Old Orchard Beach Campground — Hotel in Old Orchard Beach

We just started camping this year. He have been to 7 or 8 different campgrounds. We are learning and trying to figure out what type of campgrounds we like. We’ve been to resort type and also very wooded campgrounds. At some point we will probably go seasonal. We have decided we really like the Maine coast and we live in Ma. And we both work Saturdays so we like to be an hr to an hour and 1/2 away from work and home. We camped a lot in Wells and Old Orchard beach this year.

I ended up at Old Orchard beach campground by accident. I was booked at a different campground for the weekend. I drove by Old Orchard Beach Campground on my way to were I was booked. I thought it looked nice and would check it out online. Once I got to my destination I wasn’t impressed with the campground. We decided to leave early. After checking out OOBCG online I wanted to try it. Rather than going all the way home and then going back up I figured I would check and see if they had any availability, which they did so I booked for a few days and packed up and headed over.

As soon as we pulled in I was impressed. I walked in to the store where you check in. The store was very nice. It was clean and organized. They had anything you would need. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. I read 1 review that was negative because there was a lot of paperwork. I didn’t find that at all. I signed and initialed 1 or 2 pages and 1 page for my dogs. I had no issue with this. They just want to make sure we know the rules. Overall it was an easy process. I followed the directions they gave me to my site which was easy to find. The site was awesome. It was near the back and there was an old style post fence around the area. The site was good sized, clean and well kept. All of the sites have a gravel pad for the rigs and a good sized grass area, a nice picnic table that wasn’t falling apart and a cleaned out fire ring. We used 1 of the pools and hot tubs that day. Again very well kept and seemed fairly new. The campground has several different areas. They are all different. We stayed in Black Forest which is more wooded. But there is something for everyone.

Because we had to work we didn’t spend much time during the day there so we didn’t get to use all of the amenities but the what I saw and what I did use was very nice. I was able to bring my dogs to the dog park. They loved it and I was surprised there are 2 dog parks. They also thought to leave a large water bowl with a water spigot there.

I was supposed to leave on Thursday but I received an email on Wednesday saying they had sites available and asked if we wanted to extend our stay. I figured if I didn’t have to move my site I would. So I reached out and they told me my site was booked and the people had a lock on it. I spent about 10 minutes talking myself into staying and moving my site. I got up Thursday morning and drove around to look at different sites that were vacant. I also checked online to see if they were available for the time that I extended. Once I decide on 1 I moved my camper. I didn’t setup I just backed it in. I then walked to the office and told them what I did and made sure that site was available. It was available and the process again was simple. The only negative that I can come up with, is the train is near by. You will hear it once in awhile. It never bothered me, it may bother some people. We really loved this campground and would say it was our favorite. There are several other resort type campgrounds close by that are 50-60% more per night. And the campground that I left was...

Nice Campground. Pricey. The most we have ever paid for a campground. Their prices fluctuate daily, weekly. We have never encountered type of pricing. We camp off season because we like the quiet and less crowded time. We wanted to stay 3 nights. Once I saw the price ($72) we decided on 2 nights. Then when I went to book, I saw a price of ($65) so I decided to go back to 3 nights. I called to book 3 nights and was told they have no $65 a night sites. They explained their daily pricing policy, which I did not understand, so I did not book. I kept checking the prices daily and they kept going up even though it was off season , Oct 20-23, and there were plenty of sites available. I did book 1 night, (because they were the only campground open), the morning of Oct. 20 for the Oct 21 night. It was then at it's highest price of $86. We talked with the manager and tried to explain that if the price was $65 a night we would stay 3 nights. There were plenty of campsites open. The campground actually lost money. The manager stated they were sticking with their pricing policy because all campgrounds were using this pricing. ok...but by using this pricing, we could pay $86 a night but the NEXT night it could drop to $65 and we would be screwed because we had booked at $86 for 3 nights. That is hard to understand. Also off season rates are also lower than in season rates, not higher! We have NEVER encountered this type of pricing but we have never camped in Maine either. The campgrounds we've stayed at for years have had ONE price for in season rates and ONE price for off season rates! It did not change daily or weekly. We also had to be out by 11:00 am but were spending some time for lunch with our nephew. $25 to stay in overflow parking. (so we parked in a new by overflow lot of a car dealer because we were only going to be visiting my nephew for lunch in Portland) The car dealership was understanding and gracious to let us do that. In reading other reviews and from our experience we can see that this is a campsite that stands by it's policies. Honorable, understandable, and necessary. We just disagree with the pricing. And sometimes it pays to be a little flexible. Added note: Quiet hours are 8am-10pm, however, the truck and motorcycle traffic noise on the 2 lane highway at 6am is loud. My sound machine could not even cover it! So if you are a late sleeper, the campground is quiet but the traffic noise is bad. (we have RR tracks behind our house in the mountains so we never heard the trains) I guess its all what you are used to! And our cable TV did not work. We were told, "sometimes it doesn't". It's ok, we aren't big TV people...but wanted to let others know. There is a TV that you can control if you are the only ones in the game room. It's open until 12am. (That was a plus for the Ravens and Buccaneers game that night! ) The campground itself is one of the nicest we have stayed in. (There have been others with a much better off season per night pricing). Good biking around the town and to the beach (2 miles away) and around the campground. So if you are a biker...its no problem getting to the beach. We wished we could have stayed 3 nights to explore...

I’d like to start off by saying this is a beautiful campground! The amenities are awesome! Very big, and well organized. They have so many activities, it’s clean, and the staff is very friendly! I would only recommend to camp here if you have a RV. My husband and I booked a spot at the tent campground for the weekend, with our 4 kids. When we got there, there were tents set up everywhere. But, no one was there- I assume they were all at the pool, or beach as it was 98 degrees. There were tents set up next to our site, where half of their tents took up half of our reserved site, and they had placed their things on two tables, our picnic table included. I called the office, they said to pick another spot. So, we did. We unloaded the car, set up our two tents, and shade tent before my husband flipped over the fire ring. When he did this, we were all swarmed by dozens of yellow jackets, that had built a nest under there. He was stung twice. We called the office again, and they once again said we could move. So, we packed up our car, and moved. Again. We found a third spot, unload, set up, and get situated. Our kids are at the picnic table, and start smacking their legs, screaming. They’re covered in black ants, the size of hornets. Getting bit. At this point, my husband and I are hot, exhausted and frustrated. We grab the bug spray, spray everyone, spray the ant hills (dozens of them) and step on the opening of the holes to close them off. We went to the pool to cool off, we were gone about two hours. By the time we got back, the ants were all over the chairs, cooler, table and the outer side of our tents. The last thing we wanted to do is move, and figured it’s nature, how bad could it be? We toughed it our for the first night. My Son and I both woke up to an ant falling on our faces from the top of the inside of our tent. By mid afternoon the next day, all our legs were covered in ant bites, the kids were miserable, and I couldn’t sit for more than 5 minutes without one crawling up my leg, with my legs propped up on another chair! We spoke to the couple at the site across from us, who mentioned their ant problem too. By this time, I pulled up Google reviews, seeing complaints of this ant problem since 2016. I called the office, explained the situation, and they acted like they had no idea about the ants. The kind lady said she would have to call the manager to see what they could do for us. When she called back, she said the manager could upgrade us to a cabin, as long as we could pay the $205 difference... No thank you! I cannot believe the ‘resolution’ offered! Mind-blown. We ended up staying, considering we had already paid $180 to stay for two nights. However, we will absolutely not return here. If you’re camping in your tent, DO...