Originally Posted by
Kent
I'm only interested in this topic because we are going to Negril in January and staying at Xtabi and have never been there or Jamaica for that matter. I read a ton of reviews and Xtabi had the best reviews of the inexpensive hotels on the cliffs. I went back and read some reviews for other places we like and there are always at least one bad one,
Our favorite campground in Hatteras:
I’ve stayed at a few campgrounds on the Outer Banks, though was not ready for the scene that awaited me on my first trip to Frisco Woods. Redneck Circus is the only way I can describe it; it was a perfect storm of the campground overselling, having extremely small campsites (right on top of each other) and being a holiday weekend.
Pro’s
-Picnic Tables – Every site came with a picnic table (of varying age and quality), this was helpful for food prep and other organization.
-Sound View – These sites offered a convenient view of the sunset in the evening.
-Kite Surfing – This place was a hit with Kite Surfers; there is direct access to the sound where the water is calm and only at waist height several hundred feet out. On some day’s you could count 30 kites easily within view of the camp site.
-Normalcy – After the long weekend people left and it felt more like a normal campground; I would only recommend staying here during the week if you are able to get away.
Con’s
-Noise – The noise level at night was unbelievable, with nobody keeping it in check. At 2 AM people were singing at the top of their lungs, playing music (competing genre’s from different sites), driving around in golf carts / atv’s (drunk) and setting off fireworks. I felt sorry for the families with kids that were staying there.
-Bath Houses – There were not enough bath houses for the number of people. One bath house was the most disgusting bathroom I have ever been in; feces everywhere (along with the flies) and I felt as if I was going to fall through the floor. The other was much nicer, though a far walk and still not able to accommodate the volume of people staying there (three toilets, showers and sinks).
-Garbage – The dumpsters were overflowing with trash; yet another sign of the campsite overextending itself to make a few more bucks.
-No Beach Access – You have to drive several miles to get to the beach / ocean, which the gate house staff will not be able to tell you much about.
-Expensive – Very expensive for what you get compared with other campgrounds; three times the price, shop around.
-Fires – No ground fires were allowed at the sites, though people had them anyway and nobody called them out for it. The gate house staff didn’t have suggestions on where to have fires (which beaches) or the permits required to have them.
-Staff – The gate house staff appeared bothered to help you and were not knowledgeable about anything.
-Camp Sites – These sites were small, oddly sized and right on top of each other (the campsite overextending itself to make a few more bucks). There were trees on most sites (half completely dead) that posed an obstacle as to where you could park the car, setup the tent and set the picnic table. There were instances of people taking sites other than the one they were assigned, and the gate house staff not wanting to enforce reservations.
-Sound View – These sites are expensive and do not get the wind you would expect to keep the mosquitos away and cool things down at night. I heard that people staying at sites not on the sound got devoured by mosquitos, though luckily I cannot testify to that. There is also lots of traffic on the road in front of your site to get to the water and other areas of the campground.
Our favorite campground in the VA mountains:
This was our first time traveling and pulling our camper up into the mountains. In addition we were meeting friends at the campground who were gonna rent a couple of cabins. When we arrived we were informed that the original campsite we had reserved had been given to another camper to accommodate their request to be closer to another group. We were told in the future to add verbiage to our reservation stating " do not move or alter reservation due to meeting friends, etc...
Warning, they do not charge you per campsite but per person staying on your campsite. This is not a family friendly policy. The other issue we came across was flies. We understand there will always be bugs but by day two I felt like I was becoming "Lord of the Flies". The campground overall is nice and the location is great. Close to Charlottesville and the Blue Ridge parkway. If it's open we may return during the winter as it was fairly close to a Ski Resort.
Having never been to Jamaica or Negril, and not knowing Misti1, I am wondering why so hell bent on destroying the reputation of this place? Your review goes beyond info for the traveler JMO. I read some of your other reviews also and you are quite critical, maybe there is a food critic's job out there for you?
