Hayward KOA Holiday — Hotel in Town of Lenroot

Our stay was honestly a mixed bag of good and bad. We stayed 8/14-8/17 in KL5. At the end of my stay at checkout the gentleman in the office informed me a private equity firm bought the property about 5 years ago and has become more stingy with the funds. Some of these issues were brought to his attention, but I feel future guests should also know what they may experience.

I suggest the private equity folks make an in person visit to the property to see for themselves the issues I am going to describe. I hope they not only read the entire report here but take it to heart.

The bad:

Deferred maintenance and safety issues are numerous. The septic issue is on going and at one point the bathroom by the pool was shut down. The rest of them appeared to be operating. The second photo shows the broken part of the peek holes in two places in the playground. The fix was caution themed duct tape and is cracked through and the hole is now wide open. A child could fall out and be seriously injured. The solution should be to shut down the playground and start over with new coverings and equipment or wood barriers in those areas (at minimum). The situation is honestly unacceptable and nothing more than a six figure lawsuit waiting to happen.

Other safety issues: water trickling into our cabin Saturday morning during the torrential rain storm from underneath the front door trim. My daughter woke us up because water had made its way all the way across the floor to under the refrigerator. I had to move the refrigerator and then put it back to properly wipe up the water. By the time we found where it went, it took three beach towels to wipe it up and they were soaked. We also had to plug the door trim with a beach towel to stop the water from trickling into the cabin. After consulting my neighbor in KL4 on Sunday while packing up he expressed a similar water problem.

The mini-golf course does its job, but again it is missing a few boards here and there and just looks rickety and worn down.

The pool: it is ice cold and clearly not being heated properly. If anyone with any authority there would bother to test the pool with their bare hands they would see for themselves it's cold. I heard at least three other guests complain about this on Friday alone while at the pool.

The drone issue - KOA needs to look at how they handle situations where guests are harassed and also develop a drone policy. Drones have the capability to record things (many times without people's knowledge). While waiting in line in the office one evening I heard the desk attendant page out for someone to check on an issue where a drone was following some female guests all the way back to their campsite. The next day I learned after consulting staff about the situation that two teenage males did indeed have a drone (see the picture below) and the guests felt they were being harassed. The teenagers still had possession of the drone and were still allowed in the campground. Guests who follow and harrass others should be dismissed, but not my call.

The good:

The deluxe cabin is nicely appointed with excellent space and lighting. My family enjoyed the individual bedroom spaces and the kitchen amenities. The double bunk room and queen bedroom each has it's own door. The kitchen is indeed fully stocked with small and large plates, bowls, cooking utensils, silverware, dish soap, a full size fridge and freezer combo, sink and paper towels. The TV has Roku with all of the normal apps (Disney+, Netflix, etc). The bathroom has the flush toilet with a three slot cubby hole storage above on one side with a full sink, mirror, and plenty of storage underneath on the other side with the shower/small short walled tub combo in between. 3 rolls of toilet paper and a bar of hand washing were provided.

Lots of fun kids activities for Mardi Gras weekend. Keep the smores, tie dye shirt making and the dance party. The food was excellent. We had the pretzel sticks, pizza, cheese steak sandwich, and ice cream. All fantastic. Staff are all stars and...

This KOA has lots for kids to do and we liked the variety, but many activities cost extra and prices add up quickly. The bathrooms were closed during our stay, mini golf was very worn, and our cabin had water shutoffs mid-shower, multiple times, plus a few huge spiders. Staff could have been more helpful when our child was hurt. It’s a fun place for a day visit or camping, but the cabin wasn’t worth the price we paid. On the bright side, it’s close to town — and only about a mile and a half from Phipps, a surprisingly fun gentlemen’s club for adults who need a break after chasing kids all day.

For those of you who want the full review/opinions:

The Good: There’s no denying this campground has a lot for kids — multiple playgrounds (boat, truck, train, castle, climber, and a large play set — though many had broken pieces or boarded-off sections), a jump pillow, arcade, swimming pool, water slide, tubing, mini golf, kayaks, canoes, and more. They also have small sports areas (basketball, volleyball, tetherball) and a game room. During the week it was quieter and less crowded, which we enjoyed. The location is also very convenient — just outside of town, within walking distance to the river, and only 1.5 miles from Phipps Tavern, a lively gentlemen’s club that ended up being a highlight for the grown-ups.

The Not-So-Good: Most activities come with extra costs. Gem mining was available but the water looked gross and it was expensive, so we skipped it. They also have 3-wheel bikes, but the 4-seater was broken, and the singles are only available for an hour at a time. The store is handy but pricey — almost $3 for a single chocolate bar for s’mores. Activities are only scheduled on weekends, and during the week everything opened late (around 10am), which left us with kids up for hours asking when they could finally do something.

Cleanliness & Maintenance: This was the most frustrating part. The bathrooms in the main building were shut down, leaving only porta-potties, which were in terrible condition. The mini golf course is badly outdated with moss, warped boards, and broken spots. Our cabin — which we booked specifically for having a bathroom — had water shut off more than half the time, even once in the middle of a shower. We ended up rinsing soap with cold water bottles. On top of that, we killed several large spiders inside.

Staff & Safety: One of our kids fell on the water slide stairs and badly bruised her knee. The staff’s response was, “well she looks fine,” with no concern, no ice, nothing. For the price we were paying, that lack of care was disappointing.

Value: Our 2-night stay in a cabin cost $640.56 before food, waterslide passes, mini golf, ice cream, and other extras. For that price, a hotel or even another campground in town would have been a better value. A tent or camper site here may feel more worthwhile, but the cabin experience definitely wasn’t.

Bottom Line: KOA Hayward has the activities and potential to be great, but the upkeep, maintenance, extra costs, and lack of attentiveness don’t match the price. Pro tip for parents: after a day of kids bouncing on the jump pillow and begging for overpriced s’mores, Phipps (yes, the gentlemen’s club just down the road) might be the real hidden gem...

We spent a full week here and for the most part we loved our experience. We arrived on Monday, and had our deluxe tent pad site in peace and quiet. We did have a bit of a problem with our deluxe pad, however, our tent was too big for a site that is boarded. We talked to the office and they were so helpful and friendly. They checked for sites we could move to and told us the ones we could look at to choose from. In the end, we stayed after talking to another camper who had his tent set up with the same problem. Set up right, we only had the edges of the tent to worry about and in the end, we were glad we stayed at our site. Monday thru Wednesday was a vacationers dream, we enjoyed the heated pool, the waterslide, the wagon rides, fossil and gem mining and the awesome tube ride. The campground is so well maintained and groomed. Employees are always riding around picking up litter and they are up before most campers making sure the area looks pristine and clean. Wood and food, when ordered, is delievered to your site. An amazing feature I love about this campground. The weekends however are another world entirely. The campground fills up, every slot, it's amazing. Our nice peaceful week ended on Thursday when the inconsiderate redneck family arrived. They were loud, he drank beer all day from sun up till sun down and had a radio he kept cranked with no consideration for others. Thankfully he would take it around with him so while rude we only had to put up with it a few hours a day. I could have said something and I am sure they would have done something about it but it is a vacation place and rocking the boat was not a part of my peaceful vacation plans. They have so much to do here during the week and on the weekends they add so many more activities. Yes, you do have to pay extra for the jumping pillow, water slide, bikes, and tubing but it was still so much fun. It would be better if they included the waterslide and jumping pillow in your rentals. I can see charging the locals who come in but not the campers we do spend a lot there already. The shop is beautifully stocked and reasonably priced. All facilities are very clean and well maintained. The staff are amazing, friendly and accommodating. We had lots of questions during our stay and did lots of gift shop shopping and never once came across an employee in a bad mood or one that was rude. Even when they were off the clock they were always smiling and helpful. Be sure to take the tube ride, it's worth it. Be prepared for a wait when you get out of the river, it can be brief or take a while so be patient, after all drop off and pick up are a service they offer free. The owners care a lot about their guests and are great to talk to. We will go back again and I suggest you give it a...