Camp Mariastella

I went to this camp when I was little, now my daughter goes she absolutely loves it. This will be her 6^th year in a row going. I couldn’t be happier with this place the staff is so good with making her and I comfortable. Great place if you have the chance to enjoy this camp I would definitely take it.

Oh boy, here we go.
There are certain things in life that give you an a utter feeling of guilt and disgust. You know, that feeling you get when you honk your horn and spew more expletives than a uncensored N.W.A. record at someone who cut you off, but only to realize that when you drive up, it’s just an 85 year old grandma. Yep, that feeling. That feeling of, «oh my gosh, how could I be such a horrible monster?».
That is how I feel right about now. I know that I shouldn’t do this, but I have to. I will now give you a review of Camp Mariastella. I understand the importance of Camp Mariastella and the great social services that they provide for teens and those in need. Serving those who are marginalized isn’t always an easy thing to do, but they have provided a base for these groups and have used their premises as a tool to do God’s work. I feel so guilty rating someone who is doing God’s Work, but I realize that in order to improve, sometimes a fair critique is beneficial.
I was at this campsite with my church for a retreat this past weekend. I left very unimpressed and felt a little bit ripped off to be honest.
My church paid for the plan to stay two nights and have 5 meals provided during our stay. Now, although my aspirations is to become the greatest Unilocal Foodie in the West Coast, I don’t expect 5 star culinary experiences while staying at a Retreat in Wrightwood, Ca. However, the meals were way below standard and barely edible. The hot dog buns were stale and felt old, breakfast consisted of stale pancakes and sausages, and quite frankly, the best meal that I’ve eaten during my stay were instant noodle packages brought from home. They provided cupcakes for dessert, but it was utterly gross. It seemed like every meal that was provided was old, under cooked, or simply leftovers from a previous group’s’ meal plan.
Spaghetti didn’t resemble spaghetti, the celery and carrots were old and possibly expired, and it was not worth the price.
Again, I am realistic, and I know that a retreat isn’t a David Chang MomoFuku New York restaurant, but if I am paying for something, I expect it to be at least decent. Food isn’t just food. Food is a very important staple in a retreat. You get dehydrated, tired, and need fuel when you come up these mountains. In order to have the necessary energy to study the bible or to listen to sermons, it’s important that the food be at least decent enough for the campers to eat in order to boost their energy and strength. I was very unimpressed with the food and services provided.
The coffee was worst than instant coffee standards, a microwave was locked inside the kitchen and wasn’t readily available, kitchen staff was a bit late to a couple of meal times, and we basically had to do everything as far as passing out plates, setting up the table, etc.
Besides the quality of the meals, the services were a bit sup bar as well. I know the staff have a tough job to do, but we signed up to have Chapel services on Sunday morning but the staff forgot to open the doors up and we couldn’t use the chapel. Little things like this take away from the overall quality of a retreat or campsite. If this campsite was given to us to use for free, then none of these concerns would be valid. However, as i previously mentioned, when you take money as a service, your product should be at least close to what you promise.
The sleeping quarters were okay I guess. I am not an expert on campsite sleeping cabins, but the beds were okay, the bathrooms super small for anyone about 5ft 4inches and 130lbs, and the water is only available in two options, super hot, or super cold. You pick your poison. Again, these concerns are not great because the facilities are hard to change, but my overall critique is on the quality of food and staff services.
So overall, I can’t recommend this campsite to those I know. It sucks, but my experience wasn’t great and I wouldn’t pay 90 $ per a camper for the services I got. Now, if i didn’t choose the meal options and provided my own food, maybe I would have given this campsite a 3 or 4 stars. However, I paid for these options listed and did not get in return what I paid for.
This isn’t a knock on the mission and values of Camp Mariastella. Your work is great and the desire to do good is a blessing to those who you are serving. However, we all need improvements in order to become the best that we can possibly be.
I hope that my review would be taken as constructive critique and make this camp site that much better in the future.

Camp Mariastella is our home away from home! We have been attending camp there for 14 years! My youngest was 5 years old and my oldest was 10 when we were introduced to Camp Mariastella. They both started out as campers, then CITs (Counselor in Training), then Summer Counselors, and this year my youngest, now 19 and a sophomore at Stanford, was promoted to Administrative Staff. How exciting! Both of my kids loved camp throughout the years and their stages of growth. My oldest who is now 24 and a graduate from Hampton University, always says at Camp Mariastella she feels at peace with nature and God. I remember both of my kids raving about the camp songs, the campfires, the food, and swimming at the pool. Every year my daughters taught us and their friends the new songs they learned. Camp was awesome, so my husband and I decided to do Family Camp with the kids over the years. I loved the Arts and Crafts and my husband loved the hiking! Thank you Sister Jen and Sister Pat for all the hard work and dedication you both put in over the years, along with your staff, to make Camp Mariastella a week to cherish every summer! Cheers to the toast of Wrightwood! We love you! Elaine Hampton

My daughter attended this camp for the past 3 or 4 summers. She was even convinced she wanted to be a camp counselor as soon as she became old enough, but this camp changed drastically this past summer. I would not allow her to go back again. Counselors were too busy talking on their cell phones to pay attention to the kids, majority of camp students seem to be made up of foster care kids who lack guidance of right from wrong and the counselors showed little desire or interest in protecting the good kids from the bad ones.