South Padre Island KOA

This campground has very tight spaces and needs renovation. We booked cabin 25 for our adult children to stay while we stayed in site #120. Definitely do not not recommend the cabins. They are not "deluxe" as advertised and do not match their description, and very uncomfortable mattresses. We experienced very poor customer service at this KOA.. Definitely get motel rooms, instead of the cabins. Cheaper and actually on the ocean.

I have to say as newbies to the RV world we were excited to make our trip to South Padre Island and compare the cost savings from renting a condo to having our new RV. When we arrived we noticed the narrow streets inside the RV park. We didn't think anything of it until we made the turn into the office. Talk about a tight squeeze just to check in. We noticed rows and rows of different RV's. Upon check in I was advised that someone would guide us to our site. As soon as I made it back to our vehicle we were greeted by a KOA employee who asked that we follow her to our site. I must remind you that the narrow roads were extremely nerve racking especially with kiddos on bikes and bigger trucks just driving around. We finally made to our site and this is where reality sunk in. How in the heck were we going to fit our 28 Ft trailer (33 Ft from hitch to rear bumper), into the assigned slot? We must have been guided by 4 different people when we finally made it into the slot. I was beyond frustrated at that point and just wanted to get my family settled in. Our sewer line was taken by the neighbor and the KOA rep told me that I would need to have a talk with them so they can swap to their assigned sewer line. Why me, I literally just got there and barely squeezed in! Long story short, the gentlemen who helped us back in both were truck drivers and they too agreed that the RV park is way small and too crammed. They too struggled to get into their slots.

Now the "amenities". We were provided red wristbands and were told we needed to wear them at all times so that KOA employees can determine actual visitors. We were also advised that internet was only for checking email, no video surfing or streaming but the internet was spotty at best and didn't even work to check emails. The cable did not work. The common area was nothing more than a room in an old water tank with a ping pong table. The bathrooms were old and musty and I could not get the smell of the mildew out of my nose. We barely looked into the pool as it was over crowded and had murky water. All in all we were not impressed and quite frankly, we will bypass any further trips to South Padre.

We normally don't stay in locations that are packed in like this, but we wanted to stay on the island near the water, and this was pretty darn good! Island sites and sites near water are nearly always packed in, so given our expectations, we were happy with that. Even though the spots are close together, our site was set up well with neighbors pulled in the opposite direction and privacy screens between patios. The spot is narrow and then widens out where the patio/seating area is. The hookups are in the front of the site, so we had to pull all the way through to put the trailer in front of the site, unhook, and park behind our trailer. That put our door next to the patio, which was great. None of that was a problem once we figured it out. The site was relatively flat, so no leveling needed.

Positives: Very quiet. There is a small public boat launch at the end of the entrance road with gorgeous views of the bay, birds, and sunset. It's close to amenities and the other end of town is only about 5 miles away. We didn't use the amenities, but the pool, laundry, and showers all looked great. There's also a deck with chairs, tables, and lights near the playground where I hung out a bit.

Negatives: The reported signal for Verizon didn't pan out in this specific spot, and there wasn't much of a consistent signal for AT&T, Google Fi, or the park's WiFi either. Thankfully, our Starlink satellite worked great here! Otherwise, we might have had difficulties working or watching TV.

I rate this KOA as „Adequate“, 3-stars. South Padre Island is a fantastic destination, so you would think the KOA, which essentially stays nearly full all year round, would be a premier KOA. Paved trailer sites? Nope, gravel. Landscaped? Nope, a few palm trees amongst tightly packed sites. New construction? None. Bath houses immaculate and maintained to the highest order? Nope; old, rusty, but basically clean. Fine for a man, but my wife said, „I won’t be taking any showers here....“. New or refinished/painted picnic tables? Nope; more like deteriorating in the Texas sun. On the good side, people (as is the case throughout South Texas, are nice, trash gets picked like clockwork, the KOA is quiet even before 10:00 p.m., and the location is very good (right on the island). My general assessment: Someone is making a ton of money without caring very much about reinvestment. I wish another investor would buy it who cares enough to maintain it equal to the splendor of the rest of South Padre Island. Will I stay here again? Probably, simply due to its proximity.....which is the likely reason the mediocre upkeep is gotten away with.

The location is pretty great but we wish we had looked into staying on the beach instead.

Check in was ok but sort of cold. The spots here are super tight. Slides just barely make it out and we have a tiny trailer. There’s also no good views despite being on the water. The campground seems to have been laid out so there are no views. Even the “best “ spots (which are for motorcoaches only) have a view of the very loud playground.

Cell service was bad for sprint, slow for ATT and ok for Verizon.

Upon arrival, things seemed normal for the COVID-19 check-in. Things went well until after renting a golf-cart. My children and I were going back to the camper when a KOA employee yelled at me to "Slow Down" and "Yes, I work here." The woman followed to my campsite yelling and threatening to kick my family "to the curb". When asking for management I was told "I am the manager". When I notified that I will contact corporate I was told "they will just kick it back". Indeed they did. To note this "manager" was the only person who felt they needed to treat me and my family this way. With this said, I contacted our attorney who began working on escalating the issue. Our vacation went down from there. My wife and I were unhappy with the campground due to the mistreatment by management. The campground itself is large but spots are very close to one another. The restrooms are clean, there is a decent-sized laundry, and there is an on-site store for your basic tv supplies. The pool was large at a maximum depth of (4) feet and had a hot tub onsite. The pool at the time of my visit was overtaken by mosquitos. There is a restaurant in walking distance which is very good. They service breakfast also and can have a long wait at times. Even if you do not stay at the KOA stop by here. The city/county campgrounds at Isla Blanca Park are just a mile further down and have better access to the beach. The prices are cheaper also. The KOA I felt was overrated and overpriced in this case. In retrospect of the stay, I will not stay at this KOA nor can I honestly suggest anyone else to. Some may have a better experience but with the way management treated me I feel they deserved the one-star review. We camped at South Padre Island KOA in a Travel Trailer.