Jane, I think you'll have to give us a bit more information. What is 'La Reserve' and where is it? Look forward to hearing from you!

sorry i didnt give enough info la reserve is a haven site in the aquitaine(south eastern france) just wanted to know if anyone has been there and any good or bad points about the place,thanks

If this is La Reserve in Gastes, south of Bordeaux then we stayed there for a week in May 2003. We had actually booked through a Sun "£9.50" holiday and got two short breaks back to back. We had no idea what to expect although the site is owned by one of the major companies (I think Eurocamp but I'm not sure!). Our daughter was just 3 at the time and I was just pregnant. I'd never been on a caravan holiday before so I really had no idea.

The area is absolutely beautiful but the camp is in a very isolated area and you definitely need a car to get around.

As it was right at the beginning of the season the camp was very quiet. To me it had a bit of a derelict air with a lot of caravans obviously needing attention and actually listing to one side or decking having been broken away. Also a lot of the facilities were not open yet, or started to operated during the week we were there. The evening entertainment was a little dubious but there were often performing to a crowd of about 4 adults and a few kids, none of whom wanted to participate... very difficult for them.

To be fair the staff were very helpful and the caravans were fully equipped with all the stuff you would need. The beds were awful though. It was like sleeping on concrete. We even put extra blankets etc. under the sheets to try and soften it a little but we all had difficulty sleeping because we were so uncomfortable (and this from a family with hard mattresses at home!). We did however really enjoy sitting outside our caravan as it was totally quiet (the park is situated in a pine forest) with just owls and squirrels to make a noise, with the occasional pine cone making us jump as it hits the top of the caravan.

We ventured out to some restaurants in the local area, the staff gave us directions, and they were great. Do make sure you get out and about, the area is stunning with fantastic, straight roads with virtually no traffic. Dune du Pylone is great place to visit (the highest dune in Europe) and once you get to the top there are truly stunning views along the coast.

The weather wasn't that great while we were there which didn't really help. I think once the season gets underway it could be very pleasant. As I've already said, I found it a little off-putting as the site felt rather unkempt but there were people to put this right so perhaps no maintenance is done over the winter.

I hope this helps to give you an idea?