Do you check online reviews of an RV park or other campground before making a reservation? If so, how important is it that it has a high, or at least a decent rating?
Or do you simply return to familiar places, where you already know if they’re up to your standards or not?
Curious minds would like to know. Please leave a comment, too! Remember, it may take a few moments for the poll to load. So stand by, partner!
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Rating are important, but you need to check the date they were submitted. Aged reports are questionable. Changes and improvements happen.
I agree with Tom – also, sometimes you have to take ratings with a grain of salt. Listening to one of the managers at a campground we were in asked their long term tenants up their comments because they had received some bad ones.
Ratings are important, but only one of many things I look at when selecting and deciding on booking reservations. I always look at ratings from multiple websites, making sure they are not duplicates. I also make use of Google Earth, as well as Apple Maps and Google Maps, using Street Views when available, to get a look into the areas surrounding the campground, as well as peering down into the campground to see what the sites look like and how they are spaced. I also check the date of the street views and satellite views, to make sure they are not too old.
Online rating can be so subjective. What one person likes another one may not. Oft times bad ratings are not about the park, but the experience (i.e., noisy neighbors, rain, etc.). I think its best to do multiple types of research before relying on one to two bad ratings.
I made a reservation in West Virginia based on a good rating. We intended on staying three nights. At check-in the owner had a fit because I was checking in on a Thursday and leaving on Saturday. He wanted to know who I spoke with when I called for the reservation. I remembered it was a woman, and there was woman standing there, cowering behind this guy so I said, “I don’t remember the name but I think it was a man.” He shouted “I’m the only man working here and I wouldn’t have allowed this reservation.” I said, “Let me make this easy. I will pay for tonight and I will be out of here tomorrow.” I did write a poor review.
I never rely on the ratings on the campground websites. These can be manipulated by the websites (campground) owners. They can pick and choose what reviews they want published. Most of the big chain campgrounds do this. They also show pictures of the campground, but most of those are only the nicest looking sites. We just stayed at a campground in Jacksonville Florida and the website showed pristine pictures of the sites, camp store and pool area. The pictures showed paved sites and nice grassy areas. Our site had very little gravel and was full of weeds and bare dirt. The bath house in this area had two of the three showers out of order and was filthy with mold throughout. Sun Resorts!!
I look at reviews to gain insight on things Google Earth can’t provide. Are the sites level, is the water pressure decent, does the electricity surge, do they really sell propane or just say they do, is there highway noise, etc.
As for the reviewer’s personal experience, I take it with a grain of salt.
Some folks will low score a location simply because the manager took action on them for breaking rules. I think that’s a good sign even though some might disagree.
If it’s a destination campground I will read and consider the reviews. Overnight transient stops not so much. We typically stay at public campgrounds (city, county, state), most of which are short on amenities, but offer larger sites. We’re not into the RV Resort thing (sardine living).
I read the comments with the ratings. Be careful, because bad ratings may indicate someone who was expecting to pay base rates for luxury resorts, and was disappointed when they got base amenities.
Thank you, RV Travel! 🙂 We are “other” because on-line ratings (as in the comments accompanying the number of stars awarded) are one of the bits of information that DW uses to pick a campground or RV park when we travel. It is never the sole source of information, but neither is it ignored. Thanks again and safe travels! 🙂
I marked “Other” because while I always review online comments and “ratings” I do not RELY on ‘so-many-stars’ to make my decision. Some people might stay in a very nice basic park that is clean with good basic services (just what we are looking for) and rate it poorly because it didn’t have a clubhouse and pool. Others lament the conditions or services and post pics to prove it and yet give it 4 or 5 stars! Also, the age of the review matters. Campgrounds can change over time…good or bad. So I never rely on “star” ratings. I read exactly what people said looking for consistent patterns and review pictures. Good Sam ratings mean nothing.
My favorite is the RV Life site.
Online ratings are useful, with the understanding you must also read the comments. Many people comment when they are unhappy, rather than happy. Reading the comments can sort out the cranky rhetoric, keeping in mind negative comments can be accurate.
RV Park Reviews is a great source. But I look for a consensus, not the odd 1-star or 5-star rating.
I do read online reviews, but they’re not a major part choosing campgrounds. First priority is location, whether a destination, or a stop on the way. I take reviews with a huge chunk of salt too, since people tend to complain more than praise. I usually ignore comments like “road noise” when one of the main draws for that campground is easy access to the interstate, or plane noise when looking at a map would show an airport close by. I pay more attention to comments on how clean the place is, broken amenities, etc. I sometimes chuckle at complaints and reviews of campgrounds we know well, once in a while wonder if it’s actually about that CG.
I think the one thing that you left out of the rating is while we do rely a lot on the ratings they have to be recent. We don’t want to see something from three years ago.
IF there are options where we are going the ratings help with the final decision where to stay. We don’t always have the luxury of multiple RV parks when we travel. We prefer the out of the way places. Or it can be dictated by our travel schedule for an overnight stop en route to our main destination.
I also read the reviews, especially the bad ones to see WHY they didn’t like it. In one case, there were a lot of gripes about the dog size limit, but it was only for the long term area, not the overnight area where we were headed.
I do read reviews – and do my best to ignore reviews from people who seem to think uniformly applied rules shouldn’t apply to them. And I pay more attention when I see a trend.
Ratings not so much but reviews are somewhat more important. You can pay companies for ratings. I will read both good and bad comments. Sometimes people give bad reviews for petty reasons like kids making a lot of noise. Others are legitimate reasons like filthy restroom, sites close together, unlevel sites, or having low water presume or power.
Ratings, recommendations, campground and google reviews, Google earth as well. As I use Campendium frequently for planning I do my part and leave reviews on the places that I have stayed at. Pay it forward type of thinking.
Reviews must be taken with a grain of salt, if someone has a bad experience they often look for more reasons to complain, this leads to a tainted review. I take a look at overall ratings, check to see how old and if bad ratings are clustered together. A campground during spring break might be chaos and the perfect spot at other times.
Park reviews matter, along with price. Reason for staying in the area, duration of stay are all part of choosing a park.