Fort McCoy / Lake Oklawaha KOA Holiday — Hotel in Pomona Park

Made a reservation for a cabin, for two nights, over the phone. The person on the other end of the line asked if I wanted to pay in full, at that time. I said yes, and was charged the full amount. One less thing to worry about, was my way of thinking. Hurricane Ian came through the area, the weekend of my reservation, so I called to see if I could change the date. I figured the campground would be in need of cleanup after the storm, so it seemed a logical decision to reschedule. I was told “sure, no problem” and we decided on a new date. When I arrived, I was told I had to pay more, but was given no explanation for it, even though I had already paid almost $300 for two nights, and was told that there would be no money owed, upon arrival. I had no choice, but to pay the extortion fee, because we had just traveled 5 hours, and had no other options for a stay. I was given a key to a cabin. Upon entering the cabin, I was appalled at the condition of it. There was dirt and mud all over the floor, the refrigerator didn’t work, and was full of standing water, and ALL of the smoke detectors had been removed. It had a working tv and stereo though, lol. I called the office, and they agreed to move us to a different cabin. I went to the office, to give them the key, and retrieve a key to the new cabin. Upon entering the new cabin, I was immediately shocked. It was FAR worse than the first one. The refrigerator worked, but the floors were filthy, the only door that the key worked on was inoperable, and had to be forced shut and dead bolted to keep it closed (not an issue, unless you just want to go outside for a minute, then you have to make sure you take the key. You only get one key, so you either stay with your party, or you’re now locked out), the walls were coated in what appeared to be dog slobber, the fire extinguisher was missing, there was no wifi in the cabin areas, and cell service is almost nonexistent, smoke detectors removed, many power outlets missing covers, black mold on ceiling and walls of bathroom, sofa arm broken and detached, the stereo had been removed, and there were just frayed wires in its place, and the tv was missing the cable from the cable box to the television, so it didn’t work. I called the office, to report this, but they had already closed for the day. I called the next morning, to report the tv issue. They sent two “maintenance” people. After about an hour of them trying to figure out why the tv didn’t work, we decided to just go ride, because that’s why we were there. We figured they would have everything straightened out, by the time we got back. Nope. We returned to exactly the same situation we left. No wifi, no tv, and a broken door. No note from staff, no working amenities that were listed. I contacted KOA, and as of now (3.5 weeks later) they have still not responded. Apparently this is acceptable to them. Their website lists amenities, and you pay for these amenities, and they are very misleading. Many just don’t exist! If I were there just to camp and enjoy nature, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but we were there to ride the trails, and wanted somewhere comfortable to return to at the end of the day. I’ve stayed at many KOA locations over the years, and this was by far the worst I’ve ever seen, or could even imagine. Access to the forest ohv trails was convenient, but not worth the outrageous cost to value offered. I will never return to this campground, nor will I ever recommend it. After being ignored by KOA about serious safety concerns (fire extinguishers and smoke detectors being removed), I doubt I’ll ever return to any...

Long story short will I stay again? Yes Does changes need to be made? YES? I booked this place without reading the reviews dues to a last minute vacation change. But after it was book and no time to cancel, I had to commit I did have a plan B just in case it was horrible. It was just my and I and we have a camper. (THANK YOU JESUS) Heres my side of the story. I really believe the campsite is BEAUTIFUL. You sit next to the Oklawaha River. So lots of scenic views. From the other reviews I do believe there's some management changes but Im not totally sure. Check in time is 830am (a plus). So when you get there there is a little house that says stop. So we did. NOTHING NO ONE LOL. So I called and began to get nervous. It was raining no big deal so I got out of the car and walked the the little house . Nothing, No one ? That house needs to be cleaned and locked(minus). More signage. The email didn't give instruction(sidenote). You pay a deposit and then you pay the remaining balance at check in (better communication in email could eliminate confusion. So I called the number on goole to the site and someone did answer and said drive to the office. So we did the young lady was sweet and helpful. Gave me a map. We did joke about ratings. She stated we are not bad. I assured i will help if I can. The site are first come first serve. (uneasy feeling) then we pick a site and set up. Set up was easy. The water and electricity worked. The internet did come and go but au think it was more of the weather? Verizion and t mobile was hit ot miss depending on the spot. Our spot was clean no fire pits. The park was pretty empty. The only staff was a security officer at night and the check in lady. We didn't use the security guard so I don't know if he was friendly or not. I did notice a young man in the front but i couldn't tell if he was a staff or not. I toured the pool area and the bath house next to the office. We never made it to the 2 house. I will say the pool house is BEAUTIFUL it has so much potential. ALL IT NEEDS IS SOME CLEANING. YOU CAN TELL THEY DONT HAVE A CLEANING PERSON. the bathroom was scary. I saw giant termite looking thing everywhere. I ask the young lady to clean and it was done gone. There was foof in the sink so ants. No one has cleaned this place in a long time the floor needed to be mopped with covid you should be cleaning more often to keep people safe. It seems easy to me but im sure like most American companies less staff more work instead of just hiring someone to clean. You cant out source cleaning. It would make me more comfortable using your facility. I want to come and relax not catch something. Enough about the cleaning. The location is known the the atv trails. We didn't bring our atv but we will next time. The reason this is a diamond in the ruff is because its 1 hour for st Augustine. And 45 minutes from a cute little town called Palatka and on a river with tons of fishing and site seeing. Next to the Ocala National Park. Thats a ton of fun. So this park is great it just needs some TLC. I will be back. The reason i gave a 3 not a 4 is the cleaning for 52 a night i should be able to use a clean facility. BUT it IS A NICE PARk I WILL...

Short version: Horrible, non-working amenities, unfriendly and unhelpful staff, trashy permanent sites, very dirty common areas, overrun by inconsiderate kids. ATVs rule the streets all day!

Long version: This is the worst KOA ever! I am not even sure how it qualified to be one. There is no direction or assistance at check-in, you are told to just find your spot. So you have people with all sorts of rigs driving around, searching for something that will work for them, which is so frustrating! We saw several close calls for a collision! Once you are able to find a site, more than likely you will not have power or sewage. So many issues with the 4 sites that our group was on. 1 had a backed up sewer and 1 had a bad power box that needed to be repaired on the spot. All of them had extremely poor water pressure. There are so many young, unsupervised children of all ages from like 6 to 13 running amuck in the entire campground. They ride ATVS, golf carts, scooters, hover boards, skateboards and show no respect or consideration for the campers there. Our girls couldn't even ride their bikes safely because of all the ATVS speeding through the park. The trails were overrun with dead trees and weeds and were impassable after a short start on them. The playground and horse-shoe pit area were also run down and unkempt. The laundry facilities were a mess! 6 washers and 5 were not working! 4 dryers that worked half the time and not the other half. The staff doesn't even seem bothered by it. There was no wifi as advertised, and that was not disclosed to us at check-in! A discount should have been issued with all of these non working amenities! There were so many trashy sites, where permanent residents are set up which is unacceptable! The clubhouse and bath houses were dirty and trashy. Very unclean and some stalls not even working. Smelled like raw sewage. Tons of dogs that barked, and wanted to fight each other. The staff was not helpful at all! The "store" can't even be considered that! One rack with barely anything on it. No picnic tables or fire rings. We were told by other campers that you're supposed to just look for some that aren't being used and take them. We will never camp here again and we hope that the KOA cooperate office will pull...