Les Pirons, Chateau D'olonne

Myself, my husband and our two children stayed at this campsite for a week over Easter 2003. I booked over the internet, as I always do. The price was reasonable, but it was the fact that the area (Le Chateau d'Olonne) is quite a busy, lively town, that did it - having 2 easily-bored teenagers to entertain!
I suppose alarm bells should have started ringing when, after having had submitted the online booking form and Les Pirons had taken the payment from my credit card account, I then heard nothing back - no confirmation of booking, none of my e-mails with queries replied to. I e-mailed Les Pirons several (in excess of 7) times, but got no reply. I wrote to them - still no reply. Finally, I had to enlist the assistance of an aquaintance who speaks french, to phone the site, and confirm the booking, and get my queries answered.
On arrival at the site, we found the 2-bedroomed mobile home quite pleasant - although the caravan was infested with ants. We dealt with this problem ourselves as we could not get the receptionist to understand the problem. (There are a few receptionists, only a couple of them speak English - there was not one of them available at the time!)
We found that we were one of only 2 British families staying on the site at the time. Further down from us there was an Irish family, but they seemed to spend all their time off-site. We soon found out why!
None of the facilities at the site were open - I know this was early season, but the brochure we were sent stated that the facilities opened by Easter. No shop (not even for basics such as bread and milk), no bar - nothing.
When enquiring of the receptionists if the facilities were to open during our stay, we were looked at as though we had asked for the moon, and simply told 'Non'!
The town was a good drive away (something else misleading if you read the brochure) as was the beach. Parking in the town was virtually immpossible - you could drive for up to an hour round town trying to park. Many times we gave up and returned to the caravan to play cards!
The saving grace was the weather, which was glorious-until the last day when it belted it down.
But what topped it off for us was that a week after arriving home, I received a letter telling me that ?60 had been deducted from my credit card account (they had kept my details) a deposit in case of breakages, etc!
I was inscensed, as I knew nothing had been broken. I phoned the site immediately, and asked to speak to someone who spoke English. I asked what the problem was, and was told that the deposit was taken because the mobile home was left dirty! I was fuming-I had spent over an hour before we left cleaning, and knew the place was spotless-cleaner that we had found it, and minus the colony of ants! I explained this, and was spoken to in the rudest and most unprofessional manner. I was told that if I thought that was clean, then she (the receptionist, who turned out to be the owner's wife) would not want to come to my house! I said I'd stayed at apartments and mobile homes for 20 years and never had a complaint or a deposit deducted, she replied I don't know where you've been staying then!
A few days later, I looked again at the receipt sent to me with the 'depoit bill' and found that the bill, although in my name, was in respect of a different numbered mobile home (501, as oppose to ours which was 601). I have since sent 5 e-mails and 2 letters, I have phoned the site twice but keep getting 'disconnected'. I have demanded an apology from the rude, unprofessional owner's wife, and a return of my ?60. All to no avail.
It's not so much the money really, it's the principal-and the fact that I was made to feel I was some irresponsible disrespectful person, who travels europe leaving devastation in my wake!
The event have put a shadow over the holiday, and I look back on it with regret. Maybe I should have thought something wasn't right from the outset-and especially when we all felt an 'attitude' towards us from the staff of the site. (Because of the Iraq war perhaps or just a problem with the English, who knows?)
Anyway, never again. We'll stick to Spain in future!