Decatur / Wheeler Lake KOA Holiday — Hotel in Decatur

If you're reading this review, buckle up because it's going to be a long one. First thing is, I placed my reservation for an RV site on 5/1 for the dates of 7/3-7. We planned our trip with some friends so I specifically booked site 307 so we could be somewhat across from them. A few weeks before our trip, on about 6/17, I went to review my reservation and realized that I had been moved to site 318, which was opposite of where I had originally booked. I never received a phone call about them moving my site, nor did the website offer an option to lock in the site number. I also read the terms and conditions when booking and there was nothing that indicated that you could be moved to a different site from where you were booking either. When I called to have the issue sorted out, I was told I would receive a call from the manager. The following morning, I received a call from someone at the office, who was not the manager, saying she was going to call some people to see if they would be willing to switch spots so that we could be closer to our friends. When I asked the employee why I did not receive a courtesy call when my site was moved, she could not give me an answer except "There was different management." They were able to get me switched to site 308, just next to the one I originally booked, and gave me a discount for the "inconvenience." Upon checking in, I discovered that the original site I reserved was given to a resident employee. The morning of my arrival, I received a courtesy email with the WIFI and check in info. I ended up having to call the verify check in time because I had previously read that check in was 1pm, which was stated in the terms when I reviewed my reservation info, then the courtesy email I received stated 3pm, but when I called to verify, I was told that check in was at 2pm for RVs. When arriving at our site to set up, we realized that the aerial view that you see online is not what the campground looks like at this moment. Due to storms, a lot of the treetops/trees were taken down so the site was not shaded like we were expecting. I understand that nature is out of the control of the campground so I am not counting that against them, but wanted to add it into my review because the pictures that are posted are quite misleading. Also, access to the fishing lake is not what it looks either. The campground Facebook page had posted about some events for the 4th of July weekend. A movie was originally planned for Friday and Karaoke was Saturday night. Then they announced that fireworks would be set off nearby on Friday as well. At some point the plans changed and another post was made, but was a bit confusing on what was happening when. We made a call to the office in hopes of clearing up some confusion, but the lady we spoke to did not know anything herself. The planning was very disorganized. The night of the 4th, we were sitting and talking around a campfire, when about 10:21pm our neighboring campers', the resident worker, truck alarm was set off and continuously sounded for about 2 minutes straight, waking my 2yr old. Just a little after 11pm, the male from said campsite, came outside to tell us that he knows we are trying to enjoy our campfire but some people have things to do in the morning and proceeded to tell us that quiet hours were from 10pm-7am. Now I understand that we may have been talking a little loudly and it may have been during quiet hours, so I do take responsibility for that, but he could have been a bit nicer and just asked us to keep our voices down. At this point, we suspected that the truck alarm that woke my toddler was intentional and if so, was completely uncalled for. If it wasn't intentional, it was one heck of a coincidence. I also want to add that the placard they give you to keep in your vehicle says that quiet hours are from 11pm-8am, so he may need to refresh himself on the correct times. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Overall, I would not recommend this place nor will I...

I was a bit skeptical of this place since reading the reviews (after we had already booked..) but by then it was too late and we had nowhere else to stay. We arrived and my husband went to check us is. He was told by the girl checking us in that she was the new manager as of 5 days ago and they are really trying to clean the place up. She told him they were needing to win some KOA award and really needed good reviews. He got the map to our site and we went to find it. It was a spot right next to the office in between some trees and next to some other "campers" that appeared to be a little more "permanently placed." While my husband was outside setting up our hoses and things, a van went speeding through the spot between us and the office (not a through road either) towards the back camp spots. The manager was outside and explained to my husband that he "was just doing his job" by going to break something up in the back sites. Thank goodness there weren't any children or pets outside playing. We finished setting up and went to walk our dogs. Came across a couple with a small child and the man asked us where our spot was and how long we were there. We pointed to our trailer and told him how long we'd be there. He told us that he was the campground maintenance person and if we had any issues, especially electrical to just knock on his trailer door (one of the "permanently placed" trailers next to us. He explained that the site next to us had had some electrical issues but the site we were in seemed to be ok. We thanked him and kept up with our walk. Very friendly and polite. The night was quiet near us as we were the only campers in the full hookup spots. The next day we went around doing sightseeing. When we came back the gate arm was up and so as we approached it quickly went down. We sat there hoping it would go back up but it didn't and the office never gave us a code to get in. We had to back our truck down next to the office up to our RV as we couldn't get in any other way. Next night we went to walk the dogs and in the parking lot near the beach parking there was a garbage can that was overflowing with trash. Finished our walk and enjoyed another quiet evening with no neighbors. Our final morning we got up, packed everything away and got our RV ready to leave. I went to the office to get ice for our coolers. The manager was there again and greeted me when I entered. She was very nice and helped me to get ice. I used the bathrooms in the office and noticed they were very clean but there was an odd smell in it, probably coming from the garbage can. The laundry room appeared to be well kept and the camping store had a nice selection of candy, stuffed animals and toys for kids. Didn't notice any groceries in standing coolers and the selection of dry goods was limited. They did stock the store with lots of flip flops, candy, costume jewelry and other things that I don't generally buy when camping. I can't speak for how it was prior to new management but I can say they have a long ways to go. They are very friendly and show up on time but the park is in need of a revamp. It is huge and has a ton of potential but compared to other KOA's that we've visited, it's at the bottom of my "will visit...

Yay! KOA came through (after nearly 2 months!)

Because I had not been made aware of the extended stay cancellation policy they are refunding my money! Thank you KOA!

Be sure you read your policies! The “long-term” cancellation policy is different than the normal policy. I’m not sure how many days is long term, so just be sure to ask if your reservation qualifies.

Here was the situation...

The website says the cancellation policy is full refund, less $10, if cancelled within 48 hours of arrival. I cancelled 3 weeks in advance and they kept $100!

I travel with a small travel trailer working for TVA at various nuclear plants. In June, I learned I was going to be at the Browns Ferry Plant starting at the end of July, I began arranging accommodations. I was hoping to get into an RV park close to the job site as I would be working long hours. Unfortunately, nothing close was available but I was on the waiting list for a couple.

I was able to book with the Decatur/Wheeler KOA and paid 1 month in advance. My arrival date changed and I had to cancel. I received a full refund, less $10 (as the policy indicates). Then my dates changed again so I booked once again (still in June about 3 weeks prior to my expected arrival) with an arrival date of July 18.

Just 3 days later an opening at the park within 10 miles of the plant came open so I took it. When I called to cancel my reservation it took several days and heard nothing. I called again and was told the manager would call. Again I heard nothing. I called again and was able to speak with the manager, Jeremy. I was told that they were keeping $100 of my paid fee. He said it was because they had missed the opportunity to possibly book the site while I had it held. I held it for 3 days and it was over 3 weeks away! He said he would try to book the site before my previous arrival date and if so would refund the other $100. I had no choice but to allow it though I disagreed.

There were MANY, MANY sites available on the 18th so the fact is they didn’t need the site I had reserved. They just wanted to keep my money for no good reason. If I had cancelled within 1-2 or even 3 days I could understand it. The website says the cancelation policy is full refund, less $10 if cancelled within 48 hours.

Here are the facts: Reservation #1: May 30 reserved for 8/1 through 11/1. Paid 1 month in advance June 16 cancel June 17 refund less $10 As advertised- no problem

Reservation #2 June 24 reserved for 7/18 through 10/20 Paid 1 full month in advance June 27 called to cancel June 30 refund less $100 NOT as advertised - now we have a problem

I have called this morning and am awaiting a call back from the manager, Jeremy.

It took a few calls, but I finally received the refund on August 18th. A different manager realized that since I hadn’t been given the opportunity to review the long term agreement they would refund...