Banner Ranch Julian - Julian, California

Kimberly A

Stayed in a tiny home. It was OK just definitely not worth what they charged (140). Could have stayed in a tent and felt the same. No hot water, no tv, air conditioner didn't work well, and fridge didn't keep things cold. Had to put 1 item at a time in tiny freezer. Also ant infestation. Cute cabin but maybe would have paid $60. Loved the donkeys though 🙂 not far from julian. Gave 5 stars for employees but didn't see any, only over phone and very nice.

Carrie S. Chilla

Absolutely perfect and quaint area. We stayed in the covered wagon. We enjoyed venturing along the paths and exploring. We had a few visitors ? a family of turkeys. Some rabbits, and squirrels, plenty of birds. And deer in the morning, all were going about their daily routine. I highly recommend this peaceful and friendly location. Sit under the stars and listen to the sounds of nature. I’m happy we found this gem. If you want to unwind and chill, this is the place.

Treasurer Parkewood

This $200/night tiny house was disgusting. The toilet had urine in it and hadn't been flushed and the kitchen trash can was overflowing. The tiny house looked weathered, but there's no excuse for it to be unsanitary. We were so repulsed that we left after 15 minutes and went back home. Horrible experience!!!!!

Artemis Xenakis

My husband and I got married here and were long term renters from April 2022—June 2023. Here is a breakdown of my family's experience:

My husband and I got married on Banner Ranch November 11th 2022. We arrived back to the ranch from our honeymoon 11/19/22 to a BOIL WATER NOTICE FOR E. COLI which was dated 10/26/22.

THEY EXPOSED US ALL— our neighbors, me, my husband and our entire family and friends who visited for our wedding—TO E.COLI during that time period and probably longer, since the notice is just for when the bacteria was found AFTER MONTHS OF VOICING CONCERNS OVER WATER QUALITY THAT WENT IGNORED even after the contamination was found.

Adding insult to injury: Attached you will see what they promise you for your wedding and what they deliver—DOORS MISSING FROM THE BRIDAL ENTRANCE WHICH THEY NOTIFIED JUST HOURS BEFORE OUR CEREMONY. Pictured is my dad picking up the mess that they made:
curtains on a flimsy shower rod—WHICH FELL ON ME DURING MY BRIDAL ENTRANCE—to replace the doors. My poor dad was mortified and felt guilty over something that was completely Banner's fault.

There was no professional follow up, apology nor courtesy provided. Just the same mealy mouthed finger-pointing among staff that we have come to expect from Banner Ranch Management.

Time and time again our concerns had gone ignored and my husband and I had to rely on ourselves to solve the problems that Banner Ranch created for us.

In another review a campsite guest mentioned having to go into town and get a hotel room just to take a shower. Imagine living here, where we have had to DRIVE AN 80 MILE ROUNDTRIP TO RAMONA UP TO 3 TIMES A WEEK JUST TO SHOWER IN CLEAN WATER AND USE THE LAUNDROMAT from November—June because they proceeded to do absolutely nothing about the water contamination.

We had emailed, texted, spoke to staff on site about it. Everyone was always "looking into it" with no resolve. Neighbors reported having worse experiences than mine when reaching out to management.

They even had the nerve and RAISED OUR RENT DURING OUR SECOND BOIL WATER NOTICE.

By the time we moved we were on our FOURTH OR FIFTH BOIL WATER NOTICE (I lost count) which was issued last as of April 16 2023 and not lifted as of our move out in June 2023!

We asked the onsite manager if they were notifying Airbnb guests and he said "well, it's posted in the laundry room..." Which is a soft NO.
They were not ensuring that their guests were properly notified of the contaminated water. So here's your safety notice.

If we could have moved as soon as December, we would have. Unfortunately, life is hardly ever hospitable to such rash changes, and honestly no one should have to high tail it out of their residence like that anyway.

This entire experience was upsetting and traumatic, thus the gap in time of my review.

TL;DR:
Our experience there was dangerous, neglected, humiliating and costly.

Banner Ranch Management refuses to take any ownership of their mistakes and instead demonstrates a shameless "take it or leave it" attitude. So take my advice, and just leave it.

courtney Meyer

Yesterday my husband and I had the honor of doing our wedding ceremony here at Banner Ranch. Our experience there was above and beyond what we could have asked for to say the least. The staff worked diligently all day and evening setting up the venue and doing the landscaping so our special day would be perfect for us. My entire family stayed here on the property and they had nothing but amazing things to say about the entire staff. Anything they needed all they had to do was ask and they were accommodated very quickly. The general store has so many fun options our guests were able to have fun on their own after the reception. Pool, karaoke, jukebox. We loved the furry companions. If you are looking for a venue for your big day or a great spot for a family reunion or a relaxing getaway Banner Ranch is your go to spot. Thank you all so much for everything!

reed palmer

I would not recommend the long term rentals to anyone, might be ok if your camping but do not rent the tiny homes they are way way over priced for what you will get, they have constant boil water notices that they will not advertise and for the price you would expect a lot better accommodations and service, tiny home had all sorts of issues which the landlord was very unwilling to make right or even try to hear me out on. Also they have an issue with the water and their septic system leaks into the well DO NOT DRINK THE WATER YOU WILL BE EXPOSED TO E. coli Also it’s not really in the part of Julian you want to stay in for a weekend trip there. Also they tried to blame issues with the unit on me. Ask the locals about this place they will give you the run down and they will say spend your money somewhere else

Lara Exparza

This review is challenging to write. There are pros and cons with my recent stay. I stayed at the campground on a Thursday night. I was the only one there. This was quite nice! I had spot T7, which I did enjoy. From the pics online, it looked like the spots were spaced far away from each other. Not exactly the reality. If it had been booked it would have seemed very crowded. The campground had a great vibe, and I thought it was quite pretty. My spot was right next to the highway, but it wasn't bad at all because the road was so much higher than the campsite. It was nice to have the creek flowing nearby. There were water spigots spaced around the sites, but there was no water. Not a deal breaker since I brought all I needed. What really disappointed me was the shower facility. First, it was rather dirty, and there wasn't any place to hang a towel or clothes while you showered. Putting all my belongings on the floor was really gross. Then, there was NO hot water. Not even close to lukewarm. It was possibly the coldest shower I've ever taken. Trying to wash my hair, I actually got a headache from the icy water. I am very low maintenance and didn't expect luxury, but it was a miserable shower experience. The only outlet I saw in the restroom area was inside a stall. I was prepared to make it work so I could dry my hair, but no power! Guessing that's why there's no hot water. Very disappointing. It would be better to not offer shower facilities than to offer and not follow through. The self check in was great. I never spoke with, nor did I see the owners. I didn't go into the store, so I can't speak about that. It was an easy drive to Julian. Despite the close proximity to the road, it was very peaceful and quiet.

Dee Santa Cruz

Such an interesting experience tiny home was cute, compact, loft sleeping, is something to get used to.
But beds were comfortable. The home at had everything you need.