Big Tent RV Park & Campground

Nice to be by the river. Nice and close to everything in parksville. The sites aren't that private and the bathrooms are old but the showers are free and warm. We even took advantage of the pool on a hot day.

Was not even given the chance to book sites and stay at Big Tent therefore I am reviewing based on customer service. I called last night to book 3 sites for our families for the long weekend and spoke with a man on the phone (assuming it was the owner). He was very rude and would hardly let me finish a sentence. He asked me if I had a dog, I told him we would be bringing our small dog. I explained our dog was nice and timid. He asked me if my dog was a pit bull, I told him no it is a Boston terrier. He then tried to convince me to leave my dog behind, and I said I am not leaving my dog at home for 3 days and we do not have anyone else to care for him. He then rudely said well you can kennel it. That is when I told him that I would find another campsite. IF YOU DON'T WANT DOGS AT YOUR CAMPGROUND THEN INDICATE ON YOUR WEBSITE NO PETS ALLOWED.

The guy on the phone should have his phone privileges taken away. He asked how many people I was looking to have and I told him 4-6; he starting freaking out essentially and asked if I was some kind of soccer team and that he doesn't allow that many people on a campsite(I had to ask multiple questions for him to tell me that there are only 2 people allowed per site, perhaps they should only be open on Valentine's Day.) He asked if we were a group of young people, I told him no we are in and around 25, "Yah! That's young people!" he belched out of his mouth. He provided 0 solutions, other than asking "Have you called riverbend???" I'd call that discrimination.

We stayed here for the first time during the May long weekend. The campground was decent. Our site backed onto the river which was very cool, and was located beside the playground, also quite convienient as we have kids. While we enjoyed our stay and would certainly go back, there were a few negatives that were worth noting: - Sites are very small and narrow (Not super uncommon for an RV park, but still enough to not get a perfect 5 star rating from me). By the time we put our trailer in, there was almost no room to park our truck. We also had a tent and another vehicle with us. We would have booked two sites, but when we called they said there would be plenty of room - there wasn't. - Website states there is a sani-dump on site, but we could not find it anywhere. (In all honesty I didn't ask anyone either, so this could just be a 'shame on me', but if they do have one it is very well hidden - signage would help! - We were beside a very loud group of campers. Normally I would not blame the campground for this one, but when we booked the site my wife asked what would be good, told them we had kids, etc. They picked this site for us. We later found out that this loud group of campers comes for that weekend every year, and that the caretakers knew they were there when we booked (they told us!) - they should have suggested a different site for us knowing this and knowing we had young kids. - The bathroom, specifically the shower. Wow. No words to explain how bad that one is. Looked like it had not been cleaned in decades - no exaggeration. The top edge of the shower enclosure was completely covered in dead bugs (literally dozens and dozens - no joke), and the cobwebs were taking over around the ceiling. No excuse for that at all. The entire bathroom was very dated and could use a reno, but I am okay with that - but cleanliness is a huge issue - Signage would be great. This doesn't bother me, more of a recommendation to the owners. The dumpster is obvious, but the recycling containers not so much. Cans/Bottles go in a standard black garbage can, I never would have guessed if someone had not been there when I dropped off. Cardboard and other recyclables go in an old trailer (at least I think other recyclables are to go in there - that's where I put mine) All in all, the campground is far from perfect. If it were not for the location right along the river, I likely would have rated 2 stars. Yes, though, believe it or not I would stay again.

Close to everything, relatively clean campground. But it definitely needs upgrades.