ScoutCrescent City/Redwoods KOA
Extremely Unsafe Stay — Bats, Black Widows, and KOA Refusing Responsibility
I strongly recommend that families think twice before staying here. Our experience was absolutely unacceptable and, in my opinion, represents a serious safety failure. When we arrived, we were told there were bats in the attic of our cabin, but we were assured that the living area had been completely sealed and that the bats could not get inside. We were also given an emergency phone number and told to call if any problems arose. That night, bats were flying inside our cabin while my family was sleeping. My wife and I repeatedly called the emergency number and left multiple voicemails asking for immediate help. Nobody came. Nobody responded. The next morning, when we spoke with the manager, she essentially chuckled and said,“Yeah, I was passed out when you called.” Our children were terrified, crying and screaming, and we had no safe place to go. We ultimately had to spend the rest of the night sleeping in our car. The next morning, a maintenance employee told us that he had attempted to seal the attic but had not completed the work because he was uncomfortable reaching into certain areas. This directly contradicted what we had been told at check-in—that the cabin had been properly sealed and that the bats could not enter the living area. We were then moved to another cabin, which we were told was an emergency cabin and would be cleaned before we moved in. After one night, my son noticed large spider webs underneath the bed. When we looked underneath, we found multiple black widow spiders and egg sacs beneath our bed and underneath the bunk beds where our daughters were sleeping. My son narrowly avoided stepping on one while getting into bed. At that point, we had no choice but to leave. Because of the bat exposure, our entire family has had to undergo rabies-related medical treatment, including multiple emergency room and medical visits and a series of rabies vaccinations. We also had to pay for a different hotel because the cabins provided to us were not safe. What makes this experience even more frustrating is KOA’s response afterward—or, more accurately, the lack of one. They are refusing to reimburse our medical expenses, despite the fact that we were exposed to bats inside the cabin after being assured that the cabin had been sealed and that the bats could not enter the living area. What is especially frustrating is that when I initially spoke with the manager, she told me,“Yeah, just send me the bills and I’ll forward them to my boss.” We did exactly that. Yet KOA is now refusing to reimburse our medical expenses. Every time I contact them, my emails are either ignored or go unanswered. This was supposed to be a family camping trip. Instead, our children were terrified, we spent a night sleeping in our car, encountered bats inside our cabin and black widow spiders in another cabin, and our entire family has been subjected to medical treatment and substantial unexpected expenses. I am posting this review to warn other families, especially anyone traveling with children, about what happened to us, so they hopefully won’t have to experience what we have been through. In my opinion, a campground has a responsibility to provide reasonably safe accommodations and to respond appropriately when guests report an immediate safety concern. We trusted what we were told by the staff, and we feel that trust was completely misplaced. KOA should take responsibility for what happened and reimburse the medical and other reasonable expenses that resulted from this incident. Instead, we have been left to deal with the financial and emotional consequences ourselves. I hope this review helps other families make an informed decision before booking a cabin here.
