Candy Hill Campground — Hotel in Winchester

One and Done

My Daughter and Husband live close to this area and all our families got together for their wedding. We were excited about this campground because it’s the perfect distant between us. I had read a couple of reviews about the rudeness from Management but I always try and look beyond those and give the place a chance. I followed the signs and stopped at the point where I needed to register. A man at the counter checked us in and called a fellow on a golf cart to get us to our site. I always appreciate that service. I needed a tape measure so I walked back to the store. As I entered the Office, the man that checked us in was telling a young Lady behind the counter to “Get that $!;/ out of here and why did they put it here”. I responded with “ooogh, someone said a bad word!” He looked at me in not a happy way lol. I had to wait til his inventory was gone before making my purchase. I told the little girl “Jaye” that I was happy he left the store and that I could tell that she was too. She was so sweet and informative. I went back in later for supplies and he was back. I ask if he was the owner and he said yes and his name was Carl. I told him that this was the best camping store that I had ever been in. He responded with nothing! No appreciation of a positive comment in any way. I just flat out ask him if he ever took a vacation and he responded with “sometimes”. Well, the man needs a vacation! I realized that this is the guy that all the bad reviews are about so I did my best to avoid him the next three days. Today my daughter and husband stopped by the campground. I told her to check in, pay the $8 fee each to sit with us for a couple of hours. Well did she do that? NO! And then they parked in the road which did not block traffic but made it more difficult to get around. They had broke 3 rules. No checking in, no payment and they parked in the road. We were sitting in the camper and there was a knock at the door. It was the Almighty Carl at the door. He was saying very rudely that if you like your car you should move it. Someone just missed it by an inch and they blew their horn twice. I honestly believe he was lying. 4 of us did not hear a horn. He continued about the possibly of hitting the car, rudely. I challenged him with. “I’m sure they would be polite and ask us to move the car before they hit it!” He started in again about them hitting the car. I challenged him again and then once more until he drove off on his little Police kart. I’m not going to let you, Carl, talk to me or my family like that without confronting you! That’s why you drive off! You don’t like being stood up to, do you? I went to the store to file a complaint to Carl, about Carl. He wasn’t their but I bet he was standing behind in the office listening. I told the nice kid that Carl was an “!$&” and I came by to file a complaint about Carl and to let him know I was there and we did not appreciate his behavior. Another frequent camper behind me agreed that Carl is not a nice guy. All the other staff that I dealt with was very nice. Why can’t you, Carl, see that you are running people off and just be polite. Carl wakes up everyday with a vendetta against his guest. He thrives off finding someone breaking a rule and does not have the ability to politely approach a situation. Please read all the negative reviews! If you want a place to relax and enjoy yourself, it will be hard to do that here. The Traffic on the highway is very loud as well, maybe that’s why 4 of us did not hear a horn blow, if one actually blew. Carl needs to back out and let the Staff run this park because he sure could learn some customer service by watching Jaye. Carl needs to sell this park and find something to do that he enjoys because he hates his work life for sure! But then again he may enjoy being rude and attempting to ruin peoples vacations and camping trips. Carl, this was a one and done for me and my family with you and your camp ground. If You camp here and Carl is rude to you,...

March 2nd 2022. My family and I have been coming to Candy Hill Campground for a few years now and evey year we come the owners are always improving upon the grounds and facilities. This is a huge positive in my opinion beacusse it means the owners invest back into the business in order to evolve and keep up with the industry rather than lining there pockets and being selfish. As for the staff I have never had a bad experience Jonathan and "J" are always professional and super nice. The owner is regularly seen in the office and he is super cool and always wears a smile. He's also a local volunteer fire fighter so it shows he cares about the community as well as his guests. Things which I noticed the campground recently have done. Are listed below.

1. Remodeled multiple sites with brand new poured concrete level and easy to get in and out of. Multiple sewer points of hookups due to rv's having all different sewer discharge locations.

2. Arcade room was also Remodeled with all new wood floors and paint. It looks great al the games were clean and in good working order.

3. The store is one of the best stocked camp stores I have ever seen. While here a fellow camper had multiple issues with water leaking and I lent a hand to help get him setup thanks to the camp store having all the needed parts I was able to get the repairs done on site.

While assisting the camper we also noticed the the 30 amp power pedestal was not working. we contacted the office and they immediately dispatched staff to assist us.Turned out that it was a bad 30amp breaker and they replaced it asap.

We enjoy coming g to this campground every year and we also have a big rig so for us getting in and out is stress free. They are conveniently located to Walmart, resturants, and are easy to get to.all the roads in the campground are paved and smooth. The sites are level and clean.

We love Candy Hill and will continue to make this stop part of our family memories.

(I will also attach pictures to Google review)

The Parker's Hudson Valley New York

UPDATED REVIEW MARCH 2024

We just returned home from staying at Candy Hill. Every year I take notice to what the owners add and or improve to there Park. For 2024 they are adding the following.

1. In addition to there outdoor pool they have poured a brand new concrete pad, which will be a water Splash Pad where children can cool down from the Hot summer sun safely and also add hours of entertainment for the kids (pics of the newly poured pad attached).

2. Gaga Ball area. This will be located just below Site E#04( my regular site ) .A large concrete pad has been added to create the Gaga Pit playing area. This activity has become very popular within the camping rv community.

3. One of the first things i took notice of was, they have purchased brand new Barrel Cars which will be used to give children rides around the campground. These new cars are either single or double seaters and are made of molded plastic with brite colors. I usually see the metal drum carts at other campground which can over time rust and have jagged edges. Candy Hill went above and beyond and spent the money to have these plastic cars which won't rust or have sharp jagged edges.

I'm a regualr here at Candy Hill, and when here i feel like family. The staff is super friendly and very attentive.They came to my site and picked up my 40lb propane tank so that it could be filled! awesome. I'm continually amazed on how they put money back into the park to make the customer happy and comfortable. The grounds are meticulously kept up and the staff are constantly working to clear brush or fallen limbs.They also keep up with trimming trees with there own bucket truck this keep our exepensive RV's safe from damages. I'm so excited about Candy Hill and truly look forward to visting year after year. Thank you to all Candy Hill staff for making a memorable safe place for my family to return year after year!. Carl the owner is a great guy...

This campground is a decent place absolutely ruined by incredibly hostile management. The area is pretty enough, though when people describe it as "near" a busy highway, that is an understatement. One side of the property is against said highway.

The camp store is the biggest, most well stocked store I've ever seen at a private campground, and all the facilities are nice. Are the bathrooms dated? Sure, but I care way more about cleanliness than decor, and while we were there it was pretty clean.

I was checked in by a gentleman named Wes, who was very friendly. Then midway through that a rather brusque man showed up and started asking me questions, and I can only assume this is the infamous Carl/Karl.

Carl ended up yelling at my wife that evening for driving more than 5 MPH. People are absolutely correct about the staff obliterating the idiotic speed limit in their golf carts; they zoom all around as fast as those things will go.

On the subject of golf carts, many RVers own their own for puttering about the campground. Not here. You absolutely are not permitted to operate your cart. They actually sell golf carts, and even if you buy a cart from them you still can't use it. They will seriously sell you a golf cart that you can't use. If you don't have buying golf cart money, though, please don't despair! They will also rent you a golf cart that you can't use.

The fees at this campground are ridiculous. When you book a site, you aren't actually booking THAT site, as they may move you unless you pay a $20 "site lock fee", which is beyond ludicrous and clearly just a cash grab. Checking in late? Instead of leaving an envelope for you outside the office, that's another fee. Need your car jumped? Fee. Want to use the 120v plug on the power pedestal? Fee. All visitors regardless of age are $10/day. You can have a 3 week old infant and it's $10 for the little monster.

At check in they give you a menu for a local pizza place, and you are told that this pizza place is the only delivery service allowed into the park. Per their Rules page on the website, any other delivery drivers must be met at the entrance to the campground, because if they enter the camp will try to charge the DELIVERY DRIVER the $10 visitor fee.

After check in you are escorted to your site by one of their employees, which I've never had to deal with before, but I knew to expect from the reviews. We were escorted by a guy named Eddie, who was also really nice. Wes and Eddie would be the only nice members of staff that we met.

My wife arrived later that evening, so I walked up to the front to give her the parking pass and show her to our site. The golf cart brigade showed up before we had made it around the office building and made us follow them AGAIN in my wife's car. Absolutely insane.

On day two we had a plumbing issue and had to enlist a mobile repair company. The only problem is that the company I used (and two others that I called) refuse to set foot in Candy Hill due to the management. By this time I completely understood their point. So we broke down the camper and left the property.

When we returned I passed the office and drove the camper to our site. BIG no no, apparently, as the Golf Cart Gestapo was waiting for us at our site before we even got there. This was a dude we hadn't seen before, and he was quite hostile.

I thought the initial escort was a super micromanaging attempt to just show you where your site is. Nope. He told me that they are required to escort your camper anytime you come in. He told me that as soon as we passed the office "she" (no idea) broadcast over the radio that "an RV was running wild in the campground". Those were his exact words: "running wild". Sedately cruising at 5 MPH back to your spot is running wild to these lunatics. And they clearly knew who we were, since they beat us to our spot.

I cannot recommend highly enough that you avoid this place, because at Candy Hill you're not just a guest,...