QUOTE(gilda @ Aug 25 2007, 10:17 PM) [snapback]8172[/snapback] QUOTE(katt @ Aug 25 2007, 08:09 PM) [snapback]8168[/snapback] I had my 2nd worst camping experience at a KOA. If they would have at least addressed my concerns I would have been satisfied. KOA corporate office made excuses, the campground owner could care less about his campers safety or campground cleanliness. To me, KOA is all about drunks partying into the wee hours and filthy restrooms. Not family friendly at all! I no longer stay at KOA's . Thats really too bad that you feel that way. Over 500 KOA's and you let one change your opinion of all. You obviously had a bad experience. You should let us all know the name of the park. KOA's are known for cleanliness. (especially the bathrooms). The KOA at the Wisconsin Dells is a Presidents Award Winner for KOA. It is along the railroad tracks which preclude it from being "quiet", an advertising point made by THE OWNERS AND KOA CENTRAL. The train is so loud I could not shout to you at the site and you hear me! It was advertised as clean although I can attest the satellite restrooms were NOT CLEANED for at least 2 days when I stayed there. It was advertised as family friendly yet they want the drunks and not the families! Both KOA and Wisconsin Dells KOA abdicated their responsibility where the safety and comfort of their campers are concerned. The owners/ managers were hiding. Almost $40 a night and they hide rather than enforce their own rules or take responsibility for their park. Over 500 KOA's and I let one of THEIR Presidents Award Winners change my mind! KOA thinks drunks are family friendly! KOA Refuses to admit the noise or the filth at their campgrounds. I saw it. I heard it. They are liars! Plain and simple. If other campgrounds want this reputation, they can take on the KOA banner. If KOA wants to clean up their act they will have to eliminate the false advertising at MANY of their properties. We can hear the noise at the "quiet" parks they advertise next to trains and interstates. We can see and smell the filth at KOA's restrooms where they advertise cleanliness. All anyone has to do is visit to find the truth. They can lie once? And then what? Goodbye KOA! You taught me what is worst in a campground! Good God! Have some backbone and take responsibility for yourselves! The obscenity you have become! Just how many drunken idiots with 8 foot tall fires does KOA need to call themselves family friendly? I counted 3! At just the ONE "PRESIDENTS AWARD WINNING KAMPGROUND" no less! I am sick of your filth! Keep your freebie nights at your noisy, filthy campgrounds, I will camp somewhere clean and quiet! KOA disgusts me! 500 opportunities for filth!!! You should be ashamed!!!!
gilda, THINK! Just once try it. You stay at a campground. They advertise HEAVILY about how "family friendly" and "quiet" their campground is, they advertise how "clean" they are, yet the bathrooms are filthy, their "families" are drunken jerks and the only time the drunks cannot be heard is when the train is drowning out all sound waves in human hearing range. You get home and contact their main office only to be blown off by some guy not even from this country and hasn't a clue where the campground is even located. You seem to believe that if you get a crap meal somewhere you should go back and eat more crap? Keep eating your crap. I will go elsewhere and pay someone else to do their job correctly. KOA doesn't give a damn what garbage you eat just so long as you keep swallowing!
I've had a poor meal at Ruth's Chris steakhouse- that does not indicate that all steak is bad. I've had a doctor that I did not care for - that certainly does not mean that all doctors are awful. Do I still eat steak? Of course. Will I ever go back to the doctor? Absolutely. It appears that you would be well-served, Katt, to pay your proctologist a visit.
Aye caramba... So, by your logic katt, if my worst camping experience was in a private, non-KOA, park, that I should never go back to another private park. ('Cause we all know that private parks never false advertise or are next to railroad tracks.). Or if it were a National or State Park I should never go to another one. AND I SHOULD HAVE AN ANEUYRSM WHENEVER I TALK ABOUT IT!!!! Get a grip. Have a Coke and a smile. Get a hug. Switch to decaf and go to another park.
I have stayed at some very nice KOAs and some not so nice. Sounds like all the campgrounds I have stayed at! Some are nice, some not so nice. I hate to see people paint with such a broad brush. With KOA you get a certain minimum standard of cleanliness and facilities. It is a private campground-- the owner is trying to make a profit, so it is more expensive than state campgrounds. See them for what they are. Check out the review and web site and then decicde. Not all are great not all are the pits-- pick and choose and be glad that people are willing in invest lots of money so we have a place to park our RVs
Koa's are nice for a quick stop. They are always there when you need them. Unfortunately they are next to major freeways, airports, or train tracks. Wouldn't stay at one for more than 2 days.
QUOTE(Bud in Florida @ Oct 14 2007, 10:45 AM) [snapback]8653[/snapback] I have stayed at some very nice KOAs and some not so nice. Sounds like all the campgrounds I have stayed at! Some are nice, some not so nice. I hate to see people paint with such a broad brush. With KOA you get a certain minimum standard of cleanliness and facilities. It is a private campground-- the owner is trying to make a profit, so it is more expensive than state campgrounds. See them for what they are. Check out the review and web site and then decicde. Not all are great not all are the pits-- pick and choose and be glad that people are willing in invest lots of money so we have a place to park our RVs I have never stayed at a bad KOA and I've been to a lot of them. I have other campgrounds that I prefer and other chains that I really don't want to stay at again. You can't tar the entire chain because you had a bad experience at one.
Gee ! Is this topic _still_ going ?!?! (I wonder when the last time was that 'Cheryl' posted on it ???) Campgrounds are like a box of choc-lates: You never know what you'll get (...at least not until you've checked in with campgroundreviews.com !!!). Back in 2005, I earned a _free_ KOA Gold Card membership (...that year was like 'Kamping On Acid' !!!). I'm no apologist for KOA and I've turned-tail and run away from KOAs such as those described by 'katt'... QUOTE They advertise HEAVILY about how "family friendly" and "quiet" their campground is, they advertise how "clean" they are, yet the bathrooms are filthy, their "families" are drunken jerks and the only time the drunks cannot be heard is when the train is drowning out all sound waves in human hearing range... ...I know KOAs can be Kind Of Annoying but, over the years, Kindnesses Often Appeared, at least, in my experience. I've met some really _nice_ people who owned, worked, or camped at KOAs. KOAs are nearly all owned by franchisees. It is not some sort of corporate plot, as such. The prices tend to run a little higher because there is the added cost of paying the _franchiser_. But, aside from that, they are like any other campground -- the downside is only limited by your imagination. For people who want to know if KOA stands for "Keep On Accelerating", I would say: Don't worry about it. Just check one out while avoiding any preconceived notions. You might find that it works for you. Start every new endeavor with a negative mindset and the outcome will surely be self-prophesizing. It would be Kind Of Assinine to avoid something that might be helpful to you -- just because a few other people Keelover Of Apoplexy. So take it from a Kleptomaniacal Old Aardvark ( ...huh !?!?!): Kick Out Accusers and Kibbitz Over America!
QUOTE(Cheryl @ Oct 26 2007, 09:06 PM) [snapback]8859[/snapback] Why do you care when or if I post on a thread, or were you referring to Cheryl Fuller? I think he was frustrated in trying to figure out how to spell your name with a "K."
KOA's as a whole to me are very tight to get into your site and manuvering out same thing I have been in some--there is NO way to feel comfortable in, I wish They-would listen to campers---as RV's get bigger-KOA's just don't cut it. My Favorite is Wilmington, NC KOA , they have always treated me and my friends wonderfully my 2 cents sparky.
QUOTE Why do you care when or if I post on a thread, or were you referring to Cheryl Fuller? Yeah, sorry, I was referring to 'Cheryl Fuller' (...although, I've often wondered if you 'both' weren't one and the same [shrug]).
QUOTE KOA's as a whole to me are very tight to get into your site and manuvering out same thing ...as RV's get bigger-KOA's just don't cut it. I can appreciate those feelings. Still, KOAs come and go from the system all the time. Every year I receive a questionaire from 'corporate' with regard to what is obviously a marginal campground in the system that is being considered for the 'ax'. But ironically, I actually like hard to get into camp grounds because I have a 20' pop-top truck camper so, then, I don't have to compete with the 'big boys' for space. Another irony is that my review ratings are weighted for the needs of people with 'big rigs' [grin!]. I mean, personally, I could care less about 99% of the gripes of big rig owners but, then, they dominate the 'sport' so it is one of the five 'points' that I try to cater to in my reviews. Big rig owners can be hard to figure out. They'll castigate a campground in a review because the neighboring land owner has a tree on their property but they give a raving '10' to a campground where the entry road would qualify as a class 3 offroad trail [shrug]. There is just no pleasing them.
No, we are not one and the same. Although, we do have many things in common. Anyway, last I heard from her, she doesn't visit this site very much anymore.
IT IS OBVIOUS THAT KOA IS A LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP AMONG THE REVIEWERS ON THIS WEBSITE GROUP. I SUSPECT THAT NO ONE IS GOING TO CHANGE THEIR OPINION, SO CAN WE PLEASE MOVE ON TO OTHER ISSUES??? WEBMASTER, PLEASE PUT A MATCH TO THIS THREAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
