Sun Outdoors Lake Rudolph — Hotel in Santa Claus

Stayed here the week of July 25, 2021. I would echo the comments from others, especially those from the past few months. To summarize, the staff is all nice, the campground is busy, and be careful with the cabins, they are not worth the price.

Staff: all were nice and accommodating, no issues there. Most seem to work hard and try to ensure you have a great visit. I can’t imagine some of the hooligans they have to deal with. Great job on that mark.

Campgrounds: Very busy, lots of golf carts everywhere so drive slow and be patient. While driving a cart has a requirement to be 16, there are several underage kids driving carts around, and the “rangers” are few and far between. Mini golf was nice. Dog park is great. Dock area needs some repair but is still safe for fishing/renting a paddle boat. Beach volleyball is great also. Shuttles to Holiday World are great. Drivers are safe and all nice. We never waited more than 15 minutes for a shuttle. The pool was very busy. Water slides cost extra but were run well and they kept the line moving quickly, UNLIKE at “Splashin Safari”.

Covid restrictions: I’m not weighing in on the Covid debate, just know that if you are looking for Covid precautions, virtually none are taken here, so prepare accordingly. Lots and lots of people, especially around the pool/slide areas. We were all vaccinated and felt comfortable. I’m simply providing info for those wondering/concerned about Covid precautions.

Cabins: We rented a Christmas Cabin, bottom line, they are worn out and filthy, please save your money. Ours looked like it was probably just “straightened out” (no cleaning) before we arrived. I wonder when the last time our cabin got, swept,/vacuumed/had a good deep cleaning? Probably several months. I know they have to turn them fast (between guests). But still, for what they are charging, you deserve a clean, well-maintained cabin. As for what’s provided in the kitchen, it’s sketchy so bring your own supplies. We had a basic dish/utensil set provided, along with a pot/pan/baking sheet. But it was all worn out and there was still food on the utensils that were stored in the drawer, gross! Overall the cabin was just sort of "gross”. Fridge was full size, so was the oven. Microwave worked fine. Our unit had a gas BBQ grill but it was disgusting. I bought a grill brush to get the soot off, then turned up the heat for 30 minutes just to “burn off” the grease and other unidentified “grossness” on it. Recommend a bug zapper if you want to sit on the deck. Unfortunately, there were lots of little broken things, like shades, drawers, handles, etc. I do not expect perfection, and I get it….you’re staying in a cabin! But (to reiterate), based on the price point…. you deserve better! Be careful in the bathroom, the shower is not made for anyone over ~5’9’’. Yes, it can be done if you are tall, but you will be ducking down to shower. The shower curtain was way too long and covered the drain, so you’d have to kick it out of the way. Or you would step on the curtain and it would start tearing from where it hooks to the shower bar rings, totally annoying. Two positives I’ll give the cabin. First are the electrical outlets, there are tons of them, you will have no issue plugging something in! Second was the AC, it was very hot during our week and it kept up well.

I doubt we come back unless they overhaul the cabins. Maybe it’s a better experience if you bring an RV or stay in a tent. Note to owner, please don’t reply to my review and tell me to call in to customer service. I’m not doing it, and it’s a waste of my time. Obviously, you have told others to do this, yet there has been no positive impact. Just fix and clean the cabins already, it needs to be done ASAP. I get it, maybe you lost some earnings last year due to Covid. However, the answer is not to overuse/abuse them and alienate your customers in order to make-up...

I have a couple complaints about this place. I use to love camping there as a child. So I thought I would take my kids and let them have the same experience I had growing up. Well I was sure wrong. First, the showers and toilets next to the activity center were just plan nasty. They clean them in the morning so we thought that is when we would shower, so it was nice and clean. Well I was wrong. Just after the cleaners were done doing there thing, my kids and I went to take our shower. The men's showers were disgusting. Hair everywhere my boys said that the showers smelled like urine and that there were peoples personnel stuff like used razors in the showers that the cleaners left. They said that there was stuff all over the floor in the shower that it didn't look like it was cleaned at all and I believe it. Because the women's bathroom wasn't much better. Just after the cleaner left I went in there and there were toilets with fecal matter still in them about to overflow and most of the women's toilets had pee all over them. It was down right disappointing. The bad thing is the other bath houses looked about the same because we went and looked at them to see if they were any better. They weren't. Second complaint the pool was just plan nasty too. It had hair and Band-Aids floating in it and the deck of the pool needed a really good cleaning because it had nasty black stuff all over it along with hair, blood from someone that got hurt (they didn’t clean it up), and trash. Third complaint was about our campsite the pictures online made our campsite look amazing that is why I booked it. Well that was a joke when we got there it had trash all over it. I actually had to pick up trash before I set up my tent because there was so much. There was also alot of poison ivy around the trees, fire pit, and table. Also it was just a huge muddy mess at the campsite I book no grass besides where the trees where. Then thankfully I had a blow up mattress because if not we would have been sleeping on tree roots, rocks, and in mud because like I said the campsite was a muddy mess. Bad set up for that campsite. Fourth complaint is the fact that on days you don't go to Holiday World there is really nothing for teenagers to do around the campgrounds. They have stuff for younger kids but not the older ones. Last complaint is about the golf carts. Why do you have to pay full price the day you get there and the day you leave because you can't check in until 2pm and you have to leave by 11am so why are you paying full price for them days? Also I was told over the phone it was $50 a day after tax for a 4 seater when I get there I was charged $68 a day for a golf cart. Also there need to be more rules with the golf carts and children because I was almost hit a couple times by teenagers not paying attention on them. Also the quiet time is not enforced because at 12am there were still teenagers driving around blaring music and laughing on the golf carts kinda got annoying honestly when your kids are trying to sleep and they wake them up multiple times. Now I can say that the staff was very nice and the check in and check out was very simple. But don't think I will be going back again anytime soon. Because I was very disappointed in the campgrounds for the money I was charged to stay there I expected more. Like I said I'm very disappointed and will not recommend this place to family...

Beautiful property, filthy cabin. Sun Outdoors needs to do better for future campers!

We stayed in Christmas Cabin 379D for 5 days and 4 nights. This was a great location within the park. We had a ton of yard space for the kids to play, plenty of room around the campfire, and the deck was spacious enough for our crew to share meals with the other families in our travel group that were staying in nearby cabins. The layout of the cabin worked well for our family and thankfully even in the hot July heat, the cabin temperature remained cool. We had plenty of hot water for showers each evening. We rented a golf cart, and this is a must have! It made trips to the pool, campground store, mini golf, etc. much easier.

However, there are a few things that I wish that I had known and a few things that were completely disappointing.

First, there were only two dishwasher pods provided, one roll of paper towels, two rolls of toilet paper and no trash bags provided. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a little bit more of each of these types of amenities based on the length of your stay in a family sized cabin. Otherwise, Sun Outdoors should simply be specific on their website as to what is included and what isn't. They clearly stated for us to bring towels, top sheets and blankets. So we did. It could be very helpful for future campers to know what other basics to bring along. If I were in a tent or RV, I wouldn't expect those things to be provided, but for a $1600+ (before our Military discount, see below) cabin stay, I don't think that is unreasonable.

The campground store and very nearby Dollar General made up for these shortfalls. Not a deal breaker, but frustrating, nonetheless. Who wants to leave the fun for a toilet paper run?

Cabin cleanliness was a big failure!!! Where to begin? The floors were filthy the moment we walked in. Hair, dust and other debris was scattered on not only the hard surface floors (especially the bathroom) but the carpet on the steps to the loft and in the loft had not been vacuumed at least since the last renters were there. Clumps of dark lint?, hair? was all over the floor in the loft. At least two of the beds had mouse poop droppings on the fitted sheets that were provided. The dishes under the sink all had mouse poop droppings on them as well. Because of this, all of the dishes had to be washed prior to use (there went my two provided dishwasher detergent pods). When I looked under the couch to pick up a dropped toy, it was full of dust and trash. There were cobwebs on light fixtures, burned out light bulbs, broken pieces of trim on the shelving that kept coming loose and the kitchen trash can was caked with filth. I regret not bringing this to management attention while we were there.

The invoicing/billing was a separate nightmare. The day after we got home, a big part of the day was spent on the phone with them to correct the multiple billing errors and overcharges. Apparently, there is a third-party company that handles this for Sun Outdoors, and they do not do a very good job. Ultimately, I think this issue has been resolved, but not without great effort on our part.

For the most part I kept reminding myself that we were "camping" so I should be reasonable with my expectations. Then I remembered that we were paying a premium rate for our accommodations and cleanliness it not an unreasonable...