Hope Bay Campground — Hotel in South Bruce Peninsula

You know there's a problem with a campground when you sell your seasonal trailer and one of your fellow seasonals says, "Congratulations on your freedom!"||||I've spent my entire life at Hope Bay, first as a cottager, then a transient camper and finally a "seasonal" at Hope Bay Campground. Hope Bay is a spectacularly beautiful place with very expensive real estate and so a well-run campground would be a blessing. It was - when we purchased our park trailer 6 years ago. The former owners were reasonable, not money-grubbing, respectful and hard-working. Our lot was always attended to (grass cut etc.) long before we arrived on Friday. The firewood was always dry and burnable and seasonals could buy it in bulk (not $10/bag). The rules about guests were flexible and logical. If you needed propane, someone was always there to deliver it. And if you were paying for a premium lot you actually got a premium lot. The "garbage/recycle" area was cleaned and maintained regularly. And the owners and their staff were cordial.||||The new owners (Julie and Ed) have made it very clear (to at least 3 people with whom I have spoken) that they would much rather have transients and cabin renters than seasonals because they "make so much more money." ||||-They now rent sites in the "seasonal" area to transients. One of the reasons you become a seasonal is to get to know and trust your neighbours. When new people come and go all summer long, you immediately lose that confidence.||||-Our "premium" lot (backing onto forest) was waterlogged for most of the season, rendering the fire-pit useless. Over 3 years the owners did absolutely nothing to remedy this problem (heavy rain actually makes the entire campground a mud-pit) and yet still charged that premium.||||-This year they began construction on an "activity area" behind the premium lots. So much for premium privacy. ||||-The garbage area has been a disaster every since they took over. Quite frankly I'm surprised the Health Department didn't shut them down. Also surprised a family of bears hasn't moved it.||||-Most Fridays at 5 pm our grass was hurriedly (and loudly) being cut. Not exactly the vibe we're looking for to begin our weekend.||||-There are times when NO ONE in authority is on site. I was once told via text to "Go to Lion's Head" to get propane when I ran out.||||-The rules are different for everyone. Our neighbours (both sides) were allowed to install sheds and stone walkways in their back yards. We were not allowed to install a removable stone patio.||||-The rules regarding guests and guest charges have changed yearly since this most recent ownership. And by changed I mean "upped". At first i thought they were quite reasonable. Not any more. Now NO ONE enters this campground without paying, even if they're just stopping by for a beer.||||-The final straw is this: when you sell a park trailer you must do it through the campground and pay 6% commission. They do nothing to market (save a brief blurb on their website) but yes, they do the showings and they arrange the deal. When we sold, the money was deposited into my account on closing day. However ... the buyers' bank in Toronto put an 8-day hold on the funds. Which means the buyers were enjoying our trailer for 8 days while we were not enjoying their money. If the campground owners want to be in charge they should also be accountable.||||I've read the positive reviews here and they are ALL from transients. And yes, I know there are a few long-term seasonals who aren't going anywhere. My advice would be sure - pitch your tent or bring your trailer for a week and enjoy beautiful Hope Bay. But if you are looking for a more permanent set-up, find something somewhere else. At least until the...

Hope Bay Campground - Don't Even Think About Becoming A Seasonal ... You know there's a problem with a campground when you sell your seasonal trailer and one of your fellow seasonals says, "Congratulations on your freedom!" I've spent my entire life at Hope Bay, first as a cottager, then a transient camper and finally a "seasonal" at Hope Bay Campground. Hope Bay is a spectacularly beautiful place with very expensive real estate and so a well-run campground would be a blessing. It was - when we purchased our park trailer 6 years ago. The former owners were reasonable, not money-grubbing, respectful and hard-working. Our lot was always attended to (grass cut etc.) long before we arrived on Friday. The firewood was always dry and burnable and seasonals could buy it in bulk (not $10/bag). The rules about guests were flexible and logical. If you needed propane, someone was always there to deliver it. And if you were paying for a premium lot you actually got a premium lot. The "garbage/recycle" area was cleaned and maintained regularly. And the owners and their staff were cordial. The new owners (Julie and Ed) have made it very clear (to at least 3 people with whom I have spoken) that they would much rather have transients and cabin renters than seasonals because they "make so much more money." -They now rent sites in the "seasonal" area to transients. One of the reasons you become a seasonal is to get to know and trust your neighbours. When new people come and go all summer long, you immediately lose that confidence. -Our "premium" lot (backing onto forest) was waterlogged for most of the season, rendering the fire-pit useless. Over 3 years the owners did absolutely nothing to remedy this problem (heavy rain actually makes the entire campground a mud-pit) and yet still charged that premium. -This year they began construction on an "activity area" behind the premium lots. So much for premium privacy -The garbage area has been a disaster every since they took over. Quite frankly I'm surprised the Health Department didn't shut them down. Also surprised a family of bears hasn't moved it. -Most Fridays at 5 pm our grass was hurriedly (and loudly) being cut. Not exactly the vibe we're looking for to begin our weekend. -There are times when NO ONE in authority is on site. I was once told via text to "Go to Lion's Head" to get propane when I ran out. -The rules are different for everyone. Our neighbours (both sides) were allowed to install sheds and stone walkways in their back yards. We were not allowed to install a removable stone patio. -The rules regarding guests and guest charges have changed yearly since this most recent ownership. And by changed I mean "upped". At first I thought they were quite reasonable. Not any more. Now NO ONE enters this campground without paying, even if they're just stopping by for a beer. -The final straw is this: when you sell a park trailer you must do it through the campground and pay 6% commission. They do nothing to market (save a brief blurb on their website) but yes, they do the showings and they arrange the deal. When we sold, the money was deposited into my account on closing day. However ... the buyers' bank in Toronto put an 8-day hold on the funds. Which means the buyers were enjoying our trailer for 8 days while we were not enjoying their money. If the campground owners want to be in charge they should also be If you’re looking for a short stay, my advice would be sure - pitch your tent or bring your trailer for a week and enjoy beautiful Hope Bay. But if you are looking for a more permanent set-up, find something somewhere else. At least until the...

Me, my partner, and 2 other friends stayed at this park for a week. We tented at Hope Bay and had a few problems.

It started when we got 2 noise complaints at 9:30pm coming from residents staying overnight. One for music being too loud, and one for talking too loud, we got approached at 9:30pm which gives the idea that the complaints were given earlier regardless of the fact that the terms and conditions I signed off on say 11pm is quiet time. Regardless, we apologized for what occurred and said we would quiet down, in which we got a reply to stop the music and everything else. I understand being too loud, but when you sign off on terms and conditions and have the contract in your possession you expect to follow the rules you were given. So obviously we were all confused on the attitude we got and when the rules were just different to what we signed off on.

After this, we got approached about our generator. I’ll mention now that this is a campsite generator, the decibels of it are quite low compared to your regular generator, and we also had it on eco mode which is quieter than the average mode on this. In addition, the circle we were in was empty (no other sites being occupied), and the complaint came in the middle of the day, we got told that in the terms and conditions it states that generators aren’t allowed, in the PDF that I have signed, not once does it mention the use of generators. The alternative to this given to us by the owner was to drag our air mattresses across the whole park to either the bathroom, or outside on the muddy ground because it had been raining every morning and this specific outlet was outside. In terms of phones, we got offered to bring them to the office, where they got messed with as a result.

I understand if this owner has had a problem with young adults in the past, but if you are going to target young adults for things that other people didn’t get targeted for, you should have an age restriction on the camp site. We were being woken up every morning before quiet hours ended by screaming and a variety of things that never gotten dealt with. Loud dogs, screaming children, music, and more. The terms and conditions state that there is a full list of rules at the office, but you still have to follow rules that you didn’t sign off on/or weren’t provided in the contract that you sign prior to purchasing your reservation.

Just expect to be managed, and expect every rule you sign off on to be bent into whatever the owner would prefer regardless of what you agreed to before you pay for whatever site or reservation you are making.

Thanks for reading. (+ this isn’t even all...