Ryan Bible![](images/starg_1.png)
For Adventure Village and Lodgings: Our experience with Adventure Village and Lodgings was probably the worst camping/lodging experience I’ve ever had. If I could give zero stars, I would. Save yourself the frustration and money and find a Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lot. The owner is a shyster and is only concerned about money. He could care less about customer satisfaction.
My family and I were vacationing in the area and were staying at Davidson River Campground in the Pisgah National Forest. Three days prior to our departure, we were evacuated from Davidson River due to severe weather with flash-flood potential. A quick Google search revealed that Adventure Village is one of the closest campgrounds to Davidson River so I gave them a call. The owner seemed very friendly over the phone and promised to find us a site. He encouraged us to come in when we were ready so I packed up our RV and headed to Adventure Village. Upon check-in, I told him about having been evacuated and that we planned to be in the area for three days. He strongly encouraged me to pay, in advance, for all three days “in order to ensure I didn’t get bumped in the event that the campgrounds reached capacity.†So…I paid him for three nights and made my way to our site.
The camp sites and cabins were stacked on top of each other with little/no privacy and the whole campgrounds was a muddy mess due to some campground expansion work and the severe weather but we were thankful to have a place to sleep. In the morning, we were notified that Davidson River had reopened so I went to the front office to let the owner know we would be checking out early to return to our original site in the Pisgah. It was a Saturday and the office was closed so I called the point of contact listed on the office door and was able to speak with the owner’s son. He told me he’d “talk to the boss and let me know how they planned to handle the refund.â€
A few hours later, I received a text message telling me that, unless they could rent my campsite to another camper, they would offer me a rain-check in lieu of a refund. We exchanged a few text messages in which I explained that I would be willing to pay a penalty for checking out early but, given the fact that I was giving more than 24 hours’ notice and departing early not canceling, I wasn’t satisfied with a rain-check for two nights (~$90). Their response was to send me an image of their cancellation policy which states that “anything cancelled 30 days in advance from your reservation will be refunded. Anything within the 30 days will not be refunded but given a rain-check to be used at any other time.†I then called the office again to ensure that I understood them correctly and that I was communicating my thoughts clearly. The owner answered and quickly became belligerent when I tried to explain that I didn’t feel as though “checking out early†was the same as “canceling†(I travel extensively for work and have never encountered this before…canceling is not showing up which, in my experience, has always been treated differently than checking out or leaving early). He then said that despite the fact that his son had told me that they would refund my money if they could rent my site to another camper, he wasn’t going to do it because I was “complaining about his cancellation policy.â€
#1. I don’t believe that checking out early is the same as canceling. Canceling implies that I never showed up (to which I could see charging someone for ONE NIGHT). Checking out early, if done after mid-day, may result in a small fee but not forfeiture of all advance payment.
#2. Campers are largely a transient group. There are definitely folks that camp near home but there are a significant number of campers that travel great distances to visit new locations. Anyone that relies on such a transient population that offers a “rain-check†for cancellations made inside of 30 days and for all early checkouts is clearly doesn’t care about their customer base and is only interested in money. I live over 500 miles away and, after the treatment I received, can guarantee you that a rain-check won’t do me any good. So…do yourself a favor. Learn from my $90 mistake and skip Adventure Village and Lodgings. If only two of you heed my advice, I’ll feel like I got my money back.
Posted Apr 23, 2019 by Ryan Bible from MD. This is the subjective opinion of a traveler and not of AllStays LLC.
Mick![](images/starg_1.png)
For Adventure Village and Lodgings: We stay here two nights. The campsites are dirty. We were the only transient camps there. We did not receive a welcome from anyone. The bathrooms are dirty and grungy. This place is just horrible
Posted Nov 25, 2018 by Mick from Box Elder SD. This is the subjective opinion of a traveler and not of AllStays LLC.
Dry-n-Dusty![](images/starg_1.png)
For Adventure Village and Lodgings: The campground does not live up to its advertising. It is barely "big-rig friendly." To get in or out of the RV sites, one is expected to go up a very steep, precarious drive. Roads are basically grass with a couple of handfuls of gravel thrown down. Sites are a bit of grass and dirt. When it rains, the entire place is a muddy mess. Our site was a swamp during most of our stay. After a rain, we were stepping into ankle deep water and mud. Wifi did not work during our stay of nearly a week. Because of the trees, satellite Was not available. Cable provided is very basic cable. The dumpster was full and overflowing with garbage for the last three days of our stay. Overall the place is derelict and grossly overpriced. The only plus is the beautiful mountain setting.
Posted Jul 06, 2017 by Dry-n-Dusty from Arizona. This is the subjective opinion of a traveler and not of AllStays LLC.