Chicago Northwest KOA Holiday — Hotel in Riley Township

First off, I would like to state that after our experience staying the night at this KOA, I posted a review on their website. I just looked back to see if my review was still there at it has since been deleted, so please take with caution their high ratings on their own website. I now, know better to leave a Goggle review instead in hopes that it reaches other guests looking for an honest review of this campground. Here are our issues we had during our stay: (Yes we have been to other KOAs) The location. Pro... literally right next door the nice Wild West Town and minutes from the Illinois Railway Museum. Both attractions I recommend visiting. Con... Being in a tiny, rural town, one would expect little to no noise at night. Far from it. The campground is located right on a busy street/highway and if you get periodic pauses from cars and trucks zooming by, you will get lulled to sleep by the sizzling sounds from the high tension power lines that run along one side of the campground.

Amenities: Eh... As we know KOA is not a pay one fee and it includes everything and all activities type of place, but here they even charge kids to play a simple game of bingo. The mini golf is less to be desired. The pool is small and very cold, even on a hot day our children wanted to get out sooner than I expected. Plus, it was grossly crammed with too many people. They also had to close down the pool due to feces in the pool, I get it we all have kids, but this added to the frustration of the whole experience. There is no alternative way to cool down there on a hot, hot summer day than to drive to Crystal Lake and enjoy one of their spray parks, which we ended up doing.

But, by far the worst part of our very short stay was dealing with the belligerent drunks right next to us. They were literally screaming at each other, using profanities for several hours until the police came around 2am to separate them. Being that these sites are so close, we felt unsafe to get out of the tent and walk all the way to the campground host. Which from hearing them speak to the drunks, they could hear them all the way from the other side of the campground. We were surrounded by young, drunk couples that night. Very surprised to have deal with at a so-called family campground. So to recap our night experience: Listening to cars and trucks flying by all night long, high power tension lines sizzling, drunk couple to our right playing music beyond quiet hours, and dealing with the screaming, verbally abusive drunk couple to the left for hours. Oh and to add to the country charm, there was a house party down the street blasting music into the wee hours of the morning. I get it, they were not on the campground property, but it did add to the insanity of the night.

Speaking of morning, so with little to no sleep, we got out of our tent to notice that the offensive couple was still on the premises, enjoying their morning and starting to make their campfire for their breakfast. We knew we needed to get the hell out this place. We broke down camp and I headed right in to speak with the host or owner. I told them about our horrendous experience and how dumbfounded we were when we saw that this couple wasn't kicked out of the campground as soon as the sun came up or even better, they should've been arrested that night/morning. We had bought more wood with the intention on making a fire to cook our breakfast and asked for my money back. The host/owner didn't seem too bothered by our horrible experience, but at least returned my money for two bundles of wood. Again, good customer service is becoming a thing of the past, if they knew how to conduct good business etiquette, they should have offered me a full refund.

So, in a nutshell this is a KOA that is in need of some major help. The location is awful unless power lines and a busy road is less noisy from where your from. How they deal with drunk guests is appalling and the amenities are subpar.

Also, I will never trust reviews from any KOA website again.

Sincerely, A very disappointed and...

I was not originally planning on leaving a review, but after the owner left me an untrue review without explanation on my Airbnb profile, I need to rectify this. She said we never met because I decided to check out early. However, we did meet once when she let me into the gift shop after hours. I left during the first night because the cabin we stayed at was dangerous and filthy. I had to leave due to a medical emergency (Anaphylaxis) because the cabin was covered in allergens. I needed to come back the next day to empty our belongings. It is obvious that they have not done a deep clean on this cabin for years. The dust, rodent droppings, and pet hair are caked on thick. We have proof that they only do a spot-clean as we watched the cabin next to us get "cleaned". Spray bottle, paper towel, and some type of floor mop. Which was not used in our cabin before our stay because there was dust and trash everywhere. We asked for a refund, and the owner refused to speak to us about the situation, telling us that she will look into it and get back to us. Airbnb told us that she would only refund us $100 because of x,y,z. She had incorrect information. Stating she was not sure how I am allergic to pets when I marked having pets for my stay. FYI, I am allergic to dogs, not cats. I own two cats that were with us. I am also allergic to dust, which she totally dismissed. She also accused me of not paying for my ice cream. Her employee at the gift shop told us it would get charged to the card on file for my cabin. Still awaiting an invoice to pay for that ice cream btw, which I am totally happy to pay for. She has not sent us an invoice to pay for it yet. My wife also got cut by a rusty screen door lock. Maybe file it down? Lastly, there was a drug/vape pen found in between the mattress and bed frame. Lucky my young child did not find that. She dismissed everything I said, even the photos. No apology either. Totally unacceptable. I understand it is a rustic cabin, but there is no excuse to have it be this dirty. For anyone with allergies to dust, pet dander or rodent droppings, I recommend staying somewhere else. Nature's Way RV Park is the best place to stay. Same layout, used to be a KOA. At least they deep clean their cabins. Sylvia, maybe stay there and get an example of how a rustic cabin should be cared for as well as outstanding customer service skills. Best of...

We recently stayed at this campsite and had a mixed experience, which is why I’m giving it 3 stars. While there were definitely some fun activities planned, many of them were geared toward younger kids, and the overall vibe wasn’t very outdoorsy (which is fine for some). If you’re looking for a place with hiking paths and open water for kayaking or swimming, like at Shabbona, this may not be the best fit.

One of the biggest downsides was the lack of shade in the activity areas, which made it uncomfortable to hang out there for too long. The putt putt, bounce pad, tether ball, gaga ball, and playground were all exposed to the sun all hours of the day. It made it extremely difficult to stay out for long and for some, being exposed to the UV rays is a concern. On the upside, the pool was nice and cool, as long as it wasn't too busy.

Sadly, the items for sale in the shop were pretty overpriced, which was disappointing.

We also ran into some frustrating miscommunications with the staff. We “rented” a volleyball, and one staff member told us we wouldn’t be charged as long as we returned it. However, when we were checking out, they tried to charge us $10.99. We managed to clear up the confusion and weren’t charged in the end, but it was an unnecessary hassle.

Another issue was with firewood. We were surprised to receive 6 bundles of firewood that we didn’t recall ordering or confirming. When we tried to tell the lady who delivered it, she didn’t listen and just insisted we had ordered it before driving off. While we obviously made use of the firewood, the lack of communication around these small matters was frustrating.

While this may not be my style, don't let me stop you from coming to have some fun with your family/friends! They do have fun activities and convenient sites (close to bathrooms/showers). Speaking of, the showers were nice as well. The bathrooms seemed decently kept and I appreciated the real showers. The only thing with that was if you’re afraid of spiders, the showers can be a spooky place (there were a lot of webs and spiders above the shower on the walls).

Overall, we did have fun, but the experience was marred by these inconveniences. I probably wouldn’t choose this site again, as it just...