Huttopia Paradise Springs

Fantastic location just outside of LA. It's an ideal spot for a weekend getaway with friends. The area is stunning, the site is well-maintained, and the accommodations are spacious and beautiful. Our group was staying in the upper side of the site, a short walk from the main buildings. It's a very quiet space, exactly what we were looking for. I'll definitely be back.

Spent a weekend in Paradise Springs last September and it was incredibly fun! A lot of activities for families, the weather was perfect so we enjoyed the (super large) pool and the kids participated in all of the activities (the local forest firefighters came to visit and let kids climb on the truck, a local wildlife rescue center came to show some animals, we did apple picking in the orchard...). Looking forward to attending again this summer.

We stayed at the Paradise Springs location in one of the Trappeur tents. First and foremost, they don’t write this one their website and only communicate it to you after the refund date has passed, but there is ZERO cell phone service available. You can only access WiFi from the main camping general area, which is NOT close by. Had we known this up front, we would have never booked our stay. Even 1 mbps of WiFi would have been enough for us to check email or text loved ones in an emergency. It really is a matter of safety. Secondly, information about the accommodations and the tent itself was not provided. We saw there was a lock on the outside of our door but we did not have a key to use it. Our door never closed properly, and we were freezing, which would have helped keep the warmth in as well as kept us a bit more safe. We saw that there was a way to use the lock on the inside, but without a key, it was useless. There was also no hot water and no instruction on how to get hot water.  The little lantern lights on our bedsides were battery operated, which is fine, except they were DEAD, and even if we had miraculously managed to bring batteries along with us, the lanterns required small screwdrivers to open up the battery compartment. This was ridiculous. The cooler that was provided for us to keep our food in smelled like rotting carcass. It clearly had not been cleaned or aired out properly. We had no idea where the outlets were. Luckily my husband found one under the rug. These things could have easily been communicated with us. The carts to help us bring our belongings in were NOWHERE to be found — until we started walking around and saw them being left at each tent. They should purchase a cart for each tent and put the numbers on them so that everyone can use them equally. People were so loud with their music, yelling, children screaming well beyond your 10pm curfew (they carried on until 2am!). The place has a “walkie talkie” that you can walk to, but who is going to do that in the middle of the night? They should consider getting landlines for each tent if they don’t have cell service. Last but not least, no campfires. There is one large communal one but a staff member has to be present. Not sure how that works out. This place could have been awesome, but it is lacking some serious elements that would have made it a safe and enjoyable experience.

We spent a long weekend here and had mixed feelings. Here are our takeaways: The good: -- The location is gorgeous! Magical setting. -- Fun activities and games. We did the guided hike, s'mores, and movie night and all were great. -- Super kid-friendly. The place was filled with kids and all were clearly overjoyed to be there. -- The tent was well-equipped and the beds were comfortable. -- Staff was kind and helpful. The bad: -- The restaurant really needs improvement. Every meal was disappointing, expensive, and took forever. They need to offer a lunch option that kids will eat. Note there's no beer or wine at all. Best to bring all your food and cook at your tent. -- The pool was ice cold. It really is a shame, it's a beautiful pool but it was so frigid that it was empty our entire stay. -- The bugs were out of control. Of course camping will involve bugs, but anytime we spent outside was really unpleasant, they were constantly in our eyes. We were grateful for the game and reading room, and spent a lot of time there to escape the bugs. Not Huttopia's fault, but something to consider. Ultimately we're glad we went, but won't return -- mainly due to the bug situation. But for the high cost, the small annoyances did add up.