RV Park Reviews Reliable or Not?

I have ask the moderator to delete this entire post...I have found out what I needed to know...and more...thanks to...westernrvparkowner

westernrvparkowner wrote:

haste maker wrote:

wbwood wrote:
OP....any word back from the administrator on this?

No sir...not even after sending two emails ??

so what could they add to the discussion?

Honesty comes to mind.

A few days ago I realized that our last campground directory (Trailer Life) was the 2008 version and hasn't been opened since new. Why? Because as 8-year full timers, we use Rvparkreviews.com exclusively to select parks. While many of the reviews focus on someone's personal pet peeves (the internet wasn't fast enough, the cable TV didn't have enough channels, etc.), the amount of information (sites, amenities, map location, etc) is unparalleled. Personally, my confidence in a review is directly related to how many reviews the individual has posted, and I, like many others, look for consistency in the quality stated in the reviews. It's obvious when an owner or friend breaks a strings of 1s and 2s with a glowing 10....and only has a history of a couple of reviews. Over the years I've posted more than 220 reviews, and never had a problem with posts being deleted or edited. There simply isn't another source with the information on this website and I applaud the moderators.

haste maker wrote:

wbwood wrote:
OP....any word back from the administrator on this?

No sir...not even after sending two emails ??

It appears you are getting full value for your money. You pay them nothing, and get nothing in return. Maybe they don't care to take the time to tell you why they deleted your posting since there is nothing at all good that can come from it. Why would they invest their time and energy into what will almost assuredly be a negative situation? If they deleted the post some time in the past, they almost surely have no record of it in the first place, so what could they add to the discussion?

We have used them for many years and really like most of the information there. In any review site, there is the ability to cheat and some park owners figure this out. This comes in the form of great reviews for their campgrounds and poor reviews for their competitors. There can be really big money in this for the owners. RVParkreviews works hard to eliminate these, but the owners can slip them in through friends and relatives. Trip Advisers is really bad at the same thing. The park owners do not give anything to be a member. The site utilizes volunteers and receives click thru money from ads. If you use them, you should take the time to review the parks for the other campers. I have never had a review changed with well over a hundred in. I have written several really bad ones also. I think the key is to review the park against what it claims to have. If I stay at a small park for $20, I don't rate it against Disney. I really mark down on lying about things like WiFi, ETC. They have a mobile site which you can bookmark and use with your smart phone browser.

wbwood wrote:
OP....any word back from the administrator on this?

No sir...not even after sending two emails ??

I read Park Reviews along with the comments. First thing I want to see is FHUs, Cable and WIFI. I stayed at a park in Sarasota for a couple of weeks a few years ago. Their site said yes to all. When I got there, cable only had about 4 channels besides ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX. If you wanted more, you had to get your own cable box downtown, leave a deposit, and return it downtown when leaving. Not the CGs fault, nobody could get more than one box, including the CG. That changed quickly when the hospitals could only get one box. Patients had to get their own. WIFI was available from open connections from private users in the neighborhood that had unsecured connections. New technology for the CG as well. OTOH, they had all kinds of things for campers to do, but I was visiting friends and was only there at night. FHUs were available as advertised, just not the way I expected.
Sarasota wasn't prepared to offer what we have all come to expect from those three letters, even to their homeowners. All is well there now. I gave it a 5, mostly for effort, some gave it a 9 because they didn't care about the amenities, and some gave it a 1 because that's all they cared about. I like to read the reasons for both the low and high scores on RV Park Reviews.

We don't use them at all. What some guy with kids writes, what some sun worshipers blabs on about the pool, what some first timer thought was a "resort", etc etc, are all useless to us. After all, some like chocolate, some like vanilla.

Just want E/W/S for a reasonable price. Roll in, "Got room?", leave in the morning. That's all there is to it.

When you first roll up, you oughta be able to tell if its ok to spend a night or two there.

If you're coming in late in the evening/night, shame on you. Shoulda got there sooner.

gotsmart wrote:
I am baffled as to why this entire thread exists here. I would think it belongs here on rvparkreview's own user forum:
http://www.rvparkreviews.com/invboard/index.php?s=b4ed35a95c150fb33c44012e25296bb8&showforum=2

The OP would likely get replies from other users in that forum who have had similar experiences with their own reviews.

I went to that website and the first forum disussion was about posting approvals. Turns out they will not post any reviews until the poster reviews at least three different campgrounds.

Ken

wbwood wrote:

And if I read the OP posting, he said someone else had sent him an email, said the park manager was nice and to contact the park manager. Therefore the park manager didn't send the email. To me, it sounds like someone that has access to approving the postings on the site.

It was probably the manager's wife ;-)

I've used RVparkreviews a LOT - for the inside scoop that you don't always get from the guides like Trailer Life. Stuff like "the train tracks are 100' away and BUSY". I've posted stuff, both good and bad - and it's all there.

Regarding "HOW" to read the reviews - I pay close attention to things like location or problems/deficiencies in the park itself. But when someone says "management is crabby" - I take it with a grain of salt. We've actually met some REALLY nice RV Park folks who had been listed as "crabby" :-)