Raleigh Oaks RV Resort & Cottages — Hotel in Smithfield

Upon our arrival, the lady at the check in desk was not a nice person, and in talking with other campers throughout our stay, it was apparent that we weren’t the only ones that felt this way. We used to love camping here; however, it was obvious they have had a management change within the last year. Now it seems everywhere you turn, there are signs telling you “No.” When the lady at the desk asked if we had been here before, she should have acknowledged the change in management (which took place less than a year ago), & proceeded to mention a few of the changes, instead we had to figure this stuff out ourselves. Some of the changes include but not limited to: No longer $44/night, price went up to $55/night; No outdoor mats can be on the grass; pools open at 10am / close at 9pm (even though everyone swims at their own risk, & you cannot miss all of those signs); employees patrol around the entire campground either by golf cart or in vehicles (like guards in a prison); they no longer escort campers to their site (we saw several campers who had huge rigs leave the office & walk through the campgrounds to see where their sites were); there are 2 redneck deer cameras set up at the trash dumpsters (yep you guessed it, there are signs there too & one says “smile you’re on camera”), and many more. Rules for campers don’t apply to employees: if you tether your dog outside, you have to be outside with them, yet employees leave their dogs tied up & no one is outside with them; some of their employees live in permanent spots on row 100 and even though there are 3 dog parks, some of them don’t take their dogs there, nope, they take them to vacant camping sites. After we checked in, got to our site, got everything set up: tables, tent, etc & I just sat down in my recliner, I was greeted by the “maintenance manager” guy. He said “The mat cannot be on the grass & (as he pointed to everything I had just set up) all of this stuff has to be moved by the morning because we’ll be cutting the grass.” Now, why did the lady at the desk not say something about Wednesday being “grass cutting day” or why not cut the grass before we checked in?? (we had our resevations months ago, our stay shouldn’t have been a surprise). As for the amenities, there are a lot, which are very nice & enjoyable (my reasoning for giving 3 stars). One of my suggestions is they should put up a fence between the roadway & the mini golf / basketball court. If a shot is missed on basketball court, the ball can easily ricochet into the roadway. Also, it’d be really nice if they built a playground for kids in the middle/near the back of the campground, where it’s not so close to the roadway. There is one between the basketball court & the pickle ball court, but I think it’d be safer if there was one in the back near the pull-through camp sites. We haven’t decided if we would return in the future. It’s a real shame what this campground has become. If you choose to go, my advice: mind your P’s & Q’s because “Big Brother”...

Let me begin by saying the park is really nice the amenities are nice. I am from close to the area and I know this is a dead time for camping here in North Carolina. Every park in the area is full with construction workers because there are a few big jobs going on. My husband and I have traveled for several years for work And always stay in RV parks. This is the 1st one I have ever encountered that claims certain spots you could only get at a weekly rate. There's always a difference in price for a pull through or a back in or premium spot, but this park has designated certain rows that are only monthly. It appears she randomly picks which ones she wants to be monthly and which ones she wants to be weekly. These men are here working they are not vacationing And they are charging $300 a week for spots that look exactly like $500 a month spots. We are in what they call a weekly spot but were told we could have it for 2 months but instead of paying a monthly rate twice, we'd have to pay for 8 weeks. We would have paid the monthly rate for both months up front. They have over 25 spots open and will not charge a monthly rate for them. I would guarantee you this park would be completely full if they would let these guys get a monthly rate. These workers are making this park a ton of money when they would otherwise be empty this time of year. Some of these guys are driving an hour to get to their job sites when this park is quite close. There's nothing more I hate then to see someone take advantage of hard working people. We had to stay one week until another spot came open somewhere else that we are paying $400 a month for, the amenities aren't as good but I have a shower in my RV and I can go to the laundromat. It's a shame they had rather let those sites sit empty and make no money on them than charge a monthly rate for the people that are here for work!

This comment is made after the response, They are renting the sites because we are in one paying weekly, ans we weren't told we had to go by any certain time to accommodate an already made reservation! Again my point is I've never seen a campground have designated weekly and monthly spots, and in the past this campground didn't either. Pull their brochure up online and look at their prices. I can't help to think this started when all the work came to town. I did ask when they started doing it this way in the office, but got an I don't know. Bottom line we can stay in this weekly spot for a month, but we're have to pay...

This is a fantastic RV park, but not without a couple of issues, so I'll start with the negatives. The roads and sites are all gravel, meaning things at the campsite can get a little dirty. Weeds growing up through the gravel take away from the park's otherwise pristine appearance. Their attempt at a camp store is woefully under-stocked. Perhaps this is by design, but if you need basic items, you're unlikely to find them here. Wi-Fi in the park (at least at our site, 108, was horrible). There were many times that I couldn't even access the internet. On the few times that I was able to get online, internet was extremely slow. Campsite trash pick-up would be a nice amenity, as campers are required to haul trash to the dumpster at the entrance to the park. When we did, on our way out, the dumpsters were overflowing and bags of trash had begun to accumulate outside the dumpster.

Now for the positives... The staff here are extremely friendly. The grounds were clean and every facility is kept in immaculate condition. The pools, mini-golf course, bathhouses, and recreations rooms were impeccably maintained. The two pools never got crowded, which was a nice thing. During our three-day stay, a free waffle breakfast was served each morning. On one day, they even had a cook-out at the pool, where we enjoyed burgers, hot dogs, corn-on-the-cob, pasta salad, and lemonade -- all free of charge, with the exception of a donation jar. A few bucks dropped in the jar is a small price to pay for such hospitality! Finally, and speaking of money, this park offers great value. Notwithstanding the few negatives mentioned above, the rates are extremely reasonable, given what is offered.

All in all, it was a great stay. From the extremely nice and friendly people staying at the campground to the beautiful facilities, this place has a lot to offer. We will...