Hi,
I stayed at Zagarella, St Jean de Monts last year. It's a small family run campsite and the waterpark is compact, but spotlessly clean with good waterslides and a perfect toddler pool with a mini slide.
The take away and bar are good, but entertainment is mostly karaoke and bingo.The site is very good for small kids,mine were seven and five at the time.In fact the pool is very secure for small kids and you can see them from any location in the water complex.The indoor pool is fine too.There are two small laundry areas, but adequate, with two washing machines and tumble dryers and hand wash facilities,there is a small gym/sauna which we didn't bother with and the on site kids club looked quite busy.
Only downside is the lack of a shop/supermarket although they will order croissants/breads at reception for you each morning.
It's adjacent to a small wooded area and you can walk in there and spot deer.It's about 4 miles from St Jean plage and the road is quite busy.
But it has a very friendly busy atmosphere and a very helpful owner and we had a very enjoyable holiday there.The pitches are small but I believe that's not unusual in Vendee area.It's very different from the big campsites in Brittany but it's very safe for small children.You'll enjoy it very much.Any more questions, I'll be happy to try and answer
Sins

We've stayed in Les Amiaux the last two years, and to be honest, it was so run down last year we decided to look for another. The only thing was les Amiaux had really decent sized pitches, and it's needed for a big caravan and awning. It was also quiet, but the owner was real mean, I asked the reception if they had any plugs for the one and only baby bath they had in the shower area, and the owner told me I could buy one form the local shops if I needed one!
I presume they have 'english' toilets, good clean hot shower areas, (last year the water tended to be cold in the day time, and lukewarm at night). And are the pitches for caravans and likewise surrounded by hedging/trees? BBQ's allowed?
sorry for all the questions, but hubbie is afraid we may make a huge mistake and go to a wildcamp this year!!! Need some reassurance that moving IS a good idea.
It's still a toss between this and Le Clarys Plage....
thanks,
Chris

and another...is there a playground on site?
thanks again

We used to go to Clarys Plage when we took the kids with us, it was a fantastic site haven't been for 10 years now though, always imaculately clean nice pools, no need to take the car out close enough to walk to beach, access to supermarche through alleyway, also bakers fishmongers restaurants, marche 2 days a week ,post office, we made friends with some French teenagers saw them there 3 years running they used to have about a dozen of them on 1 pitch in small tents they thought us mega rich as we had a pitch for the 4 of us it was a bit on the pricey side but worth it for the kids, when we and hubby go we use municipal sites excellent value

No, Zagarella is not at all wild.The pitches where the caravans go are spacious enough, some are bigger than others.Check with the site owner at the time of booking.There is hedging around most of the pitches and I think you'll be fine.Zagarella is not at all run down,there is a playground,nothing extraordinary, the usual climbing frame, see saws and slides for the younger kids.They have a bouncy castle as well beside the bar and pool and the games room is opposite the bouncy.Everything looks modern and clean.There are quite a few owner occupied mobile homes/chalets on site so there's no gangs of marauding teenagers.The site is partolled at night and we never had any disturbance during the nights.The roads through are very narrow so your kids won''t be in danger if they run around or cycle.Cars can only crawl around.
What I liked most was the friendly atmosphere and lively feel to it, in spite of it being a small site.The owner was always high profile and very friendly and sorted out some minor things for my in laws who travelled with us.If you have any worries I can send you some photos if you like.
This year I'm going to le Clarys plage, just for a bigger waterpark!I'm very pleased to hear people have had good experiences there.
Sins

http://www.zagarella.fr

Check out the details there!
There are English toilets,and everything was clean.I don't really know about shower facilities as we had a mobile home with shower and didn't need to use them.If I recall there were plenty of showers, don't know about hot water supply though.
Sins

Thanks a million for the info. We'll probably go with Zagarella alright, even though until last night, it was still a toss between that and Le Clarys Plage, but after you're post I think with stick with the smaller place. Both kids, only 4 and 2.5, love the waterslides and all that, with dad going with them though, not windy mom! It doesn't really matter at this age though.

http://www.vlv.fr

If you haven`t booked yet

English lady runs this company...........we have been several times before...highly recommended

Thanks Virtual Alan, we're bringing out monster caravan though so that would not be suitable! Have booked Zag.