Talona Ridge RV Resort — Attraction in Talking Rock

This was the second time we have visited, both times over the 4th of July weekend. We had friends travel over 3000 miles in their Class A to join us in our travel trailer. We booked in Jan 2023 to get two spots next to each other and we were told it had to be on Hawk Valley or Falcon Ridge due to our travel trailer not being allowed on Eagle Crest due to the low weight of the trailer (we have a 26’ Rockwood) due to winds that come across the area. We paid the $25 lock in fee to secure sites at Falcon Ridge. We tried to reserve a golf cart but were told it was first come first serve. I visited the welcome office to pay, in person, my final balance with my husband’s Good Sam membership (discount) in May as we were camping in the area. I asked if they allowed reservations of a golf cart once more and they said no.

Jump to our arrival day… Both parties arrived at the same time (myself and friend in the side campsite). Even though we locked the sites with the $25 fee, the sites were moved and we were split up on different streets, not near each other. They said they put a campsite host in one of the sites we booked (who we never saw so I’m not sure who they were hosting). Talona lost my final payment that I paid in May, stated that their system showed the Good Sam membership was expired which it was and that’s why I paid the balance in May when it was active. The employees were scratching their heads and did not know what to do, their service dragged out, and a laptop computer was toted back and forth to the little office behind the counter to an unknown person who never acknowledged us. I had to call Good Sam on the spot, pay for a new membership ($79) which I did not want to do yet, and pull up my credit card statement to show that I had paid the final balance. Talona took note of my new Good Sam card that was emailed to me as they could never verify it in their system and I had to email my credit card statement. Later, they said my payment was sitting in limbo somewhere and that’s why they couldn’t see it. They were able to manually add a Good Sam discount so me needing to renew my membership was bogus. Meanwhile, Talona was able to move our sites (one that was about 15-20’ smaller than planned) to keep us next to each other. We asked for a golf cart and were told that as they are now allowing RESERVATIONS for them they were all reserved for the weekend. I asked that the $25 lock in fee be refunded since our sites were being moved. They argued that only one site was being moved but in actuality BOTH sites were moved as we had to forfeit our site due to the Class A’s larger size. We were promised at least 2 complimentary drink tickets per site for the inconvenience that we never received. After all of this was settled we all took a walk up to Eagle Crest. Low and behold there were many travel trailers, even some the same size and smaller than ours that were up there! We were told we couldn’t be up there due to size and we certainly booked early enough in advance to have secured them! This was one blow after another and certainly an embarrassment after talking this place up to our joining friends. No one acknowledged anything about this poor welcome experience after we parked and set up camp. Customer service is mediocre at best and there is much room for improvement in that department. A visit by the manager to our site after this giving us our promised drink tickets, an apology, and a “please let me know how I can make your stay more enjoyable” would have been...

You're going to be hard pressed to find an RV resort as nice as this one! (and at a reasonable price for the area, at the time we stayed it was comparable in price to the nearest KOA). In the past 12 months our family of 8 has stayed at over 30 RV parks and resorts and this one ranks in our top 3. We could rave all day about the views and the amenities, but I'd rather share the things you can't see with your own eyes and perhaps the things that aren't always brought to anyone's attention.

First: the staff are incredible. From the top of the chain to the bottom they are all doing an awesome job to make sure everyone's stay is perfect. They put their guests first and even the owner of the resort is out working and putting in the effort. They really are a great team and go out of their way to make the experience with the resort a perfect one. They probably don't get the credit they deserve from guests, but they should know how much our family appreciated them.

Second: The guests come first! It is so refreshing to know there is a resort like this putting the guests first. As an example, they have two after hours spaces available for after hours check-in's because they don't want rigs driving through the park trying to find their sites and get setup in the middle of the night, disturbing guests who are already there. That is awesome! It means that during our entire stay I didn't get woken up by someone pulling in at 1am making all sorts of noise. There is so much they are doing behind the scenes simply to make sure that their paying guests are not disturbed and can enjoy the resort and that alone makes this place stand out.

Third: This RV Resort has heart! This place was built by the owner, with his own bare hands (and a few tractors I'm sure). It was thoughtfully designed and planned. They spared no expense in making this a premier luxury RV destination. From the grand hall to the heated pool to the dog park to the outdoor gathering spaces they've put their hearts into this beautiful place, and they are continuing to build, grow, and improve. They have big plans and big energy.

Ultimately, this will be a place we return to again and again.

*Tip for anyone staying here, go eat at The Chili Dog. You will not...

Summary One of the latest, high-end RV resorts with spectacular mountain views, particularly in the upper Eagle Crest section (1,500+ ft above sea level). Being completely candid, I'd love to see more amenities with the price tag, but with the high demand for RV sites right now and limited supply I suppose it is understandable. The resort has a very unique offering, emphasizing on-site events/experiences in the Grandview Hall that is situated directly on the prime real estate with the best views on the property. And, not to say that the resort isn't family friendly with kids, but I got the impression they are currently targeting couples and adults overall.

Details Stayed in July 2022, site #E28 (paid avg $150/nt) The Eagle Crest section is on a high plateau so you have incredible views of mountains for miles. The other 2 lower sections (Falcon Ridge & Hawk Valley) are nice, but the views aren't quite the same in terms of grandeur. Amenities & conveniences include: Pool, hot tub, sundeck, exercise room, dog park, pickleball, gated/key card, trash pickup Big rig friendly, LONG concrete pads...might be some of the longest sites in Guinness records! Great WiFi, seemed to have QoS as speed was still 25Mbps+ even at near full capacity Water pressure at 40-50psi, solid/stable 50A power A lot of nearby sight-seeing and attractions within 20-30 min driving (Blue Ridge, Apple orchards, Carter's Lake, Amicalola Falls, etc.) Unique site/landscape lighting throughout with color changing LEDs Typical limited privacy between sites characteristic of a new development Additional $25 fee required to guarantee a specific site (more resorts are doing this facilitated via campspot reservation platform)

Conclusion I think if they developed another 1-2 acres or so at the lower level (Hawk Valley) and built an epic pool with slide, splash pad, along with a cutting-edge playground and obstacle course it could become a knock-out with the upper levels catering more towards adults and couples, whereas the lower levels catering more toward...