Bethpage Camp-Resort — Hotel in Irvington

Not impressed with this campground. Was very busy, we stayed in the new section. Spots are back in and are very tight and muddy. We witnessed several people having to move sites as the sites were not big enough for their campers. Several people ended up getting stuck as the sites are not very big. See attached pictures there were multiple lots that this happened on. There is also a pole on every site that got in the way of our slide coming out. The pole is put in place to protect the sewage line however it was in the way of slide and we couldn’t back all the way up to the end of the rock on the lot. Sites are too close together and if someone else is already booked across the street it makes it very difficult to get in your lot. New Section was definitely rushed. This was definitely a “party” campground. Cops patrol the campground on Friday and Saturday evenings, am thankful but that should speak for itself. Loud music blaring at all hours, in the campground and on the golf carts. We had to buy more sewage hose at the camp store as the 20ft we had wasn’t long enough(2) (5ft) sections were $63.00 and we could have went to Walmart and got it for $25. We were in a section with an obnoxious karaoke machine that was going on well after quite hours. There was issues with our golf cart that was prepaid for and we ended up not getting the golf cart at the time we were supposed to but that issue was resolved and taken care of. Most staff that we encountered were rude especially on the phones and at the camp store. No prices on anything at camp store and stuff is expensive. Pool was very busy and hardly any room to swim in. Pool was also closed the last day we were there for a staff pool party on Memorial Day. Lifeguards we’re on duty however several occasions witnessed lifeguard distracted with a male that kept talking to her through the gate and right beside her while on duty. Streets are very busy with children driving golf carts and running freely in the streets. (Even though there is an age limit to drive it didn’t appear anyone was monitoring this.) Most time parents are not with there children and are free to roam the streets as they please. Ice cream was good but pricey for milkshakes. Trash bins are full and overflowing they have a big field that they just dump trash in making a sight for sore eyes as you enter the campground. Bathhouse seemed cleaned but not well stocked on toilet paper. Glad I checked the stall before sitting down! Pet friendly but hardly anywhere to walk dogs in the new section. Sites do come with picnic table and fire ring. We did have enough room on our site for a tent to sit in. However we could only get one vehicle on our lot. There is only one entrance in the new section and it seemed we had to drive around just to get to our lot. We were escorted to our lot upon arriving. Wi-Fi and service was not available and it was hard to make or receive phone calls. We had issues with our sewage line it wouldn’t pump so we had to hook up to another sewage line on another lot for it to pump. While driving on the golf cart, the smell of sewage is very potent in the wooded area (next to the sewage field.) I know it’s a sewage field but it was pretty foul smelling. There is a huge sign with the new entrance that will obstruct your view from seeing traffic getting out of the park. Overall experience was ok but cannot say I will ever go back to party central. Too noisy for my comfort level and not really able to relax with all the annoying music and annoying...

This was our first Encore resort experience.

The water park was a huge hit with the kids and so so much fun. Most of the lifeguards were so cool with the kids and made it that much more fun. Shoutout to Owen, you rock!

Almost all of the staff were extremely friendly, especially the guys that run the entrance/exit booths.

The woman with grey/white hair at the Rec Center was so sweet and a favorite of my kids. She obviously loves her job and was so sweet with them.

The Thousand Trails sites are up front straight in the sun and a longggg walk from the water park but for $300 for a 2 weeks stay it’s still absolutely worth it. A steal. If you don’t have any kids you’d probably prefer those spots as they are next to the new pool. We got lucky that we couldn’t fit our rig and got a nice shaded spot close to the water park.

We will absolutely return but I won’t give more than 3 stars for the following reasons:

The biggest for us is this is a family campground and of all the places I would have not expected children centered PRIDE activities for an entire week. We would have planned around it had we known. This was specifically aimed toward the children and its grooming behavior. Apparently this was the first year and I hope it’s the last because it’s just not appropriate. Our kids couldn’t do anything at the Rec center for an entire week due to this-and it was raining that whole week so it was a big bummer. I popped in with them a few times between activities but it still sucked for them. Make it make sense that my 8-12 year old children weren’t allowed to watch Avatar but they had Sam Smiths Unholy blasting during “pride bingo” with young children. The math isn’t mathing.

The woman that runs the Rec Center half the time was extremely rude(the one that lives above it). She had a nasty disposition towards our children and myself despite us always being polite. She had a smart mouth about them playing pool while I was there and how “all RV parks don’t allow the kids to play”. We never complained I simply asked why they couldn’t and if they would be allowed to play WITH ME. Then when my oldest parked her bike in the entrance she was asked to move it-understandable so. When my younger child asked her sister if she had to move her bike the woman commented, “she won’t be doing that again”. Why? Why have a smart mouth like that towards a 12 year old? She’d be better off cleaning bathrooms or something with an attitude like that.

There was some extreme weather during our stay and one night there were tornado, extreme wind and hail warnings. Being in an RV during a tornado is obviously dangerous so we wanted to make a plan of somewhere to go. I called the front desk and he acted like my question of where the safest place to go was crazy. He not only didn’t know but didn’t care. I’d expect guests safety to be important. Fortunately it narrowly missed us with only some small hail. It was a scary night for sure.

Like I said, we will be back and overall our...

2020 Labor Day Weekend - VERY FRUSTRATING & DISAPPOINTING!

My husband, 2 kids and I live in Mechanicsville and we made a reservation for Labor Day Weekend as to avoid heavy traffic on the interstates. It's a quick 1-hour drive, we had visited several years before and enjoyed our time there and thought we would give it another whirl.

We reserved a cottage in River Birch where the large gazebo and a playground are located for three nights for around $300/night--not an expensive place to stay. We arrived Friday afternoon and Friday evening seemed okay, but with some golf carts blaring music and speeding down Virginia Ave. (main artery for travel). For the most part, it seemed reasonable as it is Labor Day weekend and people are there to have for fun. We enjoyed sitting on the front porch and people watched. For the most part, things calmed down and we could work with it.

Ummm, let's just say Saturday and especially Saturday night was Friday night on steroids with the speeding golf carts being driven by underage kids, loud blaring music, embarrassing use of profanity and not to mention the unscheduled (not on campground's social calendar) corn hole tournament that was held under the bright lights of the gazebo until 11:30 pm (past the so-called enforced curfew). It was so loud Where was the staff? I never saw any enforcement of any kind during the day or night. Even my teenagers were questioning the atmosphere?!?!

Here I am thinking a campground is a nice family environment for a quick weekend getaway--well I was so very wrong! So wrong, that this morning we packed up and left leaving a night's $300 stay on the table.

Funny thing, yesterday afternoon my husband and I looked at the cute cottages to purchase on Holly Avenue. After our experience last night, we wouldn't even consider purchasing one now!

Before leaving, I called the manager, Ty, and explained what we experienced and why we decided to leave, but he didn't seem empathetic and I'm sure he has heard this same story many times before--we weren't the first and definitely won't be the last. Ty did not offer any concession or try to do anything to make it right. He simply made excuses and basically said "the kids on the golf carts turn off their headlights so we can't see or hear them if we try to enforce the curfew". It's the same golf carts that blare the music during the day--give me a break!!

So what was supposed to be our third night at BethPage on this "what was supposed to be fun" weekend, I'm taking the time to write a negative review from my quiet living room sofa instead. I'm hoping this will help others to consider what they're getting themselves into before making reservations. I'm giving a 5 thumbs down...