Recreation Plantation RV Resort — Local services in Lady Lake

Overall we had a very good experience here. Pros: 1.)The night manager is absolutely amazing. I love that man! He's professional, but approachable, kind, has a healthy sense of right and wrong, and genuinely cares about any issue you need help with. He's always available and drops what he's doing to help. 2.) Great activities. Bingo was my favorite! 3.) Safe to walk at night. Well-lit, but not intrusive yellow lighting that doesn't blind you. It's great! 4.) Nice pool area. 5.) Most residents (like 98%) are really nice and fun! 6.) The manager is very attentive to needs and available to help. Genuinely cares and looks into or helps with any issues or questions. 7.) Ample lot size can accommodate multiple vehicles. We had a Ford F-350 and a compact. 8.) Very conveniently located to many shops and stores. Vitamin Shoppe and Target are abt 1mile down the road. 9.) Lady Lake USPS rocks! 10.) Neighbors are quite considerate about noise, quiet hours, and smoking. 11.) Most neighbors are very good with their animals and have good and safe dogs. 12.) Definitely handicap accessible with ample parking and accomodations. Cons: 1.) Pool water is stinky! Boy does it smell bad! They need a better purification system and to be more rigid about people showering off before they get in. There's often a visible film over the water and in over a year I never saw them or heard of them draining or refilling the pool. 2.) Exercise room needs updated and better equipment. A treadmill especially. 3.) Maintenance/lawn cutting crew needs work. Whoever the boss guy is (that also watches people's homes while they're gone) is so lazy! Many people had water damage because he just didn't bother to look, but collected money from them anyway. Our neighbor included. I work from home and never saw him check their residence. The Hispanic men on the crew visibly work their butts off and do 90-99% of the work. Lawns are rarely cut. Maybe once every 2 months. It looked really bad. At one point our neighbors grass had some pieces that stuck up over a foot. 4.) Some sick-in-the-head neighbors were trying to poison some kittens and a neighbors dog. Animal Control was ticked as hell when they found out. Luckily the managers were as concerned as we were! 5.) A specific neighbor had a dog who had separation anxiety and barked for hours nonstop every day. Within 2 months 3 of the neighbors moved away and the last two were trying to sell specifically because of the nonstop barking. It got so bad we started a log book (our neighbors asked us to too) for the managers and Animal Control. The neighbors were extremely combative and rude despite our very delicate approach when it first started happening. We even offered to babysit the dog for free when they were gone or to help pay for a vets visit or a kennel for when they're away (which was more than 9 hours most days). They said they would give the dog CBD oil, but after 5months of that not happening and their increasingly aggressive behavior, we changed tactics. Fortunately the staff here were very, very helpful and understanding and always did the right thing. 6.) Getting mail during summer can be challenging! Sometimes the office just closes whenever. They don't necessarily stick to the hours. 7.) Your propane takes FOREVER to be filled and definitely isn't delivered. The price is good, but one time it took over 2 weeks for one tank. 8.) After almost 2 years, the gate for the community still is broken. Definitely makes us feel less safe. 9.) Water pressure leaves something...

Recreation Plantation RV Resort is not an RV resort. It is a trailer park with grass parking for RV’s around the perimeter of the park. I’m writing this review so that other RVer’s will not be misled the way I was by the 5 star reviews on their website. Traveling for the last two years and primarily staying in RV resorts I did a search for just that when planning an overnight stop from Florida to SC. I made an online reservation using their website but never got an email confirmation so I called to verify. At first they said I didn’t have a reservation even though my credit card had been charged for the amount of a one night stay. They finally said they found the reservation and gave no special instructions as to what to do if we checked in after the office closed at 3:30. When we arrived around 4:00ish there was a closed sign on the door with no after hours check in box, only a number to call for the night manager. I called the number, no answer. I then proceeded to walk to the night manager’s trailer and knock on the door, no one was home. His neighbor saw me roaming around trying to figure out what to do and offered to help. She walked me back to the office which as mentioned was closed and she tried to call both the night manager’s number as well as the emergency number, no answer. After standing in the parking lot for quite awhile she finally said just pick a transient site and I’ll write a note telling him which site you’re on. We reluctantly picked a site because we didn’t know what else to do. The only other option was to sit in the parking lot until someone decided to call back. We stayed on site 4 which was in plain view of the night manager’s trailer. We thanked the lady for helping us and she was clearly as frustrated as we were. We expected a phone call or visit from the night manager at some point apologizing for his lack of consideration for arrivals once the office closes, we heard nothing. We walked passed his trailer around 9:00pm and a golf cart and vehicle were there so not sure why he never contacted us. This morning as I prepared to leave I spoke briefly with the night manager as he rode by on his golf cart. He stated at first that he had gone to the drug store and that’s why he wasn’t there but I said we were in the parking lot at 4:00 and his drug store run was that night, he said around 8:00pm. Then he said he was actually helping someone and didn’t know we’d called because the number that I as well as his neighbor called was his personal phone and he didn’t have it with him. Regardless of what he was doing or where he was as night manager his responsibility was letting the after 3:30 arrivals know where to park for the site they’ve paid for in advance. I’m sure this is a lovely place for snowbirds and people who live there full time but it is not an RV resort by any stretch of the imagination. If my reservations would’ve been for more than one night I would’ve demanded my money back. An RV resort has full concrete pads in a nicely landscaped park where the RV’s are not considered transients to be parked in the dirt/grass on the perimeter of the actual park. Their website needs to spell this out by labeling it a trailer/modular home park with parking for RV’s. At over $60.00 a night I expect at the very least to have someone available to tell me where my site is without having to roam around looking for help. Mr. Night Manager, you need to give a portion of your paycheck to your neighbor who was thankfully, kind enough...

I might’ve given this place three stars for being incredibly average. However, after my interaction with the owner/manager (a stout, surly “gentleman” with wavy, gray hair), a one-star review seems more than generous.

The office closes its doors at 4 pm, early by most standards. I was directed to the evening manager’s house/trailer a few steps away and was greeted by Brian, a pleasant man deserving of five stars. He gave me the lowdown and the lay of the land sent me to my space. After parking and attempting to hook-up, 50A service was unavailable (it was later determined) due to bad outlet. Brian & Co. attempted to get it remedied that evening to no avail and I was asked if I would rather move or run my generator and use my batteries for the one night. I opted for the latter as it was already dark and I’m not a fan of backing my 45’+ 5th wheel in the dark unless necessary.

I went to the office the next morning and told the three ladies working there of my situation and they assured me the issue would be fixed that morning—it was. I told them that I’d had to run my generator for several hours to charge my batteries to last the evening. They told me, that since I’d contracted for FHU (Full Hook Ups), to take my propane tank to the shed and have it filled and that they would credit me for the propane I used. They, too, gave 5-star service.

I dropped my propane tank off at the shed on Wednesday. When I went to pick it up on Thursday, it appeared not to be filled so I went into the shed and asked the surly man (see paragraph one) about the status of my tank. He seemed out of sorts that I was in his work area and told me the tank had been filled. I asked him where the fill receipt was and he told me the wind must’ve blown it off. I told him I needed the receipt in order to be reimbursed for the propane. That’s when the firestorm started that led to the lack of stars in the review.

He went on a tirade about how "that’s not how he does things" and “who authorized that?” and so on and so forth. He asked me which person had authorized my “free propane.” I responded with, “I don’t know. There are three women in the office.” To which he barked, “I know how many women work there!” I pivoted and walked away (not wanted to be the further target of his ire), returned with my truck and picked up my tank. When I weighed it back at the trailer, they had failed to even refill the tank. The entire episode was a domino-effect of disappointment and frustration.

Not only will I never stay here again, I will advise everyone with whom I come in contact to avoid this Shakespearean tragedy of RV parks. The “Recreation Plantation” is more of a group of local settlers ruled by the iron fist of the heavy-set man with the gray hair. It seems to me that if you’re not one of his flock, you are nothing more than an annoyance. NOT...