Cumberland River Holiday Park — Attraction in Barwon South West

Clearly a beautiful spot, wonderful access to wildlife etc. However as stated by other reviewers, management is not only horrible to deal with but negligent in an emergency. I wish I had’ve done more research and seen the way they consistently deal with families in need of assistance. ||We are seasoned campers and have spent nights holding on to tents in the wind, we get that sometimes that is part of it. However on Tues Sept 19 the wind was so bad it came roaring into camp flattening everything in its path. Our kids were terrified and after dealing with it for a few hours, my young daughter started having issues breathing, we tried to manage this and holding up the tent but as it was around 11pm we felt we were getting into emergency territory. ||We abandoned the tent and headed for reception where we had seen the emergency button. At this stage we were managing her breathing with an asthma pump but it was hard to keep her calm in a wind storm with no real shelter. When the guy came out I explained our situation and wondered if he could help by providing some shelter temporarily. I was happy to pay whatever and the park was pretty empty at this stage. He was extremely defensive straight away and told me he had no access to keys and that he he didn’t control the weather. I was completely shocked. He’s a first responder, my kid was struggling to breathe, we had no viable shelter. When my partner justifiably questioned his role as an emergency responder, this guy ran at my partner with fists up. Ran at him. I have never seen anything like it. My partner stood his ground and informed him he would not be taking a step toward him. The guy bellowed something aggressively about how we should “call an Ambulance, call the police!”We had no phone reception. ||We got in the car, pretty shaken, and drove to town where we got her breathing under control in the car outside the hospital, ready to go in if need be. Meanwhile I called the Mantra in Lorne who we’re absolutely bloody amazing. They had a room ready for us in moments, they discounted it and gave us late check out to 12pm. They discounted breakfast, they welcomed us at every turn. The girl on the breakfast buffet offered to come help us with our tent after she got off her shift! I cannot speak more highly of their professionalism and kindness. They went above and beyond, so much so we ended up booking another night at the end of our trip, we were welcomed back like family. Honestly if you’re ever in Lorne spend a night at the Mantra!||We returned to our tent broken and soggy as the rain hit about 2am. My family were arriving (this was my birthday trip) the next day in cabins and there were strictly NO REFUNDS. We can’t afford to not go through with a trip over $1000 so we had to make the best of it. The woman who runs management helped us into a cabin for two nights and then I shared with my brother. For the remainder of the trip there were no apologies, the staff worked well enough to ensure we cobbled together a trip but the man in management with the anger issue left a very bad taste. ||It’s pretty at Cumberland River, the women know what they’re doing, but watch out if you need help. You may just get an unhinged man running at you in the middle of the night. That wasn’t taught in the first aid course, not that I...

I love Cumberland river Caravan Park. Our family have been coming here for about 15 years. We have made solid friendships from the people we have met while camping here. Some of our fondest memories have come from sitting around the communal fire drum. There are great fishing spots, excellent walking tracks, a fantastic beach and of course, the setting. We love this place. That was until this year. Somehow, this once idyllic serene setting has turned into a concentration camp. A dark, soulless concentration camp. If you want to be treated like a common criminal in a youth detention centre, then Cumberland Park is your destination. If you like being ordered to put out fires at 10:01 pm, instead of 12am, which it was last year (actually, having a condescending, camp guard pour a bucket of water on the fire for you, before shoving the empty bucket on top of a campers head, I kid you not), then Stalag Cumberland is for you. If you enjoy being accused of common vandalism without any proof at all and made to feel like crap, because the toilets got scribbled on, then come on down. By the way, I hope they can offer a sincere apology if they find out that is wasn’t our group of middle aged, professionals, business managers, teachers, police officers, etc. that defaced the toilet block. I doubt they would have the intestinal makeup to say sorry, so I’m not holding my breath…..If you don’t have a problem with stumbling around in the dark outside the other toilet block and trashing your ankle as you don’t see the raised concrete sewer cover that sits up 20cm from the ground, and being laughed at when you say something about it to management, then you should love it here. Being strictly controlled and berated by a power mad maintenance crew, who act like standover men from a criminal cartel when you walk near their mopping seems like fun to you? Then pack your tent and come on down. Just don’t expect to have fun. No communal fires, no combining campsites with others, can’t do this, can’t do that, can’t have too much fun at all. To be honest, Cumberland Caravan Park is a cool place, but it needs one thing to make it perfect again.. The lease holders need to do some research and get some feedback from the campers and they will find a common theme. Perfect place except for the managers. The current site managers are nowhere near the standard required and need to be moved on. Their customer skills are zero. They are oppressive and unreasonable. They are out and out rude and lack manners. And remember the bit about the bucket on the guys head? Imagine if that was you. My wife tripped over in pitch black on a raised concrete slab and was laughed at and told (assumed) she should not have been drinking alcohol! These were just some of our negative experiences over a 4 day camping holiday. The stories and rumours floating around the rest of the campgrounds over our weekend of other campers experiences were equally horrific and numerous. I simply cannot make this stuff up. They have directly influenced the camping experience for everybody we spoke to. The warm friendly camping atmosphere has vanished completely. They have ruined the Cumberland River...

Review: Unprofessional and Disrespectful Handling of Lost Property

I stayed at Cumberland River Caravan Park in October 2024 and my experience regarding their management of lost property has been appalling. After realising I had left behind an expensive cashmere shawl, I contacted the park within a couple of weeks. I was reassured that the item had been found and would be securely held for me.

At no point was I informed of any "three-month policy" regarding the holding of lost items. Had this been mentioned, I would have made immediate arrangements. When I phoned to say I would be making the long trip from the other end of Victoria to collect it personally, early 2025, I was abruptly told the item had been "disposed of."

If I was reassured my item would be kept, why was there no courtesy to contact or notify me before throwing it out? Particularly given the distance involved, this basic communication should have been the absolute minimum standard.

Frankly, I find it hard to believe that an expensive cashmere shawl was simply discarded. It raises serious concerns about whether items of value are genuinely "disposed of" or whether they are mishandled or even misappropriated. At best, this is gross incompetence; at worst, it borders on negligence and disrespect.

The complete lack of accountability, transparency, and professionalism is appalling. I placed my trust in the staff’s assurances and was let down at every point.

I will never return and strongly advise others to think twice before staying here if they value their belongings—or expect even the most basic decency in...