Willingdon Beach Campsite — Hotel in Powell River

Beware. When booking, please be aware you CANNOT change dates and there is ZERO refund available in any circumstance except for “natural disaster”.

I spent a week emailing back and forth with Tracey, site operator. There were issues with their system charging my card which Tracey explained in great detail how to resolve. At NO POINT however, did Tracey mention that after reserving, I CANNOT make any alterations to my booking. Had I known it was a non-refundable, non-adjustable/non-changeable booking I would have never reserved, as we all know things can happen!

The day of our long weekend camping trip my RV breaks down at the ferry terminal. It was devastating. We had an expensive mechanic bill and hotel bill.

As this is happening I Tried to call Willingdon campsite 10x throughout the day - no answer . Finally reached out via email to cancel our reservation which they responded right away “thank you it’s been cancelled”.

I look at my credit card and no refund has been issued….. Try to call back. No response.

Email Tracey as to what is going on? She then informs me the booking is non refundable. I replied okay I understand, instead of cancelling cab I please change the dates to a couple weekends from now, when my RV is serviced?

I also provided my number to call me. Nobody called. Via email Tracey finally responded that no, they will not refund or change dates. And that my only option is to contact the director?? But that person only issue refunds in case of “natural disaster”. She states that I agreed to this in the guest policy that was sent to me?. At no point do I recall reading that no changes can be made to the booking….

This info should be readily available plus I believe the manager should be transparent and clear when people are inquiring about booking within the “no changes” window.

This experienced ruined our long...

Let's start with the pros: clean, well kept campground with decent amenities. Close/walking distance to town, nice trails near by and good beach access. Beautiful sunsets seen from the beach, close to our site. Staff appears friendly (minimal interactions).

However comes at a cost. The proximity to town should have been a red flag for us. The sites are packed very close together with no privacy. Your neighbors campfire smoke will blow right into your camp even if there's no wind helping it along, the sites are right nect to each other. You can hear not only hear traffic noise from the main highway through town nearby, but also the sirens and various other city noises, all throughout the night and into the morning. Bonus points when the city staff start landscaping the next door park at 8am on the dot, less than 15m from the beach front campsites. Coffee with a side of weed wacking.

Speaking of the beach front sites, yes the beach access for campers is great, so it's also great for random walkers and tourists as well, as they walk through the sites (ours specifically). And more than once.

I generally don't do campgrounds, so I expected some compromises by staying here. However it was shocking how poor the experience was. I would never recommend this campground to anyone, even if they were RV camping. It's a nice spot,...

Not for us unfortunately. Staff were friendly enough but very strict with their rules such that we weren't able to relocate to a pitch that might have worked for us and our 2 border collies. The "new" pitch that was offered had a fire pit that tipped over the edge of the site and was barely big enough fro a car and one 2-man tent (see photos). We wouldn't have been trapped between RV's but still unworkable. There were larger pitches available but they wouldn't permit us to use them unless we had an RV.

The facilities could do with an overhaul too. The campsite is pretty much in town which will be convenient for some. We're more BC Provincial Park campers but were looking for somewhere that had a shower, which is why we gambled on this. Had to walk out and find somewhere else, losing the payment entirely. I guess it just depends what you're looking for. It's right by the ocean and there's a wide - approx 2km - trail with lots of friendly walkers which leads to the campsite.

Though we had no choice but to find another campsite – as no refund available – we kept the key to access the campsite in case we needed a hot shower. Shower was shared with some creepy crawlies but we got along just fine and the water...