Sun Retreats Shenandoah Valley — Hotel in Stuarts Draft

A little late in posting our review. My husband and I booked over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. We traveled over 24 hours straight through from Austin, Texas. Needless to say, we were exhausted. Luckily, my husband I took turns driving to ensure the we get some rest. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Camp host and fellow team members. It was refreshing to receive such welcoming smiles. She gave us our directions and camp map and informed us of some of the festivities going on.

Entering the park, I would say was a bit confusing with the routes since golf carts were all over the place entering and exiting all the roads although it stated one way. We were tired so we didn't think nothing of it. We just wanted to unhook and get some much needed rest and sleep.

Service: Impeccable! Very friendly, ensured we were greeted and taken care of. It was amazing to see how much they got together to ensure everyone stayed cooled after the electricity went down. Our neighbors ensure they contacted the office so that we can get informed because our pets were in the RV. They immediately contacted us so that we can get home to take care of our pets. We were grateful because we were an hour out of the way to get home quickly. By the time we got to our site, it wasn't too hot in the RV and the electric came back on. Thanks to our neighbors and the quick response to notify us.

Amenities: clean

Location: We were there to see our seventh grandchild. They lived about 35-45 minutes further from the Shenandoah Retreats. It was what we could get on availability due to the July 4th holiday. But it was easy to get to once we figured out the back roads.

Sites: Were pretty tight, over populated but we understood since it is a destination retreat. We are long term residents in another Sun Communities location and you can say it is about the same as far as site space is concerned. It is fair to say we were right on top of our neighbors. I felt bad because they were cooking outside and my sewer hose is right there. We didn't get a room so I cannot comment on them, I stay natural.

Bright Spots: I give the activities director kudos for the highlights of having festivities. They had golf cart and bicycle parades, golf cart water gun shoot outs. Lookout you must have a sign on your person or site that says "No water zone." It looked fun.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay. We hope to may another trip to see our families and we hope to stay there a little longer to enjoy the amenities we couldn't get to because of time. Way to go Shenandoah Retreats. Keep up the great...

I really don’t know where to begin, so I will start with the park itself. It is a lovely, well taken care of campground. There is a small lake; it’s mostly shallow, so the grandkids could play almost anywhere. I was in a pull through spot- L14. Check in was a breeze; I was escorted to my spot and guided in. I was pulling a fifth wheel and this is only my second or third trip with the fifth wheel. There is a decent camp store with concessions…some food items and ice cream. Now for the good part…wowza…I had done something (very long story) to totally destroy my hitch. It was so bad, I could not unhitch. Two of the most incredible gentlemen (Wayne & Ike), both staff, totally stopped what they were doing and completely disassembled the hitch to get my camper unhitched so I could level, open slides and get set up (in spite of my situation, I was determined to have a good weekend). They worked for a couple of hours getting me unhitched. After leveling, my stairs didn’t touch the ground, so they brought be a block of wood to stabilize the stairs. First thing Saturday morning, Wayne drove by to see how we were doing. At that time we were fine and my family had a fantastic day. On Sunday morning when it was time to leave, they came to help he again. Incredibly, a nearby camper from the same city I came from, had an extra hitch at home and he had his wife bring it to the campground so I could get home. Ike and Chris (the guy with the hitch) took the old hitch out and put the borrowed one in. There were some complications due to the type of pin box I have. They did not give up until everything was done correctly and I was hitched and safe to go home. The office staff was so helpful and understanding and allowed for a late check out. I really don’t have words to express my heartfelt gratitude for this campground. Even without my unfortunate events, I would highly recommend this campground. My only complaint, which is not uncommon these days, is golf cart traffic. Sometimes it was like maneuvering on the DC beltway (I was on my e-bike). Everything else was fantastic! Thank you Sun Retreats...

We liked this campground very much with one exception. We loved the site G35- it was huge and level. We liked the lake experience and we met lots of nice people. Others did not like the golf carts but now that the roads are paved, there is less dust and it was fun to watch the parade of carts each evening. One HUGE con- when we checked in Friday, the gates were open and someone was standing there checking you in. (Nice touch- you register after you get settled) We were unaware that the gates were locked during business hours with no instructions how to get back in. Saturday am we ran home (15 minutes away) to let our dog out and upon return we had to get out and walk to check in shack which in not very close. The statement to me was "Oh, they did not give you the gate code?" I said no and they asked what site we were on and said they would let us in but that I could buy an access card to swipe for $5. I said no, I am checking out in the am and I did not bring $5 with me. Fine. We went back to let the dog out again at 245pm because we wanted to return before office hours ended. This time, my husband went inside to request access and was given THE EXACT SAME SPEAL. His response was not as positive as mine as he felt they were holding our property hostage to extort $5 from us. We rented this space, we have a window tag (which he took inside with him) and not allowing us access during business hours was wrong. We have stayed at hundreds of campgrounds and we understand an extra fee to get in before or after business hours but again, we were sure to only travel during the hours the office was open and they need a way to open the gate for paid campers. No one ever gave us the code so here we sit, waiting for 10am so we can take a load home and let the dogs out, decreasing the time we have to pack up the rest. This one small item took this from a 5 star experience to a 3.5. I am leaving it a 4 until our final attempt to access our camper. Wish us...