I'm not a fan of staying at caravan parks but sometimes you just have no other choice but to use their facilities.
Recently I had a call at 10:10 to remind me that checkout time was 10am and could I please come to the office to pay the additional nights rent. I was already 30 mins down the road so I asked them to come down to my site to collect the fees.
Another time I received a call at 10:15 to remind me to depart and I said that the delay was a result of me having to repair a puncture and was driving out as we spoke on the phone. thei still asked me to pay the additional days rent
I've never seen anyone arrive before 11am anyway but they do nothing to advance their cause
I totally understand the need for rules but maybe a bit of leeway would help
Another place abused me for wasting precious water by washing my car. I told them that I had used my own tank water and she replied that it was her park and her rules. She couldnt see a problem is spraying the driveways around the park to reduce the dust with 2000l twice a day using town water cart
Rarely will they act when parties continue past 1130 pm, or to rectify any issues like dirty amenities.
Obviously I make a note in my spreadsheet to steer well clear of them in future
There are some places that are very good but the bad ones leave you with dread
I recently started using travel auctions to bid for stays at locations. I've used them 5 times but they generally put you in the back blocks well away from facilities. You get what you pay for
If there is no one waiting to get in then you are not holding anybody up.
I have witnessed caravaners not leaving till almost lunch time and some one
parked outside waiting for the site to be vacant.
Perhaps a case of acting on what is required at a given situation.
Also perhaps a case of them not wanting repeat business and being
either unaware or completely stupid about word getting around.
Larry
Never had that experience, have had very late organised check outs, left the van in the park out of the way and picked up later in the day for no extra money. What I find is with a good attitude and a happy smile they are very happy to take4 my money with very few problems. If you ever worked in a park doing maintance you may understand why the check out time is 10 am, a late departure can muck up maintance timeline up all day
cheers
blaze
I think the key is communication. If you expect to be delayed, talk to them sooner than later. Doing that I have never had any problems with leaving several hours after the official check out time.
Good grief OP, what a lot of negatives. We treat CP owners/staff with friendliness and respect, and always get it in return. With no exceptions we've found them only obliging and helpful.
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Cheers,
Tony
"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato
I'm not a fan of staying at caravan parks but sometimes you just have no other choice but to use their facilities.
Recently I had a call at 10:10 to remind me that checkout time was 10am and could I please come to the office to pay the additional nights rent. I was already 30 mins down the road so I asked them to come down to my site to collect the fees.
Another time I received a call at 10:15 to remind me to depart and I said that the delay was a result of me having to repair a puncture and was driving out as we spoke on the phone. thei still asked me to pay the additional days rent
I've never seen anyone arrive before 11am anyway but they do nothing to advance their cause
I totally understand the need for rules but maybe a bit of leeway would help
Another place abused me for wasting precious water by washing my car. I told them that I had used my own tank water and she replied that it was her park and her rules. She couldnt see a problem is spraying the driveways around the park to reduce the dust with 2000l twice a day using town water cart
Rarely will they act when parties continue past 1130 pm, or to rectify any issues like dirty amenities.
Obviously I make a note in my spreadsheet to steer well clear of them in future
There are some places that are very good but the bad ones leave you with dread
I recently started using travel auctions to bid for stays at locations. I've used them 5 times but they generally put you in the back blocks well away from facilities. You get what you pay for
Most caravan parks are really nice but it only takes one to ruin your opinion. Paid at a park and asked the wife if she could write the day of departure on the receipt. Day before departure her husband came to our van all huffed up and said you should have left by now, get out. Sorry, i replied but hang on a minute, i will get my receipt. There it was in black n white, departure is next day. Well, he was on his phone abusing his wife and then went to the office and continued abusing her There. Needless to say, we have not been back.
I think the key is communication. If you expect to be delayed, talk to them sooner than later. Doing that I have never had any problems with leaving several hours after the official check out time.
Agree 100%.
Never had problems & we stay in CPs always ... for last 20 years.
But I'm sure that there some bad ones out there & we'll come across them one day.
As for CP mtce, the best that I have seen was one at Hervey Bay. As vans left & handed in their amenities/ensuite keys, a call on CB to the mower guy had him there within minutes giving the site a quick mow & check of facilities, then off he went to the next one. Then the ensuite cleaning Quad turned up shortly after to give it the clean up treatment. Nice to watch as I sipped my morning coffee.
Same at Huonville caravan park in Tassie. Very organised. Same as Cupie put. The office is very good, and as soon as you drop your keys off, mower man gives a quick mow and if site needs watering, sprinkler is on straight away to freshen it up. Well organised and a nice park on a river, also a very busy park in holiday times.
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Age does not weary us, makes us go travelling more
Same at Huonville caravan park in Tassie. Very organised. Same as Cupie put. The office is very good, and as soon as you drop your keys off, mower man gives a quick mow and if site needs watering, sprinkler is on straight away to freshen it up. Well organised and a nice park on a river, also a very busy park in holiday times.
the places I mention had no grass, totally bare gravel. There was nothing that had to do between when I left and when the next person arrived
I think the key is communication. If you expect to be delayed, talk to them sooner than later. Doing that I have never had any problems with leaving several hours after the official check out time.
Agree 100%.
Never had problems & we stay in CPs always ... for last 20 years.
But I'm sure that there some bad ones out there & we'll come across them one day.
As for CP mtce, the best that I have seen was one at Hervey Bay. As vans left & handed in their amenities/ensuite keys, a call on CB to the mower guy had him there within minutes giving the site a quick mow & check of facilities, then off he went to the next one. Then the ensuite cleaning Quad turned up shortly after to give it the clean up treatment. Nice to watch as I sipped my morning coffee.
have you been travelling full time for 20 years? that's a long time on the rood well done. again the places I mentioned had no grass to mow and no maintenance to be done on the site
I did say that I have stayed at some nice places but the ones I mentioned weren't nice to deal with
Good grief OP, what a lot of negatives. We treat CP owners/staff with friendliness and respect, and always get it in return. With no exceptions we've found them only obliging and helpful.
you are very luck indeed. At no time did I not treat them with respect.
The intent of the post was to advise of negative experiences
I think the key is communication. If you expect to be delayed, talk to them sooner than later. Doing that I have never had any problems with leaving several hours after the official check out time.
Your post highlights that you have not always left the site before the deadline. I wonder how you would have dealt with the manager demanding an extra night fee for being 15 minutes late.
Would you have paid the fee? I think it was unreasonable to demand a further night fee because I was 15 minutes late - even after I had been there for 7 days
I would have expected to pay and additional nights fee if I was several hours overtime, but not 15 m inutes
Anyway, I was trying to highlight that there are some terrible van parks and actions like those I highlighted do nothing to enhance their reputation.
In 15 years full time travelling, I can only recall a handful of places that caused me grief.
The rest have ranged from just acceptable to fantastic. I'm staying at Rockhampton atm and they are fantastic.
I didnt realise that I had a puncture until I had hooked up and was doing my walk around
I chose to complete the repair (a 30 min job) than to call the office to tell them I would be minutes late. A call to the office would have further delayed me
It might be different if there are two people travelling. One can do the repair while the other makes the call to the office
It is rare for me to leave after 930
The other park I mentioned actually called me demanding that I vacate the site. I was already driving down the road
Anyway, in future I will post only positive experiences so as to not upset those of you who havent had a negative experience
I think the key is communication. If you expect to be delayed, talk to them sooner than later. Doing that I have never had any problems with leaving several hours after the official check out time.
Your post highlights that you have not always left the site before the deadline. I wonder how you would have dealt with the manager demanding an extra night fee for being 15 minutes late.
Would you have paid the fee? I think it was unreasonable to demand a further night fee because I was 15 minutes late - even after I had been there for 7 days
I would have expected to pay and additional nights fee if I was several hours overtime, but not 15 m inutes
Anyway, I was trying to highlight that there are some terrible van parks and actions like those I highlighted do nothing to enhance their reputation.
In 15 years full time travelling, I can only recall a handful of places that caused me grief.
The rest have ranged from just acceptable to fantastic. I'm staying at Rockhampton atm and they are fantastic.
I didnt realise that I had a puncture until I had hooked up and was doing my walk around
I chose to complete the repair (a 30 min job) than to call the office to tell them I would be minutes late. A call to the office would have further delayed me
It might be different if there are two people travelling. One can do the repair while the other makes the call to the office
It is rare for me to leave after 930
The other park I mentioned actually called me demanding that I vacate the site. I was already driving down the road
Anyway, in future I will post only positive experiences so as to not upset those of you who havent had a negative experience
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Hello markAC, you said in future i will post only positive experiences so as not to upset those of you who havent had a negative experience.. please do not do that. I like to hear about the good, the bad and the ugly. And its good to get everyone giving their stories and opinions. Makes the forum more fun.
We only visit Caravan Parks if and when we have to. Just arrived home after a short 2 week trip. I decided to book into the NRMA Caravan Park at Woodgate Qld. First week we spent 5 days at a private property just outside of Maryborough Qld. Then to the C.Park at Woodgate.
During our stay SWMBO the ""Dee"" asked me.
""Why the hell did you book us into a C.Park. You know I prefer bush camping.""
And here I was thinking that I was doing the right thing, you know a few days alongside the beach etc etc.
We did free camp for another 4 days during the holiday.
There is free stop overs in Maryborough and Childers Qld. Would like to see more larger towns provide the same service for the Caravan folks.
We only visit Caravan Parks if and when we have to. Just arrived home after a short 2 week trip. I decided to book into the NRMA Caravan Park at Woodgate Qld. First week we spent 5 days at a private property just outside of Maryborough Qld. Then to the C.Park at Woodgate.
During our stay SWMBO the ""Dee"" asked me.
""Why the hell did you book us into a C.Park. You know I prefer bush camping.""
And here I was thinking that I was doing the right thing, you know a few days alongside the beach etc etc.
We did free camp for another 4 days during the holiday.
There is free stop overs in Maryborough and Childers Qld. Would like to see more larger towns provide the same service for the Caravan folks.
Some people like pushing boundary , Caravan park i have stayed in use the time after 19 am exit to mow or weed eat the site ready for the next visitor , We may not have a time frame but they do , I allways book out when leaving and folllow rule some people find it hard to follow rules .
I think the key is communication. If you expect to be delayed, talk to them sooner than later. Doing that I have never had any problems with leaving several hours after the official check out time.
Agree 100%.
Never had problems & we stay in CPs always ... for last 20 years.
But I'm sure that there some bad ones out there & we'll come across them one day.
As for CP mtce, the best that I have seen was one at Hervey Bay. As vans left & handed in their amenities/ensuite keys, a call on CB to the mower guy had him there within minutes giving the site a quick mow & check of facilities, then off he went to the next one. Then the ensuite cleaning Quad turned up shortly after to give it the clean up treatment. Nice to watch as I sipped my morning coffee.
have you been travelling full time for 20 years?that's a long time on the rood well done. again the places I mentioned had no grass to mow and no maintenance to be done on the site
I did say that I have stayed at some nice places but the ones I mentioned weren't nice to deal with
If only. No we are only part time Grey Nomads.
For the first 10 years we were on the road for at least 5 or 6 months but that has dropped to 3 or 4 short trips of 2 to 6 weeks each. In that time we have covered well over 200,000 km in the same 1998 21'6" Jayco Westport and 1996 Nissan Patrol GQ 4.2 efi (petrol).
This year's longish trip was circa 3,000km (2 1/2 mths) down the east coast from Brissy to Sydney, then along the Vic Coast, across to Queenscliffe & the GOR & Warnambool then back to Bris through The Grampians, Hay, Bourke, Cunnamulla, St George & Warwick.
In Oct or there abouts once the southerners have gone home, we will go to the Gold Coast or Perhaps Sunshine Coast. Next year a loop thru West Qld., after another short trip to Hawaii. (no not in the van LOL).
Some people like pushing boundary , Caravan park i have stayed in use the time after 19 am exit to mow or weed eat the site ready for the next visitor , We may not have a time frame but they do , I allways book out when leaving and folllow rule some people find it hard to follow rules .
I assume that you mean 10am and not 19 am?
You have revealed that you didnt fully read/understand my post, or you would have seen that I stated that there was NO GRASS to mow and no site maintenance to be done - it was just bare gravel. These were CP's in Far western Qld (drought affected (Birdsville and Longreach)
Both CP mentioned were approx 40% occupied so it isnt as if they needed my vacant site at 10 am exactly. Thats not the point, I totally understand the need for a 10am departure time.
I have never seen anyone actually checkout of any CP other than those who have been provided you with a key to return but most have a key return box for that purpose or to collect the deposit refund
Obviously we stay at very different CP
I've never been provided with anything remotely resembling any form of written rules nor have I ever heard of any 'rule' that requires you to call into the office before you leave
the only form of written paperwork ive ever been given was a written receipt.
The only rule I became aware of was a sign at the office when I checked in advising that fire pits were to be inspected before use. (most, if not all CP with grass sites dont permit fires on site) again, NO GRASS just gravel. The site surface was identical to the roadway. Gravel not grass
You have inferred that I like to push boundaries. I'm at a loss to understand what boundary I may have pushed. I always like to fully understand peoples comments, so can you explain what you mean please? Is there some unwritten rule that I should comply with?
You make it plain in the original post you don't like cv parks and then precede to paint them all the the same brush. In your second long post (don't know number), you make a comment that not all parks are like it.
Ok, I have stayed in a few over my time
Most have given us a site map with park rules on the reverse side
most parks don't allow vehicle maintaince or washing of vans and vehicles
Even if you don't see it there is often some form of maintaince on the site when you depart.
Like I posted before a smile and good attitude go a long way to the service you receive, that will include at check in
Have a good day, I do hope things improve for you
cheers
blaze
Like all things in life there are good and not so good, rather than get bitter and twisted about the bad ones we simply make a note and don't stay there again, easy.
