Secluded Camp Connell Home w/ Deck + Fireplace!

Review on the Cabin: Pros: 1. Was close to the sno park close to Bear Valley and Big Trees National Park where we hiked. 2. The deck and backyard was vast that the kids were able to be at close range while they played outside (would have been much better if there was snow) 3. Enough rooms and bathrooms for our group. 4. New and updated kitchen appliances. 5. Early check-in time and late check- out..and easy check in/out. Cons: 1. Sheets in 2 bedrooms (especially the middle with a bathroom) had unexplained stains and dirt on the sheets and comforter but there's a laundry area where you can just rewash the sheets. 2. Keep away from the pool table altogether..legs will come off. Keep eyes on kids. 3. Bring your own dish sponge and soap, dishwasher pods, extra garbage bags and paper towels. 4. Hot water heating was a problem. The water heater in shower by the kitchen works just great, but the rest of the house we needed space out shower times or one shower at a time. 5. Some fixtures in the house was also falling apart like the curtain rod in the kids bedroom and the foosball table.

Sorry to leave this honest comment but the house/cabin was not so good. Most of the bedrooms and bathrooms were falling apart, almost all of the sinks in the bathrooms were clogged and filthy with barely any water pressure throughout the bathrooms. The house was littered with huge ants and spiders. There was a strong odor throughout the entire house. The only place our group really enjoyed was the patio. Recommendations to the owners, please include updated pictures of the entire house and be honest about the condition of the entire property. We had to leave 1 day early because of the poor condition of the house.

My family and I loved our stay at this property so much that we are already planning to book it once again. We can’t wait to spend another unforgettable weekend. Keep up the good work and we’ll be back soon.

More beds than we’d expected and the young kids loved the bunk bed room. Great gathering areas in living room , kitchen and lovely deck. Two laundry areas was a bonus but were disappointed in a few things… ants , no dishcloths to wipe off tables and counters and no dustpan … only a broom! Also when you have 17 people using the toilets for 6 days and nights you need more TP than 2 rolls in each bathroom… We all loved the Calaveras State Park which is just down the road and had fun at the lumber museum in Arnold and the park in Murphys with the playground and river. Would recommend this for a large group especially!

While the home is large enough to house 20 people and we were thankful to all be together, this home is not prepared for any type of emergency. We had no power for 33 hours and the home does not have a generator so we had no heat or hot water in the main house and the upstairs. The laundry room bedroom did have hot water but it took us 24 hours to figure out it was on its own separate water heater that must be gas instead of electric (or electric starter). Luckily we had lighters on us and were able to manually light the gas stove and still cook food. As the starter is electric. Had the host informed us before we came that there was no generator, we could have brought our own. The home has no flashlights. No candles. Nothing for emergencies. Again, thankfully some of our party had flashlights in their cars and after the first night when our batteries started dying, the neighbors were very kind to let us borrow 3 large flashlights. The snow blocked all parking and any access to the parking lot, driveway or garages. Day one we were snowed in and stuck and unable to move our cars but the neighbor came with his snow plow and helped us get one car unstuck in case of an emergency. Which helped us when the power went out that one car was able to go the the store the next day to buy more flashlights, batteries, heat warmers, warm socks etc. We weren't able to get all cars out of the snow so we had no way of all of us leaving or going home. At 10pm on 10/30 the power came back on. The home had roughly 10 towels. Not enough for 20 people. The home was advertised to be able to house 20 people and there were only beds enough for 19. One had to sleep on the couch. There were just enough blankets, but had the power stayed out for longer and no heat, we would have needed more blankets to bundle up as it got colder. In addition, the washing machine doesn't drain well, the rear door from kitchen is barely screwed on and extremely loose, the light in the master bedroom is broken in half. The couch is bent and on the verge of breaking. The recliner has a huge piece of wood sticking into your back when you sit down. The garbage room got blocked by snow so we could not put some of trash in the trash shed before our departure. The landline phone did not work the entire trip. No phones for emergencies. The master toilet leaks out the bottom. The direct TV does not work even with power. The DVD player did not work. The curtain in pool table room is missing a bracket. Fell down multiple times. One of the stools around the pool table was broken. Dangerous when someone tried to sit in it before we noticed it was broken. No toaster. The first aid kit was missing pieces. No tape. Just mostly bandaids. No other source of heat like a wood burning stove or battery backups in case of an emergency. We appreciated being able to all stay together. But the cost did not reflect our stay experience. We understand weather can not be predicted. But you should be prepared for emergencies and your home is not. We had a good time together as a family and made the best of it I the dark and cold, so we still were able to have an okay trip and stay.

While this place was reasonably priced for the area & was available for me & my friends to book it last minute, we had lots of minor inconveniences that made the stay uncomfortable. We did not realize the lodge did not have AC and it was HOT while we were there. A few things that were dangerous, like glass & garbage on the outside of the property & some handles & screw placement that could cause damage. It was large enough for so many of us to stay there & it had most things necessary to have a fun stay (everything needed to cook in the kitchen, towels, enough blankets, etc.). Lots of fun, outdoor things to do in the area!