Creekside RV Resort — Hotel in Punta Gorda

I would not recommend staying at this park with kids, for extended stays, or if using a tow delivery service. There are too many variables. Their policies are vague which gives them power to take you for a high-anxiety rollercoaster ride. We made a 3 month reservation over the phone for our family (2 adults, 3 kids, w/ a 4th child visiting for a few weeks). Since it’s their slow season 3mo+ reduces the rate from $90/day to $28/day. We stayed as we moved to the area, while we found a home. A few weeks into our stay (after I was prompted for a review which would’ve been a really positive one) we received many emails from “please don’t chase the rabbits” to “please don’t run on the grass” which did not apply to us, but did put us on edge as I felt we were being watched. When others were rambunctious at the pool I felt compelled to email them to make sure they knew we weren’t with that party so I wouldn’t be subject of the next email. Then we received an email stating they made an error and we needed to pay $5 per day per child, or $1,840 immediately. 2 other families were sent similar emails. After rereading the policies I found they were correct in that it states “2 guests per site” and I assumed guests meant adults. They took responsibility for the staff not charging me correctly, but this meant I wasn’t given the option of booking a reduced-cost extended stay elsewhere as it had been weeks. I was genuinely scared. After spending over $2,000 already and moving costs you can imagine how much stress and anxiety this caused. After a sleepless night and back and forth emails with Angel, they agreed they would not charge us for the oversight. So make sure you understand: 2GUESTS PER SITE INCLUDES MINORS/BABIES. To our horror, one of the other families (the intended subject of the previous emails) was given a few hours to leave the park after refusing to pay (you can read both sides of this experience on trip advisor) with police and everything. While this family was rambunctious, and that was officially why they were being asked to leave, their behavior didn’t seem “bad” enough for removal and it was ill-timed with the emails for more money. We felt it was inappropriate to only give them a few hours to get out. I can’t imagine the amount of stress that family felt. This caused us to thoroughly reread the terms of service and saw they hold the right to “not wish to entertain” you and force you to leave with no refund. (I’m not disputing other parks may have similar language, you’ll want to check reviews to see if the park has a history of enforcing it like this) This resulted in us trying to move much sooner as we were afraid we would be next. When a different family’s kids messed up a puzzle in the clubhouse that someone was working on, I again felt compelled to let that guest know it wasn’t us fearing the repercussions. This was made worse when the other remaining family spoke to me in the Clubhouse (staff office is inside) negatively of the situation with the other family and their bad experience with the staff, and then were gone the next day. I don’t claim to know the circumstances of their leaving but they told me they were staying longer than us, and as with the first family, the entry code was changed after the second family left. So regardless if they left of their own choice or were removed, it negatively affected our stay. We ended up finding a house and leaving the rig; coming back every few days to use the pool (thus ZERO guests were staying there overnight) as we knew we couldn’t end our reservation early without losing the money paid we figured we may as well have pool access. Here’s where I will say that while it was very anxiety-riddled, 2 members of the staff Eric and Alisha (sp?) were very nice and helpful, and my kids had a nice time as they were oblivious to the behind the scenes turmoil. Since the bad experience was primarily linked to the treatment of other families causing us to fear removal, I would have opted to leave a neutral review or just no review, but our ending experience with them continued the trend and tipped the scale to the negative. The day we were meant to check out, our tow truck canceled. I called and asked if they could extend our stay from 3 months to 3 months and 1 day. Judy said they would gladly do that since they had no one checking in, but it would be $90 instead of $28. Judy briefly referenced my “extra guests” and contemplated charging me even more, but did not when I told her no one had slept there in weeks. This upcharge made absolutely no sense as I wasn’t creating a new reservation, just extending my current one. I called back and was put on with Eric which was nice because he has superior customer relation skills to Judy (not meant to be mean, he has a customer service voice/tone where Judy does not) but I was told that I would need to start a brand new 3 month+ stay to get the rate. Out of options and it being 10:15am I paid the $90. My receipt shows I did not get any new reservation documents, they simply added it as additional charge to my current stay. I cannot think of any place hotel/airbnb/etc that charges a different rate for simply extending a current stay. The check out time is 11am, but again contains vague language, simply stating late check out needs to be approved. So when I was able to find someone else to remove my rig on the correct day, I emailed asking if they could refund me the $90 minus any late check out fees. Judy emailed back saying late check out is until 1pm and since I removed it at 4pm they’re keeping it. This ending really gave money grabbing vibes. I would’ve been totally fine to pay $28 for an additional day, saved the headache and inflated cost of trying to find a last minute tow and ended it on a “wow thank you for accommodating” note, but alas. “Glad it’s over” shouldn’t be how you feel after paying this much money to...

We were a bit anxious about this resort because of some past negative reviews. Those reviews were reflected in a slightly lower overall rating than some other resorts in the area. I don’t know if the issues were generated in the aftermath of recent hurricanes or poor management at the time (I did confirm that management has changed). ||Regardless of past reviews by others, our experience at this resort at this point in time has been nothing short of amazing. ||We stayed at Creekside in mid November during the “shoulder” months, in between the summer off season and the winter in-season. The park was not as crowded. The resort is located close to the Punta Gorda airport. Yes, we could very occasionally hear commercial jets arriving or departing. But this is not a very busy airport, and we didn’t find the noise at all objectionable. Creekside is a very safe, 24/7 gated resort. ||The resort is conveniently located. It was a 15-minute drive to the Punta Gorda commercial district with great restaurants and shops. Unfortunately, the Punta Gorda beaches were all closed due to recent hurricane damage. We took the 50-minute drive to Sanibel Island, where the beaches were open.||This is truly an RV RESORT, not a campground. A very clean pond is a central feature in the original area of the resort. We were on a site up against the pond and thoroughly enjoyed watching the ducks and other waterfowl in the morning. The sites are very wide. Our site was probably 50 feet wide overall with a 25 foot wide by 75-foot long pad made up of pavers. Every site had a three to four foot high shrub privacy hedge that added to the overall appeal. The landscaping was well done. There is a sprinkler system which keeps the grounds green and attractive. ||The amenities encourage more extended seasonal stays and include:| - Heated pool and water jet spa| - Clubhouse with office/library, pool room, well-equipped work-out room, laundry room, kitchen, and large community room| - Covered patio area with tables. | - Two other buildings on site that have laundry rooms and bathroom/shower rooms that are designed for accessibility| - Sandy beach area adjacent to the pond with loungers and wood fire pit| - Pickle ball courts, horseshoe pit, shuffleboard, bocce ball| - Spacious fenced in dog play area.||Every site is full hook up. We had no issues with the utilities. They do not have cable But I was able to pull in over 40 local TV channels. WiFi speeds were fast. ||Management and staff were consistently friendly and helpful. We had one very minor issue with a very small water faucet leak that was addressed immediately. Office staff helped us get some documents printed. It’s obvious that Creekside is well-managed. ||Perhaps the most telling part of our visit were the other folks we talked to. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, no doubt due to the fact that a very large percentage are returning guests. We will definitely be returning to this...

We were a bit anxious about this resort because of some past negative reviews. Those reviews were reflected in a slightly lower overall rating than some other resorts in the area. I don’t know if the issues were generated in the aftermath of recent hurricanes or poor management at the time (I did confirm that management has changed).

Regardless of past reviews by others, our experience at this resort at this point in time has been nothing short of amazing.

We stayed at Creekside in mid November during the “shoulder” months, in between the summer off season and the winter in-season. The park was not as crowded. The resort is located close to the Punta Gorda airport. Yes, we could very occasionally hear commercial jets arriving or departing. But this is not a very busy airport, and we didn’t find the noise at all objectionable. Creekside is a very safe, 24/7 gated resort.

The resort is conveniently located. It was a 15-minute drive to the Punta Gorda commercial district with great restaurants and shops. Unfortunately, the Punta Gorda beaches were all closed due to recent hurricane damage. We took the 50-minute drive to Sanibel Island, where the beaches were open.

This is truly an RV RESORT, not a campground. A very clean pond is a central feature in the original area of the resort. We were on a site up against the pond and thoroughly enjoyed watching the ducks and other waterfowl in the morning. The sites are very wide. Our site was probably 50 feet wide overall with a 25 foot wide by 75-foot long pad made up of pavers. Every site had a three to four foot high shrub privacy hedge that added to the overall appeal. The landscaping was well done. There is a sprinkler system which keeps the grounds green and attractive.

The amenities encourage more extended seasonal stays and include: Heated pool and water jet spa Clubhouse with office/library, pool room, well-equipped work-out room, laundry room, kitchen, and large community room Covered patio area with tables. Two other buildings on site that have laundry rooms and bathroom/shower rooms that are designed for accessibility Sandy beach area adjacent to the pond with loungers and wood fire pit Pickle ball courts, horseshoe pit, shuffleboard, bocce ball Spacious fenced in dog play area.

Every site is full hook up. We had no issues with the utilities. They do not have cable But I was able to pull in over 40 local TV channels. WiFi speeds were fast.

Management and staff were consistently friendly and helpful. We had one very minor issue with a very small water faucet leak that was addressed immediately. Office staff helped us get some documents printed. It’s obvious that Creekside is well-managed.

Perhaps the most telling part of our visit were the other folks we talked to. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, no doubt due to the fact that a very large percentage are returning guests. We will definitely be returning to this...