Red Oak Camp Red Oak CampRed Barn CampChincapin Equestrian Camp Ripoff, lies ,false advertising , overpriced , greedy , bait and switch Kirtland Ohio
We sent both of our daughters to this camp in 2013 for their so called adventure week camps, for the massive price tag we were promised the "experience of a lifetime" by the Director Adam Cassi. Advertised for these weeks are. (Ropes courses , zip line , science, camp cooking, hiking and canoe , kayaking . Problems arose on day 1 when pur daughters came home and said they had done nothing advertised . They had spent the day doing 2 things. Cutting scraps of old wood with rusty dangerous tools while a college aged counselor started fires out back with the remaining scraps. Or pounding leafs taken from trees with heavy hammers for hours on end to make art . The lodge area was filthy, picnic tables feet from garbage bins, where raccoons had been rummaging , a rear deck that was full of mildew , and counselors inside separated from campers as far as they could get , disallowing the campers to approach the counselors . Day 2 was no different , except instead of leaves they made painted sticks. The "world renouned science teacher" was conveniently on vacation so science consisted of catching bugs in nets. Days 3 & 4 consosted of swimming in a pool, a walk in a river disguised as a hike, and tragic attempts to share fishing poles on an overcrowded lake . I finay took my concerna to the director Adam Cassi and explained I was in fact upset that both daughters did not get to experience 75% of the advertised activities. He assured me he would find time , only to have them spend the entire last day for 1 zip line each , overseen by 3 college aged kids who had no interest in safety or well being , just pushing them through the line and shuffling them on to the next activity . Overpriced , Ill Staffed, Unsafe in my opinion , bate and switch ( sure they have things bit staff is a different story) non caring counselors who spent more time playing cards then watching kids , unsafe roads and turnabouts , and the ability to lie to you with the face of a sociopath . If you plan on your child going to Red Oak Camp, keep em home .
1 Updates & Rebuttals
ConcernedCamper
Cleveland,Ohio,
USA
Out of Date Concerns
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, March 03, 2017
I was aghast to find such a scathing review of Red Oak Camp, and troubled that it is still a top search result even though the complaint addressed is out of date by years.
Full disclousure, I did attend Red Oak Camp in my youth, and I have worked there on and off for many years, though not during the period mentioned in the complaint. I'm dissapointed that these girls had such a rough and unfulfiling experience when it has been such a positive place for so many campers and staff.
The Director in question is no longer involved in the camp, and the new Executive Director has taken strides to return the focus on safety and developmental programming that Red Oak was known for in years past. There has also been an improvement in staff training and development and a focus on engaging with campers to teach skills rather than simply exposing them to activities. The new director also seeks frequent feedback from camp families in order to make sure that meeting the needs of campers.
I won't belabor the point any further. simply put these concerns put forth in the original report are troubling and no doubt accurate to a degree, but 2013 was a long time ago and Red Oak Camp has made tremendous progress since then, and I would hate for anyone to miss out on such a positive experience because of a negative review that no longer applies.