Tour of a 3-Bedroom Travel Trailer: The Salem Grand Villa RV
Hey guys. It’s Tom and Cheri here to give you the low down on this 3-bedroom travel trailer. We went to the Hershey RV show and got a chance to take a tour of the two-story Salem Grand Villa.
You should know, we are not making money from RV companies by doing these tours. We’re just regular consumers like you, sharing these tours for those of you who can't be at these shows. We're completely unbiased so we will be pointing out the good, the bad, and the ugly.
We were really curious about the two-story Salem Grand Villa, so we were so excited they had a model at the show in Hershey. Honestly, we've never seen anything like it. We’re going to start the tour at the top because we were so excited to walk in and see a staircase in an RV.
2 Bedrooms
The stairway sits in the center of the cabin and when you go up, you’ll find two bedrooms on either side of the staircase. It’s pretty incredible how much space there is in these bedrooms. If you need to you could probably sleep 4 people in each, maybe more if they’re kids.
One of the two bedrooms is a loft overlooking the kitchen. It has a railing around it instead of walls. This is probably convenient for air flow, but we were joking around about how it kind of looks like jail cell bars.
The master bedroom is downstairs and is a nice space. There is only one bedside table. We liked the décor and were impressed with the storage space.
Drawers
Upon closer examination of the drawers we realized, though they are conveniently large and deep, there was a quality issue. We've been full-time in our RV for so many years. We know what to look for. We can tell when something looks like it will break or fall apart easily, and those bedroom drawers would definitely fit into that category.
Windows
We did love the nice big windows throughout the cabin. The more windows, the better.
Bathroom
We didn’t love that there was only one bathroom. When you have enough space for 10 or more people, but only one bathroom, you know that will be an issue.
That single bathroom is really nice though. There are drawers for storage in there, which is very convenient. Our Momentum doesn't even have one drawer. We have to keep our stuff somewhere, so storage in the bathroom is a nice thing to have.
Another thing we liked about the bathroom was that there was a nice big mirror with proper lighting. Usually, RV manufacturers put the light fixture behind your head and it’s terrible lighting. Proper lighting and a good mirror are convenient for fixing your hair or putting on makeup. The design elements also look really nice.
It has a nice size shower. Next to the drawer there’s another little storage area which makes good use of space. It’s not a drawer, but you can put a few things right there. Any utilization of available space is good planning.
Kitchen
In the kitchen, they have a deep pantry which is great. There are also deep drawers. The drawers and the pantry offer a nice amount of storage. The kitchen also features a lovely size island.
Living area
We felt the furniture was typical ugly RV furniture but there is a seat that opens up as another bed. They have nice theater seating for two.
We liked how much higher the kitchen cabinets were in comparison to our Momentum. We can't fit anything underneath the cabinets in our momentum, so the high cabinets create a much more practical counter space.
The depth of the counters was really nice, too. The Momentum counters are so shallow. You can't put anything. Even our air fryer hangs off the edge.
We wish the manufacturers would have put the sink to one side for more counter space. They still haven’t figured that out yet with the Salem Grand Villa. It might not matter that much for most, but those that live full-time need counter space for regular cooking.
Salem Grand Villa price
At first, we were shocked that the price for the Salem Grand Villa was only $67,981 but looking at the quality of some of the furnishings, it makes sense. You can see the manufacturers really cut corners.
The quality of some of the items might be great for weekend or seasonal camping, but it’ll cause issues for full-time RV users. When you see some of those quality issues you can expect some repairs to be needed.
We were most impressed with the unit having two levels. It's innovative and creative. They made something different, breaking out of the norm, and that’s certainly commendable.
We would suggest better construction on the cabinets. Another bathroom would also be great. It would be a huge improvement if they put another 20 grand into bringing up the quality. The drawers were so flimsy.
Even with upgrades, they could still price it under $100,000, and that would be a great deal. A unit like the Salem Grand Villa would fit the needs of a big family and they would probably be willing to pay up to a hundred thousand.
3-bedroom travel trailer tour
What do you guys think of the Salem Grand Villa? If you're a large family with kids, maybe this would be right for you. Would you buy one of these for yourselves and your family? Leave us a comment to let us know what you think.
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