Community Forums

diandtom · 08-11-2003, 06:44 PM

We will be at Big Oaks Family Campground for 3 nights,planning to be home before the Labor Day crowds get on the roads! Anyone else be up that way then? We just got back from a 4 day 3 night stay at Utts in Fancy Gap,Va,we also visited friends camping at Meadows of Dan and didn't see a IRV2 sticker anywhere!

Dianne

diandtom · 08-11-2003, 06:44 PM

We will be at Big Oaks Family Campground for 3 nights,planning to be home before the Labor Day crowds get on the roads! Anyone else be up that way then? We just got back from a 4 day 3 night stay at Utts in Fancy Gap,Va,we also visited friends camping at Meadows of Dan and didn't see a IRV2 sticker anywhere!

Dianne

jcullen0178 · 08-15-2005, 09:58 AM

Dear diandtom:

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

diandtom · 08-15-2005, 05:04 PM

WOW Really surprised to see this post up at the top,we went 2 YEARS AGO!! No we weren't impressed with the campground,didn't have any of the bad experiences you did though but wouldn't stay there again.There weren't many people there and the rvs close to us must have been permanents and were unoccupied at the time,so very quite.
Dianne