01422 396 769 
quoteCaravan Guard takes the lid off award winning caravan kitchens – with two top end luxury ‘vans featured.
The Caravan Industry Award for Best Kitchen was independently judged by a panel of judges at The International Caravan Show held at the NEC in October 2010. There were ten entries and the judges found the standards to be high this year.
The class is sponsored by Dometic and kitchens are marked out of 75 points under the headings of:
- Equipment – does the amount and quality match the size and price of the caravan;
- Worktops – including area, height and stability; cupboards, shelves and drawers – size, usefulness, accessibility;
- Washing-up facilities – positioning of the sink and drainer, space for dirty crockery and pans and usable space for dried crockery;
- Electrics – in terms of lighting and sockets; ventilation;
- Overall assessment of the kitchen in terms of safety, quality and finish.
Scores were high, with two caravans being given the highest ever score of 70 points by two of the judging team.
Winner: Vanmaster Occasion 640TBEW
The winner was the Occasion 640 TBEW by Vanmaster with an upmarket looking Ash wood interior finish. Designs are bespoke but the stainless steel sink had a smoked glass hinged lid and we noted the dedicated plate racks in the top locker. The high gloss granite effect worktop was curved with an easyglide extendable worktop creating an L shape work area with five LED lights over the sink area. Above the four burner hob was a two speed extractor fan and a large locker and an Omnivent was fitted for added ventilation. A fridge freezer and a microwave were essential items in a unit with this price tag and we thought the light in the oven was practical. This kitchen we thought was very workable and is one that calls for those who like cooking and entertaining.
Key features of the Vanmaster Occasion 640TBEW
Twin axle
Four berth
Fixed transverse bed
MTPLM 2200kg
Shipping length 7.94m
Price from £32,950. including VAT @17.5%
Insurance cost: £557 *
*Caravan insurance cost based on 2011 Vanmaster Occasion 640 TBEW valued at £32,950, fitted with hitchlock and wheel clamp. Also fitted with approved tracking device, Al-Ko ATC and alarm as standard. Kept on drive at HX4 0BE behind locked gates. Caravanners over 30 years old, claim free for 3 years and a member of a caravanning club. Premium includes insurance premium tax at 5% and is correct as of 15.12.10.
Runner-up: Airstream International 684
The runner-up was the Airstream International 684 with a centre kitchen. Above the brushed stainless steel sink are two storage lockers with a stainless steel and burnt orange interior which are backlit through translucent acrylic sliding doors and to the right of the sink is an extending work top. This compensated, we thought for the lack of workspace at the opposite end of the work top to the left of the three burner gas hob. We weren’t sure that we liked the knee high position of the 800w microwave, but we did like the grill/oven duo, fridge freezer, the stainless steel splash back along the length of the worktop and the two LED lights over the worktop.
Key features of the Airstream International 684
Twin axle
Four berth
Fixed double bed
MTPLM 2680kg
Shipping length 8.250 m 27ft ¾ ins
Width 2.3m
Price for model seen £65,185
Insurance cost: £1,101**
**Caravan insurance cost based on 2011 Airstream International 684 valued at £65,185, fitted with hitchlock, wheel clamp, approved tracking device and alarm. Kept on drive at HX4 0BE behind locked gates. Caravanners over 30 years old, claim free for 3 years and a member of a caravanning club. Premium includes insurance premium tax at 5% and is correct as of 15.12.10.
These caravans have some classy kitchens but they come with a classy price tag too. We’ve seen some cracking caravan kitchens in many new caravans we’ve reviewed this year. What are your thoughts? Does a great caravan kitchen have to cost over £30,000?
Hi Everyone
Thanks for your comments on this feature.
I must make clear that these awards were organised by one of the leading caravan industry trade publications. Caravan Guard were not involved in the judging process, we were just reporting back on the awards having also done so last year.
We appreciate these caravans are very pricey and we agree there are some excellent kitchens in caravans that cost half as much or less.
I will post a link from this page to the awards organisers so they can take your feedback on board.
Happy Caravanning!
I agree with the other comments amde, for the price of either of these 2 vans I would not only expect them to have top of the range kitchens, I would also expect them to make me a cup of tea whilst they park and level themselves, take care of hitching to the tow vehicle, plan their own route to and from sites automatically attach themselves to the services. Then again a touch of realism has to come into it, our Abbey only cost c£15K and is perfectly adequate for us as we do not go away to prepare massive gourmet meals, add the Microwave and BBQ we seem to get by.
My personal belief is that this award means nothing at all – given the price of the two award winning vans! If vans costing in excess of £30K cannot produce award winning kitchens (or any other aspect of their build) there would be something wrong. I would like to recomment that this award be broken down into price brackets for caravans (ie van costing £10K to £15K etc). Such awards would then, in my opinion, be worth while.
I think my coachman VIP has an excellent kitchen, and I did not have to fork out a ridiculous amount of money to get it. 2005 Model £7500 a bargain.!!
Bit of a waste of time showing us this really, who has £32k to spend on a caravan?
If you shoed the scores of some caravan kitchens in the ‘real world’ then this might have some credibility.
The kitchens are fantastic but they are American. Style and space-saving should be key but if the market follows suit it will make caravanning unaffordable for the many. Even now with the new lush caravans and campers, campsites are hiking their prices so eventually is the trend going to hit family’s who could only have a good holiday if they bought a caravan? I think so keep it affordable keep all families camping it’s great!!
For £32,000 & £65,000 caravans, the kitchens should be exceptional. You need to be more realistic and have caravan kitchens in the £20,000 bracket. The Airstrean is way over the top of what most people could afford.