“Stay away. The employees are rude and treat you like garbage.”
My family and I purchased the "Comfort Plus" package for 3 days and 2 nights for 5 adults and one 6 year-old child. We bookended the outfitting package with a night in the Evergreen Chalet at the beginning and end of our trip. The area is beautiful, and the Koschak family and their employees completely ruined our experience.
After we were all set up with our gear, we headed out and made camp on Lake Four. Upon unpacking the bags they provided to us, we discovered that the collapsible water jug leaked, and was broken beyond repair. Upon our return, we complained about this. Jane Koschak's response was "well, that's why we give you duct tape. You made do, didn't you? You adapted."
On their website, they promise that you will receive Nalgene bottles and a hammock when you purchase the Comfort Plus package. We received no Nalgene bottles (as you can imagine, coupled with the leaky water jug, it was quite hard to store water during the duration of our trip) and the hammock was nowhere to be found. When we asked why we weren't given Nalgene bottles, one of their employees lied (I believe it was one of their sons, Kevin) and said he had asked us if we wanted Nalgene bottles, but we refused! Well, it's bad enough that the employee was guilty of a major oversight. But to compound the error with lying...that is unacceptable. I swear up and down, may God strike me dead, we were never asked if we wanted water bottles. Why would we even be asked? If they say they give it to you as part of the package, in any case?
We had another incident when we were picked up at Lake One by another employee (Sam). Sam immediately came up to us and started unloading our gear and unsnapping the thwart bags and Crazy Creek chairs from our canoes. He placed one Crazy Creek chair, a thwart bag, and the map case on a rock out of our sight and so it was not loaded into the van when we returned to the resort. When we pointed out that one of their employees had neglected to load everything into the van, we were told that all of the equipment is our responsibility, even if one of their employees breaks the chain of custody and handles the equipment. My husband had to drive back to Lake One (45 minutes each way) because they just shrugged and looked at us, saying "well, you better get back there as soon as possible, huh?" Look, I can pack a thwart bag (which, incidentially, contained my new Sony camera), Crazy Creek chair, and map case into a van. But don't put it on top of a rock out of my sight.
We also discovered that some of the food they packed for us had already been used. We requested vegetarian meals, and discovered that the cheese spread had already been used and had bacon bits in it. These are things that you discover only when you are already out in the wilderness, unless you literally check everything they pack.
Also, when you check in, for some reason they don't give you the air conditioning remote. You have to ask for it, even though the air conditioner doesn't turn on without the remote. When we asked why no one gave us the remote along with our keys to the Evergreen Chalet, Jane said "well, you didn't need it last night anyway." This woman had a comeback for everything, and most of the time, it was "well, things worked out. So?"
All of the employees here make you feel like a nuisance, even if you say "thank you" for something. Their son James was completely rude to us when we were checking out. When we offered a few suggestions for future visitors (Lord knows we won't be coming back, but we don't want anyone to get stuck out in the wilderness with no way of storing water), he started snickering at us and telling us that we needed to "take some responsibility and check the gear before we left". Um, are we supposed to fill the collapsible water jug with water to check for holes? I thought that was their job! Is it too much to assume that they will pack what was advertised, and that their gear will work? Apparently.
Stay at this resort or have them outfit you at your peril. I don't know if it's incompetence or a complete lack of care, but this company underwhelmed us at every turn.
Room Tip: don't stay here
See more room tips
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
11 March 2012
Thank you for taking the time to provide additional feedback regarding your 3-day canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness with River Point Outfitting Co. on Ely, Minnesota. A BWCA canoe trip is surely a sojourn in the wilderness. River Point knows this after outfitting hundreds of groups for over 30+ years and seeing how some groups mesh together for the ultimate fantastic trip, and how other groups sometimes fall a bit short. A canoe trip into the BWCA is, at the same time, exciting, peaceful, awe-inspiring, physically hard work necessitating good teamwork, and is sometimes mentally challenging. It is full of the sights and sounds of nature and is most memorable due to its ability to make one do a bit of soul-searching in the midst of the natural world, away from all the gadgets and trappings, and easy-fixes people are accustomed to, often more so for people who live in bigger cities away from numerous opportunities to engage in more abundant nature type activities.
All of this becomes more exacerbated when on a group trip with several people, (often from different families) who have a goal of an adventurous fun time in the Great Outdoors on a canoe trip, but who have never done anything together before, and who must work together as a team, often with limited skills and/or wilderness aptitude, and most importantly with no real Party Leader within the group who can command the group’s attentiveness. Vastly important is the Trip Routing & Orientation Session held at River Point’s headquarters prior to the canoe trip with an experienced staff person, (who was not a son of the owner of RPO as assumed by the reviewer) whose goal during the session is to pass on a myriad of information.
With a group of 5 adults and 1 six year old child making up this reviewer’s novice group, the ability to be attentive listeners while tending to a very active youngster was challenging. Vital educational points on how to utilize some of the equipment were not heard or were misunderstood due to various interruptions from side conversation by some of the adults, or the necessity to rein in a wandering child. Preparedness for the trip was marginalized, due to lack of focus on the education being offered by the staff person. Furthermore, it was difficult for the group to concentrate so that inspection of the equipment and food choices was to their liking and to make any needed adjustments, as is the norm during a typical session. The group leader had difficulty getting the group to reach consensus as to the exit transport pick up time and other pertinent decisions. Possibly, a precursor to other issues that would occur on the trail.
When out in the wilderness, things can happen that require fixing or an adjustment…and that is not unusual. A collapsible Coghlan’s 8 liter high strength polyethylene expandable water carrier was inspected and found to be in good working condition prior to being packed. During the trip, a hole appeared in the carrier. This could have occurred by scrapping the container against a sharp rock surface while drawing water or someone inadvertently could have sat upon it, resulting in a hole. A repairable product, such as duct tape, was provided for just this type of need. With a little creativity, the group turned the container upside down so that the water could pour freely from the nozzle portion as the duct tape secured the hole on the other end. Thus, they solved this issue, contrary to the reviewer’s comment. I praised them for using their ingenuity to solve this problem when it was described to me at the trip’s conclusion. And, when queried as to how other equipment performed out in the wilderness, such as the tents, sleep bags, sleep pads, pillows, canoe/camp chairs, packsacks, etc, all party members said that they were just great.
At the transport van pick up location in the wilderness at trip’s end, it is the Party Leader’s responsibility to make certain that all equipment and gear, that he/she is responsible for, is at the landing and ready to be placed into the van for transport so that it is returned to the outfitting headquarters, as indicated on the registration papers and discussion of such guidelines that occurred prior to the trip start. This is normal procedure on all trips. Party members assist the Party Leader to make certain that all rental items and personal belongings are secured in the van. Obviously, the staff driver graciously does the heavy work of loading and strapping on the canoes to the van, making certain that they are secure for the transport. He also assists with loading packs, but cannot be responsible for gathering all personal belongings or items rented to a party of six persons. A team effort has to occur with the Party Leader being in charge. In this case, the Party Leader did not check, and items were left behind at the landing, and a trip back to the landing had been made by the renters. Not only were some RPO rental items left at the landing, but also a personal camera that was placed by a member of the group into the rental thwart bag had inadvertently been left on a rock. Yes, a trip back to the landing had to be made, but all forgotten items, including the personal camera, were at the landing exactly where the party members had left them. Inconvenient…yes…but solvable.
Regarding the A/C remote control in the Evergreen Chalet. The weather was very nice and cool and perfect for sleeping without the need for air conditioning. No other Chalet guest put on their A/C during this time. A remote control is simply a convenience. The A/C can be manually turned on by the guest at any time simply by lifting the cover of the A/C unit and switching the button to the “on” position.
The staff at RPR works very hard to educate, train and prepare people for wilderness travel. Upon reading the reviewer’s comment (who was not the Party Leader), several staff persons who had personally interacted with this group felt offended and sad, especially since they had tried so very hard to be friendly, caring, courteous, and helpful. However, the consensus was that they all did their best to prepare the group for their adventure.
We, at River Point, care about all of our guests and their feedback, whether there may be errors on some points brought up, or not, we are thankful for the comments. Following discussions attempting to gain resolutions to an issue, we strive to leave our guests in a positive spirit. As a good will gesture, a monetary refund was offered, as was breakfast at a local restaurant, which the group did not desire. Apologizing several times over for any discontent experienced, I extended my hand in a handshake which was pleasantly returned by both the Party Leader and the reviewer’s husband. However, the reviewer, unable to amicably reach a positive resolution, refused the handshake, instead turned her back to me, and left the Office. I am hopeful, that she has come to terms with her discontent, and looks back at her canoe trip adventure as a personal growth experience. Should she try this again, maybe next time she will truly find a satisfying sojourn in the wilderness.
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
