Diamond John’s Riverside Retreat

It was our first experience at a rustic-​style getaway. Pretty place but needs a little more TLC.

Just stayed one night, wishing we would have been able to stay longer, we had nonrefundable reservation somewhere else. We had 4 kids under 8. The hosts were great, helped with everything asked. Kids were extremely excited and entertained. Will definitely be back. Only negative was couldn’t get wi fi to connect. Phone was out of service (t mobile)

If you want to treat your children (or adults that are children at heart) to a truly unique vacation then take them to Diamond John’s.
There is an attraction in Arkansas called Crater of Diamonds that lets you dig in the dirt for diamonds
There are tons of hotels near the crater, but my family stayed at Diamond John’s teepee park. It is located on the river and as a result they offer fishing, swimming and paddle boat rental. There are tree houses also.
When you hear teepee and treehouses you assume you will be roughing it to the nth degree. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Upon entering the tent you see queen beds along the perimeter, a propane heater and fire pit in the center, large screen LCD TV with cable, mini fridge, framed artwork hanging, fans, area rugs, window a/​c units, lamps and couches and chairs. You get the same décor and ammenities in the treehouses. The treehouses have stairs, sliding glass doors with screens and decks with propane grills provided.
There are animals for the kids to pet. You can listen to the peacocks call day and night. There are community bathrooms, showers and a hot tub.
Our visit was fun but ill-​timed, as a severe storm had just passed through, flooding the riverbanks. We weren’t able to appreciate the water and it gave the teepees an overall cold and damp feel, especially at night. There were several blankets and quilts supplied.
This is one of those places that just has a coolness factor that deserves a visit and needs to be appreciated by young and old.

Two words: Bed Bugs.
Thought it would be an interesting shop on a 2600 mile, summer road trip — well, I guess it was interesting from a scientific standpoint if one was studying the process of decay.
All the tales of weird owners, mold, decrepit and sad surroundings; they’re true. And, we picked up some unexpected friends during our stay! The experience of spending a day at the docs getting steroids, followed by hours at the laundromat was not really in our travel plans.
On the bright side, our family of 5 had an extended layover at my MIL’s in MI while we deconned.

If I could give zero stars, I would. We booked online and thought the photos showed a neat little place to relax. What we found was very different. While the setting is nice and quite, the actual facilities were not what was expected. We booked the large teepee. While there were no photos online, the description said it was appointed with four queen beds, a satellite tv and heater. What we found was a moldy, torn and taped back together teepee, with four queen mattresses on boxes with old linens that I was nervous even putting my bag on. There was indeed a heater and satellite tv, and even a mini fridge and microwave. They were all old and jammed in between two beds. There was only one small desk lamp on the floor that would only work «if you hold the cord the right way.» It was very dark, dingy, moldy and dirty. We paid $ 125 for one night and I couldn’t even sit on the beds or couch. We went to the owner and told her that the teepee has mold in it and we couldn’t see how they expected us to sleep surrounded by mold. She said «Okay.» And that was it. Never apologized or offered to move us or return even a part of our payment. Would never recommend this establishment, based mainly on owners’ flippant response to a very valid complaint.