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I was intrigued by the concept of Tentrr, arriving at a unique, private campsite with a large canvas tent already set up, a bed in place, and most of what you need for camping already there and ready for you. No worrying about getting to the camp site in time to set up camp before it gets dark and no blowing up beds that seem to take forever to get full. As my family knows from experience, a big canvas tent (one you can stand up and walk around in and even have a stove in if needed) is HEAVY. And Big. Ours takes up the entire trunk of our small car and takes two people to get it out. Tentrr solves this problem as well as the complicated process of setting it up. It’s still camping though, bugs and all.
The site we chose to try it out is considered one of the best by the Tentrr staff. Restoration at Cattail Cove in Vermont is right in the mid-east about an hour south of Burlington. It’s near Brandon State Park, but it is also on its own little lake with lots and lots of lily pads. The frogs were definitely present, but only a few so the chorus wasn’t as bad as we have heard elsewhere.
When we arrived Wendy and Kurt greeted us warmly and showed us around. It’s a short drive down through their mowed (with a little fun golf course) property to the tree line at the lake front. You can’t see the house or the huge lawn from the camp site.
They had citronella torches lit around the site and a fire already going in their fantastic firepit made from the charred stump and pieces of a huge old tree downed in a storm. They also used pieces of the tree as steps up to the tent platform. This was Kurt’s unique contribution to the Tentrr standard campsite. Wendy’s was the gift of a smore-making kit just ready to go in the pre-made fire.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.72″ src=”https://www.achildgrows.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/camp-site.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” alt=”Restoration at Cattail Cove Tentrr” title_text=”Restoration at Cattail Cove Tentrr” /][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.72″ src=”https://www.achildgrows.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/custom-firepit.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” alt=”Restoration at Cattail Cove Tentrr firepit” title_text=”Restoration at Cattail Cove Tentrr firepit” /][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.72″ src=”https://www.achildgrows.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Top-Bunk.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” alt=”Tentrr bed” title_text=”Tentrr bed” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.72″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”]
The Tentrr tent was comfortable with a beautiful view of the lake from the beds. It was not without spiders of course, but I can’t see how that would even be possible. Remember, it’s still camping. On that note, the (bunk) beds are the loudest blow up beds in the history of the world. We joked that it was like thunder when the person sleeping on top rolled over. But they were super comfortable and didn’t lose a bit of air over two nights. Like any good canvas tent, it was not too hot and not too cold even though this was July.
So, the question on everyone’s mind: where do you poop? They have a state-of-the-art Tentrr issued poop tent with those special smell free bags. It’s nothing like a port-o-potty or outhouse—much better. Shower? They have a sun shower (bag of water that heats in the sun with a spout) and access to a real shower up the hill (as an extra I think).
Kurt and Wendy brought us coffee and a baked treat each morning (this is one of the Tentrr extras you can select for a fee) which was great because making coffee at the camp site when you wake up is always work…. Well, it is when you have to light a fire. They had a gas grill and tea pot handy so really, we could have made coffee quite easily with a French press. They had everything you could need to cook, but our second night we went out for fried fish and chips at a local’s place called Paddler’s Pub which was better than we would have guessed. It is about 20 minutes from the site. There is also a Shaws grocery about a half hour from the site.
My favorite part of the site was the hammock which my daughter thought was a great swing. I instantly felt relaxed in it, but she wouldn’t let me just read—we had to swing. They also had kayaks available to take out on the lake. It was a bit tough going at first, but once you made it out past the heavy lily pad action, it was gorgeous.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.72″ src=”https://www.achildgrows.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/in-the-tent-e1562462952538.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” alt=”Restoration at Cattail Cove Tentrr tent” title_text=”Restoration at Cattail Cove Tentrr tent” /][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.72″ src=”https://www.achildgrows.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/kayakr.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” alt=”Restoration at Cattail Cove Lake” title_text=”Restoration at Cattail Cove Lake” /][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.72″ src=”https://www.achildgrows.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/smores-kit.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” alt=”Restoration at Cattail Cove smores” title_text=”Restoration at Cattail Cove smores” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.72″ src=”https://www.achildgrows.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/hamock.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” alt=”Restoration at Cattail Cove Tentrr hamock” title_text=”Restoration at Cattail Cove Tentrr hamock” /][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.72″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”]
Tentrr hosted us in exchange for an honest review, so the question is, would we go again if we needed to pay full price. That’s a complicated question depending on who you are. The service is amazing, and I would highly recommend it for anyone who has never been camping and wants to try, who disagrees with their spouse about camping (compromise!), or who loves to camp but feels like it would be too much work with the kids. The thing is that it’s almost the same price as a bed and breakfast. This may seem insane when you first hear it, but it makes sense. Getting all the equipment to camp this way costs around $3000. A state park camp site costs around $30 a night (Tentrr also has a backcountry option that is just a plot of land to put your tent on). You would have to go camping more than 20 times to make it cheaper, have a place to store all the equipment, and a vehicle large enough to transport it all. With that in mind, plus the opportunity to work less, it’s a pretty good deal for those who really want to camp with good equipment.
See all the places you can pull up to and not have to set up your tent here.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.72″ src=”https://www.achildgrows.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/rainbow-kayak.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” alt=”Tentrr camping rainbow kayak” title_text=”Tentrr camping rainbow kayak” /][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.72″ src=”https://www.achildgrows.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/woods-lake.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” alt=”Tentrr camping lake” title_text=”Tentrr camping lake” /][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.72″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”]
* Tentrr sponsored our stay, but this review is our real experience.
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