I'll leave a 2/5 star review, because the location is definitely very nice. Here are my major issues that subtracted from a great stay (-1 star for each):
1. The water in the house was shut off on day 2 of 4. That's right folks, no flushing toilet or sink water for 2 days. I would have left a $5 bill for a shower on the third day (as posted in the description), but there was NO WATER. No showering for four days made for a smelly end of the week.
2. The host was non-existent. Benjamin was not on the property or ever spoke with me. We stayed for 4 days/ 3 nights and stayed at the camp for most of every afternoon and evening. The house was accessible, yet eerily vacant; it made my daughter uncomfortable being in the house to use the bathroom. The cats were not fed or watered, so we took it upon ourselves to feed and water the cats on the last two days.
3. The parking area is 250' from the campsite area and the trail goes down a significant hillside (50' elevation change maybe?). I would have gone elsewhere knowing this as I have arthritis in my knee. Packing our stuff out took a long while for me.
Here is the redeeming quality:
1. The view from the camp is spectacular. I placed my hammock along the cliff-side and we read for hours. And the fire pit was fun to use, much like having a fire at the beach. This made up for most of the issues, but it definitely was not an ideal stay.
If this situation is typical of HipCamp, and I missed something, I'll stick with the CA State Park system. Thank you.
Past trips
Separate Star Point Camp
in Separate Star Point, CaliforniaI'll leave a 2/5 star review, because the location is definitely very nice. Here are my major issues that subtracted from a great stay (-1 star for each):
1. The water in the house was shut off on day 2 of 4. That's right folks, no flushing toilet or sink water for 2 days. I would have left a $5 bill for a shower on the third day (as posted in the description), but there was NO WATER. No showering for four days made for a smelly end of the week.
2. The host was non-existent. Benjamin was not on the property or ever spoke with me. We stayed for 4 days/ 3 nights and stayed at the camp for most of every afternoon and evening. The house was accessible, yet eerily vacant; it made my daughter uncomfortable being in the house to use the bathroom. The cats were not fed or watered, so we took it upon ourselves to feed and water the cats on the last two days.
3. The parking area is 250' from the campsite area and the trail goes down a significant hillside (50' elevation change maybe?). I would have gone elsewhere knowing this as I have arthritis in my knee. Packing our stuff out took a long while for me.
Here is the redeeming quality:
1. The view from the camp is spectacular. I placed my hammock along the cliff-side and we read for hours. And the fire pit was fun to use, much like having a fire at the beach. This made up for most of the issues, but it definitely was not an ideal stay.
If this situation is typical of HipCamp, and I missed something, I'll stick with the CA State Park system. Thank you.
in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California
in Salt Point State Park, California