Web site: Papoose Pond Resort and Campground
Waterford, ME -
Real Campers gave us this review on 08/30/08. Dates of Stay: 8/16 - 8/24. Will You Return? No. What did you camp in? Pop-up Trailer
What stood out? What really stood out when making the reservations was that there is a section of sites that have "Deluxe Cabinettes" (aka Private Bathrooms w/ an outdoor covered kitchen area). Since we have small children this was especially appealing. Upon arriving the site was clean and fairly level. There were activities (mainly sports activities) scheduled throughout the day for varous age groups. We booked over the phone and received no explanation of their cancellation policy.
Owners and Staff: Our initial contact with them was fine. Our second contact left a lot to be desired. We were never told of the cancellation policy and never received anything in the mail so was not aware they had one. About 3 weeks prior to our arrival we needed to make an slight change to our reservation due to issues with school. We contacted them only to be told we were within the 30 day window and couldn't make any changes. I was more than unhappy because if I had known this type of cancellation policy existed I would never have booked. After complaining their resolution was to "give" us a "free" night tacked on to the end of our stay. This meant that we payed for 7 nights and got 1 for "free". We were only able to go for 6 nights so we lost out on two of the nights. When giving us the "free" night, the manager said it like he was doing us a favor which he wasn't. If I was asking to break rules I knew about I would understand but these were never told to us (and I did find out later that they were on their website but I didn't look at or book through their website).
The office staff at check in were a group of 3 young ladies who didn't seem to have much of a clue. My husband asked a few questions and they didn't know the answers for any of them and they were relating to their campground.
The counselors that ran the activities were also young and didn't really get into the activities and instead stood around and chatted with each other while the kids played.
Camp landscaping and surroundings: Average campground that is spread out over a decent size area. There is a main office, store/arcade, cafe, rental office, beach, and craft lodge on one side of the campground and on the other side of the main road there is a pool with rec hall and mini golf.
The campground is located approximately 20 minutes to the grocery store and other retail shopping. There didn't seem to be very much to do in that area. Most of the campers seemed to stay at the campground and participate in the activities offered there.
Good sites: n/a Bad sites: the only ones I wouldn't recommend are the ones close to the busy main road.
Campsite hookups: electric, water, sewer, WiFi is available at the main office area Campsite Descriptions: wooded, semi-private, close to the road, sandy bottom, picnic table, fire ring, highway noise
Cell Phone Service: Zero cell phone service for AT&T or Verizon.
Clean restrooms and showers? yes. Restrooms and showers need updating? yes. free showers. Are restrooms accessible from all sites? yes. Additional comments on restrooms and showers: The bathrooms were kept clean but were in need of updating.
pool, pond, river, swimming, fishing, boating, boat rentals, recreation hall, video games, pool table, live entertainment, bingo, tv or movies, playground, kids planned activities, camp store, ice cream, snack bar, pets allowed, laundry room, dumping station; Pool could use some supervision. Twice we had to leave because of children that were not supervised and were actually jumping into the pool onto other people. When we told the staff memeber manning the mini golf office right at the entrance to the pool she shrugged her shoulders and did nothing about it.
Last comments: I had high expectations for this campground and was very disappointed in the end. Yes, there were good parts to it but overall I didn't the campground itself.
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I don’t remember any campgrounds that have ever stated their cancellation policy over the phone when I made a reservation. It’s up to the consumer to inquire before giving a deposit.
Sorry you had such a bad time with the staff and their policies, but it does seem like you enjoyed yourself anyway.
Posted by That's Camping on 09/01/08
If a campground wants to create a policy that is unbreakable and they want to consider binding than it is their responsibility to create this oral contract with the guest. It is their legal obligation to inform the guest of a policy and not the other way around
A campground is no different than booking with a hotel or an airline. Every time you book with one of them the tell you of the cancellation policy upfront. Papoose does not do this and never has according to life long visitors. Hopefully they will wisen up because when disputed they would not have a leg to stand on.
Posted by Rea on 09/08/08
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