Fancy Gap / Blue Ridge Parkway KOA Journey — Hotel in Hillsville

Stayed over "Spring Break" 2023 with my husband + our two dogs. I had been meaning to post this review for a while, but just kept forgetting. I want to start by saying that the hospitality and customer service here was INCREDIBLE and was way more than we could have asked for. The staff/hosts were very friendly and other guests were very polite, but it was also pretty empty, because the campground had just opened for the season. We rented one of the dog friendly cabins with a mini kitchen, bathroom, & separated bedroom. One of our dogs is a 100lb German Shepherd, 3 years old. The other is around d 65lbs, Shep/Lab mix, almost 15. What we didn't expect was the difficulty our elderly dog would have with the 4-5 stairs going up onto/down from the deck. We asked the campground hosts if they had any portable handicapped ramps, and what did you know?! They did! We literally thought we were going to have to go home because we were not going to be able to carry a 60+ lb dog up and down the stairs multiple times per day. Our older dog also struggled a lot with the hard slick floors, as he's used to us having various rugs and carpeted areas for him at home. There was also only about a foot of space between each side of the bed and the wall in the bedroom, which meant if the dogs tried to come visit or wake us up to go out, they could not turn around. Sometimes our older dog got stuck or fell down in the "crevasse", needing to be picked up and un-wedged. We all struggled with not tripping over one another, as quarters were quite crowded, having two large dog beds on the floor in the main living room/ dinning room area did not make for much walking room.Please note this if bringing large or older doggos. The bathroom in the cabin had a pocket door that would not close or lock (the locking is what kept it closed). We reached out to the hosts and they sent someone within an hour and he got it sorted. There was a very small water heater under one of the kitchen cabinets that meant showers had to be real quick and very spaced apart, as the hot water went fast. I ended up utilizing the showers in the bath house attached to the shop and grill- which had excellent constant hot water and very nice water pressure! I also noticed that everything was incredibly clean at all times. My husband noted the same in the men's bath house. The kitchen area in the cabin was well stocked with basic cooking items- a few pots and pans, dishes and utensils, paper towels and hand towels, microwave, small stovetop, full fridge, and a Keurig coffee maker. If you don't like washing dishes, I recommend you bring disposable items! The bathroom had plenty of towels, and there were linens for the bed. We struggled the most with sleeping comfortably- and unfortunately, we knew that there was no point in bringing this up because there was nothing to be done during our immediate stay to correct how uncomfortable the bed was. The mattress sagged in many places that a mattress should not, and our backs hurt horribly the first morning from sleeping in an odd position. Our feet were higher than our heads, just laying normal, and we rolled into the middle. I ended up only being able to sleep on my back, with no pillow under my head, one under my knees, and one in the bed at my side to keep my body lined up. My husband slept out on the futon, which was tolerable, at best. We requested extra linens for it, but ended up not using them, because it was too much of a pain to set it up as a bed each night and then undo it each morning to be able to move around and/or have it functional as a couch. He thought about sleeping in the bunk area, but we had actually ended up using it as our luggage storage, because there was nowhere else to put suitcases + bags. Also the beds looked smaller than standard twin. Both my husband & I used some of the trip time to work remotely. WiFi was spotty. We took some time to hike or explore the area, and enjoy the fire pit (the hosts were so nice to deliver wood to the cabin). Would stay again with 1 dog and an...

What a great trip! We arrived late, after office hours. They had everything waiting on us. Map with directions to our cabin, easy to follow. They left our cabin lights on for us which was super nice beings it was almost 9pm when we arrived. The cabin was more than I expected, very clean, the bed was very comfortable. But best of all is their bathhouse. Of all the KOA's I've been too, this one is by far the cleanest I've ever seen. Tile showers not cement block walls like most KOA's, still wore shower shoes though. Let's talk about the staff. So we checked in after hours, there was a packet hanging on office door with my name on it. In the packet was a notice that I would need to properly check in the next morning. Now fast forward to the next morning....I wake up, step outside to enjoy some coffee on my front porch with those big comfy chairs. This man in a golf cart rides by, stops comes back and says "goodmorning ma'am, can I ask u something?" I agree and he says "would u like me to check you in so you can stay put and enjoy ur coffee?" I agree and tell him to use the same card on file, he then asks me if I need anything. Hmmm not sure what I would need, he then proceeds to tell me they have grates for the fire ring, and actual wood for the pits. So he delivers me my receipt no more than 10 minutes later along with the two piles of fire wood. We then began talking about the blue Ridge parkway and sites to see in the area. The man was more than nice, he was very informative to the area. My husband and he talked for a good half hour about andy Griffin, and local things. He told us about the murbry mills along the parkway, and places to eat. He was like our very own tour guide with all the information he offered. Wish I could remember his name, just know he was a tall bald man with glasses, whose in laws were coming to town and he too had to plan some sights to see for his family. Very nice man, he even took our trash. Just lay it out front and he has got it for ya. You can tell he loves his job just the way he interacted with us. We spent the day in Mount Airy, learning about andy Griffin, don knotts, some siamese twins from way back in the day. Drove the parkway for miles an miles. Came back that evening to relax, and relax we did. There is this tiny lil gorgeous pond there beside the pool. We enjoyed walking around that, and get this; mosquito problem=NONE!! I have never enjoyed a bay of water without being attacked by nature like this place, not sure if the mountain air keeps the mosquitoes at bay or what, but the evening was more than I expected. The people that stay there are all so nice, we didnt have any issues with noise or animals barking. Around 10 PM is quiet time which is just perfect. I admit I may have gotten a bit intoxicated that night sitting on that cabin porch, in those big ole comfy chairs. Bath house, let's talk about those for a moment. I have NEVER seen such well maintained bath house in all my 45 years of camping. This place is spotless, I still wore my shower shoes but let me just say, they keep them bathrooms clean, and well stocked. Heck they even have little heaters in each bathroom just in case ur cold. Never seen that before. Of course we didnt need a heater in september but if we did...they were there! My experience was nothing short of perfect. Well it would have been perfect if we could have stayed longer. Reality came too soon and we had to go home, but our stay was the best. We didnt use the pool, but it was very clean and maintained. The whole camp ground was well maintained, you can tell they take pride in their jobs. Even the cleaning lady was super nice and happy. It's just nice seeing people who enjoy their job and take pride in what they do, and i saw that in every member of their staff. Overall, I enjoyed my stay, I would recommend anyone to visit the area and chose KOA as their resting place. The blue ridge parkway is my next trip....i will be traveling from...

I've been camping my whole life ( nearly 40 years ), and this is one of my favorite campgrounds I've ever been to, if not my most favorite.

Whoever runs this campground is an experienced camper, and likely a camper who has been to other campgrounds and noticed some of the shortcomings they have.

Starting with when you check in, you're welcomed by one of the employees. We were told immediately about the upcoming hay ride, so if we had kids to let them know, and we did, so they just got out and hopped right on while we set up.

They had other activities, which many campgrounds don't do any more, whether it's every day, just weekends, etc. We missed the pancake breakfast and craft, but made it in time for the hay ride, bingo, and ice cream social!

The ice cream social was executed perfectly, they don't charge you for the ice cream, which we're seeing more and more of at other campgrounds, and it's really a social experience. Not even a complaint, but I'd recommend bringing some of your camping chairs if you're not getting to the social early so that you can enjoy all the company.

There are many other small things throughout the campground that you may see individually at other campgrounds, but not all in one place like this.

For instance, they have some sites with back-yards. They're not for leaving your animal out all day obviously, but to give you your own private larger area for your animals to run around in.

A small thing that I can't ever figure out why others don't do that they have is two doors into the dog park. There are just sometimes where you have two dogs that don't get along, or whatever. You have a way to get out without feeling like you're trapped trying to navigate to the only entry/exit.

There are sites where if you're looking for privacy, you can have it, there is also an incredible layout of sites behind the office where we stayed. The positioning of the fire rings are perfect so that you can easily interact with all of your neighbors and the other campers walking by.

The tree coverage is great, and I could just keep going on.

Again, simply one of the best campgrounds I've ever been to. Great job to the people who run...