A HISTORY, from the beginning..
Camping Melbourne, including a reception banquet hall, was created by the Pelletier family in 1978. Over the years, several owners helped with its evolution. From a few sits in its infancy to today’s 236 sites, that include wilderness sites to 3 service 50 amp sites for the pleasure of all types of customers as well as camper rental units. In 2006, the reception hall was transformed into an Inn, with 4 rooms, 1 suite, an apartment with 2 bed , 2 bath, a jacuzzi, exercise room, a massage room, a reading-game room, a large living room, and a breakfast, dining area.
Let us introduce ourselves, we are Marc and Stephanie, proud parents of three grown children, Paul, Edwin and Anais, and we became the new owners on the 17th of May, 2017.
We began in the World of camping in 2004 when we purchased our first campground in France about an hour south of Lyon. It was a small campground of 71 sites (La Chataigneraie in Anneyron – Drome) where every area needed redoing and the reputation was very bad! On this camping there was also a restaurant with 60 indoor seats plus a terrace also seating 60. It was open all year around. We did work very hard and we succeeded in making this campground a great destination, while at the same time, we earned an environmentally friendly certificate plus a certificate of quality with the highest points in our region! Our sites were divided into a third for vacationers, a third for seasonal, and the final third for rental camper units. 80% of our clients were not local but rather came from the northern part of Europe. From this dilapidated camping ground, we achieved a little jewel that we resold in 2015 to a wonderful family that we still enjoy a warm friendly relationship with.
In 2010, we also took over the management of a second campground and for 5 years, we ran both campgrounds. This camping was 15 minutes from La Chataigneraie and had belonged to a Municipality. It was in good physical shape but had no real soul, and therefore a very poor annual revenue. It had 160 sites , almost all seasonal, who paid a trifling amount to the Municipality. In the five years that we managed the camping, Le Chateau a Hauterives, we changed it completely. The Quality was heightened, giving it adequate services, a restaurant on site, and thus we raised the annual revenue by 4 times the original in the period of 5 years.
But, all this time, Marc had a dream of Canada and of changing our horizons. So we began , planning our leave and taking trips, thus beginning the steps toward making our dream a reality.
In 2015, destiny came calling. A couple (Emmanuel and Aurelie) fell in love with La Chataigneraie and they bought it. We moved and 6 months later, we sold Le Chateau! So, right then, we made the decision to move to Quebec.
After several visits all over Quebec, we found Camping Melbourne Estrie, seeing the beauty of the area, plus the potential of the campground. So for the past seven years, we have worked diligently and invested in upgrading our campground. We want it to be one of the best in the Eastern Townships. We are now accredited by Keroul et Bienvenue Cyclistes. A warm welcoming atmosphere and the quality of our services is upmost in our minds , as our priority is our customers satisfaction.
Proudly, we announce accolades we have received-Prize for Excellence
- 2021 Prize for the Most Prestigious Campground of the year
- 2021 Prize for Innovation
- 2021 Prize for expansion and transformation( “Les Bâtisseurs »)
- 2022 Prize 3ieme in sustainable development
- 2022 Prize for Expansion Transformation( “Les Bâtisseurs »)
- 2023 Prize for Innovation in Customer Experiences
Since 2022, we have been working tirelessly towards our effort to transform this camping to an environmentally friendly area. We have now received our Level 1 document attesting that we are eco-responsible. We have an action plan in place to upgrade our Environmental actions, -more projects on the horizon!!
This positive force towards our goals and the achievements of these prizes would not have been possible without our superb team of employees who like us , have taken to heart, the total satisfaction and enjoyment the campground represents to our customers. A priority for camping Melbourne and Auberge Papillon Lune!
