First of all, I had been loyal to this location for over twenty years. Dozens of trips there over the years with various friends and family. I have also been loyal to KOA in general and have been to dozens of KOA around the country. This time we arrived for our reservation on October 25th and I had reserved the month prior. I was directed to a cabin that was nothing like what I had booked or paid for. It was extremely inferior with no view, but I had paid a premium for a view. I asked if they were at least refunding part of my payment for the inferior cabin and extreme inconvenience, but the night guard would not let me talk to a manager. He would talk to the manager on the radio but she refused to address the situation. She was extremely rude and refused to adjust me to a lower price for the far inferior cabin and inconvenience. At the time, I felt they should have offered me some discount or adjustment for neglecting to honor my original reservation--especially since they didn't warn me ahead of time. If they had, I would have never wasted my time and money getting there. When I felt uncomfortable paying my original premium price for the the far inferior substitute they offered, she threatened that I had to leave or she'd call the police. I had been a long time customer of over twenty years and was stunned at this terrible customer service and aggressive rudeness. They refused to treat me with any decency and would not take care of the situation. They left me with no place to stay for two very young children after an eight hour drive, and the company still refuses to answer calls or messages. They have been irresponsible and unethical. To be denied my reservation, treated like trash, and refused any adequate adjustment of the price was just stunning. The corporate office does not reply to messages either. They simply have no interest in customer service.
First of all, I had been loyal to this location for over twenty years. Dozens of trips there over the years with various friends and family. I have also been loyal to KOA in general and have been to dozens of KOA around the country. This time we arrived for our reservation on October 25th and I had reserved the month prior. I was directed to a cabin that was nothing like what I had booked or paid for. It was extremely inferior with no view, but I had paid a premium for a view. I asked if they were at least refunding part of my payment for the inferior cabin and extreme inconvenience, but the night guard would not let me talk to a manager. He would talk to the manager on the radio but she refused to address the situation. She was extremely rude and refused to adjust me to a lower price for the far inferior cabin and inconvenience. At the time, I felt they should have offered me some discount or adjustment for neglecting to honor my original reservation--especially since they didn't warn me ahead of time. If they had, I would have never wasted my time and money getting there. When I felt uncomfortable paying my original premium price for the the far inferior substitute they offered, she threatened that I had to leave or she'd call the police. I had been a long time customer of over twenty years and was stunned at this terrible customer service and aggressive rudeness. They refused to treat me with any decency and would not take care of the situation. They left me with no place to stay for two very young children after an eight hour drive, and the company still refuses to answer calls or messages. They have been irresponsible and unethical. To be denied my reservation, treated like trash, and refused any adequate adjustment of the price was just stunning. The corporate office does not reply to messages either. They simply have no interest in customer service.
If you are looking to dabble in the Smoky Mountains without losing all cell service, camping at this location is perfect for you! I found that while traveling when you want to be removed from civilization but still able to touch base you can't beat a good KOA. This one is a great example of just that, offering amenities for you to enjoy but proximity to easily drive to an adventure just ahead.
This place was pretty nice to say the least, it had that rustic mountain feel but with modern amenities. You could stay here in a cabin or RV or take it down to the tent camp, like I usually enjoy doing. The cabins here though were a little touch of magic and I would recommend these for a holiday away or a Christmas cabin, they were just so cute.
Unlike a lot of KOA camps this one has year round access to pool and hot tub as well as sauna room. But the list of perks doesn't stop there, this is more of a resort feel than campground. They offer bike rentals, shuttle tours to the mountains, fishing, giant checkers and game boards, a clubhouse area, children's activities and both wifi and cable.
So what is the catch to this near perfect sounding place? The only one I could find is that tent sites are limited. Yep, only thing I could find!
There are 4 different cabin options, tons of rv spaces but less than a dozen tent sites in this HUGE mega park. They even offer a grill at this location… you can't beat all that!!
So back to the tent sites…. there are two types available in very limited quantities and they vary vastly despite being placed in the same section of the park only feet from one another. Deluxe sites are $52.99 a night a little to much for me, and while they looked nice with a sandy tent pad and bear boxes along with electricity and water, I was content with my grassy pad and no water or electric at a $30 savings. Sorry KOA you can't have $30 just so I can sleep on sand instead of grass that is what a sleeping pad is for.
So as you can see by my rating even though there was that sharp gouge in price from one site to the next I still gave them a 5 stars. Why you might ask? Well because this campground literally was a resort on a paupers budget staying in my grassy tent site. I had access to every amenity there was to offer, staff was friendly, nothing was left a mess by other campers (or if it had been staff cleaned it up before I knew it) and facilities were very nice.
This KOA set the bar high for others of the same brand and made me realize sometimes why I just enjoy doing the commercial camping thing… sometimes you want rugged… then sometimes you want to have a nice comfortable night that reminds you of home or a hotel…lol
With an indoor and outdoor pool AND hot tub, you can always keep your kids entertained
This campground is VERY family friendly. They have a lot of activities for kids. A shuttle is also available to take campers to a variety of activities outside the campground. There is also a lot of fishing in the grounds. The campground was very organized at check in. Even though it was late, someone escorted us to our spot and helped us get in. The spot was a little tricky because of trees. We were in a quiet spot near the back of the campground. The spots up front may not have been as quiet because that’s where all the activities are. Like the pools, hot tub, jumping pad, etc… The restrooms were basically clean. With the rain in the area it was hard to keep the floors clean. The staff was very friendly and helpful each time we encountered them We had a great vacation and plan to come again very soon.
lots to do for the whole family! fishing licenses on site. fish from stocked pond or streams. play areas for kids. indoor and outdoor pools. tent sites, RV sites, and lots of cabins. clean bathrooms with showers. there’s even an on site cafe and gift shop!
Really great campground and amenities. Would have given 5 stars, but borh mornings we were woken up by construction at the next sight over. Power saws and a generator, or something. I understand needs for improvements, but maybe start a little later in the morning. After all, it was our vacation. Other than that, campsite was great! Clean bathrooms and campground overall.
All kinds of stuff for the kids. Two pools, jump pillow and pad, banana bikes, play ground and three ponds for fishing.
