Ellie Ray's RV Resort & Lounge

My family and I were planning on attending a group kayaking event at Ellie Rays but Hurricane Ian showed up. We called the RV park to either request a refund or a credit to be used at a later time. Later for us literally meant 2-3 days difference in our reservations. Not only was the person we talked to on the phone rude and unprofessional, but no refund and no credit could be offered in the face of an impending hurricane and the whole state of Florida in a state of emergency. Safety prevented us from going but the lack of courtesy and respect from staff ensures that we will never book there again! Campers beware!!

Nice campground on the Sante Fe river. Not many trees for shade and the sites are a little close but not bad. They have full hookups and a nice bathhouse and laundry room. There is a nice pool and jacuzzi which is nice alternative to swimming in the river. The staff is generally nice and helpful but they have the same problem with finding employees as everyone else. They have a pontoon boat and jet ski rentals also. There is a restaurant and bar which serves decent food but again could use more help. They have Thursday night Prime Rib which brings in the locals as it is a good deal. The bar has karaoke and live music sometimes, with a couple of pool tables. It’s a bit pricey but would be worth it with another star.

When I called& explained that I accidentally put 3 adults instead of 2 adults for our reservation, Was told there's no refunds, but they could put a credit for$66 for later date. Mind you, it was not like we were canceling, we were coming for 3 nights& already paying$650 for a spot& cabin. Pulled into resort at 8pm. Had to go to the bar to check in. There were 2 bartenders who were very busy. I totally understand that, but wasn't even greeted or told to hang on for a good 10 minutes. Got checked in& given map with location of our spot circled. Follow map back to spot& there's somebody in it. The signage was horrible, so it was difficult to find the spot to begin with. Call office& no answer. Called bar& they said that the wrong spot was circled on map& told us what section to go to. Again, signage was horrible so had to get out of RV& walk around to find spot. Rest of family came in about an hour later& we already got their key for the cabin for them. We were all shocked to see that the cabin was not stocked with linens. This would not have been issue if we were told ahead of time, but even after looking back at our confirmation emails& website,& even speaking with them on phone ahead of time, this was mentioned nowhere. Since it is winter, we were looking forward to hot tub which looked beautiful on the pics on website, but when we got out there it was dirty& broken. Other people at campground said it's been that way for awhile. The pool was also supposed to be heated,& it may have been heated to 65° at best. Website also shows alot of activity going on like watersports& bands playing. It was President's Day weekend& there was none of this going on. All that being said, we still would have rated the place well if it wasn't for the a horrible experience we had at the restaurant/bar. We sat down at the two tables that they had there& we're not approached by anyone for a good 10 minutes. Went up to the bar to ask for menus& was handed 1 menu. Ask for more& they gave them to me& informed me that there was a shift change& it might be a minute. Went back to the table& the waitress came over& told us that she would be right with us. The waitress also explained that they were short staffed& had a new cook. We told her we understood& put in our order. We had 5 kids with us& ordered 3 kids meals& regular food for the rest of the table. We got our food& there was a burger missing along with a side of fries that never got delivered. We kept on asking about the burger& she kept on apologizing& going& checking. Finally she brought a burger over& said I'm not sure if this one is yours but you're getting it. The burger was not ours since my son-in-law ordered a bacon cheeseburger& this was a plain burger. Then she came with his Burger& it was overcooked. Mind you, this is a good 30 minutes after we had all finished our food. Another guy approached the table& asked if we need anything& we asked for four more sodas. He never came back with them. When we asked the waitress for them again, she brought them. She was doing a great job& we understood it was not her fault. We weren't in a hurry. The kids were playing some games they had& we were just chilling so it really wasn't a big deal yet. The big deal happened when we got our bill& kids meals were on there as regular meals. We figured it was just an oversight, so we told waitress& she sent over a guy who didn't introduce himself, but since reading the rest of the reviews assuming this was the owner Nick. Right away, he took an aggressive tone& said they brought over three-piece chicken meals and the kids ate them so we should pay for what we ate. We explained that we din't know that the kids had three chicken pieces& that that is not what we ordered. He said so basically you're saying you don't want to pay your bill& said our waitress said we were rude. This guy was aggressive, rude, and unprofessional. He ended up changing the bill, but then when I check our bank account they charge just twice once the original amount and then the amount that he changed it to. Needless to say we will be disputing this. Will not be back to use our$66 credit.