Eure-et-Loir: Huttopia offers stays with a Canadian atmosphere in its chalets on the edge of the Senonches forest

Just a stone's throw from the town centre of Senonches (Eure-et-Loir) and its amenities, the Huttopia holiday village has been enjoying peaceful days since 2009. On the edge of the forest, some 10 hectares of wooded nature, not to mention a vast body of water, are home to unusual accommodation.

“Space is the real luxury for us,” explains Philippe Bossanne, who founded Huttopia with his partner Céline. “In France, the 5-star classification, supposedly the most luxurious, allows for 70 pitches per hectare. Here in France, we have a maximum of 26 per hectare. It’s 15 in Europe and 5 in the United States.”

Since its creation in 2000 in Lyon (Rhône), the Huttopia group has developed its campsites and holiday villages mainly in France and in a few neighboring European countries, but some are also established in Canada and the United States.

In Senonches, some 77 pitches are available in a green setting, with six types of accommodation ranging from Canadian trapper tents to all-wood chalets, equipped with maximum comfort. "Personally, I continue to trek through nature to select the right sites and design the right camps," explains tireless adventurer Philippe Bossanne.

“People come to us looking for peace and quiet, nature, relaxation, or to share activities with family or friends,” confirms Thomas Palermo, one of the managers of the camp located at the gateway to the Perche Regional Natural Park. “Despite our comfortable facilities, and even a swimming pool, we are very far from the club-like atmosphere of traditional holiday villages . Here, we offer various activities that parents and children can share during the day and evening, such as our open-air cinema sessions. But we also host business seminars looking to completely disconnect .”

During the high season, a catering service is offered in the heart of the camp, near the swimming pool. About twenty people work on site during the summer season. Half, however, are present throughout the year. The Senonches camp is open from early April to early November. This period of time is necessary to maintain the accommodations as well as the entire wooded park, which covers 10 hectares.

"Respect for nature is essential for us," says Philippe Bossanne. "When we build a Huttopia, we adapt to nature, not the other way around. To achieve this, we have developed specific expertise. We have created sites adapted to all the areas where we operate."

In Senonches, as elsewhere, each type of accommodation, regardless of its level of comfort, can be easily relocated almost overnight. Aside from the swimming pool and the central pavilion that houses reception and catering, the camp respects its environment. Land use and artificialization are reduced to a strict minimum. "All our teams work hard, both in terms of design, development, and site operation, to ensure our guests have a great vacation," insists Philippe Bossanne.

The idea of offering a vacation with a change of scenery came to the founders after they returned from a trip to Canada. For Camille Gautherot, in charge of reception and communications at the Senonches site, this is why "the Huttopia concept is the most suitable option for a location near national or regional parks."

This is the case in Senonches, which is one of the gateways to the Perche Regional Natural Park. It is in this preserved area that the Huttopia camp has peacefully set up camp.