# Don't Waste Your Money



## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

As I mentioned in another thread, the DW and GS and I were to spend a couple nights at the local Abilene KOA while the GD was using our house for her 9th Birthday Slumber Party.

Well, we spent one night and left. We were sorely disappointed. The place looked run-down. There were several "seasonal" campers with dirty, old trailers parked along the perimeter, the lots hadn't been mowed, the pull-throughs were muddy, the roads were full of potholes and mud holes. And the swimming pool was wasn't even open. Due to a lack of proper maintenance, the City closed them down until they got their pH level correct.









We hung around until after lunch today and then decided to pack it in and take the trailer back to our storage facility and go home. The slumber party was to have been over this afternoon anyway and we might as well stay at our own home and use our own pool.

I wrote the manager a nice email telling them what we thought and told them I would not stay there again and would recommend to my fellow RVers to bypass them, too.

Oh, well, what's a few bucks down the drain, right?

My recommendation is, if you're traveling through Abilene, keep on traveling and find somewhere else. Unfortunately, that's hard to do and stay in Abilene. RV parks are few and far between in this neck of the woods.

Hope y'all had better luck this weekend.

Mark


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## RizFam (Feb 25, 2006)

Sorry to hear about that Mark.







Glad you were close to home & were able to leave early.

Thanks for the report,
Tami


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

Mark..

I had a problem recently with a KOA campground -- same situation as yours was --

I also wrote the manager but he never even took any time to email me back anything..

so i dropped KOA HQ a note -- really nice -- how I was surprised and disappointed that KOA had dropped its standards so low, etc etc

Not only did "KOA" send me a nice email but a handful of camping coupons ...

you might also want to mention to KOA HQ that you are planning a group outing at the KOA in Fredricksburg and now feel that you need to cancel it becuase you are nervous about KOAs campsites...

BUT MAKE SURE YOU DO THAT AFTER WE GOT RESERVATIONS FOR THE FREDRICKSBURG RALLY SO IF THEY CHECK THEY SEE THAT YOU HAVE 20 OR SOMETHING SLOTS RESERVED...

I suggest you give that a try...


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## Outback DeLand (May 6, 2007)

WE have found out the same about KOA. They had their days in the 70-80 years, but today they are run down.


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## Husker92 (Feb 11, 2006)

Your experience sound like something out of the movie Vacation with Chevy Chase.









We've stayed at numerous KOA's and they are generally very nice. On the way home from Zion we stayed at a RV park that just lost their KOA status since they campground was a bit tired. Maybe the Abilene KOA is next on the list.

Happy Camping!


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

That stinks, reporting it to KOA hq would make me feel better if it was me. I have tried to use KOA every night during my travels and some are better than others but none that bad.

John


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

I think that you can't judge every KOA by your experience in one or some. I've stayed at a couple, one being in Lake Park, GA, and I can DEFINITELY recommend that one, as far as cleanliness/well-maintained/convenience. It IS adjacent to I-75, but there's a buffer of trees that keeps down the highway noise. It's at the dealership that I purchased both of my OBs at, and I get a reduced rate. I haven't chosen to stay there, but a couple of times, but it IS a well-maintained KOA at Suncoast RV, exit 5, I-75.
Darlene


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

*Update:*

Actual owner of the KOA answered my email last night. He agreed that his campground is not up to par. Be explained that he lives out of town and the help he hired to run the place didn't do their job.

He also said he and his wife are now returning to Abilene to put full-time effort into making much needed improvements in his facility. He said he hired new staff that will be here next week and improvements will begin immediately.

He offered to let me come back and camp free to assess the situation anew once the improvements are made. I thought that was nice of him, but I'm not interested. Let someone else judge the "new and improved Abilene KOA."

I'll stick with the ones I've been to that were nice (Texarkana and Fredericksburg). When I travel to other parts of this great land, I'll check with y'all and get real reviews on other facilities.

Mark


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## Herkdoctor (Dec 27, 2006)

sgalady said:


> I think that you can't judge every KOA by your experience in one or some. I've stayed at a couple, one being in Lake Park, GA, and I can DEFINITELY recommend that one, as far as cleanliness/well-maintained/convenience. It IS adjacent to I-75, but there's a buffer of trees that keeps down the highway noise. It's at the dealership that I purchased both of my OBs at, and I get a reduced rate. I haven't chosen to stay there, but a couple of times, but it IS a well-maintained KOA at Suncoast RV, exit 5, I-75.
> Darlene


Darlene,
I agree we stayed at the Carlsbad KOA it was a great place. They even gave the kids fire truck rides every night.

Scott


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## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

> Outback DeLand Posted Yesterday, 09:47 PM
> WE have found out the same about KOA. They had their days in the 70-80 years, but today they are run down.





Herkdoctor said:


> I think that you can't judge every KOA by your experience in one or some. I've stayed at a couple, one being in Lake Park, GA, and I can DEFINITELY recommend that one, as far as cleanliness/well-maintained/convenience. It IS adjacent to I-75, but there's a buffer of trees that keeps down the highway noise. It's at the dealership that I purchased both of my OBs at, and I get a reduced rate. I haven't chosen to stay there, but a couple of times, but it IS a well-maintained KOA at Suncoast RV, exit 5, I-75.
> Darlene


Darlene,
I agree we stayed at the Carlsbad KOA it was a great place. They even gave the kids fire truck rides every night.

Scott
[/quote]

X3. I have stayed at several KOAs in Michigan and along I-75 between Michigan and Florida, and they have all been nice, very well kept up and maintained. As with any chain, hotel/campground/restaurant, etc., there may be individual franchises that aren't up to par, but you can't judge the whole chain by one bad experience. For KOA specifically, I know the national headquarters wants to know if individual campgrounds aren't up to par. They have standards the campgrounds are supposed to meet, and will pull the KOA name if they aren't met. If you stay at a subpar KOA, be sure you contact both the campground owner and the national headquarters.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Mark sorry to hear the bad time you had at the CG
And thanks for the warning

Don


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

I'm sure you guys didn't hear me griping about *all* KOAs, btw. Just the one in Abilene.

Mark


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

that is why the thread title is Abilene, KOA


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## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

> mswalt Jul 15 2007, 04:01 PM
> I'm sure you guys didn't hear me griping about *all* KOAs, btw. Just the one in Abilene.
> 
> Mark





> tdvffjohn Posted Today, 10:37 PM
> that is why the thread title is Abilene, KOA


Post #4 made a comment about KOAs in general being run down, so several of us responded to that comment in particular.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Thankfully over the years I've never felt the need or the desire to stay at a KOA. I have read so much about the run down ones that it taints the whole image I have of them. I know there are probably some good ones, but when the KOA corporate won't lift a finger to rid those that carry the banner then the whole lot gets painted with the same brush stroke. Its far past the time for the corporate KOA to do a serious job of house cleaning and get rid of the trash they have allowed to accumulate. I thought it was good of the owner to respond to you, but it never should have gone that far in the first place IMHO.


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