid held a rabbit & fed a lamb, etc. played in the hay barn, sand & diggers, chess board, etc. We stayed there 3 nights last Aug (3 kids under 6). everything was clean enough & water was hot.

deffo "old school" approach by owners incl. not selling sweets to a kid first thing in the morning... which I thought was hilarious. The quiche was value @ €3ish...

The late night thing... different approach maybe. he should post "no groups please".

I'm sure some here have been told by other campers to keep the noise down on various sites or looked at the clock in the wee hour...

I would go back..

roadster5

Have just spent the last few glorious days camping in his campsite - have been visitng there on and off for a good few years now. Yes the owner is strict at times. He normally runs a tight campsite and tries to accomodate clubs/groups in another field to keep them away from the other families. My kids love the site (13, 10 and 7). The facilities are clean and the site is overall kept well and in a lovely location, with the benefits of some lovely local towns close by. (must recommend the Watergarden in Thomastown - best kept secret garden/cafe in Ireland)
However, I can't help thinking that in the current economic climate, customer service and owners going that extra few inches are going to help them stay in business - After all it is our holiday and our money and we vote with our pockets. Interestingly whilst there this week there was a visit by some boyos in their supped up motors one evening - no sign of the owner moving them on and despite the good weather very few people on the site - looks like theres more money in visitng school kids on their day trip from school.

To sum up imo - good but could do better.

Will return but not after having explored other sites.

Spideog

cian1500ww

Stayed there a few times years back. Don't remember that rule, had a good experience overall.

aerosol

I've stayed here several times,as said the kids love it.I've witnessed the owner being "a bit funny" with other clients:rolleyes: but had no bother myself.

He seems very old school and thats his right,if it loses him customers I'd guess that his attitude would be 'better off without them'. Thats his lookout in these times....

I've not had many nights that I've had the energy to stay up chatting n drinking since my kids have been round;)

boyoh

Hello Aerosol and all. Been reading the post with some amusement.Has anybody stayed at "Gasparplas" (not sure of the spelling) in Amsterdam? It is also a family run site and the man in question used to ride around on a bicycle and check that every thing was perfectly symmetrical,and if not you had to line things up or if your van had sunk a bit you had to move it so he could fill in the dents.He didn't like you sitting outside drinking beer and many other idiosyncrasies, at first we were annoyed, but later (we stayed there many times when the kids were young) it became a fun game.The kids would shout "here comes the bike" and we would go inside, as he would never disturb you once you were not out.Sometimes he would go too far and his wife would apologise,but the kids still have a laugh about it today.The site was wonderful.The moral is keep out of the way...............................b:D:):D

roadster5

Maybe the owners are related - or maybe theres a special college for campsite owners to teach them such traits

Spideog

thetyreman

Its deffinetly a case of thems the rules if you dont like it dont go.We stayed there for 2 wknds last year and i must say it was very good,people must remember its a family park and not a music venue festival,12 o clock is a fair enough time for the quiet rule or whatever you call it,(but i think you should and would be allowed to have a conversation in your own camper/caravan till whatevar time you so wish) i dont recall any problems like this ariseing when we were there.
Its possible it could be a case of and i can be guilty of it myself be louder than you think when you have a few drinks inside you.Anyway i think this rule is better thanplaces that have no rules regards lights out and you have kids running amok till 1/2 in the morning and you are trying to get you kids asleep at 10 o clock so as you can sit down and have a beer or whatever..
Just a good experience that we had while there last year it was one of the kids birthdays on the Saturday so we went into the shop to get a cake or something but they were out of them,so the woman told us to come back in 2 hours and she went off and baked a sponge cake for us and only charged us 3 euros i think,now theres not many places that would do that for you,so to me it was a sign of a business that wanted and appriciated my business,and that is another thing that not many places seem to value in this country at the minute,or at least in the last 7/8 years......