Randolph, VT -
Sue gave us this review on 08/14/09. Dates of Stay: Aug 10 to 13, 2009. Will You Return? No. What did you camp in? Tent
What stood out? It is an RV park and we were tenting, so we felt a bit out of place. Many permanent and seasonal RV's with retired folks. The RVs were spotless! The whole campground was VERY quiet.
Owners and Staff: Not as personable as we thought they should be in this business.
Camp landscaping and surroundings: Grassy, flat, next to a shallow river, some trees, nicely kept.
Good sites: our sites were very small, but we were tenting and they told us they were giving us the smallest sites. Bad sites:
Campsite hookups: electric, water, sewer, cable, Campsite Descriptions: sunny and open, wooded, large and spacious, somewhat small, picnic table, fire ring, Depends on the site you have. Seems like they are really packed in to me, but might be standard size sites for those with RV's. There is noise from train tracks nearby about twice a day - assuming it was Amtrak.
Cell Phone Service: Spotty - but it's Vermont!
Seasonal Campers and Campsites: neat and orderly, friendly campers, For the most part the campers that we did talk to were friendly. 90% were retirees and were cautious at first when they saw us "tenters" with kids - but our kids are well-behaved and they seemed to warm up to us as the week went on. You could tell they were very protective of their quiet clean campsites!
Clean restrooms and showers? yes. Restrooms and showers need updating? no. free showers. Are restrooms accessible from all sites? yes. Additional comments on restrooms and showers: Showers and restrooms are rarely used because everyone was in large RV's. For us, it was great because we had them all to ourselves! Very clean and recently renovated. Their night manager did a wonderful job keeping them clean and was very friendly.
pool, river, swimming, fishing, playground, theme weekends, pets allowed, dumping station, Playgrounds are very small and have older equipment, but our kids (4 kids ages 10 to 8) had fun anyway. The playground next to our campsite had a sand box, a large metal slide, some metal swings, and one of those old fashioned metal twirly things - the kids loved that.
What is nearby? grocery stores, nature trails. There is a large Shaw's grocery store and a hardware store nearby. There is a country store down the road, but it doesnt have a lot of selection and can be pricey. Nothing is sold on the grounds but maybe ice and a few smaller things.
Last comments: Overall, we were disappointed. We had a fine time and worked hard to keep our spirits up despite the rain. We are experienced family campers with tents but really didnt fit in here. The owners seem a bit stand-offish and annoyed with us - just how I felt. Our children accidently broke a shuffleboard stick and the husband owner said "now you've ruined it for everyone" TO THE KIDS. When we went to the office to offer to pay for it, the wife was also standoffish and said "it was the price they have to pay with ownership". I felt that was harsh and was surprised as they say they have kids and are younger - plus being in a business serving the public, but oh well. You drive into the campsite past a trailer park - which made me uncomfortable personally. One evening we were very surprised to hear what sounded like gun shots - and I was telling the kids maybe it was fireworks somewhere. My husband (who hunts), the other Dad in our group, and a male camper nearby (another hunter with an NRA sticker on his truck window) all told me that it was actually a semi-automatic rifle I was hearing. No one seemed to be panicking, so I didnt tell the kids otherwise or go to the office. Maybe there is a shooting range nearby, I dont know. Quiet time is supposed to be 10:00 pm, so our first night we put our kids in the tents, turned off our radio and went to bed. No sooner had we done that than the RV next to us came out, started a fire,turned on their radio and sat up drinking and talking until 12:30. Management did NOT come to quiet them, and considering we had REd Sox logos all over our vehicles and they were clearly 3 large men who were Yankee fans drinking and listening to the game, we werent going to go over and say anything! But I told the night manager the next night and she was mortified - she said we should have come to get her. (She is not the owners, just to clarify.) On the plus side, the kids loved tubing in the river, the playground, the pool, the grassy sites and the retirees walking their dogs. We met a nice family with 2 kids a couple of doors down and invited them to dinner. So there were lots of good points, but I dont think this was the place for us! Others might have a different experience.
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