Camp Margaritaville RV Resort & Lodge

Thursday May 11-Thursday May 18,2023 Site 88 $659.54 Total with Taxes and Confirmed Site Number...Reservation made approximately 2- 3 months in advance of arriving...they stated they were sold out but each day there was 30-50% or more sites Unused...Fri & Sat nights had highest site occupancy

WOULD WE STAY HERE AGAIN? Yes, overall beautiful facility...Shower rooms, rules and billing (found out after we returned) were the only real issues we encountered...Overall stars probably a Solid 3 or 4. Not a perfect 5 as the showers were just, uggghhh!

PROS:
-Location: Southern tip of Pigeon Forge, just off Parkway 10-15 minutes to Dollywood and All Show Venues in Pigeon Forge. Minutes to Gatlinburg
-Easy Check-in
-Mostly level/concrete sites--only used anderson levelers to level about an inch
-Alot of space between and behind sites
-Picnic Tables were blue metal and in good condition and Fire rings were cleaned in between guests
-Very clean/fresh/modern areas
-Amazing Basement/recreation area: Life size Chess, Connect 4, Tic Tack Tow, Bonfire area, pool Tables, Amusements, Activities Room, Meeting Room, Gamers Stations, Air Hockey for 8...Truly Impressive area with very affordable prices! As Mom was in a wheelchair we had to get a key to use a rear elevator to get downstairs
-Lots of on-site Activities, Daily
-Pool and Lazy River are separate areas
-Site area was very quiet
-They did collect trash daily-during mid-day. We also witnessed them spraying grass for weeds and bugs as well as trimming sites
-If you need to be respectful of other members of your party watching their budget there are two other campgrounds coming up the hill to Camp Margaritaville. They are: Rivers Landing and Twin Mountain Inn & RV Park. They appear to have less activities and space than Margaritaville RV Resort but all three can easily be walked between each other. And while Margaritaville does offer a Lodge, there is also a Radisson Branded property on the same side of the road as the campgrounds-again walkable though it would be easier to get to each in a car if you have a member that has difficulties walking

CONS:
-SHOWER ROOMS---As we are early risers, typically we showered around 5-7am. During the week we were there we experienced everything from Perfectly Clean to Filthy and everything in between. Water was generally hot but at times could be cooler. Floors were always soaked. Female individual shower rooms had no hooks to hang anything, mirrors that fogged and stayed fogged, no trash cans in the shower rooms themselves and no shelf in the shower to set toiletries-other than a single soap dish. Vents were crazy dirty-as in they probably haven't been cleaned since they opened the bathhouses and there were always bugs and dirt in the shower floor edges/corners. If the males was clean, the females were dirty and vice versa. Males and Females Shower Room Rating 1 out of 5 stars. Horrible!!!!!
-They give you a list of rules but the don't do anything to enforce them. During the week we were there we watched a/two different units being washed, b/people put out pet cages around their units for their dogs, and c/older units not just over 15 years old (some well over 25 years old)
-Some rules make no sense...such as this rule: "Not allowed to leave your dog unattended in your trailer" So we took our 20 lb dog with us in the truck each day. But some days it was 85..had we done that we we would have killed the dog. We tried to locate a local Kennel but there are very few in P/F area. We called Front Desk and asked if we could let her alone inside trailer for a few hours to go to shows and/or doing the tourist thing. They had no idea what I was talking about and said, "yeah, no problem". We talked to our "neighbors" just in case there were any problems-but they too had dogs and understood. Most people there seemed to have 2-4 dogs and yes, some were big breed dogs!
-Charged us almost $25 more at check-in than stated on confirmation paperwork. I do not see anything why they would have. No resort fee's or local taxes that I am aware of. Caught the error when we returned home. Called them. Called 8 days ago...Still waiting for a response

This is clearly a corporate run facility with hoteliers running it. They are not your typical family campground hosts or have an understanding what campers want and need. Keep the rules that you need to maintain order but loose the fine print rules. You aren't following them anyway, so why exactly do you have them?

Recommendation: This is a wide open area, security and a gate or at least cameras may make sense overnight to keep the looters away. You are two minutes off the Parkway. Camping equipment is not cheap nowadays and unfortunately walks when opportunities present themselves. And to the GM, hop in one of those Golf Carts you rent and get out and visit with your campers...make some new friends, we don't bite!

Pros:
1. Very central location to easily access Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and the Smokeys
2. Lots of amenities (pool table, corn hole, onsite restaurant and bar, pool, lazy river, arcade, duckpin bowling etc)
3. Level sites and easy to navigate roads
4. Fantastic wifi even when the park is full
5. Friendly and helpful staff
6. Great bathhouse/laundromat (takes an app to pay for laundry so no quarters are needed)
7. New and clean grounds, everything in perfect condition

Cons:
1. Expensive
2. Access is a very busy road with near constant traffic.

I would stay here again if in the area. This was the nicest RV park I saw when compared to others nearby and the amenities were top notch.