Some Park Reviews

[KBOnTheRoad]

Since returning to the Lower 48 from Alaska this summer I have had a chance to stay in some truly great places and a few awful ones. Here is a quick rundown that might offer some suggestions and fair warning to those of you who might follow in my tracks at some point.

Standing out above almost all of them was the RV Park we just stayed at near Mobile Ala. The "All About Relaxing" RV Park was a diamond for sure.

With bathrooms any 4 star hotel could be proud of, well spaced sites, neat as a pin, plenty of grass area and very pet friendly this park is my choice to return to. And even with a swimming pool it was only $37.28 per night incl tax. AND you get a free jar of delicious Jam at check in...called Traffic Jam...made with peaches and berries it was very good. The only drawback this park has is it's distance to Mobile at 15 miles west of the city it is a bit far out. But overall...worth it.

Another park I liked alot was Toad Suck Park (a Army Corps of Engineers Park) in Conway ARkansa. This is, despite it's troubling sounding name, a beautiful place right on the Arkansas river at the Toad Suck Lock and dam just a short drive into Conway. The sites are huge with towering trees, the bathrooms were exceptionally clean and brand new and it was $10/night. It is a truly beautiful spot.

Just across the broad Mississippi from Natchez is the Riverview RV Park in Vidalia LA. The park sits right on the Mississippi with a veiw of the bridge and parts of Natchez. Again this is a well maintained park again with excellent bathrooms, large and clean, modern and with heaters. Natchez is a must see town for it's history and great food. At $34.32 tax incl was a good price. This park also has a pool, which we never use nor do we consider in our choice of a park but I know some do.

One to give a complete miss to would Be Indian Pass RV Park in Port St Joe Fla. Dilapidated bathrooms, unlevel sites, indifferent staff and overpriced at over $40 not to mention 30 miles off the highway. The only redeeming factor this has is it's on the water but that is not enough to save this park.

New Orleans is always a tough one for RV Parks. We chose to stay at the Jude Travel Park in New Orleans East. Its a good 5 miles from the French Quarter. It was secure and very friendly. The bathrooms were acceptable and worked well. Your pooch is welcome here too. There is a bus that stops right across the street that takes you all the way to Broad and Canal where you transfer to a street car down Canal to be right at the FQ. It was easy and one of the most pleasant and friendly of any bus trips (Metro) I have taken.

While in NO do not miss the National WWII museum. It is an astoundingly good one and an experience. They have humanized this monumental conflict to a degree that is truly amazing. Also the NO Museum of Art is well worth a visit. With many old masters and a great collection of more modern works including the impressionists it is a nearly day long excursion in itself.

There is an RV Park very near the FQ in downtown but at over $100 per night we gave it a miss. As we passed by it on the freeway we noticed it was virtually empty.

The park we are in at the moment is a real charmer. Right on the gulf in Carrabelle Fla is the Ho Hum Rv Park. It has big sites many right at the waters edge all within 250 feet of the water. It's bathrooms are clean and new. The people are very friendly and helpful and its is very pooch friendly. Carrabelle is in that small bit of Fla that is not plagued by endless strip malls and tacky multi hued tourist traps. if you are down this way stay here.

Hope this helps some of you on your way this year or next.

[KBOnTheRoad]

2gypsies wrote:

KBOnTheRoad wrote:

accsys wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
I hope you do these reviews on this site so many more people can see it.

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/

I would second this suggestion. Any review in this forum is used very briefly if at all due to it being on the new list one day and forgetten the next. It is also hard to find in a search for a specific park in addition to being archived after one year. A review at RV Park Reviews or RV Parky will be there for years and easily found when researching a specific area.

Thanks for your suggestions however as I have said here previously (under a different handle)I almost never post to what are referred to in the business as "Mob Review Sites". The vast majority are "Gamed" by those with financial interests in higher scores for themselves or lower scores for their competitors. I have no wish to participate in that. I will say that as a former hotel owner I have personal experience with review sites. You must also keep in mind that there are many companies who offer their services to hotels, RV Parks and every other kind of business that gets reviewed that will ensure "positive reviews" for a fee.

Even if I reach only a few here that is fine with me.

Again thanks for the suggestion and thanks for reading the post.

You're talking about sites such as Yelp, etc. and for those, I agree. RV Park Reviews is nothing like that. It's owned by RVers and folks tell it like it is. The majority of RVers use these RV sites.

I am afraid not. I am talking about ANY review site. They are all being gamed by the owners and their competitors. Keep in mind I am not saying that ALL owners game the system only that ALL review sites are gamed. This makes their usefulness nil. This doesnt even begin to address the customer with a chip on their shoulder/axe to grind that posts terrible untruthful reviews out of spite. You can see these on any site.

I knew a man who owned a hotel in Thailand who so successfully gamed ALL of the review sites his hotel was rated no 1 in it's area just before he sold it. (He told me this himself after the sale)That rating helped alot in getting the price he was asking for. There is a lot at stake with these reviews that sometimes the regular person just doesn't see.

And it matters not who owns the site. Or who uses it. They can and are, all being gamed. Even the CEO of Trip Advisor admits in interviews that gaming is impossible to stop.

NOTE:
When I use the word "Owners" it refers to the business owners not the owners of the review site.

[2gypsies1]

KBOnTheRoad wrote:

accsys wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
I hope you do these reviews on this site so many more people can see it.

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/

I would second this suggestion. Any review in this forum is used very briefly if at all due to it being on the new list one day and forgetten the next. It is also hard to find in a search for a specific park in addition to being archived after one year. A review at RV Park Reviews or RV Parky will be there for years and easily found when researching a specific area.

Thanks for your suggestions however as I have said here previously (under a different handle)I almost never post to what are referred to in the business as "Mob Review Sites". The vast majority are "Gamed" by those with financial interests in higher scores for themselves or lower scores for their competitors. I have no wish to participate in that. I will say that as a former hotel owner I have personal experience with review sites. You must also keep in mind that there are many companies who offer their services to hotels, RV Parks and every other kind of business that gets reviewed that will ensure "positive reviews" for a fee.

Even if I reach only a few here that is fine with me.

Again thanks for the suggestion and thanks for reading the post.

You're talking about sites such as Yelp, etc. and for those, I agree. RV Park Reviews is nothing like that. It's owned by RVers and folks tell it like it is. The majority of RVers use these RV sites.

[KBOnTheRoad]

accsys wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
I hope you do these reviews on this site so many more people can see it.

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/

I would second this suggestion. Any review in this forum is used very briefly if at all due to it being on the new list one day and forgetten the next. It is also hard to find in a search for a specific park in addition to being archived after one year. A review at RV Park Reviews or RV Parky will be there for years and easily found when researching a specific area.

Thanks for your suggestions however as I have said here previously (under a different handle)I almost never post to what are referred to in the business as "Mob Review Sites". The vast majority are "Gamed" by those with financial interests in higher scores for themselves or lower scores for their competitors. I have no wish to participate in that. I will say that as a former hotel owner I have personal experience with review sites. You must also keep in mind that there are many companies who offer their services to hotels, RV Parks and every other kind of business that gets reviewed that will ensure "positive reviews" for a fee.

Even if I reach only a few here that is fine with me.

Again thanks for the suggestion and thanks for reading the post.

[jplante4]

We really liked Ho Hum

[lizzie]

Ho Hum is a Hoot! We are just a few miles down the road from you in Sopchoppy. Our family has a funny story about Toad Suck. We stayed there in the 80's and bought T-shirts for the kids at a local gas/grocery store. When my son wore his to high school the principal called to tell me he was being sent home to change his shirt. I told him Toad Suck was a PLACE, not a rock band. The principal looked it up, called me back and said my son could stay. If you get tired of Ho Hum, try Ochlockonee River State Park, or the City Park in Sopchoppy. Both have great camping, right on the river. lizze

[accsys]

2gypsies wrote:
I hope you do these reviews on this site so many more people can see it.

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/

I would second this suggestion. Any review in this forum is used very briefly if at all due to it being on the new list one day and forgetten the next. It is also hard to find in a search for a specific park in addition to being archived after one year. A review at RV Park Reviews or RV Parky will be there for years and easily found when researching a specific area.

[2gypsies1]

I hope you do these reviews on this site so many more people can see it.

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/

[Padlin]

Any place called Toad Suck Park is worth a stop. Added it to our map, thanks.