Question Do you consider showers/restrooms basic amenities? Or 'extras'?

[bpaikman]

Is it normal for a park to have no showers? Am I 'difficult'? I plan our trips VERY carefully, but I messed up on this one
This was our first time in a park that had no showers! With no showers, I'd expect to pay 20 to 30 at most, not $45, in remote east Texas.
( we have a nice shower in our motorhome, and I usually use that, but Bob is pretty tall, and prefers more space and water pressure - he usually uses park showers.

Here's the story: On a recent trip, I'd booked one of our 2-night stops at an RV park that had glowing reviews, especially mentioning the super-nice owners.
It seems the reviews were about the original park, in a remote area of east Texas, located down narrow shoulder-less country roads. As it turned out, they apparently had built a second park, only 1/2 mile away, and told us they were assigning us there. I was ok with that - new means nice showers, yes? it was so new that Google Earth showed an undeveloped property on the overhead view - street view showed the rv park entrance, but I couldn't see anything else. (yes, I check out routes and parks that are new to us, on GE). This is a heavily forested region - Texas piney woods.

When we arrived, we were surprised to see that the entire park is basically a big gravel parking lot with an asphalt road down the middle. We were assigned a slot in the parking lot. Not much ambiance, and I was unimpressed, I admit, and we abandoned our plans for a relaxing evening sitting outside. There was no place to walk our tiny dog - she did her business on the chunky gravel (yes, we always pick up).
That evening we went to the obviously new 'bathhouse' to take showers. We were stunned to find there ARE no showers, just a few laundry machines and a toilet visible through the door to a mechanicak/storage room.

I was unhappy at being charged $45/night to basically hook up, and I left a voice mail that evening - indicating I felt misled (bad choice of words - I should have said 'confused' - they were offended) by their website, which describes it as a resort with fishing pond, trails, etc. This seemed to be their overflow lot for 'workerbees'.
The owner came by the next day, and was obviously offended that I felt misled - "they have __years of rv experience and own 3 parks"... "No one else has ever complained" I explained that based on their website, I had expected showers and a bit more 'park". He told me I was 'difficult', and I discontinued the conversation. (When personal attacks begin, I will always stop interacting.)

The very nice wife came by later with an envelope containing the cash we'd paid with - full refund. She explained they didn't build showers because they do all the cleaning themselves, and when they built this park, they just didn't want to fool with having to clean another fscility. I'm just flabbergasted, but I got the full-on sweet southern lady manners (even though she probably cussed me behind my back ##@@%! smart-#@%! HIGH-FALUTIN'

So we pulled out as soon as we could and moved on down the road a few hours to another park. It was a very old park, mostly full-timers also. We were visited later that evening by a disabled army vet who lived there, and he brought a chew treat for our dog. The laundry/restroom/shower facilities were old, but obviously cleaned regularly, the sites were spacious, plenty of grass and trees, very quiet, with a few chickens wandering throughout, keeping the lawns free of bugs. It was lovely park to stroll through, and we'd definitely stay again. Beautiful and relaxing experience, we don't mind that it was old - it was a clean, safe, quiet park, and a lovely place to walk.
The other park looked like a truck parking lot plunked in the middle of the woods. (not a single tree IN the 'park', though).
(I read the article posted by sheridany, and felt better about my expectations.)
The first 3 photos are the first, new park.
The last 3 are the shabby old park. same price per night. (the shabby old park was actually off an interstate, closer to Houston and prices tend to be higher).

 

[Neal]

I would think they are expected but as I have my own in my coach I don't often pay attention to this. I know those that do the van life thing rely on gyms, etc. to find shower facilities. Maybe a planet fitness membership would be worth having?

 

[Jim]

Is it normal for a park to have no showers? Am I 'difficult'? I plan our trips VERY carefully, but I messed up on this one

I can't speak for the campground your referencing, but in our case, the decision for not having showers was made by the local code enforcement, i.e building department.

There wasn't enough room for the additional septic systems without infringing on other areas of the environment, such as a stream or possibly a spring. So no showers here.

But that being said, we make it clear on our website that this is the case.

 

[Rollin Ollen]

Is it normal for a park to have no showers? Am I 'difficult'? I plan our trips VERY carefully, but I messed up on this one
This was our first time in a park that had no showers! With no showers, I'd expect to pay 20 to 30 at most, not $45, in remote east Texas.
( we have a nice shower in our motorhome, and I usually use that, but Bob is pretty tall, and prefers more space and water pressure - he usually uses park showers.

Here's the story: On a recent trip, I'd booked one of our 2-night stops at an RV park that had glowing reviews, especially mentioning the super-nice owners.
It seems the reviews were about the original park, in a remote area of east Texas, located down narrow shoulder-less country roads. As it turned out, they apparently had built a second park, only 1/2 mile away, and told us they were assigning us there. I was ok with that - new means nice showers, yes? it was so new that Google Earth showed an undeveloped property on the overhead view - street view showed the rv park entrance, but I couldn't see anything else. (yes, I check out routes and parks that are new to us, on GE). This is a heavily forested region - Texas piney woods.

When we arrived, we were surprised to see that the entire park is basically a big gravel parking lot with an asphalt road down the middle. We were assigned a slot in the parking lot. Not much ambiance, and I was unimpressed, I admit, and we abandoned our plans for a relaxing evening sitting outside. There was no place to walk our tiny dog - she did her business on the chunky gravel (yes, we always pick up).
That evening we went to the obviously new 'bathhouse' to take showers. We were stunned to find there ARE no showers, just a few laundry machines and a toilet visible through the door to a mechanicak/storage room.

I was unhappy at being charged $45/night to basically hook up, and I left a voice mail that evening - indicating I felt misled (bad choice of words - I should have said 'confused' - they were offended) by their website, which describes it as a resort with fishing pond, trails, etc. This seemed to be their overflow lot for 'workerbees'.
The owner came by the next day, and was obviously offended that I felt misled - "they have __years of rv experience and own 3 parks"... "No one else has ever complained" I explained that based on their website, I had expected showers and a bit more 'park". He told me I was 'difficult', and I discontinued the conversation. (When personal attacks begin, I will always stop interacting.)

The very nice wife came by later with an envelope containing the cash we'd paid with - full refund. She explained they didn't build showers because they do all the cleaning themselves, and when they built this park, they just didn't want to fool with having to clean another fscility. I'm just flabbergasted, but I got the full-on sweet southern lady manners (even though she probably cussed me behind my back ##@@%! smart-#@%! HIGH-FALUTIN'

So we pulled out as soon as we could and moved on down the road a few hours to another park. It was a very old park, mostly full-timers also. We were visited later that evening by a disabled army vet who lived there, and he brought a chew treat for our dog. The laundry/restroom/shower facilities were old, but obviously cleaned regularly, the sites were spacious, plenty of grass and trees, very quiet, with a few chickens wandering throughout, keeping the lawns free of bugs. It was lovely park to stroll through, and we'd definitely stay again. Beautiful and relaxing experience, we don't mind that it was old - it was a clean, safe, quiet park, and a lovely place to walk.
The other park looked like a truck parking lot plunked in the middle of the woods. (not a single tree IN the 'park', though).
(I read the article posted by sheridany, and felt better about my expectations.)
The first 3 photos are the first, new park.
The last 3 are the shabby old park. same price per night. (the shabby old park was actually off an interstate, closer to Houston and prices tend to be higher).

I expect all parks to have washrooms to have showers even if they are pay unless advertised as such. We have stayed at a few parks that specified fully self contained units only. When I write my review of park I comment on if the facilities are clean and if they are modern even though we never use them. We know many people use the showers in their units as storage space so, for lots, a park shower facility is an important feature. As for the gravel parking lot, we do lower our ratings depending on location. It is difficult to have lush vegetation in a desert and another exception was the park we used when we visited NYC. It was just a paved parking lot with units stacked very very close but, because of it's excellent access to what NYC offered and the security provided 24/7 we felt it was a fair trade off. I'm glad you got your money back though. Your situation deserved it. I hope you reviewed the park accordingly so others would not fall into the same trap.

Safe travels.

Darrell

 

[Diesel Pusher]

Pre covid, we'd mostly look for parks with showers, pools etc. When the rules changed to self contained RVs only, many parks closed their facilities. Since the restrictions have lifted, we're still using our own shower more often than not so parks offering showers, or not, isn't on our radar when booking.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Over 3 years of full time traveling we have only used showers in a park when we redo the caulk in the MH shower.

 

[Joe Hogan]

Pay laundry is a nice to have for us. It is much more efficient than the RV washer/dryer setup.
We typically do not use or desire all the other amenities, pool, bathroom, Club House, etc. unless we are there for an event.
Meeting facilities, a bonus revenue source for the park, really require full amenities. Need something for those attending and potential for the non attending family members, social space, kid entertainment

 

[bpaikman]

I expect all parks to have washrooms to have showers even if they are pay unless advertised as such. We have stayed at a few parks that specified fully self contained units only. When I write my review of park I comment on if the facilities are clean and if they are modern even though we never use them. We know many people use the showers in their units as storage space so, for lots, a park shower facility is an important feature. As for the gravel parking lot, we do lower our ratings depending on location. It is difficult to have lush vegetation in a desert and another exception was the park we used when we visited NYC. It was just a paved parking lot with units stacked very very close but, because of it's excellent access to what NYC offered and the security provided 24/7 we felt it was a fair trade off. I'm glad you got your money back though. Your situation deserved it. I hope you reviewed the park accordingly so others would not fall into the same trap.

Safe travels.

Darrell

It was especially jarring to me to be stuck in a gravel parking lot in the middle of a lush, wooded countryside. I'm thinking they built the park efficiently, for longterm workers with long 5-ers, not overnighters.
If I'm in west Texas, yeah, ok. And as for restroom/showers, our all-time favorite park has horrible pay showers: you'll spend more than half your $ just waiting for hot water. But we know this in advance.
It's all in expectations vs reality - always an adventure!

 

[Jim]

Quick question, how many sites does this park have?

 

[bpaikman]

Quick question, how many sites does this park have?

40-50.

 

[FLSteve]

One of the main reasons we enjoy the motorhome lifestyle for traveling is that we are self-contained. As long as the park has water/sewer/electric hook-ups we are all set. We always use the bathroom/shower/laundry in the motorhome. We try to travel with a full tank of water and empty tanks just in case we get stranded on the road or can't find a park for the night. If the park has a pool or nice clubhouse, we do occasionally use them, but they are not a major factor deciding if we stay there or not. I like to say that when we are in the motorhome and close the front door it is always the same. Only the outside views change.

FLSteve

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

We usually stay at gov't parks and sewer is usually not available (except for a dump site), so we always use park facilities, just use our toilet for nightime and first morning pee.
If I had made a reservation at a nice, picturesque, wooded, beautiful campsite then the proprieter put me in a gravel parking lot, I would be livid. Even for an overnight stay, that is false advertising/bait and switch. They should have never taken the reservation to begin with.
Having taken your reservation and found that they had some miscalculations with the capacity, they should have offered the site that they assigned for free with a humble apology and free night in the future.

Look at it this way, if you had booked the beachfront Hilton and they put you in the Motel 6 a mile from the water, would you be happy? Would you pay the Hilton rate?

 

[bpaikman]

We usually stay at gov't parks and sewer is usually not available (except for a dump site), so we always use park facilities, just use our toilet for nightime and first morning pee.
If I had made a reservation at a nice, picturesque, wooded, beautiful campsite then the proprieter put me in a gravel parking lot, I would be livid. Even for an overnight stay, that is false advertising/bait and switch. They should have never taken the reservation to begin with.
Having taken your reservation and found that they had some miscalculations with the capacity, they should have offered the site that they assigned for free with a humble apology and free night in the future.

Look at it this way, if you had booked the beachfront Hilton and they put you in the Motel 6 a mile from the water, would you be happy? Would you pay the Hilton rate?

I can look at the website and see they're definitely misrepresenting the park. It's all in camera angles. I admit a strong dislike for west texas ambiance in the east texas piney woods lol

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

Do you consider showers/restrooms basic amenities? Or 'extras'?​

No! This is the reason we have a 1 ½ bath motorhome with a shower for my 6'-2" body. In my opinion, the park acted in good faith returning your money after you used your electricity, water, and sewer.

 

[MikeFromAJ]

I suppose it varies, based on what you expect and what previous campgrounds you have used.

We make a trip to south Texas every summer to go to the Gulf, swim and relax. Most of our camping during the rest of the year is dry camping and/or boondocking so we don't expect much in facilities, but our summer trip nvolves only regular RV campgrounds and shore power because it is hot and we want our air conditioning. On that trip we frequently stay at an El Paso campground that is little more than a large parking lot with shore power and some site lights. At $45 it seems expensive to me (boon docking is free and our dry campsites are usually about $10/night), but it is convenient, the power is good and it is quiet. Getting on the highway the next morning takes about 2 minutes and there is a Camping World store right next to the campground.

There are showers in a trailer-like structure, but little else for $45 but, for us, the convenience, the knowledge that the power is good and the campground is clean and quiet means we stay there on our trip and mostly like it as a decent stop.

As I said, I think it depends upon what you are used to and how convenient it may be for you.

 

[AbdRahim]

I never stay at a campground with no restroom. Rarely stay where there is no camp store, This is in the $50-$65/ night range.

 

[Jim]

I never stay at a campground with no restroom. Rarely stay where there is no camp store, This is in the $50-$65/ night range.

No wonder I haven't seen you here before!

 

[bpaikman]

Do you consider showers/restrooms basic amenities? Or 'extras'?​

No! This is the reason we have a 1 ½ bath motorhome with a shower for my 6'-2" body. In my opinion, the park acted in good faith returning your money after you used your electricity, water, and sewer.

Yes, I agree. But I was curious and have begun to notice this is more common than I realized. Also, we probably have a smaller setup than yours, so we can enjoy winter camping in state parks with a 35' limit. I would LOVE to half a bath and a half, but I'd not seen one meeting the length restriction. Next one, though!

 

[bpaikman]

I suppose it varies, based on what you expect and what previous campgrounds you have used.

We make a trip to south Texas every summer to go to the Gulf, swim and relax. Most of our camping during the rest of the year is dry camping and/or boondocking so we don't expect much in facilities, but our summer trip nvolves only regular RV campgrounds and shore power because it is hot and we want our air conditioning. On that trip we frequently stay at an El Paso campground that is little more than a large parking lot with shore power and some site lights. At $45 it seems expensive to me (boon docking is free and our dry campsites are usually about $10/night), but it is convenient, the power is good and it is quiet. Getting on the highway the next morning takes about 2 minutes and there is a Camping World store right next to the campground.

There are showers in a trailer-like structure, but little else for $45 but, for us, the convenience, the knowledge that the power is good and the campground is clean and quiet means we stay there on our trip and mostly like it as a decent stop.

As I said, I think it depends upon what you are used to and how convenient it may be for you.

Agreed - we've stayed in such. Location is everything.

 

[AbdRahim]

No wonder I haven't seen you here before!

Sorry, Jim! Always maintained a poop free RV. Cleaning the tanks is almost a pleasure. RV techs almost love working on my rig.