How do campgrounds really get their ratings?

We've been to many campgrounds. My wife researches them before we book. We always make reservations prior to leaving. She checks different sources and reads reviews from those sources.

I can't begin to tell you how many times we have been burned going to campgrounds that are just real bad but have great standings and reviews.

I don't think there is any way of guaranteeing you will have a good time at any RV park or camp site. It is about the neighbors, previous tenents, and what expectations you have and your definition of a good camping time. Even places you have frequented prior can now this time have totally different folks as neighbors that might make the camping not enjoyable. Some of us like kids and understand they play and make noise. It can be music to the ears of parents to hear kids playing nicely. Some of us like dogs and friendly dogs often visit their surroundings, including neighbors. If you are a dog lover that isn't a bother. And some of us like solitude, and that is OK as well. I have gone to campgrounds and RV parks that I have consistently had good experiences and then had a bad experience. It goes with the terrority. We are all different and have different expectations. I go to a new campground with my eyes wide open, sometimes I am impressed, sometimes disappointed. It is part of the experience. If we are not into an adventure with our RV's we might as well stay home. Like many others I read the reviews and usually get good advice on here as we tend to help each other but what one poster likes another might not. With an RV we can just keep moving on if we don't like our surroundings and that is one wonderful benefit of having that mobility. Camping is not what it was in the 1960's where quiet and peaceful was the norm. It is just the way of life for us today unless you want adult parks only and they rarely are about the wonderful scenery and stunning natural features of our country. If you are finding that you are often disappointed you might re-evaluate your expectations or look harder for the parks that you think you will like based on your parameters of a nice camping experience. Then provide a review of the place that includes the good and the bad for others to make an informed decision. My worst camping experience in the last five years was in a park that I liked the best, go figure. It just did not work out one time and it was due to a combination of things. We never really know until we get there.