Barn Door Hostel and Campground — Hotel in Rumney

I camped here over the weekend and it was a perfectly so-so experience. This is a review for the campground and camping facilities. Not for the hostel rooms, which I hear are quite nice. Now that that's established, let's drill into the pros and cons.

Pros: Lots of level land, well maintenanced grass. No duff and hardly any debris. We were hit with 1.5 inches of rainfall one evening and it looked like it washed clear over with no issue Plenty of space! It's $10, a no brainer There's access to a brook for rinsing off More amenities than Rattlesnake campground but not by much Dog!!! It's less than a five minute drive to the crags. Some climbing stuff sold onsite. It's not Miguel's but not bad either!

Cons: Zero access to indoor facilities Three portajohns for the whole campground. No sanitizer provided that I could remember. Water supply has been a real issue. They said there was well access, but we were shown a pile of 5-gallon water jugs with hand-pumped spigots. Think about this. This is your only option when you want to wash your dishes (no sinks/troughs so bring your own dishwashing implements) or brush your teeth unless you want to fill up a water bladder and do it somewhere else. Most camps have yard hydrants or spigots. Not this place. The experimental outdoor shower is a very low pressure pump attached to a metal barrel and a showerhead attached to a garden hose. It's activated by a small, inconspicuous switch outside the shower entrance. Very MacGuyver. It works in a pinch but at the time I used it, the water was cold (the propane was out?) and the next day a friend said there was no water at all. I'm guessing they don't check it daily. The staff were decidedly unchill when I asked about using the WiFi. I was out of signal so I was just planning on using it to make calls to loved ones, but the whole divide between paid guests and campers was exactly like that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry balls out in first class and Elaine gets screwed in coach.

Despite all these quirks the stay was... just OK! I seriously don't get the 4.9 review average, maybe campers just don't pipe up about this. Maybe I shouldn't expect running water, a real toilet, or WiFi or even deserve a shower for a $10 a night camp stay. Things could be so much worse. But we should want things to be so...

Literally the best hostel ever! Super clean, amazing common space with nice couches and a royally giant bean bag chair, huge new fridge and freezer. Nice kitchen area with burners, all cooking and eating utensils and dishes, decent pans including a seasoned cast iron skillet! There's free artisan coffee in the AM. Shared unisex bathroom and showers have waterfall shower heads! You can rent a towel for cheap if you forget to bring one (l forget constantly). Dave the owner is awesome and a chill dude. I stay at the hostel almost weekly during the rock climbing season (feb to nov). Beds are like memory foam or something and really comfortable. The bunks are pretty wide, have curtains for privacy and you can sleep on a 3rd tier bunk if you want! And they have railings so you don't fall off. Super cool. I've slept in the private rooms too--there's like a full/queen size bed in one, and a 2 person bunk in the other, and they connect if you book both of them if you have a 4 person party. I know I probably sound like the website but I literally always stay here lol and I've stayed in all of the possible rooms/spots that exist here. Oh and there are hammocks in the loft above the common space and places to hang your own hammock. The campground space is cheap and the grass is soft. You can pick whatever grassy spot you want and be as distant on the edges of the huge campground to be away from people and have quiet. Lots of people camp in their vans as well. There's a few shared fire pits around and a snowboard swinging bench. They throw some banging community events too (mostly outdoor). Cool people come through--some Appalachian trail people and a ton of rock climbers if you're looking for a climbing partner. Within 15 minutes there a number of restaurants from diners to fusion and the rumney village store has breakfast sandwiches. If the common cafe and tavern opens back up (they had to close for the time being because of the pandemic) that place is rockin'. Best breakfasts ever and great dinners with live music literally a 2 minute drive from the crag and prob 5 min from the hostel. Like I'm telling you, Barn Door Hostel is the best spot to stay/camp/hang out in Rumney. Also, the Wifi is great and I "work from home there"...

Super clean, amazing common space with nice couches and a royally giant bean bag chair, huge new fridge and freezer. Nice kitchen area with burners, all cooking and eating utensils and dishes, decent pans including a seasoned cast iron skillet! There's free artisan coffee in the AM. Shared unisex bathroom and showers have waterfall shower heads! You can rent a towel for cheap if you forget to bring one (l forget constantly). Dave the owner is awesome and a chill dude. I stay at the hostel almost weekly during the rock climbing season (feb to nov). Beds are like memory foam or something and really comfortable. The bunks are pretty wide, have curtains for privacy and you can sleep on a 3rd tier bunk if you want! And they have railings so you don't fall off. Super cool. I've slept in the private rooms too--there's like a full/queen size bed in one, and a 2 person bunk in the other, and they connect if you book both of them if you have a 4 person party. I know I probably sound like the website but I literally always stay here lol and I've stayed in all of the possible rooms/spots that exist here. Oh and there are hammocks in the loft above the common space and places to hang your own hammock. The campground space is cheap and the grass is soft. You can pick whatever grassy spot you want and be as distant on the edges of the huge campground to be away from people and have quiet. Lots of people camp in their vans as well. There's a few shared fire pits around and a snowboard swinging bench. They throw some banging community events too (mostly outdoor). Cool people come through--some Appalachian trail people and a ton of rock climbers if you're looking for a climbing partner. Within 15 minutes there a number of restaurants from diners to fusion and the rumney village store has breakfast sandwiches. If the common cafe and tavern opens back up (they had to close for the time being because of the pandemic) that place is rockin'. Best breakfasts ever and great dinners with live music literally a 2 minute drive from the crag and prob 5 min from the hostel. Like I'm telling you, Barn Door Hostel is the best spot to stay/camp/hang out in Rumney. Also, the Wifi is great and I "work from home there"...