Ronald Hiemann
03-12-2012, 11:22 AM
I was asked to report about this new RV Resort. This will be long and opinionated. This new RV campground opened-up 3 days ago and we arrived here on Sunday afternoon. While I have used its official name in the subject line, I am calling it a campground going forward because I have not located the resort as yet. On a scale of 1-10 this is at this time only a 4-5.
Even though, we benefit from the opening special of book 2 nights and get the 3rd one for free, we should be paying even less.
It is evident when walking around, that this place has opened-up much too soon.
Work is still being done in the campground.
The free WiFi does not exist. I was told it would take another 2-3 weeks before that is in place.
The laundry room facilities are still under construction.
So are the private bathrooms and tiled showers.
Cable TV is supposed to be offering 45 channels but I do seem to be receiving just 15.
The fitness room and clubhouse must still be und construction because I cannot find it.
The campground is immediately adjacent to Route 98. Heavy traffic commences around 06:00 AM and looking out a window, I am looking more or less straight at a CVS Store.
The campground is fenced in nicely but that is all the protection you are getting from the road. Even though, the brochure talks about "24 hours limited gate access", there is no gate. Anybody can enter here at night since there is no security, either.
The absolute worst feature of this campground are its waterfont sites. The layout shows 24 of them along Santa Rosa Sound. The problem with 23 of them is, that they are designated BACK-IN sites! Can you imagine that? You pay a premium rate for waterfront but you have to back-in so that your view is towards the middle row campers and the street.
Whoever designed this campground does obviously not own an RV because he or she would know that our windshield is our picture window.
We had made a reservations for a waterfront site and were assigned to lot 16. Given that there are presently only 6-7 guests in the campground, and after hearing about the back-in requirement during check-in, we protested and were allowed to choose a site.
We selected site 24 which is the ONLY true waterfront site in this campground since you pull in sideways to the sound. Thus, the passenger side enjoys a full view of the sound and the drivers side faces the street, or, if somebody would be occupying lot 25, they would be blocking some of the street noise and views.
When we took a stroll through the campground on Sunday night, we met and talked to somebody who had arrived after us on Sunday. They had wanted a waterfront site, too, but when they heard about the back-in, they went for one of the "Deluxe" sites in the center row and with the park being almost empty, they do have a waterfront view through the windshield.
Being a new campground, everything is more or less brand-new and it shows. That is nice. Landscaping leaves a lot to be desired because you have got only mulch separating you from your next lot neighbor. While the location in Google Earth shows a heavily treed lot, only a few trees are left.
The concrete pads are large. Lot 24 is probably 75+ feet long. All other pads are equally generous. More or less. There are also a couple of pull-thru sites in the "Deluxe" section, being the 2 rows in the center.
For just about any activities you may be planning, you will have to take your car and go somewhere else. Other than the swimming-pool, there is nothing else in this campground.
My personal opinion is, that this is a nice campground for a night or two. While we have booked 4 nights, I would not stay here for this long again. When you pay $85 per night, there is more places to chose from.
I have taken photos of the campground and posted them to my Picasa web album. By default, you will be seeing lots of Olivia but having her in the campground is definitely dressing-up this place ... :-)
Try this link to view my photos.
https://picasaweb.google.com/ronald.hiemann/SantaRosa?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKaS3ZvfzL_1jQE&feat=directlink
Cheers,
Ronald
Even though, we benefit from the opening special of book 2 nights and get the 3rd one for free, we should be paying even less.
It is evident when walking around, that this place has opened-up much too soon.
Work is still being done in the campground.
The free WiFi does not exist. I was told it would take another 2-3 weeks before that is in place.
The laundry room facilities are still under construction.
So are the private bathrooms and tiled showers.
Cable TV is supposed to be offering 45 channels but I do seem to be receiving just 15.
The fitness room and clubhouse must still be und construction because I cannot find it.
The campground is immediately adjacent to Route 98. Heavy traffic commences around 06:00 AM and looking out a window, I am looking more or less straight at a CVS Store.
The campground is fenced in nicely but that is all the protection you are getting from the road. Even though, the brochure talks about "24 hours limited gate access", there is no gate. Anybody can enter here at night since there is no security, either.
The absolute worst feature of this campground are its waterfont sites. The layout shows 24 of them along Santa Rosa Sound. The problem with 23 of them is, that they are designated BACK-IN sites! Can you imagine that? You pay a premium rate for waterfront but you have to back-in so that your view is towards the middle row campers and the street.
Whoever designed this campground does obviously not own an RV because he or she would know that our windshield is our picture window.
We had made a reservations for a waterfront site and were assigned to lot 16. Given that there are presently only 6-7 guests in the campground, and after hearing about the back-in requirement during check-in, we protested and were allowed to choose a site.
We selected site 24 which is the ONLY true waterfront site in this campground since you pull in sideways to the sound. Thus, the passenger side enjoys a full view of the sound and the drivers side faces the street, or, if somebody would be occupying lot 25, they would be blocking some of the street noise and views.
When we took a stroll through the campground on Sunday night, we met and talked to somebody who had arrived after us on Sunday. They had wanted a waterfront site, too, but when they heard about the back-in, they went for one of the "Deluxe" sites in the center row and with the park being almost empty, they do have a waterfront view through the windshield.
Being a new campground, everything is more or less brand-new and it shows. That is nice. Landscaping leaves a lot to be desired because you have got only mulch separating you from your next lot neighbor. While the location in Google Earth shows a heavily treed lot, only a few trees are left.
The concrete pads are large. Lot 24 is probably 75+ feet long. All other pads are equally generous. More or less. There are also a couple of pull-thru sites in the "Deluxe" section, being the 2 rows in the center.
For just about any activities you may be planning, you will have to take your car and go somewhere else. Other than the swimming-pool, there is nothing else in this campground.
My personal opinion is, that this is a nice campground for a night or two. While we have booked 4 nights, I would not stay here for this long again. When you pay $85 per night, there is more places to chose from.
I have taken photos of the campground and posted them to my Picasa web album. By default, you will be seeing lots of Olivia but having her in the campground is definitely dressing-up this place ... :-)
Try this link to view my photos.
https://picasaweb.google.com/ronald.hiemann/SantaRosa?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKaS3ZvfzL_1jQE&feat=directlink
Cheers,
Ronald