Last camping season many people experienced more than just one problem with Cherrystone Campground in Virginia.
However, it was the very tail end of the season that outraged quite a bit of people, yet nothing was ever expressed in the Press.
The photos above are of actual camp sites. Many people who made reservations and drove all the way out to Cherrystone Campground were introduced to camp sites that were completely under water. Many of these spaces are actually pop up tent camp sites and the Office REFUSED to give back any one's money. In fact, if you wanted to relocate to dryer land, you had to start all over again and foot the bill for relocating and pay the regular rates.
I know of several people that experienced this problem and believe it or not, many people got right back in their vehicles and made the long ride back home disappointing their children.
Cherrystone Campground will no longer receive my business as well as several of my friends and associates. While Salisbury News grows with National recognition, the title alone will put a hurting on their business and this is exactly what they deserve.
As many of you know, my Mother passed away not long ago. The Albero Family was scheduled to go to Cherrystone for a Halloween Weekend but we had to cancel based on my Mother's death. I called Cherrystone and told them we would not be coming that weekend and explained that my Mother had passed away. Their very first response was, "What did she die of?" I was hesitant but replied, she died of cancer. They then said, "How old was she?" I gave them her age and then he asked, "When did she die?" I told them when she died and he said, "How long did she have the cancer.?" I then lost it and said, look, I don't know who the hell you think you are but this line of questioning is completely out of line. I asked for a manager and the same person came back on the line and said, "My manager said you need to send us your Mother's Death Certificate AND an ad from an Obituary and we'll then decide what we can do for you." I said, DO FOR ME, you're kidding me, right? I then said, there's no point in me going through all of that and then stuffing an envelope with a stamp on it if I'm not going to get back 100% of my money, (I had paid in full for the entire weekend, not just a deposit).
They said that's what the manager had said. I then stated, look, how about we do this. I'll get you the information you need and instead of sending me the money back, why don't you apply it towards another weekend next year. He said, "we cannot do that, that's the rules."
I sent them the obituary as well as the Death Certificate and we have yet to receive a credit on the credit card. Just as I had figured from the beginning, Cherrystone is going to keep my money and do nothing about satisfying us at all. Therefore we will NEVER do business with them again and this Blog will do more damage than they ever thought. If you don't believe me, wait until tomorrow and go ahead and Google Cherrystone Campground and watch who pops up on top.
They should have returned our money.
33 comments:
Joe, it's simple, notify the credit card company, did you fall and hit your head? btw, have you been to Castaways in West Ocean City, the old Eagles Nest, it's all brand new, and first class all the way, and close to OC.
I think I mentioned on here before that that place sucks. I use to live in that area when I was a kid and remember that it always sucked.
Sometimes the best lesson to learn is the hard lesson. Everything looks all good on the outside but as soon as something happens then you really see their true colors. It's nothing more then a breeding ground with young kids (high school) having sex on the picnic tables at night in the summer.
anonymous 9:11, it's very easy for you to make such a statement but clearly you spend no time there and wouldn't truly know if what you say is the truth.
anonymous 9:02, payment was made almost a year in advance. If they choose not to repay us, well, so be it. They'll have to live with this Post and the images that come along with it.
In the first place any fool that was stupid enough to go camping in the storm we had, deserved what they got!
On their site, it states "A refund will be given on cancelled site reservations providing we have recieved a minimum of 10 days notice prior to the scheduled arrival date."
Did you cancel within 10 days of the reservation? If you did, you have a point. If you didn't, then you had to learn a hard lesson. It happens to us all...no need to rant about it because YOU don't agree with the policy of a PRIVATE BUSINESS.
anonymous 9:26, by their own admission, a death in the family doesn't apply.
Nice try though.
Hey Joe you should check out Trick or Treat at Trap Pond. My family and i have been there for the last four Holloween holidays and its been great. Although it has a tendency to rain thats something we cant control.
Joe, that may be true, but it's their policy to decide that, not yours. This post isn't going to hurt their business one bit.
9:33, I guess that depends on the size of the bit. The death of a parent, child or spouse should override the ten day rule as simply a matter of common decency.
As far as the size of the bit goes,they have lost my business, and I am not sure if that is a bit or not, oh well.
9:11 that is simply not true. We have been going to Cherrystone since 1996 and this was the first year we did not go because the management changed and most of the employees they have no longer believe in customer service or good public relations - as witnessed by Joe's problem. I have never been treated that way before but I heard enough from others to stay away from there this year. Castaways will take most of their "northern" business anyway. That is one fine campground and I bet Cherrystone soon looses its 4-5 star ratings from Woodhalls.
Check out Roaring Point down Nanticoke Rd. They have great water views and the family that runs it is super-nice and accommodating. Heck - they are so much closer to town your gas savings will more than pay for the campground fees!
Cherry Stone has sucked for many years and the customer service has been goone for as long as I can remember. It is a shame because it used to be a great place but I as well will not be returning to that place.
There are two great camp Grounds in Nanticoke. Roaring Point and Sandy Hill.
Oh thats right Cherrystone is where all the East Siders go. The place has sucked for years.
Holloween at Trap Pond in Laurel was great the least three years. Down side if you use the water in your system flush it well when you get home strong iron content.
I heard at the one Camp Ground in Nanticoke a guy named Carsten will bring you coffee and donuts right to your door. He will even stand outside you R.V. and sing you to sleep at night.
WHAT AN AWESOME GUY.
As for Joe's beef he has every right to be angry. The line of questioning was way over the top. A simple can you mail the obit. would have taken care of it. Or jst refund the money to a long standing customer. They have lost my bit for sure.
We stopped going to Cherry stone a few years ago. The campsites were horrible, any type of rain and there was puddles all over the campsite. The staff was rude and most of the games in the game room were out of order.
The Death Certificates cost money. A copy of one and the obit would have been sufficient. They should have been more sympathetic first of all. They were out of line for questioning you. They better refund the money. What's weird if you type in Cherry stone, there are a bunch of negative reviews that come up. The place has gone to hell. Oh well. They will be sorry that they messed with you. Too late now. No I'm sorry or refund. The truth is out and before you know it they will be out of business.
My wife and I are avid RV'ers, once while passing by Cherrystone on the way to MB we asked to see the CG. We were refused a simple drive thru to see if we ever wanted to stay there. This next part is a bit gross, but many long time customers of theirs have told me of floating...things.. when the sewer system is overwhelmed by rain. Joe, if you want to nick them a lot more, go to RV.NET in the forums and post there what you posted here.
ANON 1253
I to0k care of that..
I started a forum on it and included the link to Joes site...
That will keep it going...
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/23419913.cfm
Joe you should check out a place called Tall Pines or Tall Timbers...one of those...in Saxis. I dont know if they do anything special for Halloween, but it's a cute little place and the folks are good to people.
ANON 2:27
The place you are thinking of is Tall Pines in Sanford (down from Saxis) and it is wonderful. The owners are truly awesome. They are kind of strict regarding kids and curfews but I view that as a good thing! Try it our Joe! You'll love it!
Pretty sad state of affairs when things like this happen. Rain is not your issue and is out of everyones control but they could have tried to accommodate people as best they could or offered another weekend. But to question a death and continue asking questions goes way too far.
Get in touch with your credit card company, they may be able to help.
Make sure that you also email them links to this site as well as RVNet (where I saw it).....
Tall Pines Harbor is the official name in Sanford. They are wonderful people, you won't regret visiting their CG.
Tall Pines has a great halloween celebration every year. Costume parade, trick-or-treating, and much much more. there are several different types of sites depending on if you want to be in a wooded area, on the beach, or in a cleared sunny area.
I'd like to say I am 100% behind you on your campaign against this campground.
That said, I have to say that I am more than a little annoyed that your web site is accusing me of "... Trying To Steal Copyrighted Material!".
If you want to block right-clicks, that's your prerogative (I was able to copy the text I wanted anyway), annoying as it is. But this is unnecessarily harsh language to foist on your readers.
For one thing, you can't "copyright" a single word or common phrase, so if that was the only text selected (as it was in my case), this accusation is not only annoying and arrogant, it is also just plain incorrect.
Secondly, there is a doctrine known as "fair use" which allows the direct (and even mechanical) copying of actually fairly large amounts of text for certain purposes. For example, had I wanted to repeat a snippet of what you said (properly quoted and attributed, of course) on my own blog, that is a permitted use (requiring no permission from you, although one could argue that it ought to be asked as a courtesy).
Moreover, had someone wanted to rebut one of your statements, or for that matter parody it, those, too, are permitted reasons for copying. NONE of these constitutes "stealing" as your page accuses.
Lastly, the entire material or any portion of it can legally be copied one-off for personal use -- say I wanted to make an off-line copy of what you wrote for ready reference later, when I rolled up to a "Cherryvale" campground and was wondering if that's what you had written about (my memory isn't what it used to be).
So, as a matter of principle, I am finding it a little difficult to support you in your cause, after you've accused me of being a thief.
Just something for you to consider.
(BTW, what generated this message to me was actually my attempt to do exactly what you asked, when you wrote "...go ahead and Google Cherrystone Campground ..." -- it's only natural to select those two words and paste them into Google, and I usually copy with a right-click, since my hands are not on the keyboard. FWIW.)
thanks joe, i will be cancelling my trip there next week.
And how much did you spend?
We stayed at Cherrystone for almost 2 weeks this summer in the rain, our site was flooded somewhat, but we stuck it out. It wasn't as bad as the pictures you have. The gripe I have is the roads leading to your site, the potholes have been there for years, they never fix them. You know as much money they make they could do better. The new trash pick-up is not working too good, in the mornings there is trash everywhere. I also camp at Tall Pines and it is so much better. Ray & Sherry are like family and they take pride in the campground and are always making improvements. The rates are cheaper too.
Joe, I had a similar problem. We scheduled a Halloween weekend and my husband got sent on an overseas deployment and I had to cancel. They insisted that I send them a copy of his orders before they would refund my money. How crazy is that!
I agree that Cherrystone sucks. We stopped going about 5 years ago. Went one halloween weekend, rained hard Fri night so we decide to go to VA beach to Aquarium on Sat morning. Got back around 3 pm, the water was up to my doorway of camper! The sewer hose was floating out of the sewer hookup. My carpet was ruined etc. This was a total health health hazard. I didnt have boots, so of course I had to walk in the filth to hook up the camper. They would not refund my money, and had nerve to tag us for an extra person, who only stayed a few hours Fri night!. I was so pissed off I called the health dept about the situation. They said it wasnt the first complaint. Of course nothing has been done. Dont waste your money here. The mgt is rude and doesnt give a shit. They invaded Joe's rights by asking those personal questions. I will never go back!
6:01 PM
i agree with you
It's a good thing we will have access to military RV sites when we travel up that area in 2011.
Anytime someone messed with a soldier, all it took was them talking to a friend or a group of friends and within 30-60 days, they would be closed because of lack of customers.
We traveled from Texas to Georgia this year and did not have any problems in the parks we were in. We stayed at military ones if possible since we are retired military.
I will note this in my camp book from Trailer Life so I know not to go there.
Was there for one of there halloween weekends ths year, had a good time overall but the people working there were the most rude employies of and where i have seen. Including to kids that were there.
Been and RVer since 1968, I have been going to Cherrystone for one or two weeks a year, since it was a KOA back in the 70's. I have always found the staff courteous. I have been there through some terrible storms, that close to the bay and that low to the water, you always have to watch the weather. I have had to pull out of there when the water was up to the axles, but never thought of asking for a refund, they can't control the weather, I figure "You pay your nickel and take you chances" like with most things dealing with nature.
The problem with their sewer is their system runs into many cisterns through out the campground, these are pumped out by the "Honey Dipper" and taken to the disposal area, they are too close to sea level for a conventional system. When it rains and the campground floods it runs in to the cisterns and the stuff that floats, floats out, why, because people don't take the time to put the cap back on the sewer hook up when they leave. Then the people who care, like you and me, get a turd on their lawn.
Cherrystone has a lot less hired help than they used to, the cost to run that place must be out of sight, I can't imagine the insurance alone, but I am sure the economy has hurt them just like it has all of us.
It's sad they didn't refund the money for a death in the family, but do you know how many people have most likely used that line, just because they changed their mind at the last minute and Cherrystone is left with an empty site for a week or two, but they still have to meet payroll and pay that insurance bill. It's like anything else, the bad ruin it for the good people.
In August, 2004 we were delayed getting there by a day due to a Hurricane, I called ahead and told them I would be there late, when I arrived I was still charged for the entire week, but as I was making my reservation for 2005 I was given a one day credit for missing a day, can't argue with that. I think if you're are courteous to them they will be courteous in return.
As far as being rude to children, they way some children talk to adults they need someone to be rude to them, with a foot in the butt.
Have a nice "RV summer".
Gary
Sorry, I forgot to sign my comment, mine was the one before this, See you at Cherrystone, second week in August, 2010. Have a nice "RV Summer"
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