Big Oaks- Rehoboth DE?

[Ringer]

Thinking about staying at Bigs Oaks for a few days this summer. Any one have an opinion about this C.G.? Thanks in advance.

[This message was edited by Ringer on Sat April 19 2003 at 01:33 PM.]

[Ringer]

Thinking about staying at Bigs Oaks for a few days this summer. Any one have an opinion about this C.G.? Thanks in advance.

[This message was edited by Ringer on Sat April 19 2003 at 01:33 PM.]

[jcullen0178]

Dear Ringer:

By nature I am a forgiving person. In addition, since I come from a family of small business owners, I am reluctant to leave negative feedback about a small, family-owned business. However, my family's experience a Big Oaks campground in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, was so unpleasant, that I feel a strong need to do what I can to save others from a similarly unpleasant experience.

I will begin with the facilities. While I am sure that there are some very nice campsites and cabins at this park, ours was definitely not one of them. Our accommodations were rather expensive by campground standards ($80.00 per night for a small cabin). Behind the cabin was a large swamp. As you can imagine, this created a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes, flies and other insects. Adjacent to our cabin was a small bathhouse with ONE toilet and ONE shower. THIS BATHHOUSE WAS SHARED BY 12 CABINS AND 4 TENT SITES. The only other bath/toilet facilities in the park were located approximately 300-400 YARDS AWAY from our cabin. Because campers were frustrated with the long lines of people waiting to use the toilet and the unsanitary conditions that result when 16 families share one toilet, they often resorted to relieving themselves in the swampy woods behind our cabin. This resulted in a persistent urine smell. Had we known in advance about these arrangements, we would never have come to this park. Unfortunately, we were not informed until after we paid, in cash (no credit cards are accepted), for 7 nights lodging. To top it all off, the park has a NO REFUND policy that prevented us from leaving to find better accommodations (we simply could not afford to walk away from $500).

Nonetheless, I am a hearty soul who expects to live in rustic conditions when I stay in campgrounds. In fact, if I had been treated with courtesy and respect, I would have accepted the conditions at Big Oaks and you would not be reading this negative review. Unfortunately, the ownership and staff of the park were neither courteous nor respectful. We found many of their comments and actions to be demeaning. When we complained about one particularly demeaning incident and the condition of the bathhouse, they informed us that we should be grateful that a bathhouse was provided at all and that they did need our business (they are proud to point out that there is considerable demand for their cabins and campsites). Our only recourse if we were not happy with the conditions in the park was to leave (without a dime of our money of course). I am 47 years old and have stayed in travel parks, campgrounds, and inexpensive hotels on family vacations since I was a child. In all of my years I never encountered such arrogant and inhospitable treatment of paying customers.

One final note is that, if you come to Big Oaks, you can expect to see numerous prominent displays of the confederate flag and southern civil war slogans and memorabilia. You can also expect to experience many of the attitudes and behaviors that often come with them. If this offends you as it does me, then you have another very good reason not to give your hard-earned dollars to the ownership of this park.

My strongest and most emphatic recommendation is that you plan to stay in one of the other find travel parks or campgrounds in the Rehoboth Beach area. However, if you must stay at Big Oaks, you should make sure that your site or cabin is satisfactory before you give them any of your money. In addition, you should not expect them to be grateful for your business.

Happy camping to you!

Joe Cullen

[Frank P. Martin]

Joe:

Your posting inspired me to enter a campground review for Big Oaks as I camped there earlier this month and observed/exprienced a lot of the same issues as you. You might want to add your own review and present what you've posted here for others to read.

[TipanRing]

Some alternatives that we've found along Rt 1 in Delaware have turned out well. Indian River State Park has very nice (although sparce) full hookup sights and tent camping. Also is a short walk to a very nice beach with bathhouse and snack bar. The nice thing about a stay at the state park is your hang tag allows you access to all of Delaware's very nice parks and beaches.

Just north of Ocean City is Treasure Beach. Very nice for full hookup sites but no tent camping. It's predominantly a seasonal park. Very convenient to Ocean Hgwy (Rt 1)and Fenwick Island which is the southern most point of "Slower Delaware".

Enjoy!

[Route 66]

That would be "Lower Slower Delaware" as we call it.

[RVrs R US]

Tania and I are also from the Wilmington, Delaware area. We've never stayed at Big Oaks but did have a chance to check it out in the fall of 1999.

It didn't take us long to make the decision to stay at 3 Seasons.

We've also stayed at Indian River State Park when visiting friends in Ocean City. With 3 Seasons campground recently being sold to a developer, camping spaces in lower Delaware are going to be sparce.

Dave

[UPS 34]

This is a dump of a place. Too bad because it could be a gold mine if managed properly

[Hitchhiker]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">they often resorted to relieving themselves in the swampy woods behind our cabin. This resulted in a persistent urine smell. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I can only wonder if the local health department condones this or if they are even aware that it occurs?

[Frank P. Martin]

UPS 34:

It's already a gold mine... as is!!! ...and will probably become more of one once 3 Seasons closes. I'm sure they're banking on that.