FamCamp Office MacDill AFB RV Park — Hotel in Tampa

Let me fully explain my one star. The location and beach 5 stars, the dolphins playing right by the shore, priceless, speaking with some of the campers, amazing sweet people. The “Fam Camp” personal and the Camper we rented…..absolutely NOT!! We checked in to the camper (waited 35 minutes) after being screamed at “did you sign in” to check in to the camper. The linens…filthy, the sinks, disgusting, shower, GROSS was it swept…absolutely not! The remote didn’t work for the TV, the table was completely collapsed, the light above where the table should be (at the slide out) was leaking brown water, the sensor for the back water was already on red, trash behind the cushions, a hole in the wall, wallpaper peeling, trash behind the bunk cushions…..do peoole actually check these during checkout? I bought bleach to clean the sinks and toilet, shower…I washed the linens and swept the floors and cleaned the counters. I went to the office to ask for help about the sensor showing that the black water panel was on red. I also needed to work during this time, and I had no table to set up my computer, nor did the Wi-Fi connect whatsoever horrible service and also didn’t have my own cellular connection so I could not hotspot my own phone. I also asked to talk to the manager about all of these issues. It took about four times back-and-forth before the manager came to the front of the office. This man was completely unprofessional and rude. My husband and I attempted to get a hotel room on base but we’re unsuccessful due to full occupancy’s. His solution was “there are plenty of motels off base”! I was honestly appalled. The reason we come to McDill year after year is because we love the security and safety of being on base, and also taking advantage of being a co-veterans. This is not at all how I would’ve expected to be treated as a veteran whatsoever. The name of the person I talk to who claimed to be the Director was Dean Ireland. He said if we found another place to stay and chose to leave the next morning that he would give us $100 credit. Needless to say, the hotel was full the entire time we were there, and we had nowhere else to stay. Zero credit for us. As the rain continue to fall, not only was the light leaking water, but the walls around the windows in the slide outs were also pouring and water where you could see the stains on the wall wallpaper along with prior bubbling. The kindest person we encountered during our stay there was a young boy named Stefan Who attempted to do everything he could to fix things. Everything was out of his control. However, he was the only kind person we had a dealing with while we stayed there. I would absolutely never recommend for any veteran to stay here. The treatment was absolutely awful and I felt like a second class citizen. Even during checkout, we explained all of the problems that we had and all we got was oh, I’m sorry, even though we tried to explain them all week long to several different people. The only thing I cared about at this point, was having someone come to verify the conditions of this disgusting place before we left. STEPHEN came and checked us out and collected the keys and we did go back to the main Famcamp area where we waited yet again another 15 minutes after signing in just to check out to make sure that we got our security deposit refunded. I will be looking into who I could speak with these manners in further detail, because this is in no way how any human should be treated, let alone of veteran at a military...

Update 12/31/24: In the past 8 nights, the power has gone out twice, once completely and once with a low voltage error caught only by our electrical management system. This campground is garbage.

Original review: This place is okay. Bring bug spray because it is unbearable outside due to mosquitos. Many sites are in disrepair and nearly all sites are not large enough to fit both your truck and camper. You have to park in the lawn next to the camper. Many sites have cracked uneven concrete. There are a handful of first come first serve sites, but it would be worth driving through the campsite before choosing a spot because some spots like ours, site 14, are nearly impossible to back a big rig into due to trees blocking the maneuvering space in front of the lot. I made it work with a 34 foot fifth wheel on a long bed truck, but it was the most challenging spot I’ve backed into due to obstacles.

You can’t beat $30 a night to be in Tampa, so I suppose this site is okay. Be prepared to hand over the blood of your first born child in order to camp here. They were the only camp site we’ve ever been to that has required proof of RV ownership and pet vaccination records. They also make you sign an agreement a mile long detailing many ridiculous rules. If you are in violation of any of the rules you can be given demerit points, most violations of which are 4 points. If you hit 12 points, you get kicked out. One example of something that can get you points is having a temporary pet fence around your RV. This rule seems to be particularly enforced and when asked why, the staff say it is to “maintain the grass and for safety”. The grass is complete trash and sandy as is. I’ve never been to a campsite where I can’t install a small inconspicuous fence in my own area for my dogs to use the bathroom without constantly being on a leash. Given that you get swarmed by mosquitoes within seconds of being outside, not having a dog fence on this trip was particularly annoying.

Finally, this campsite is nice and quiet but it is predominantly filled with retirees. If you join the Facebook group for MacDill AFB FamCamp, you will find tales of the staff here requesting long time renters to install their own sod, pay for their own concrete pad repairs, and various other ridiculous requests. For example, this RV Park requires you to mow your own grass. Hate to break it to you MacDill, but I will absolutely not be mowing or fixing anything that I do not own. As a rental on vacation, these policies are incongruent with experiences we’ve had at every other campsite we’ve stayed.

Overall, we stayed here because it was cheap. The staff is blunt and rude. The mosquitoes are unbearable. The rules and demerit points feel like going back to your overbearing parent’s house. We’ve previously stayed at other military installation campgrounds that were wonderful. I don’t recommend this one unless you can deal with not being able to sit outside without bug spray and don’t mind a list of rules...

Not a big fan of the MacDill FamCamp.

Arrived Jan 16, 2024, first come-first serve and was assigned primitive camping site 255 after a grueling 45 minute check in process. The site resembled a culvert, raised on each side, 4 foot decline to the center of the site, and impossible to level anything shy of a hover board….no an actual hover board!

Unfortunately for me, the poor sap in site 256 did his/her very best to level a small camping trailer and eased into my slot in the process. No place for me to park a 21 foot camper van. #256 was not on site, so I solicited the help of a night host. Well, the night host helped me admire the problem but fell short of a solution. So, I paid for Jan 16 and never stayed the night.

The next day, FamCamp called to ask me to move my camper. After realizing they called the wrong camper, I explained my side of the story and how I was unable to camp at 255, but was still charged!

So, I left Tampa Jan 18, and never stayed in my assigned campsite. FamCamp refused to reassign because …..wateva. I paid for two nights and was unable to camp.

Aside from my camping debacle, the MacDill campsite efficiently assigns as many campers per square inch as feasible. The orchestra of generators singing long past quiet hour camouflages the snoring of a platoon of retirees with sleep apnea. Insomniacs feel at home with the white noise of barking dogs. Oh, and the sunset...