Hi, I'm Charlie

June 10, 2025

My sister and I hired Ivy for a four-day festival. As first-time campers and first-time caravan hirers, I made sure to communicate clearly with Charlie about our needs. Since we were travelling four hours to attend the event, we wanted the caravan delivered and set up before our arrival. This request was discussed and agreed upon with Charlie prior to booking. Earlier in the week of the festival, I messaged Charlie through the app to confirm that access to the event site would be available from 2pm and asked if that time would work for setup. After receiving no reply for two days, I followed up with multiple voice messages and texts to her listed mobile number - still with no response. Eventually, I received a message through the app stating that the van wouldnt be delivered until 5pm, as they needed to pick up their children from school and attend work. This was disappointing, especially as we had paid an additional fee for delivery and expected that timing to be factored in. I responded again, explaining that this later time wouldnt work for uswe had an event starting at 5:30pm and would not have booked the van had we known delivery would be that late. After further delays, Charlie confirmed that her husband Lenny would deliver the van at 2pm, which I appreciated and felt was a reasonable check-in time. We chose Ivy specifically because it offered a shower, toilet, and kitchenfeatures we hoped would save us money on food and allow us to avoid using public facilities. At 2pm on the day of the festival, Lenny texted to say the van had been delivered and set up. We were delayed due to a car accident on the highway but thanked him for the early setup. When we arrived, we were immediately disappointed to find that the outdoor setup did not match what was shown in the Campify listing. The beautiful deck, outdoor rug, and styled chairs pictured were not there. Instead, we had two basic metal chairs, a small table, and no ground covering. We had even opted for the additional extras, assuming wed receive what was depicted. Unfortunately, the issues didnt stop there. While the interior of the van was quirky and visually appealing at first glance, a closer look revealed several problems. Two days before our arrival, Charlie informed us that the previous guests had stolen the toilet, and we were refunded for that. However, when we tried to use the sink and shower, we discovered there was no running water. I called Lenny for help, but he didnt answer or return my call. I then messaged Charlie through the app and received a brief response saying that Lenny should have set it up for us. Eventually, Lenny replied via text to say the caravan needed to be connected to a hose in order to get water. This requirement had never been mentioned in the listing or during the booking process. Had we known, we would have checked with the festival organisers to ensure our site could accommodate this. Below is our text conversation: __________________ Tara: Lenny, how do we get water? Do we need to turn on a button or pump? Lenny: There is no waterneed a hose connection to plug into the side of the van. Tara: Are you joking? We assumed thered be a water tank! You didnt mention thisso the shower cant be used and we needed to bring our own water to drink? Why wasnt this communicated? Lenny: Sorry, all sites normally have water to connect to. The guy there said its power only. Tara: Weve never hired a caravan beforewe didnt know. We didnt bring drinking water because we assumed the van had a water tank. Lenny: Sorry, we were unaware your site didnt have water. Our vans are not set up or advertised as off-grid. Not sure if the site can arrange water access, but we have hoses we can bring out if needed. Let us know. Tara: Its okaywell manage. Thank you again for getting it set up early. Its been a long day. Im sorry for my earlier message, it was uncalled for. The caravan is lovely. __________________ This was still very stressful. We hadnt brought any water with us, not even for drinking, and had to go offsite to purchase some just to get through the weekend. Sadly, the disappointment continued. The van was not clean. The fridge had mould growing all around the seal, and it smelled terrible once it started cooling. There was dirt inside the bed sheets and all throughout the cupboards, suggesting it hadnt been properly cleaned before our arrival. Some of the kitchen bowls had visible cockroach droppings and urine, and several glasses were mouldy. There was no broom or dustpan provided either, and when I asked Charlie about this, she said they had been stolen by previous guests. After the festival, I sent Charlie a message to outline our experienceboth the good and the badso shed be aware. I was shocked to receive the following message in return: __________________ Dear Tara, Ive found your communication throughout this hire to be unnecessarily rude and disrespectful. The message you sent to my husband was particularly inappropriate and unwarranted. Id encourage you to reflect on the tone and content of your correspondence. To clarify, from the outset you stated that you had both a powered and water site. Our vans are not off-grid setups, and this is not stated or implied in our advertising. Your expectations were unfortunately not aligned with what was offered, and I believe this is a result of your inexperience with caravanning or vintage van hire. This van is a 1974 model, and its character reflects that. It is made very clear in our listing that this is a vintage vehicle with quirks and imperfections. Despite being professionally cleaned and provided with brand new, freshly laundered linen, some dust may accumulate during transit this is normal and unavoidable with an older van. The images shown in the listing are clearly styled and staged for presentation purposes. Like all other listings, they do not represent what is included in day-to-day hires. This is standard practice, and again I believe this concern stems from unrealistic expectations. Thank you for informing me about the leak this will be addressed, as with any maintenance issue. Regarding the fridge: it was thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to departure. Staining in older caravan fridges is unfortunately common and largely unavoidable. I have been hiring out vans for years and never encountered this level of hostility or entitlement. If you choose to hire again, I strongly suggest selecting a modern van with features that better suit your expectations and level of experience. To be blunt: Ive rented our vans out to many guests without issue, and any issues have been dealt with respectively and sensibly. Never before have I dealt with someone so rude, entitled, and completely out of touch with what theyve hired. __________________ I was genuinely shocked by this response. At no point was I rudeI simply provided honest feedback about issues that affected our stay. The tone of Charlies message felt unnecessarily hostile and dismissive. If youre considering hiring one of Charlies vans, I highly recommend asking very specific questions about what is included, what setup is required, and what to realistically expect. And if you're new to caravanning or camping, it may be worth looking elsewhere. Unfortunately, our experience was far from what we expected or paid for.

April 25, 2025

Charlie was easy to deal with and accommodating to deliver the van to our destination.

April 24, 2025

Such a cute van and lovely people

April 21, 2025

Had a great week !!!! Van was perfect for our family of 2 adults and 2 kids (10 and 12) .

January 3, 2025

Amazing van with everything we needed. So lovely to have it delivered and set up for us at our site, greatly appreciated. Highly recommend. Lily is a devine vintage van and we have had an amazing comfortable holiday. Thank you Charlie.

January 2, 2025

Good for 2, 3 was a bit much. Charlie was easy to deal with and Rosie was beautiful

April 6, 2024

Wonderful stay! Rose was super comfortable for our family of four. Drop off/handover was very straight forward and the caravan had beautiful, thoughtful details. Would definitely stay again, thank you

January 29, 2024

Bobbi was gorgeous. Received a lot of attention in the caravan park. It was clean and well appointed. Charlie was easy to deal with. No cooking facilities included. Toaster and kettle included. All in all an excellent experience.

September 29, 2023

We had a great time in the beautifully restored and renovated Lilly. Charlie was very responsive to all of my questions. She even added extra blankets and doonas as she saw the weather was going to be cold. The delivery and set up was great, and we felt very comfortable for our 5 day stay at Somerset. Thank you Charlie

July 10, 2023

Bobbi was appreciated at the end of a long day.