Bailey Alicanto Deluxe Alvor

Unique features including a microwave integrated into lower cabinets, spec that includes the Avtex mobile Wi-Fi system – and a lighting ambience selector.

The Alvor is one of four models in Bailey’s flagship Alicanto Grande Deluxe line-up. These maximum-width tourers are all splendidly sophisticated. The Alvor isn’t only distinguished by its level of luxury – although that, without doubt, accounts for a substantial measure of its appeal. It has features that make it unique. This is the only caravan to have a microwave integrated into lower kitchen cabinets. It’s the only caravan with a footstool at traditional footstool height. And it has a top kitchen cabinet design that’s unique and refreshingly different.   

All four Alicantos have island beds. The rear-shower-room Alvor, though, is the only one that has an L-shaped lounge.   

There’s something very unusual about the shower room. The shower is on the offside and the toilet is on the nearside. The trend for toilets to be on the offside arose from the need to exit the tank straight outside rather than through an awning. Does it matter? Only if you use a full-length awning rather than a porch.   

 The Alvor has, in layout terms, few competitors. There’s Coachman’s Lusso II, at £51,545, albeit with the L-shape the other way around, meaning that the TV wall is on the nearside; and the Alde-heated Coachman Acadia 675 Xtra, at £36,155. This model shares the L-shaped lounge characteristic, and has its bedhead against the nearside wall, whereas the Alvor has its bedhead against the offside wall. Sitting between the wide-apart prices of those two models is the Alvor; like the other three models in the Alicanto range, named after a town in Portugal. It was ours to explore in detail at the Camping and Caravanning Club’s Delamere site in Cheshire.  

It’s eight feet wide; it has Alde heating, a 40-litre inboard water tank and a king-size island bed – elements that give it automatic entry to the top echelon of tourers. It’s the details, of the layout and the furniture, that make the twin-axle Alvor very special, though. A domestic-style dressing table is one example. The footstool is another. And the cabinet units that sit on both sides of the doorway have the effect of creating a suggestion of a hallway entrance. The cabinet on the lounge side provides two slim shelves and a surface that’s ideal for charging stuff; there’s a socket built into the cabinet top. The cabinet on the other side of the entrance is a super-stylish affair, with curved edging and open, illuminated shelving. That’s where you place the Sonos portable speaker (that comes as standard) to charge; another feature that enhances the Alvor’s spec appeal. It’s also where you find the remote control for the lighting ambience selection. The system is called a CCT (corelated colour temperature) zonal and dimmable lighting system. Select yellow hues and you get a warm light; blue and white hues give you a brighter, whiter light. 

We’ll start our detailed exploration right in the centre of this spacious tourer: the kitchen. And here we find arguably the most unusual feature of the Alvor. Instead of the microwave being situated at head height, it’s hidden away within a lower cabinet to the left of the sink. Taking it away from top cabinet level means that people of short stature won’t find it difficult to use. But there is a bit of marmite about its position, because you have to open two cabinet doors to use it, and the forward door intrudes into lounge’s table space when open.   

 The kitchen surface is a generous 1.6m long; importantly, there is surface space on both sides of the hob. The 18cm-wide space on the right of the hob is perfect for putting utensils on a spoon rest, at hand when you are cooking. The sink cover fits flush, and Bailey’s signature double hob cover (a cover over the hob’s glass top) ensures the entire of the kitchen surface can become one large, uninterrupted area. Keen cooks take note! 

In terms of storage, even though the microwave occupies the lion’s share of the cabinet on the fore end of the kitchen, there is ample space elsewhere. Below the microwave is a 36cm by 48cm shelf. Two drawers and a drop-down-door cabinet, all 35cm wide, are to the right of the microwave. And to the right of the oven are two pull-out metal shelves. They are 9cm wide, the perfect dimension for canned foods and sauces.

Taking the microwave out of the top cabinet arrangement allows for a design that’s unique in tourers. It’s a 1.5m-wide unit composed of an 83cm-wide, 29cm-deep central cabinet flanked by two 33cm-wide cabinets, each with two shelves. It looks great, but there are no racks for mugs or plates. Does that matter? We think not. Opposite, there are cabinets above and below the Thetford 156-litre fridge with separate freezer. Overall, we think kitchen storage capacity is well sufficient. And we, love the practicality of the tap. Its arch unclips to enable you to direct water to anywhere in the sink for rinsing. Very high-end domestic!

Forward of the kitchen, on the offside, the domestic feel continues, with a double-doored, 78cm wide, sideboard-style cabinet and drop-down-front cupboard beneath the television position. It’s complete with a wireless charging pad. And the Alvor is fitted with the Avtex mobile Wi-Fi system; the unit is in the cabinet above the sideboard.

Soft furnishings make their style mark, too, with a Roman-style blind on the offside window, tactile dark brown fixed panels with pockets in each of the corners, and window panels, in a pale brown subtle flower inspired pattern, dressing the nearside window. Six cushions are all in tactile fabrics. Two are deeply ridged, ultra-cosy, faux-fur fabric. Two are a bronzed semi velvet material, and two are suede-effect. The edges of all of the seating units and the cylindrical armrests are piping-edged, in dark brown. And there’s something you can’t see. The seat bases are of sprung construction. All this sumptuous comfort contrasts with the starkly modern look created by the absence of curtains to the front windows. The cosy and the modern elements work well together. 

We had praised Coachman’s inclusion of a footstool seat when we reviewed the Lusso in the April issue. That’s a footstool seat, though; the same height as the sofas. The footstool in the Alvor is traditional footstool height, so only has one purpose – until you open the top and realise that there is a 34cm-long, 32cm-wide, 18cm-deep storage space inside. This small piece of furniture makes the lounge feel a special place, and is another element of the Alvor that creates a domestic feel. 

There’s plenty of luxury apartment appeal in the bedroom. The bedhead is upholstered in velvet type fabric. It curves slightly into the walls that border the bedroom, creating a super-cosy look. And two headrests are suspended from tabs; simply lovely. Bedside cabinets each provide two drawers and a drop-down-door cabinet. Two large lockers and four shelves are above the bed. The dressing table is a generous 67cm wide. The top is hinged, and reveals two compartments; perfect for organising cosmetics. The double-doored cabinet under the dressing table is nicely capacious. And two shelves, 57cm long and 9cm wide, are alongside. There’s a TV bracket on this wall. The wardrobe is of an interesting design; almost triangular, and with two rails, one above the other. Two large shelf spaces are under the hanging area and there are also four corner shelves. So far so impressive. 

There is just one thing in this gorgeous bedroom that may cause issues. The table stows away under the bed. It sits on brackets just under the bed base. You’d have to remove it each time you want anything that’s stored below it. In a caravan with an L-shaped lounge, and therefore no central front pull-out snack table, the freestanding table will be in use for every mealtime, including breakfast, so its position under the bed isn’t ideal. 

Our review swings back to full-on praise as we investigate the shower room. A backlit oval mirror, a towel warmer, and a larger-than-average shower compartment that measures 70cm by 1m will catch your eyes first. Then the size of the cabinetry under the washbasin will also impress you. It’s 80cm wide and houses two cabinets, plus two more, with drop-down doors, close to floor level. There’s a wall cabinet, too; 33cm wide and 20cm deep, containing three shelves and with three more shelves alongside it. Bailey has even provided a place for rolled-up towels and toilet rolls; a shelf runs the width of the washroom above the toilet. 

Splendid in levels of spec and luxury, top class in ambience and sophistication – and with a price that is by no means at the top of the tourer market price echelon. 

The Alvor’s unique elements make a great contribution to its character. This is a tourer with apartment-like appeal, a huge amount of kitchen surface and a level of bedroom luxury that is surely unsurpassed.