KOA - Reviews and experiences

I wouldn’t stay here again. I went the weekend of Aug 22–24 and the place started off rough and never really recovered. First impression — site looked fine at a glance but there was dog mess left on the spot we were given, which we ended up scooping ourselves. The bigger issue was the electrical: one loop had low/no voltage for two days, so our fridge ran on propane and there was no AC during heat of about 32°C (90°F). That’s not fun. On top of that, neighbours on a seasonal site were loud, drinking and smoking most of the time and it kept going past midnight; after we complained the noise and even threats got worse, despite the manager saying it was handled. He also blamed the power company even though other loops were fine, which felt like passing the buck. I tried calling and emailing afterward about a refund for the paid electricity but got no real response; I’ve called corporate twice too. If you want quieter and less drama, a provincial or county park is probably a better, cheaper bet. There were some quieter areas when we drove around, so it’s not hopeless, but not for me.

rocky arrival, but we still made it a win. My son and I were on a cross-country road trip for his graduation and I picked the KOA near the Grand Canyon/Williams hoping for a neat teepee stay for the 4th. Long story short, teepee #3 smelled terrible when we showed up the night before — like someone hadn’t cleaned at all — so we couldn’t stay inside. That was a real blow (I’m a 100% disabled combat vet, so I wanted this to be special). I told the front desk and they kind of knew about it already, which made me sceptical at first. No other site was available, but to their credit they processed a refund right away — no big drama, though also no real apology. We had to find a last-minute place (way pricier) and scramble on a busy holiday weekend, which was annoying and added costs. Still, the location is excellent for canyon access and the campground itself looks fine otherwise. Compared to other KOAs we’ve stayed at, this one was a surprising hiccup, but the refund made the money side easy and didn’t ruin the trip. If you go, call ahead about units and have a backup plan. I’d come back for the area, just maybe not book that specific teepee without confirming it’s been freshly cleaned.

I was sitting on the shoulder, waiting for the tow, thinking about whether signing up for KOA membership was worth it — that was my big doubt before booking. I had a reservation for March 13 in Nashville and my coach broke down on the way. I called to cancel and told them I couldn’t make it; I get deposits, I was prepared to pay something. But when she said it would be the full night — $153 — I was honestly surprised and annoyed. I ended up spending thousands getting the coach towed and fixed, then rented a car and drove past the KOA. It looked pretty empty, which made the whole charge feel worse. First impression of the site itself? Clean, tidy, nothing flashy. Staff were polite on the phone but stuck to policy. So my doubts about strict cancellation rules weren’t eased — they were confirmed. It’s not a disaster — the campground seems fine — but that refund policy left a bad taste and I won’t be renewing my membership.

they eventually made it right, even though I had to push a bit. I started out pretty skeptical — I mean, why would I trust a cancellation to go through when the person on the phone couldn’t see my screen? — but after a frustrating runaround it ended on a better note than I expected.

simple meals, showers, coffee, the usual camping routine. Those doubts stayed in the back of my head, and sadly, they turned out to be justified.
A lift station failed and, long story short, human wastewater ended up all over two of our grills and pooled across our site. I watched the whole thing happen. Staff were working on the lift station and used our spigot to rinse things (with their bare hands, as far as I could tell). There was a sort of mist as they pressure-washed; there was no warning, no tape, no quarantine area, no gloves, nothing. I asked the manager directly if he would have told us if we hadn’t been there. He smirked and didn’t answer. That reaction — the shrug and silence — was worse than the spill itself.
I pushed for action. I begged them to clean or at least cordon off the area. Nothing meaningful was done. At one point the manager relayed that his boss’s instruction was to “turn the grills up and cook it off.” That made me sick — literally — and was the moment our trip stopped being a vacation. Several people in our group were overcharged and left without a clear resolution. On top of that, when we got home we discovered our KOA accounts had been tampered with (made inactive), which we assume was to stop us from posting reviews. That was fixed later and an employee was "reprimanded" but honestly, reprimand felt inadequate given the risk.
I did contact KOA corporate and the local health department. Corporate initially defended the manager, which was frustrating. It took escalating to the company president before we got a genuine apology. I’m grateful for that apology and for two front-desk staff who handled things with real kindness while the rest of management floundered — they went out of their way to try to help. That made a difference, and I’m thankful for those people.
Bottom line: my pre-booking doubts were validated. The site’s basic safety response was poor, and I won’t return unless there are serious leadership and procedure changes. At the same time, the kindness from a couple of front-line staff and the president’s eventual outreach are reasons I’ll at least monitor how this is handled going forward.