I knew I'd get responses to my criteria. Yes those are what's important to me and my wife, but obviously not what's important to everyone. I am curious though, what other people consider to merit a rating of "10" ?
QUOTE(the5reeds @ Jul 6 2012, 06:33 PM) [snapback]29918[/snapback] I knew I'd get responses to my criteria. Yes those are what's important to me and my wife, but obviously not what's important to everyone. I am curious though, what other people consider to merit a rating of "10" ? A ten for me would differ from location to location, season to season, based on criteria relating to what my needs or wants are at the time. Examples: I could care less if cable was available near a great fishing hole. In Canada, it gets cool in the fall so I don't think a pool would interest me but a hot tub would be up there. Thus, an RV Park that you may think is wonderful might be very low on the scale to me. I don't care if the sites are small if all I'm doing is sleeping there but I would like a wide open space if I were spend time at the park. Reviews are very subjective that's why I read the post and not worry too much about the number given. I have discovered most low scores relate more to a difference between the user and management that the actual amenities or condition.
QUOTE(the5reeds @ Jul 6 2012, 09:33 PM) [snapback]29918[/snapback] I knew I'd get responses to my criteria. Yes those are what's important to me and my wife, but obviously not what's important to everyone. I am curious though, what other people consider to merit a rating of "10" ? A "10" campground or park for my wife and I, is one that significantly exceeds our expectations for the type of facility. Our expectations at a state park for instance, would be quite different from what we would expect from a park that bills itself as an "RV Resort".
QUOTE(Dutch_12078 @ Jul 7 2012, 10:02 AM) [snapback]29921[/snapback] A "10" campground or park for my wife and I, is one that significantly exceeds our expectations for the type of facility. Our expectations at a state park for instance, would be quite different from what we would expect from a park that bills itself as an "RV Resort". IMO, that is the right answer. A "10" resort, for us, would have gorgeous landscaping, all concrete roads and pads, a good restaurant on site, golf, possibly massage, etc. A "10" state park would have a completely different set of expectations, as would a campground billing itself as "family oriented" or some other genre. In reality, in well over 1200 nights in campgrounds we have found very few 9 or 10, and very few low rated ones. Most are adequate to good. After six years of using this site to help choose where to park, we have not been surprised once when choosing a place for the first time that was reviewed here. Surprises have come from some of the more traditional rating books that are still popular. Our take is that contributors here are honest and realistic in their evaluations. JMHO.
QUOTE(joez @ Jul 6 2012, 09:03 PM) [snapback]29917[/snapback] Mark me also as one that these criteria would not fit. DW and I do not care about hiking/biking, we typically are not staying for access to things, we have our own wifi and do not typically use public systems, we use our own bathrooms and do not generally even see inside a campground's, and,except for dog walk areas, grass and open spaces are irrelevant. When those are important to someone else, that is great, but rigid rating systems would not work for us. That's the reason the commentary is a lot more important to us than what number a reviewer chooses. Since we are pretty much overnighters most of the time, to me a 10 is one that is convenient to the highway, easy in and easy out, quiet for a good night's rest, a reasonable rate, and friendly managers. Other than that, we do not need or want to pay for much more than the basics. Since we do most of our travels in the Winter, a pool is no concern as are other outside activities. WIFI means nothing as we have our own. Cable TV will not be used and we may or may not hook up to water and sewer, depending on if we need to fill our water tank or empty our waste tanks. What we do need is 50 amp service that is easy to connect to and pull thru site so we do not have to disconnect our toad. With this criteria, when I write a review of a park, I write it and rate the park as to how it honestly met my needs. I could care less how the park is rated by others that may have stayed a week and used all of the amenities. If someone loved the pool and gave it a great "10" review, I may have given the same RV park a "6" because it was difficult for me to maneuver in and out for an overnight stay. By the same token, they may have trashed a park because of a dirty pool and I may give it a "10" because it was perfect for an overnight stay in the middle of the Winter. Different folks, different needs, different reviews. There is no one size fits all criteria. I will continue to honestly rate a park based on how it suits my needs. Simple really.
When planning a trip I plan campgrounds using this site, exclusively. I've used it with other sites, but now just this site. I trust it.
