oakye's profile and reviews

Camp Curry is a sea of tent cabins (canvas tent walls built around a wood floor base) in the Yosemite Valley. It’s car camping at its finest...and thus a bit more annoying than usual tent camping.

CONS:

- The tent cabins are very close to each other, and thus can get noisy. I heard a baby crying, service vehicles driving, car alarms, laughing from the other tent. I'm sure others heard our cell phone alarms going off at 4:40 a.m. as we prepped for the Half Dome hike. Bring earplugs.

- Crowded. There are going to be lots of people around, though things only really were noticeable Saturday evening as the beer, pizza, and shower lines started piling up. Also, all food must be stored in these metal bear lockers, which get claimed quickly, too. Bring a luggage lock as we had some key food stolen by ruffians (not bears).

PROS

- Lots of amenities. Grocery store, pizza & alcohol, general supplies, it's all there. The tent cabins have little dorm-like beds in them with pillows, blankets, and sheets. (We used our sleeping bags though.)

- Decent bathrooms. You’ll have plumbing, electricity, and hot water.

- Electricity. The tent cabins have 1 light and heat, which we didn't use. If you're camping in a real tent, you don't have a light.

- Affordable. The whole concept of this village was founded by the Currys, who wanted ordinary folk to always have affordable camping options in Yosemite.

We had to make reservations in Corning, 20 miles and 20 minutes south of Red Bluff, as all the decent hotels and motels in Red Bluff were sold out for a weekend volleyball tournament.

The hotel is off a major truck stop exit, so it's easy to find. I had heard about noise on one side of the hotel, due to trucks coming off of the off-ramp, and the smell of cigarette smoke on the top floor, but I had a perfect time there.

My room was very clean, the lobby was clean, the desk staff was friendly, the breakfast and cookies were wonderful, and the surroundings were safe enough.

I was on the top floor in a non-smoking room, but did not notice any cigarette odor in the floor's hallway. Also my room was away from the freeway, and I had no problems with truck noise.

Though they don't have wifi in the rooms, they do have free Internet and I was able to get a short Ethernet cable loaned to me, for free, to use my laptop.

Be careful if you're with kids. There are no well-lit or overtly marked crosswalks to get from the hotel to any of the random diners around.

We ate at a surf 'n turf buffet that was definitely not that appetizing. We should've just eaten at a McDonald's or other fast-food chain.

I stayed here with my volleyball team for the NCVA Far Western Qualifier Tournament.

Loves:

- Free wifi, friendly staff

Likes:

- Free breakfast, although they did have fewer options than at the Holiday Inn Express, but there was yogurt.

- Good shower water pressure

- Huge parking lot

- Close to freeway

- Clean lobby

- Quiet

Dislikes:

- Close to freeway

- The morning of the day we were checking out, some rooms had their toilets back up. That meant that some other coaches couldn't use the bathroom or take their shower. Water, not stinky, but we still assumed it wasn't the cleanest, was flowing out into the parking lot. The sewer fumes also infiltrated the lobby and breakfast area and at one point the electricity in the breakfast area went out so the juice machine, microwave, and toaster didn't work.

- This is the type of hotel/motel where the door to your room opens to the outside world instead of into a hallway. So anyone can bang on your door if they feel like it.

- Location: The neighborhood, though not unsafe, is not exactly your white-picket fence type. It's across from a high school that's not that academically-oriented so there are youths around that aren't causing any trouble but look a bit thuggy.

- Location: You'll have to get in the car to go anywhere or to eat. Granted, in Reno, everything is 5-10 minutes away.

- Pool was closed, bummer

- The sheet for my bed had a huge blue & green stain on it. I was very surprised that the cleaning staff even found this sheet acceptable to use.

Our club volleyball team stayed here for the 2007 Pacific Northwest Qualifiers at Eastern Washington University.

Check-in was a breeze, and I got a complimentary copy of Wired magazine to make me feel connected to Silicon Valley. There is free Internet in the main area with a laser printer so I could check-in to my flight online.

The free breakfast is more stocked than they let on. Refrigerated Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches are microwaved if you want protein, there are hard-boiled eggs, and you can make fresh waffles in addition to the regular toasts, muffins, rolls, and juices. The rooms were clean and simple, and warm in early April. The bathroom only had shampoo (no conditioner or moisturizing lotion) an oddly only one sink (where there was enough counter space for two). Towels were plentiful and staff was very friendly. We had to eat breakfast earlier than their usual opening time, and they were able to accommodate about 20 of us.

Also, it’s very close to a nice walking path by the river, a convention center, and, I hear, a Safeway.