The Champagne lodge built by Swift is the company’s first lodge and the model seen was built to BS3632 residential standard with 60mm wall insulation, 100mm in the roof and a composite floor with 50mm of insulation, built on a substantial Bankside twin axle beam chassis.
It’s stylish living for holiday or residential use with a spacious open plan kitchen/dining area and living room. The freestanding sofa is complemented by two arm chairs, all upholstered in an espresso coffee colour; one arm chair swivels so you can enjoy the view from the aspect patio doors on the front aspect. The scatter cushions have an iridescent silky look and the carpet in the living area is a butter milk colour. The electric fire set in a black surround is the focal point and you’ll find speakers and an iPod docking station too.
Moving to the kitchen which is well-specified with charcoal worktops and a 1½ bowl sink and drainer set in a more than adequate work space. The kitchen units are two tone espresso and glossy white; it’s a modern domestic kitchen look complemented by a five burner gas hob, a gas oven and grill and a built in combination microwave oven. Let’s not forget the fridge freezer or the 12 place dishwasher which are standard fittings. A washing machine is an optional extra but would be at the loss of a kitchen cupboard; a Morco condensing gas boiler for heating and water is tucked away in a cupboard on the outer wall of the kitchen. The breakfast bar/social area has two leather look stools, but we wondered if more use could be made of this area with narrow cupboards or storage under it. We did like the practical wood grain look floor covering.
The glazed side gable gives extra light to the dining area, and we didn’t miss the well situated built-in wine chiller.
With two bedrooms, a 5ft lift up bed in the master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe, a twin room and a family shower room, you’d have your own space if visitors stayed with you. The bedrooms each have luxurious looking padded headboards and television points.
On the exterior CanExcel cladding in almond colour is standard but Acadia green or sierra wood finishes are options.
Specification
Single unit 41ftx13ft
Built to BS 3632
Please refer to the park licence and associated planning conditions before ordering this unit.
Verdict
It’s an upgrade to the company’s popular top-of-the-range Champagne static and being built to residential standard has the attraction of being 0% VAT rated on the construction element when the 5% VAT comes in on April 1st for static caravans. We found the interior furniture, described as driftwood wood grain, to be a tad to dark for our liking, but it may well appeal to other people. LED lighting is well placed and gives extra credence to green credentials.
Ex-works price £62,495.00. Additional charges will be made by park operators, and/or distributors for transportation, siting and annual maintenance. Please check the price carefully before you commit to purchase, as prices vary considerably dependent, amongst other factors, on the geographical location of your chosen park.
The unit looks nice but I hope the crew that put my new Burgundy together dont get involved in the build. The workmanship and quality of the fittings in the Burgandy leaves much to be desired and I only hope for the astronomical price asked for the Champagne that things have changed.
I purchased a Champagne 2013 in Dec 12 and have it sited at Longbeach Leisure, Hornsea. My wife and myself have spent at least two nights each week since Christmas in this bleak winter at the caravan. I certainely do not regret paying extra for this top of the range van as it is more than compensated for by the standard of insulation. Yes, there have been minor issues, however, these have been rectified by Swift. The design of the van is first class and there is an abundance of storage space. My only criticism is the size of washbasin in the bathroom – a little bit small for me,
We purchased our Champagne Lodge 2015 in December 2014 and on the whole have been delighted with it. It is so much warmer than our previous caravans leading hopefully to smaller utilities bills.
What has really annoyed us though is we have had continuing ongoing problems with the springs on the kitchen cupboards Swift have been out twice to repair them and even ordered a new door for one of them.
The springs are too strong for the cupboards and keep popping and one of the up and over cupboards does not close properly. According to the engineers this is a regular problem.
We have been trying over the last 9 months to get this sorted but Swift keep taking months in between visits which is really frustrating.
Given what we have spent on this Lodge you would think we would get better customer service than this !!!
Hi Marina
I’ve been speaking to Julie Clark, Customer Operations Manager at Swift. She says if you e-mail: [email protected] with your details and telephone number and mark for the attention of Julie, she will get a member of her team to look into the issue for you in detail. If you do happen to have your lodge’s serial number to hand, please include this in the email.
Thanks
Craig
Hi Marina
I see Julie Clark has now been in touch and organised for engineers to visit your lodge this week to address outstanding issues. Swift are very keen to rectify everything for you as quickly as possible.
Kind regards
Craig
Hi Craig,
Thank you for taking an interest in our problems and putting us in touch with Julie the Operations Manager from Swift.
With her intervention we are almost at the end of the long line of engineers visits and we only have one item left to be resolved.
Then hopefully we can look forward to a hassle free future.
Many thanks again for your intervention
Thanks for keeping us updated Marina and glad to hear your issues are being resolved so can relax and enjoy your lodge.
Hurrah,
We finally have a lodge that is fault free. A great big thank you to you and Swift for helping us. Swift have rectified and sorted every one of our issues and have also compensated us as well.
Here’s to many years of happy caravanning.
Great to hear it Marina. As you say happy caravanning!