White Acres Campground - Bardstown KY...STAY AWAY!!!

[crappie_fisherm]

DO NOT STAY HERE!!!

We have stayed at a LOT of campgrounds in our RV life...and have always planned ahead by making reservations in advance...

So we were planning to do the Bourbon Trail in KY this year on our way back home to Indiana from Gatlinburg.

So we called White Acres to make a reservation 3 months in advance of our arrival date. I personally spoke with the owner Doris White. We are planners and don't just show up...especially since we have moved into our 40' motor home since we know we just can't "show up" someplace and expect to fit. Mrs. White took our name and the dates for our stay. That's all she did...no email confirmation, no credit card, nothing but my name and date of arrival and departure...at that point I was nervous...but this is her business and that's apparently how she runs it...well...let me tell you...the way she runs her business is to not have anything of true "reservations" because after driving 3 hours up from Gatlinburg and doing a couple of the local distilleries on the bourbon trail (the whole reason for our trip) we show up at White Acres only to be told the only sites they had were 1) extremely unlevel and not long enough for a 40' coach or 2) park in a field with only electric and water with no sewer (we didn't dump black in Gatlinburg as we were only there 4 nights so we needed the hookup).

The gentleman that was there at the time of our arrival was the CG "manager" and not Mrs. White. He tried to explain to me how 1) the people there had reservations 2) some had extended their stays. Basically he was very rude and really didn't care what my situation was.

Firstly 1) We HAD a reservation and 2) When I try to 'extend' in 'normal' CG's if the site is NOT BOOKED I can extend...at least on places that "take reservations" and not First Come First Served...so this was a first...

I tried to politely explain that I had called months ago and spoke with Mrs. White for my reservation so she knew what her other reservations at the time were when she agreed to take mine and she knew the size of our rig at that time and that an extremely unlevel site would not be acceptable for a 40' coach.

Mind you it is later in the day in pretty rural Kentucky...what are my choices?...well...we found a real campground that actually values their customers...Lil Patch of Heaven in Bardstown http://litpacthofheaven.com/...the owner there Lou is customer focused and was able to accomodate us on short notice.

My advice to anyone thinking about camping in Bardstown...avoid the poor customer service and amature and completely unorganized place of White Acres...they will "promise" you a reservation and then have you scrambling like me at the 11th hour when they have given your space away to someone else knowing that they have other reservations coming in...RUN AWAY FROM THIS PLACE and go to Lil Patch...

For the record...I have NO affiliation with Lil Patch...just a dissatisfied customer that was treated very poorly at White Acres.

Joe

[crappie_fisherm]

tracy,

That is great info to know...THANKS!

It is great that there are more options than I had realized in Bardstown to AVOID White Acres.

I will likely try Little Patch of Heaven FIRST since they treated me so well over there...the owners were awesome.

But it is good to know that my old KY SP has FULL hookups and can accomodate larger rigs...not all SP's can do that...and many Indiana SP's cannot...but THANK YOU for sharing this info here...hopefully anyone trying to look for a CG in Bardstown area comes across this thread and sees the OTHER options they have.

Thanks again,
Joe.

[tracyb-oh]

About half of their sites at My Old Ky Home State Park have full hook ups the other half are water and electric with a dump station available for all. There are some big sites there too. We have seen several large coaches there when we have camped there. You can reserve up to 12 months ahead on their web site and you can pick the exact site you want to reserve. They have photos of the site and explain what is available on each site. We go every year and are able to get our favorite spot by reserving it online.

[crappie_fisherm]

We did pass My Old KY state park...however given my size...I was concerned about navigating the roads in there as well as getting into a site...also I didn't think they had full hookups there...did they?

[tracyb-oh]

We stayed there once. Did not like it at all. Now we stay at My old Kentucky home state park. You should have passed it on the way to maker's mark. Very nice.

[crappie_fisherm]

Lantley wrote:
I stayed in Ontario this past summer at a CG that did not take my CC or give me a written confirmation.
Before I drove to Canada on a "I told you so" I requested the CG send me an E mail confirmation of my reservation.
While it was a very informal E mail the CG did give it to me in writing.
I arrived and everything was fine.
This CG had a very loose reservation policy where I could see the potential for problems like you encountered. On a local trip or somewhere that I know I have other options I might wing it. But on longer trips especially in remote areas where my options are limited. I try to have my reservations in writing.
In the end I guess it doesn't matter if I had written confirmation or not,if the CG did not save me a spot or honor my reservation I would still be SOL.
I suddenly feel you pain,aggravation and frustration!

Lantley,

THANK YOU for getting it...your last line brought you to my pain...

I THOUGHT I had followed the CG's reservation policy...only to find out they really didn't have a reservation policy if you will but operates more on a first come/first served basis...which is COOL...but TELL THE PEOPLE THAT when you "take" their reservation.

The issue for me was that they let the current group EXTEND...probably because there were 10 of them and they only had ME coming in...so hosing me out of my ONE site to keep TEN existing campers to get another nights site rent felt RIGHT to the owner...

My point I was trying to get across in my post on RVParkReviews...was simply that...reservations mean NOTHING to this particular park and I wanted to WARN potential campers of the danger.

Was my situation a specific one?...well we'll never know because admin over at RVParkReviews and apparently a member I have now blocked here doesn't let those types of "trends" be formed.

I'll tell you this though...if a park does it ONCE to someone that has the stones to write about it...I'll bet you there are at least 1 or 2 or 10 more times it has happened and people just don't take the time to report it...or they did and admin over there felt it was "too personal" of a situation...who knows.

All I know is I showed up in a pretty limited CG area believing I had a site only to be turned away...sure they "offered" a site that was totally unacceptable for a 40' MH...and the MGR knew it...

And as soon as I pulled in with my rig and the "manager" saw it and he said "let me show you what I have and YOU DECIDE"...I knew he knew I would not like the site...why else would he phrase it that way?

For the existing campers...why didn't he move one of them there like MOST CG's would do?...well there were 10 of them and they were paying...there was only one of me showing up...simple economics...I get it...but is that a way to treat ANY of your business customers???...i.e. TRENDS...and CENSORED...

Is there good at RVParkReviews...well...I had thought so and I too could "weed through" the rants and glowings to find the "average" camper experience...however now I'm not so sure there is real value in what is "allowed" to be posted over there...why does admin feel that the average camper cannot "weed through" ALL the information and formulate our OWN opinion versus a censored one?

How many reviews about a SPECIFIC park are "censored" and if allowed to be posted would have shown a TREND over a year or so?...do you really think admin over there can keep track of those trends he is blocking on a SPECIFIC CG?...

Joe.

[Lantley]

I stayed in Ontario this past summer at a CG that did not take my CC or give me a written confirmation.
Before I drove to Canada on a "I told you so" I requested the CG send me an E mail confirmation of my reservation.
While it was a very informal E mail the CG did give it to me in writing.
I arrived and everything was fine.
This CG had a very loose reservation policy where I could see the potential for problems like you encountered. On a local trip or somewhere that I know I have other options I might wing it. But on longer trips especially in remote areas where my options are limited. I try to have my reservations in writing.
In the end I guess it doesn't matter if I had written confirmation or not,if the CG did not save me a spot or honor my reservation I would still be SOL.
I suddenly feel you pain,aggravation and frustration!

[crappie_fisherm]

Folks,

We are back home and I've got another piece if relevant information to add to this topic on White Acres.

Yesterday when we were at the Makers Mark Distillery tour...we happened to have the privilege of being part of a tour of US Vets and their spouses. Mostly Vietnam Vets. Oddly enough they were camping at White Acres and actually saw me swing my Phaeton through the park as I was making my turn to exit after being turned away.

One of the gentlemen told me that he had also been told they had "limited" room due to the previous large group "extending" their stays. The only site they had for him on Thursday night (the same night I got there) was that same unlevel site that I was offered...he too refused that site for his coach...they found a spot (literally not even a site according to him) that had shared hookups with a neighbor that was in his group for a night until the other group vacated.

So...even our US Vets received the same treatment at White Acres as I did for the same reason.

The whole point here is that the every other CG I have ever stayed at when I have attempted to "extend" it was only possible to extend if 1) The site was open on the next night or 2) I was willing to move to another "open" site. White Acres apparently has a very liberal interpretation of "reservation" and they don't reserve specific sites...which is cool...and if they are going to "extend" someone they need to make sure that their incoming reservations can be accommodated for the size of the rig they have (they take this information when you call).

Also White Acres reservation policy is their reservation policy...I found it odd that they didn't want my CC number to hold the reservation even though I offered it up and they also don't send any email or mail confirmation of your contact with them...but this is how they operate and who am I to alter their reservation system...it just seems fraught with potential errors.

Could I have called to confirm my reservation?...sure I could have...but I travel a lot for business and stay at hotels many nights per year...I never call to confirm my confirmation. I also rent lots of cars on these trips...and I never call to confirm those confirmations...I also make reservations at restaurants for meals and never call to confirm those confirmations...I expect those to be honored since I called and gave my intention to do business with them. Those places (with the exception of the restaurants obviously) all have my phone number, my address and a CC number to guarantee my reservation and if they screw up they make good on it. White Acres CHOOSES to NOT take a CC number by their policy...and just this weekend both myself and a gentleman I met on a tour had the same issue pop up...so that just tells you that it happens much more frequently than folks would imagine...what are the odds of me meeting up with someone on a bourbon trail tour from White Acres...well some will say I'm making it up...and that's their prerogative...but I'm here to tell you that it is true believe it or not...my experiences at White Acres was shared by another I met and like I said...I know we're not alone.

Joe.

[Dog_Folks]

There is something weird here. This morning I just read on a blog of a fellow traveler, doing the bourbon trail that they stayed there and loved it! They even commented on how friendly the staff was!!

[Jim_Shoe]

Sounds to me like there may be enough blame to go around. If I was a CG owner, I'd take a reservation that far in advance, but I'd require a non-refundable deposit for at least one night, because I've been burned by people that make reservations in more than one CG for the same date and then make their decision when they get there.
If I was the RVer, I'd call to confirm my reservation a week before I arrived so that I could make alternate plans if someone extended their stay.

[wbrown62]

One certain campground I enjoy staying in often just takes my name and the size of my RV, never a cc number. Knowing how people forget, I usually try and remember to call a few days before arrival just to make sure. Lo and behold a time or two theyy didn't even remember we had reservations. Once I inquired about giving a number and was told "sure" and there were no problems upon arrival on that particular trip. The last time, I made a reservation that was as you described, with no Cc number to hold the site. I later had to call and cancel and they couldn't even find my reservation! I know this going in, so I try to stay on top of it, but as you know it certainly is not a good way to go about taking reservations for a campsite.

[Terryallan]

So. The next time you get down this way. Come over to the NC High Country, and try Raccoone Holler. Between Mile Post 257, and 258 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's a great, Quiet CG, right on the BRP. Full hookups. No deposit. Do call for res.

BTW. We plan as well. Not towing the TT up the mountain, or to the coast, and then try to find a place to put it. Life is too short.

[magnusfide]

Thanks for the HT. White Acres is now on our black list. Glad you enjoyed the trail. Did you get any BBQ?

[crappie_fisherm]

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Did they actually tell you that the sites they had left were "very unlevel and too short for a 40 foot MH" or did you make that determination after viewing the sites? We occasionally have people who decide a site is unsuitable for their rig even though we have had bigger rigs in them.
In your defense, it sounds like they have a crappy system that didn't work for a crappie fisherman.

When I showed up and the guy said "let me show you what's left and you can decide if you want it"...I kind of knew I should start grabbing my ankles...

When he showed me the site...the elevation difference from front to back (not side to side) was easily 3 to 4' in elevation difference...there is no way my levelers could have done that even if I was willing to give it a try...my front wheels would have been off the ground by FEET! and I'm not convinced the back end wouldn't have been bottomed out on the ground...leveling a coach front to back (as you know) is much different than a TT...so no...it was unsuitable and the guy knew it and that was why he said "let me show you"...I guess he felt if I thought it would work I should make that determination...which it clearly would not have...plus the overall length would have been undoable too...as my rear end would have been into the untrimmed brush and then compressing it and my nose slightly into the road...seriously elevated!

Thank you for your honest and witty response. 🙂

Joe.

[westernrvparkow]

Did they actually tell you that the sites they had left were "very unlevel and too short for a 40 foot MH" or did you make that determination after viewing the sites? We occasionally have people who decide a site is unsuitable for their rig even though we have had bigger rigs in them.
In your defense, it sounds like they have a crappy system that didn't work for a crappie fisherman.