While it is certainly not seeking to cater to the grey nomad market with the move, the announcement that what will be Australia’s biggest caravan park is to spend $4 million to add 23 high-end cabins is a clear indication of the direction the industry is moving in.
The Adelaide Shores Resort – a 135-hectare tourism and recreation precinct located on the coastline of picturesque West Beach a short drive from the Adelaide CBD – says the decision is simply a response to strong demand for ‘boutique experiences’.
“There’s a movement from caravanning to cabin accommodation … and we are obviously trying to develop some additional cabins to meet that demand,” Adelaide Shores chief executive Kate Williams told the Advertiser newspaper. “We will be the biggest caravan park in Australia with the addition of the new cabins and that’s a pretty significant achievement in itself.”
The ‘premium’ cabins will all be in place by the end of the year and will be installed in an oval configuration to create a ‘holiday village’. There will be a mixture of two and three bedrooms with lounge areas, kitchens and outdoor areas. The Advertiser reports that the average cost for night’s stay will be between $300 and $400.
A laundry, covered barbecue area, access road and landscaping are all part of the revamp at the Big 4 Park which already boasts 100 cabins, six eco-tents and 300 caravan and camping sites.
SA Tourism Commission board member Ian Horne told the Advertiser it was a ‘great initiative’.
“We are seeing more and more boutique experiences and that really means there is a broad range of experiences of people in SA,” he said. “Modern travellers and modern visitors have a broad range of tastes and circumstances.”
He said the new accommodation would be for people who didn’t want to ‘rough it’.
“If you look over at Kangaroo Island, there are 21 rooms perched on a cliff and it’s $1500 a night,” he said. “You wonder who would ever stay there, but it’s hit a fantastic niche and there are similar in Ayers Rock.”
The march of cabins into traditional caravan parks has long been a source of concern to many grey nomads. Just last month the new owners of Jenolan Caravan Park announced they were to install eight new cabins at the park in Oberon, New South Wales.
how can van parks bitch about free camping when they are the ones forcing people to do it. They can’t have their cake and eat it as well.
Before we bought our s/h caravan we used to love staying in cabins esp when they catered for our dog and it was much cheaper than a motel had a kitchen which catered for my special needs, they were mini houses and was only about $80 a night… perfect.. the high price might put people off it would me…
Caravan parks complain about free/low cost parks and the impact they have on their business. Surely what they are planning will have an impact on holiday apartments and motels – so lets hope they face the same ire from that section of the hospitality sector.
Good luck to them I say,I don’t think they we have full occupancy. They were too expensive to stay there anyhow.
Just goes to show how they dont care that they are taking business from the local motels, but hate us free campers because we take business from them.
Some parks are never satisfied and just want to keep increasing costs, driving those of us on limited incomes further and further away, then attacking us because we cant afford to stay at their parks.
Over it
Chris
I live nearby to that place. Always has been very expensive. Not much beach left there now as the winter storms are eating it away bit by bit. They don’t tell you that. Low tide you have a little beach but high tide its gone. If you stand north or south of it you can see 20 meters at least of the sand dunes are gone with a large drop over the edge. The ends of walkways to the beach have been washed away. Same for the west beach Surf LSC. The storms will win in the end. In a few years it will take the seaside walking track into the sea. After that it will start taking the caravan park. And yes they keep trying to replace the sand and seaweed at a high cost to the taxpayer but the sea will win in the end.
Talking to a caravan park owner recently who is trying to get out of the business as he said baby boomers are the last generation who will enjoy the freedom we have because of late retirements and part-time or casual employment. He is looking to cater more to families who will want to spend their time at a reasonably priced low key resort. Food for thought.