Trinity Lake KOA Holiday — Hotel in Weaverville

First time staying in a KOA, and sad to say it's made me question whether this is our kind of getaway. When we approached the site, we sat at a 10 min temporary stoplight for a pretty significant construction project right up against the KOA cabins. When we checked in we were told this was a more "Rustic" KOA site. We were given cabin 20, which others said was the best cabin, We drove to it and it was right up against the construction, where they were driving huge steel pipes into the ground, shaking the cabin. I rushed down to the office to see if we could be moved. We were told "They should be stopping soon" Didn't matter, I wasn't staying there. The staff were very nice and moved us 6 cabins down. Moved to cabin 14, which was as expected on the inside. Pretty decent for "camping". If you look on google maps, it looks like there is at least one row of trees blocking the road right outside (and no construction, just trees). The construction had pulled out all the trees on the roadside, and our view was cement blocks making a wall, and the other side of that construction stoplight. As the sun set, the generator went on to run the stoplight, along with a big flood light. We tried to make the best of it. Views out the kitchen and sliding door to the back patio let us imagine we were somewhere remote. Unfortunately the pile driver started every morning at 7am, along with a very angry, shouting foreman. (and that was 6 cabins away) Walls in the cabin we paper thin. Fine, it's a cabin. Although the constant back and forth of neighbors with their huge trucks going over the gravel road outside was frustrating. Listening to other families having fun, I have no problem with that! The lake is very low. We were told if you want to try to go there, you should drive down there. We did take a walk through the larger campsite, and pretty much gave up even trying to locate any remains of a lake. We saw some campers going through the area on their ATV. I think that's a great activity for the remains of Trinity lake, if you have one. The RV and tent sites looked like a better way to go, but the bathrooms were pretty gross. There was a staff member driving around, but he seemed to be focused on getting kids off the rental bikes, and closing up the pool. We tried the pool. Lasted maybe 30 mins. Lots of people tracking their dirty feet into the water. Teenagers vaping, kids spitting in the water and generally not a welcoming feeling for my 11 year old son. I think this location would be great if you were tent or RV camping with a huge group, and brought a lot of activities to stay within camp. The store has limited hours, and most of the food was expired. The big activity was sitting outside the store trying to use the not so awesome wifi. The Mini Kat never opened while we were there. The staff in the store said they were independently owned and their hours were never shared, and pretty sportatic. We drove to Weaverville because there was just nothing to do, and sadly most of the town was closed thanks to Covid. Came back to our campsite, to find my husband and dog sitting outside trying to BBQ. He said that there was a guy sitting in his SUV, stuck at that horrible long stoplight, just laughing and him trying to camp on a roadside. That was the straw that broke the camels back. We collectively decided that we would just checkout early. Really sad that my attempt at a fun getaway for my family, to have it be so depressing. Most of the issues here are not the fault of the KOA. The shockingly low lake, the awful construction right up on the site, and a fire west of Weaverville that was quickly impacting air quality. I LOVE that the site was dog friendly. However, I am guessing KOA is no longer investing in this site. The staff were very nice, but I'm pretty sure they have been told many times that their site is bad...Based on this, I think we're...

I'm seriously only giving this 1 star because I have to give it something My family and my in-laws made a stay for 2 nights at the Trinity Lake KOA, July 28th and 29th, and left July 30th; we were suppose to stay until July 31st but due to the accommodations we left early. We reserved 2 cabins and received cabins 8 and 14. Cabin 8 is what my family stayed at and my in-laws stayed in cabin 14. When we first arrived we were assigned our cabins but were given the wrong cabins, Honest mistake we caught early and let go. Once we settled, which was difficult to do since the parking in front of the cabins was close to nil, we went looking for the marina that is advertised and found nothing and it was also 2 miles away, that was stated on the map. The marina, we were told, was suppose to be private and owned by the KOA but found out that they did NOT own it and so we were not able to leave our boat down there so we were unable to launch our boat once and leave it. The 29th we launched the boat to fish but had to pull the boat out of the water and it was hard for our other members of our family to go on the boat because we couldn't leave the boat safely at the marina. Also my In-laws are handicapped and NOTHING was ADA compliant at the marina.

NOW back to our cabins; Cabin 14 was not cleaned before our arrival, the only thing that seemed to be done was clean linens. Cabin 8 was also in the same condition. the floors were so bad in cabin 8 I ended up scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees so I could stand to walk on them which was pointless since walking on the carpet made my feet black; truly disgusted by the conditions of both these cabins were. Cabin 8's kitchen was missing several items and several cooking items were broken and missing as well. The hood vent was broken and there wasn't a way to vent any smoke, I ended up setting off the smoke alarm 3 times while cooking from browning foods. The refrigerator had no dial to turn it on I had to figure out how to do it blindly, when I did get it going my food froze ruining my fresh vegetables. On to the beds, the beds were so uncomfortable hard as a rock, I seriously think I could have had a better nights sleep on concrete. The pull out sofa bed was a spring mattress and was also broken but we had to use it since we had 6 to sleep, when ever it was put away there was bar that dug into your side. The tiles in the living room area by the wood stove was broken, I was afraid my 2 yr old son was going to cut his feet on it since my husband did cut his foot on it. The bathroom walls were covered in black mold and other mold; there was also mold growing in the shower. The water pressure through out the cabin was horrible and the water from the hot water tank didn't heat to anything but luke warm. The toilet in the bathroom was super small and felt as if it was tilting to the right. NO ADA compliance in Either cabin's bathrooms for safety. The toilet seat in cabin 14 was broken. There were decks on the back of each cabin, I stepped out onto cabin 8's deck with my children and felt the boards start to give way and the deck wobbled as you walked on it, I didn't let my children go back on the deck again during our stay for fear they would get hurt. The sliding glass doors to the deck didn't lock. My in-laws went out on the deck on cabin 14, my father -in-law stepped down and stepped in a hole nearly breaking his leg and hurting his arm and shoulder trying to catch his fall; the door to their deck didn't lock either.

I honestly wish we didn't not stay here and this was our first impression of a KOA we may not ever stay at another one if they compare to this one,...

What started as an exploratory camping trip turned out to be a launching pad for a lifetime of memories. From the moment we arrived, the hospitality was first class! Jason checked us in, and the joy and excitement he carried—you would’ve thought he was the one on vacation! From that very first interaction, I knew it was going to be a phenomenal week, and I was right.

Not to mention, Jason was consistent throughout our entire trip—even my kids randomly said, “He’s the best!”

The grounds were absolutely beautiful, and the campers many of whom have been coming for generations-made us feel right at home. The fun and amenities for the kids were above and beyond.

I know it may sound a bit over the top, but this was our honest experience. I loved seeing kids riding bikes and making new friends—it was truly a family-friendly camp.

Jeremiah helped us when we rented canoes for the lake, which is just five minutes from our campsite. Not only did he set us up for a great day, but he was so hospitable. As the head of maintenance, he clearly has a vision to serve with excellence in every area, paying close attention to detail so that every guest’s experience is nothing short of the best.

Not one team member disappointed us—they were all genuinely great. No fluff.

There’s so much more I could say about why we’ll be back every year, but I have to mention this: it all makes sense when you meet the GM, Autumn. I can see why the team and culture are the way they are—she leads with a true heart of hospitality. You might not even realize she’s the one running things because she leads with such humility and by example.

She’s the real deal.

The beauty of this place is unreal, but the hospitality is what makes it feel like a home...