My 2 cents as far as what I consider a campground, park, or resort; Campground - dirt roads & dirt or gravel sites, toilet facilities (flush or other), maybe some showers. Minimal landscaping, no activities. Maybe water & electric. Dump station. Rustic. no or minimal cable channels, maybe internet Park - gravel roads & sites maybe some with grass, picnic tables maybe a grill, possibly a pool &/or small game room. Some full hookups, some just water & electric. Dump station. Flush toilets and showers. Small store or office with some supplies. Cable & internet or wifi Resort - Paved roads & sites with shade. Nice tables & landscaping at sites. All full hookups. Nice restrooms with nice showers. Pool, Recreation room, & some activities available. Store &/or office with good supplies and souvenirs. Cable and free wifi (everywhere in the resort). My lists aren't all inclusive, just the things I sort of look for. I'm sure lot of places are probably somewhere betwixt & between. But I agree that 'resort' implies that there are lots of amenities & comforts.
You do not need to add anything. That is the type of park we seek out. I like quiet and need to hear loud parties. Wifi is important too. Country Waye in Luray VA started very small ad expanded a bit over the years but did not lose the small park feel.
Clean, clean and clean. Neat and tidy. Less is more. I would rather see tidy kept plain grass than contrived weedy landscaping and seasonal site lawn ornaments. How many gnomes does one site need? If you have seasonals try to keep them separate from overnighters. Both should be welcome but overnighters shouldn't feel like they crashed the neighborhood block party, and seasonals shouldn't have to deal with the inconvenience of our quick in and out or disappointment of our two paltry lawn chairs (we roam sans gnome In a campground as described by OP I would be staying for convenience more than destination. I would like a friendly welcome and *brief* visit by camp hosts the first evening just to insure we settled in to our site and all was working nicely. Drop off a map, brochure, whatever serves the guests. Don't underestimate outlying activities and events. We have stayed up to 40 minutes away from sport tournaments (children). Many urban/suburban areas host huge tournaments. I appreciate that $150/night block of hotel rooms but was willing to drive much further out to be able to feed my family and put my athletes to bed in their own camper. Of our team alone (20 kids) four families did this. Now multiply that by over 100 teams? My point being seek out different revenue sources. Circle your camp and start searching calling about special events you may tie into. We were perfect guests. We paid, left early am, returned in the evening, had a nice stay and used few of the amenities. Otherwise look at lot size. I get maximizing space but if awnings are touchin and you can hear your neighbor sipping coffee - you might want to spread out a bit (and advertise same).
QUOTE(KFS @ Aug 1 2013, 09:13 AM) [snapback]34314[/snapback] If you have seasonals try to keep them separate from overnighters. I'll second that. When we were traveling extensively, sometimes we had to be up at the crack of dawn to take off. We tried to be as quiet as possible getting ready to go but it's impossible not to make a LITTLE noise. I was sorry if I bothered our neighbors who might have taken a day off to sleep in. Now that we're seasonals this summer, I highly appreciate being in a mostly-seasonal park because now I'M the one sleeping in.....
For me, I guess from a small park, I'd like SERVICE WITH a SMILE. Good reliable WIFI. Calbe TV for those that don't have satellite. Large, level lots.
I personally prefer those smaller parks. Things I look for are cleanliness and friendliness of the staff first and foremost. After that, I'm looking for level sites with full hook ups and decent free wifi. We are fulltimers but we do look for some amenities. We like clean facilities, preferably well lit and updated. We also love parks that do socials because it's a great chance to meet the other RVers. Kid friendly parks are important to us as well. I LOVE mature trees and a respect for wildlife.
Am glad i came across this discussion as we just purchased such a park last year and are in the process of getting it up and going. We call it __________ RV Park. It is located on Interstate frontage and will be so listed in any lit or ads. Yes it has some noise which may or not bother some. Always thought we would like to do the work camper thing, never thought we would own one. It just kind of fell into our lap. Property originally had 52 spaces, all 30 amp. Plans are to reduce taht to 20-25. Currently have 10 spaces ready which will accommodate any size rig. Wanted to do something different, so we are installing RV shelters on sites. Would like to hear from ya'll as to whether or not you would be willing to pay a little extra for a site with a cover? We are talking about 24 wide x 42 long covers, you can park your RV and vehicle under. Thanks for all the tips from previous posts, it has given me much food for thought in planning for future amenities.
A RV shelter would not be an amenity for me. Not any reason I can not really name a reason. I would rather have a 50 amp site.
Can't see a reason for the transient RVer or camper where their rv's are already exposed to the weather. Maybe okay for seasonal's. Seems the #1 want that I always read is Bigger sites with ease of access to those sites, 50 amp service, Full Hookups... of course do what you can afford.... Mike
I have never seen a RV resort or campground offer covered sites and I don't think the are particularly necessary. 99% of RVers are happy to expose their rig to the elements unless you suffer from frequent hail storms in your area. They would also have to be very sturdy to withstand any wind that could possibly make them very noisy due to flexing. I know when I'm vacationing in my unit I like a level, solid base that is wide enough and long enough to park on, with good drainage so it doesn't flood after every shower. The site needs to be wide enough for rigs with awning and the super slides that, when deployed, aren't right up against the neighbors. The electric, water and sewer to be in a sensible place. Two sewer drops are helpful for this. The electric to be a stable voltage and the water to be a good pressure with no after taste. Cable tv is a nice to have but not essential unlike wifi which is a must have but I also understand the difficulties of people streaming movies, etc. and hogging the bandwidth. Clean, preferably private washrooms and showers but again I understand that not all campers leave the facilities as they would like to find them? A good, clean laundry is always nice to have as are facilities such as a patio area at each site and perhaps a barbecue. I have been at several resorts and campgrounds where these are provided at the site and I don't mind paying for that. If it is to be a pet friendly location (I don't have pets) then dog walking areas and enforcement of the rules around that. Same for children friendly locations (again I don't have young kids) but some parental guidance about where it is safe for their children to play and ride their bikes. If you have a pool, great! But allow the adult to have to time there without hoards of screaming kids jumping, diving and bombing everyone else. Occasional socials are nice (breakfasts, barbecues, 4th of July) and I wouldn't expect them to be free. Something I do like is curbside trash collection but I am also capable of taking this to a well screened dumpster. Photographs of the campground or resort on your web page help me decide and if there are photos of each site with a map then I can perhaps select which part of the resort suits my needs best (I don't need to be near playgrounds, dog walks, etc) Above all, friendly, welcoming and locally knowledgable staff.
