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Priced at £17,990, the Adria Astella is the cheapest caravan in Britain to have Alde heating and it’s also the longest caravan on a single axle on the British market.
The kitchen spans the full width of the front. The living area extends from here towards the axle, with L-shaped seating on the offside and a settee on the nearside.
Just to the rear of the axle is the Astella’s bedroom, with twin beds and a shower room behind it. Inside you’ll find the shower, on the nearside, is square and large, with a mirror at head height and a radiator that’s stunning; surrounded by strips of light.
The design of the washbasin can only be described as sheer brilliance. If we say it’s a tip-up sort (which it is), you might imagine those flimsy plastic space-saver basins of bygone caravan days. You literally had to tip these toward the wall to empty the water, often sending water down the sides instead of down the drain.
Unlike these, the Astella’s basin has a plughole in the rear right hand corner, so there’s no need to tip it to empty it. During our test, when we poured two litres of water into the basin, it emptied smoothly and swiftly.
The Astella’s washroom is beautifully designed and solidly engineered in all aspects except the lack of plastic lining for the shower.
For sleeping there are two single beds, each 85cm wide and ideal for tall adults. One bed is 2m long, the other 1.96m. A third bed makes up in the lounge, by pulling a wooden slatted frame out from the offside settee base.
At 1.19cm, it’s almost the width of a standard domestic double bed – and it’s 2m long, which will appeal to tall people.
The twin beds have a brilliant feature – adjustable headrests. The sections of slatted bed base under each pillow area rise on hinges, so that you can sit propped up in bed, for reading, perhaps.
When it comes to dining in the Astella, the freestanding table presents a little problem. It’s stored on the floor under one of the beds and clips hold it in place when you tow. But you’d have to lift anything that’s stored on top of it out to access it – which, in practice means you lose a table-sized chunk of storage space.
Three people can sit comfortably at the dining table; that’s two on the long length of the L-shaped setee and a third on the shorter seating area.
The kitchen is L-shaped, with the fridge on the offside. The three-burner hob, grill and oven are on the nearside of the kitchen. The microwave is in the centre, below the sink.
Total kitchen width is 1.84m. The surface area is 1.35m long and 63cm wide. There’s more space behind the hob and sink, making this one of the largest surface areas of any caravan we’ve seen.
Unlike many British built caravans in this price bracket the astella is lacking any additional security or safety features such as an alarm, axle wheel lock or electronic anti snaking device. At Caravan Guard we’d certainly like to see some extra security fitted and that’s why we’ve added an alarm system for our sample caravan insurance quote.
Verdict
In terms of build quality, everything about the interior of the Astella is rounded, refined and robust. Woodwork is finished to a high standard and the white, partial interior walls that divide the kitchen, lounge and bedroom are perfectly edged.
Buy this if you want a caravan with twin beds, a large lounge and lots of storage space.
Fact-file
- Length: Body 6.64M, overall 8.03M
- Width: 2.48M
- Headroom: 1.95M
- Weight: MRO 4560KG, MTPLM 1800KG
Cost to insure: £396*
* Caravan insurance cost based on Adria Astella £17,990. Fitted with hitchlock, wheelclamp and alarm. Kept on drive at HX4 0BE. Caravanners over 30 years old, claim free for 3 years and a member of a caravanning club. Quote includes 10% online discount and 6% Insurance Premium Tax and is correct as of 16.04.12.
would love this layout in a new caravan but can only see 2012 any chance of repeating this
Beds that fit tallervblokes – finally I’ve found someone that understands
astella 613 ht owner from new 2012 have travelled in Europe extensive Italy Slovakia Slovenia Germany Poland etc total since new approx. 14000 miles lots of rallies in uk with no travelling issues all I have had is adjusting springs in lockers outside & springs in blinds a simple job but I would strongly recommend guides on steadies , plastic tubes with u clamps all 4 about £5 great van enjoy
Sounds as though you’ve definitely been making the most of the Astella Alan! Thanks for the tip too.
Lucie
Caravan Guard
Almost perfect this layout – I personally feel it would greatly benefit from putting the beds at the extreme rear and the bathroom/toilet in front of this so that you do not have to walk through the bedroom to go to the loo!! Also, having that door by your head in bed is not very comfortable or practical (from personal experience) especailly when the facilities are being used by others!!!! Do all this and I think the layout is perfect. At last a decent sized kitchen in a caravan you could now tour anywhere.
Love the fixed single beds. How big isthe fridge@