Savary Camping & Cottages

The owner is a busy one-man show, who builds and maintains the properties in exceptional condition and manages bookings/ rentals. It is definitely worth the effort of repeated phone calls and emails to stay at one of his properties - remember that the whole reason for wanting to visit Savary is to be on 'Savary time.' And the booking of these properties is an introduction to this very special time zone! Savary is 'off the grid' and a step back in time. Leave your city schedules at the dock and you will fall in love with this island. If not, you will be disappointed.

Maybe the tent campground is ok, but the main "lodge" (3 bedrooms) rates a ZERO in terms of cleanliness, safety and convenience. CLEANLINESS: Dirt, cobwebs, mold and crumbs in the sheets left us wondering if we should even sit on the furniture. The picnic tables on the deck were filthy. The shower curtain was a petri dish of living micro-organisms. The screen was ill-fitting in the shower window, allowing large moths to enjoy the water with you. We were also told not to use the toilet for toilet paper because of the septic field and we could "burn it in the wood stove". The website says nothing about "bring your own marine toilet paper", otherwise we would have done so. SAFETY: There are no smoke alarms or a sprinkler system in a wood cabin in dry forest. The proprietor obviously cares little about your safety. People in the upstairs bedroom have no escape if there is a fire on the lower floor. There is a partially fallen tree adjacent to the outside deck. It is precarious and needs to be fallen before it drops on guests, or the cabin. HOSPITALITY: The owner said he would pick our party of six when we arrived at the wharf. Repeated phone calls, no answer, voice mailbox full. You get the picture. Finally after an hour he answers the phone and shows up in a compact pick up truck with stinking fish debris in the back and other assorted junk. For a 5 minute ride to the campsite, he has the audacity to tell us the charge will be $10. Most of us walked rather than be crushed into the back of his filthy truck. BLUE RIBBON RUDE DUDE AWARD: When it was time to leave and pay the balance of our $200 day charges, the proprietor showed up to take our luggage to the wharf, as promised (but for $10 which we did not pay. He was too busy counting the bills in the cash wad we handed him.) He is abrupt, rude and has no idea what the word "hospitality" means in French, Spanish or English. We do not recommend any of his cabins based on our experience of the "deluxe" unit on site.

The campsite is an rustic piece of heaven. Pascal is a great host and a local guide.