Campground Reviews

[jsmith948]

When planning a trip and researching camping spots, we will usually read the reviews posted to get a feel for the place after we have looked at the satellite views to see the layout of the CG - distance between the sites - etc.
We have come to realize that not all of the reviews are accurate. Case in point: We recently visited the Grand Tetons. We stayed in Moran (outside of Jackson) at a park called 'Fireside Resort at Buffalo Valley'. The reviews of this park were mostly negative (2 or 3 stars). Complaints were everything from dirty and cramped to grumpy, unhelpful, even hostile staff. We had started planning this trip too late to be too choosy so, with some trepidation, we booked the place for 6 nights.
The park turned out to be okay. There were mosquitoes (one of the more prevalent complaints) but not any more than you would expect in the woods or around a lake. The sites were gravel/crushed stone but were reasonably level and our pull through site was plenty long. The sites were somewhat close together, but the herringbone angle was such that the MH next to us was actually next to our truck, not our camper. The staff members were friendly and helpful. The ground was a little uneven in places (another complaint) but, again, a minor thing - at least there was grass. My only complaint would be the price - but we are talking the Grand Tetons during summer. I think people read the 'Resort' in the name and expect a pool/spa/wine tasting room/turn down service and a chocolate on their pillow - we felt we were lucky to have found a spot. I would stay there again if we were to return to the area.
I guess the whole point of my post would be to caution folks about putting too much stock into negative reviews. Was this the nicest CG we've ever stayed in - no - but it doesn't rate the poor reviews it received (Mostly from the MH crowd). JMHO:)

[spade117]

Yeah, I don't put too mush stock in campground reviews. I'll read a few here and there.

I do the same thing with satellite views of the campgrounds. We also have a really cool website here in NY for the state parks that shows pictures of each site (multiple views from different angles on quite a few) within the campground. I usually have 3 tabs open when searching, one with the campground map, one with satellite view, and another with the individual site views.

[roadglide]

I have used rvparks reviews . The site has been pritty good with the reviews being accurate. I'm a member and have given reviews , TO BE a member there is some back ground information unlike Google reviews you just put any name start putting stuff out there .

[Jefster]

I try to give good reviews (when warranted) on RV Park Reviews. I feel like people are more motivated to give a review when they've had a negative experience, so the review is kind of an outlet for griping. But when you have a good experience you don't always think to say so. Also reviews that are based on a single bad experience with a single employee, or a bad neighbor, or something along those lines doesn't mean as much to me.

[ctbruce]

I use multiple sources to research campgrounds and use the satellite views as well. It's worked so far. You have to discount the low and high ratings. I look at at the 3 and 4's out of five for a more rounded, thought out review.

[JRTJH]

Some of the reduced ratings found on campground review sites are anything but objective. As an example, we have friends that own a private campground in the middle of a cornfield, 50 miles from anything but an interstate exit. There's no town, no truck stop, no convenience store and no gas station at the exit. It's only an exit to a paved road that goes to their campground which is "over the hill so there's no interstate noise". A nice quiet campground, about a mile off the interstate, 30 well spaced sites with full hookups, a "garden like" setting at each site, a pond for kids to fish with several "patio sets" for parents to supervise the kids. A pool that's shared with their home, a small convenience store (typically more expensive than WalMart) and a 4 table coffee bar/café next to the office.

It's a great place to spend a day or two and an excellent choice for travelers on I70 that find themselves wanting a place to stop for the night with a pullthrough site that's level and convenient.

They are Good Sam listed, so that means "unannounced inspections by Good Sam teams".... About 5 years ago, a GS team arrived "incognito and unannounced" and rated them 4 of 5 stars... The reason: The café didn't include a "healthy choice section" on the menu....

So, even with all the campground has to offer, they were "downgraded" for something completely unrelated to the RV side of the business.

They did appeal and GS removed the ratings with an apology.

Moral of the story: Even professional rating services sometimes get it wrong..... Believe what you see and some of what you read from unknown sources. Their eyes may not see what you're looking for and might see something you find completely irrelevant to your needs.

[ken56]

Everyone has their own opinion. I have been in some CGs that had horrible reviews and found them to be acceptable...to me, maybe not you. Reading reviews only gives me a idea of what other people think and they have always run from negative to positive for who knows what reasons. I read RVPark Reviews (I too post there), Trip Advisor, Goodsam, RVParky...etc. and most are minimally informative really. Rarely do we make reservations and I have never had an issue extending a stay. Being flexible is the key. Don't sweat the small stuff.

[flybouy]

Some folks are never satisfied, some folks just love everything. Typically I throw out the overly high and low reviews to get to the mean average.

[wiredgeorge]

I looked at rvparkreview.com for the Fireside Resort and it appeared most of the issues had the high price of the place associated. lThe bathrooms seemed a popular source of complaints. How many folks here actually go into the bathrooms when at a park? Now that I have a porcelain Dometic 320 installed, I don't get the urge to take my business to the park's bathroom! When I used to have a Lance truck camper, the missus and I cared a LOT more about the bathroom and shower at a park.

[travelin texans]

As the OP pointed out most negative reviews come from "we stayed in a motorhome", do they expect/require more than those of us in towables?
I've said this before about negative reviews, some of which I'd have been embarrassed to have my name published with, such as "we gave only 1 star, they didn't furnish FREE dog poop bags", duh! you have the dog, bring your own damn bags or "the FREE WiFi is too slow/weak to stream movies" again if that's what the plan is for your time traveling, bring your own high speed mifi.

[BamaRam]

In April we started looking for a campground near our property in Colorado for an extended stay starting in July. . We read reviews from multiple sites, made about 3 dozen phone calls and had no luck even with the bad review sites.

We resorted to yellowpages.com and found there are small campgrounds out there that are not on the review sites. We’re staying in one now. It’s not a the best there is but it’s suitable for what we wanted out of this trip.

My point being that reviews shouldn’t be a deal breaker. The reviews are usually written by people who must be angry about something.

[flybouy]

People tend to complain far more than praise. It's always been the norm for the DW and I to ask for the manager when excellent service has been received. Many the time I've seen a waiter/waitress have their heart sink when I request that come back with the manager. When they come back we'll tell the manager what a great job they have done in front of the person responsible. If there is a corporate web site we will let them know our positive experience as well.