Angola / Hogback Lake KOA Holiday — Hotel in Angola

This place has great potential. It’s right on the lake with a beach & they have a nice lazy river/pool our son loved the splash pad. Our campsite was easy to find & well maintained. They had a lot of paved paths that my nephew and niece loved riding their bike and scooters on. Our favorite part was they had a food truck! We camp for our vacations and let’s be honest cooking over a fire takes forever so it was so nice to just be able to go grab breakfast & enjoy a hot meal we didn’t have to slave over. The camp store was well stocked with anything you could need.

The reason for 3 stars ?

The staff was beyond rude. Any time we had interaction with any of them whether it be the front desk or around the campground they all seemed grouchy and acted like it was an inconvenience to do their job. There was an instance where they were late opening the pool. A guy in a beard came screeching up on a golf cart driving like a maniac and screaming at the top of his lungs “oh no! We are 5 minutes late ! 5 minutes late ! The world is ending because we are 5 minutes late!” Everyone standing and waiting at the gate literally just stared at him too stunned an employee was actually acting like this considering it was actually 25 minutes late in opening the pool. I understand that it probably is annoying to constantly be bothered by people but maybe this isn’t the job for you ? We are paying good money to stay and use the pool and expect it to be open on time. Not to mention, a lot of us with younger kids not only have been up for hours already but have a nap schedule for our littles we have to stick too. So when we plan our day around the schedule you post and we pay for it my expectation would be it’s open when it’s supposed to be and your employee apologizes if it isn’t. not mocks paying guests,

Another big reason for low review, the play grounds. My two year old wanted to play at the park so bad but they were falling down, big gaps in the bars, swings falling off, just not safe for kids to play on.

The lake shack wasn’t opened at all despite having advertising for boat rentals and food to purchase. That was really annoying. Don’t advertise something if it’s not actually available.

The bathrooms were so gross. Like haven’t been cleaned In weeks. We walked the 2 miles from the lake back to our campsite to use our camper one with our toddler that’s how bad they were.

Last reason Is the golf carts. $100 a day! Sooo overpriced. & the office closes at 5 pm. So when most people get off work and pull in, expecting to be able to pick up their cart nope. We paid for Friday night and weren’t able to get it till Saturday and we were not refunded! Also I understand that there is probably insurance rules or state regulations blah blah for who can drive the golf cart. My 6 year old nephew who has a golf cart at home he knows how to drive very responsibly wanted to drive. So we took him up on the dirt path behind the campers where no campers or cars or even people were around and let him drive. My dad was sitting in the driver seat with him and fully ready to take over if needed. And we got pulled over and told he couldn’t drive. When no one was around no cars nothing. Even if he crashed literally no one would have gotten hurt. And yet there was alcoholic shot stations set up where adults were driving around, pulling up taking a shot and then going and getting more. There were drunk adults drinking and driving golf carts. AND that was okay, but our nephew who wasn’t around anyone and had an adult with him wasn’t aloud. DO BETTER.

Over all we had a fun trip. But until the staff improves I’m not sure we will be...

Update: After approx. 10 visits. We still really enjoy this KOA. There has been a new play area added that the kids love. The beach area had been cleaned up over the summer (2024) and is very nice. They use to offer cable at the sites, no longer, which is a bummer when it's rainy. The wifi has also been sketchy for the past 2 summers. There is a continuous sign on the door of the office that thanks us for our patients while they work on it. But 2 summers of working on it seems a little long. This stay, labor day 2024, it seems to be working a little better. The staff continues to be on top of things and has addressed every issue quickly and gracefully. I also noticed that it is quieter at night than I use to be.

First time visit to KOA Angola/Hogback and is our favorite family friendly campground so far. We camped on site #515, back-in, w/e

Pros: Check-in was a breeze and the staff was very friendly. The campsite was nicely shaded, not full shade but some coverage at least 75% of the time. Most of the back-in, w/e sites were like this. Only a few that would not be ideal if you like shade. The site was clean and flat with a small area of sand but mostly grass. The bathhouse is no more than 10 campsites away from all of the back-in w/e sites. The bathrooms were better than most but not the best we have encountered. It was clean and cool with several toilet stalls and 4 showers. Overall, I would give it a 7.5/10. The playgrounds were great, and they had several that were placed around the grounds. There was always one close. The pool was great. It was clean and a wonderful temperature. The kids loved the lazy river. There is also a fire pit, ping pong table, play area, horseshoes, splash pad, and playground within the fenced pool area. The chairs and tables were nice and we'll kempt. The lake was also great with a big blow-up jungle gym/slide. My kids played for 6 hours in the lake. Nice seating on a concrete patio and picnic tables on the beach. The dog park was really nice. We did not bring our dog to this outing, but we will next time because it is very pet friendly. The store was really nice as well with ice cream, groceries, ice, alcohol, and clothing and camping items. It's not overpriced. Tim, who was in the store and at check in most of our stay, was extremely kind and informative. There was a woman there with him most of the time as well. She was great, too. We loved the trash pick up at the campsite, just sat the bag at the curb, and it would get picked up. There were golf cart parades both during the day and at night. There was candy thrown during the day. After 11 p.m. people really quieted down, and this was the quietest sleeping of all the family campgrounds we have stayed.

Neutral: Visitors have to pay $20 for each visit. I get it, if there wasn't a significant fee people would come and us the amenities all day and then leave at night. I do, however, feel like it should be less for after 5 p.m. guests that just want to come have dinner with friends and hang out my the campfire for a few hours. I would also have liked to see the pool open maybe an hour earlier in the morning and then stay open until dusk. It is still rather hot at 7 and an after dinner swim is always nice.

Cons: It probably isn't their fault due to environmental regulations and such but the lake had a lot of plant growth. It was sort of yuck.

We...

Where to Start. The kampground is gorgeous! Yes lots of seasonal, but also nightly sites and cabins. We stayed in a cabin. Immediately reminded me of our home in Alaska. Our cabin had a full size freezer and fridge, stove top, and 2 basin sink along with dishes, towel and rag and dish soap. The small sofa was pretty comfortable too. Our patio area had a fire pit, patio table and chairs along with what appeared to be a propane grill (no propane bottles out, obviously for safety of kampers, staff, and the premises. I am positive if i wanted to grill, the staff would have the propane available). The beds were nice too. I truly enjoyed the floor radiator heaters AND a ceiling fan, there was a "window unit" AC as well. Had plenty of room to set up the pack n play for my infant. Granted, it blocked off the far side of the bed, but it didn't bother me. If anything, I felt it was specifically designed for that purpose. TVs had remotes and they worked. Everything was in proper working order and had absolutely zero issues. The squeaky doors...is good if you're sleeping with a toddler who tries to be sneaky, built in toddler snitch system if you will. Was the squeaky door a deal breaker...absolutely not! In fact, I'd book that cabin again! ||Whomever in housekeeping that cleaned, prepared, and flipped it to get the cabin ready for us...you did an outstanding job! The towels were clean and fresh. And I thoroughly enjoy their trying to do their part for the environment. I will reuse a towel, as you're literally drying yourself off after a shower or bath. And if the front desk was closed, I could always wash/dry them myself. Maybe I'm just a little self sufficient with a few brain cells that give off a spark. ||The staff, especially the front desk lead. She's amazing! Super friendly, positive, and eager to help. She made sure everything was ready to go and ensured that we knew contact information should we need it after hours. Had no reason to talk to the GM this time, but I did see him making his rounds through the kampground this morning well before 0900. That requires a great work ethic, dedication to the premises/kampers/and staff. Leading by example, being visible to everyone. ||I didn't need maintenance for anything, as everything was already in prime working order; however, I'm sure if I needed them, they would have been on it! ||I know the amount of hard work and long hours that goes into running a campground, handling employees, campers, ensuring activities, and much more. It's exhausting and I wish more people would act more human towards the HUMANS running this kampground. They have to prioritize things and sometimes, waiting 5 minutes for the pool to open is not the highest priority for say a water main leak (think, my friends!). As a medic, if I had multiple patients...I did quick triage first....if you were breathing sufficiently on your own and not bleeding out and not trying to be a smurf, I labeled you least priority and would come back around. It's nothing personal, but it helps things move fast. ||I want to thank the staff for their hard work. I may just have to look into a seasonal site and bring my...