Tropical Palms, Kissimmee, Florida

I found out about this campground on the Internet, and I RV camped there in April 2007.

Two months in advance of our trip, we reserved a premium site for 6 nights at Tropical Palms RV Resort. The campground required that the entire amount be paid in full when we reserved it, so we put about $450 on our credit card to make sure we would have a premium site when we arrived at the campground for our big vacation.

We arrived at about 5:30pm. After an hour wait in a queue of RVs waiting to get into the campground, we were told that they had overbooked and that we would be required to take a standard site. The difference between the premium site and standard site was night and day. The premiums were fully paved pull throughs near the pool and store with free cable, Wi-Fi access, new picnic tables, palm trees, and nice landscaping. The standard sites were grass, some gravel and dirt in the back of the campground with no trees or landscaping. Basically, they had converted a big field in the back of the property to a parking lot for campers. Dumpsters were everywhere, and the view next door consisted of a construction site with tractors plowing and guys pounding nails into half-built condos. Without the slightest apology, they insisted we go to one of the standard sites. It was also one of the worst sites I have ever stayed in. When I complained, they said that the main Chicago office was responsible and that I should call Chicago. When I complained louder they threatened to put me in a tent site with no hookups. The staff was very unfriendly. (continued in comments)

Pros: The premium sites looked nice.

Cons: Unfriendly staff, overbooking, bait and switch.

Nearby attractions: all Orlando attractions.

With no recourse we ended up in the standard site, and they gave us a refund of the money we had overpaid two months previously when we booked and paid for the premium site. After setting up we realized that the cable box on the site they'd given us was broken. We had to pack up and move again to a different standard site. After talking with our neighbors at the campground, we realized we weren't the only ones in this predicament.

Needless to say, this was all very disappointing and aggravating to me, my husband and my children. We don't go on this kind of trip frequently and, when you spend that kind of money, you expect to at least get what you paid for. If you want to avoid the kind of frustration that we experienced, do not stay at Tropical Palms RV Resort.