Batesville KOA Journey — Hotel in Batesville

We stayed here as a halfway point between East TN and the West coast of Michigan on two different weekends. First of all, this campground is HUGE in total...it shares common areas with a Thousand Trails campground as well as permanent and seasonal sites on the local lake. Because of this, there are golf carts everywhere at all hours of day and night. The fan in our camper drowned out any sounds outside, but my husband said he went out around 11:45pm and still heard people playing music while driving around their golf carts. Again, we couldn't hear it in the camper, so it didn't affect our ability to sleep...so, I'm happy to let those partiers have their party! 🥳All common areas were well maintained and clean, and even when the pool or playground were crowded, we were able to find spots to sit and the kids had plenty of places to play!

We had full hookups, so I didn't use the bathhouses at all. I did use the laundry facility, and it was clean, well maintained, and the machines WORKED.... They got our clothes clean and then dry in one cycle each (this has not always been the case at campground laundry facilities). My husband said the bathhouse was clean unless you happen to go in after someone who "is nasty and doesn't know how to clean up after themselves." 🤣 The shower heads spray in a really wide area, so that left a bit to be desired... But the water pressure and temperature were great.

The staff was incredible throughout our whole stay! They were so friendly and helpful no matter what we needed. Our site was clean, spacious and well maintained! Overall, we would highly recommend this campground to anyone who is stopping over on a long drive or wants a fun place to...

This is a 3.5 rating in my opinion but it has to be a 3 or 4 star. Awesome host, very attentive, pleasant, polite and helpful. She is everywhere and doing everything. The campgrounds have several sites in multiple sections. I love the large fire pits. There is plenty for the children to do, basketball court included the 13 year old rated it 4 or 5 and stated it's a pretty nice playground. There are sever beanbag toss games. I believe you have to bring your own bags. I wish there was a little more effort put into the grounds themselves. Gravel on the drives going to the sites, hay/straw for areas where mud is present, fill in some of the standing water sites and have a few more full hook up pull through sites. Also, I was not happy with the location of my firepit, I felt like we were right outside our neighbors window. It was too far from the site itself and too close to the road. We had a wonderful time while we were here and this was our second visit. I was happy there were sites for all 6 families in a short time period.

Update: We had a pull through site this time. The site was very spacious and the fire pit was nice. We had to pull in the other direction for the door to be on the camp side. The staff was just as friendly this trip as they have been in the past. It is obvious they are updating and upgrading the grounds. They still need to invest in adding more Gravel to some of the sites and manage the areas where the water puddles. I was planning to do a video but time got away from me. Also, know that there is also a Thousand Trails on the...

The campsite itself was clean, our pull thru site was huge, and the staff was very kind and helpful. My low review, however, is specifically to the pool staff. We were swimming in the late afternoon, and there was a good sized staff of lifeguards of 4 or 5. They must've had friends swimming, because, despite all the guard towers, they all sat in pool chairs on the same side of the pool chatting with eachother, and taking pictures with their phones. Yes, at least 2 of them had their phones out, taking selfies! Luckily, my husband and I had a 1:1 ratio with our kids, but there were groups coming in with 1 adult and, no exaggeration, 6 kids. God forbid something happened, because I don't think any of those lifeguards would've noticed. Not to sound like a grumpy old woman, but kids were running everywhere along the pool deck... now, I'm not a lifeguard, but I think it's safe to assume the first thing lifeguards learn in training is how to blow their whistle and yell, "NO RUNNING!", but they didn't say a word! My husband and I were in shock.

That being said, that is the only negative thing I can say about the campground. If there were only a few people in the pool, I wouldn't have cared if the lifeguards sat and talked to each other (while facing the pool) but there's never a moment I'd be ok with them updating their Instagram while on the job. I hope this review makes them reevaluate the training and expectations of their...