Campers Choice Awards Feedback

First, is there a listing of all the CG's (in the poll) and their ranking? I looked but didn't see one, although I probably didn't look in the right place.

Second I would like to comment or give my two cents worth.
I have stayed at four of the top five parks or C/G's and agree that they all are very worthy of being in the top five, however I don't see how Ft Bliss was voted as number two. They have a beautiful park that is well maintained, but their lack of hosts or activities or local info about events was sorely lacking. The "after hours host" is an active duty Marine who was injured in Iraq and has been there three tours and is waiting to get back to full duty and back to Iraq, his attitude showed that he was just doing his time as the C/G host. Neither him or the office workers did anythinng other that the bare minimum to be helpful. No communication about what is happening, where facilities were, etc. They had a great brochure with decent maps, but they provided zero information without being asked. Basically I got the impression of "here it is, do what you want". There is no parking anywhere near the large laundry, shower or family room area, so you have to drive over, drop off the laundry, go back and park by your rig, walk back to do laundry, (you get the picture). The large family room is open but without anyone there your get a lonely feeling. The Shopette is right outside the CG and is they best stocked one for RV'ers, and very convienient for us. I guess I just got the feeling the CG was to formal, or stuffy or just that the staff was just doing their time, putting in their hours. Although I was informed that they could provide a us a dry camp if they were full, there is no actual area for dry camping. There is road noise, as it is right next to a busy highway, but it was tollerable (we were in the second row next to the highway). WiFi was only available at the "Family Room", not the entire park. The dog walk area is a joke, about a 8 ft by 3 ft sand pit.
There was no mention of where any "off base" shopping or dining facilities were or if the base had a hospital that had an emergency room or not. How about getting fuel, where is the base gas station? These are concerns and issues that I see addressed in the other top parks, but not here.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying it was not a very nice CG, just that with the obvious lack of camp hosts / workers or handouts with local and base facilities, I felt it should not have received the No. 2 ranking. I would put them in the catagory of "Best Opportunity for Improvment". Some attention to the little things that the Number one C/G does would truely make this park a real contender for the number one spot.

As a side note, I did not vote, so I really can't complain and I am NOT. I started to vote a number of times, but was to indecisive. I am just voicing my opinion of the results.

This continues to be the "Premier" site for military C/G's and I try to visit it regularly to stay up to date on reviews, new C'G's etc.

Just my opinion.
Frank

Frank,

Your comments are valid and always welcomed.

ALL military campgrounds were eligible. When a registered member of the website (5600+ at the time) voted, they entered the name of any military campground they felt deserved to be awared the BEST Military Campground in 2007.

Each voter used their own criteria to determine what was the BEST. I doubt a tent camper would vote for Agave Gulch, AZ or Fort Bliss, TX. Some people prefer more rustinc campgrounds, others prefer the concrete RV Park atmosphere. Of course, this voting was completely unscientific. But it was a true representation of the "Campers Choice".

I've been meaning to write an article explaining the voting, the results, and provide the final results for all military campgrounds that were nominated. CLICK HERE for a rough listing of the military campgrounds that were nominated and voted on with their final standings. Any campground not listed didn't receive any votes (hence, not even nominated).

Being the first year we've held these awards, I've learned a lot. I have ideas on how to make the process better next year, and always welcome anyone's suggestions.

There are a couple of issues here. First, regardless of the total vote count, if you haven't been to the MCG at Ft Bliss then you have not reallly stayed at the "premier" C/G in the MWR system.

There are several MSGs on the list that shouldn't be there and are not worthy of being a second rate dog kennel much less a MCG.

I agree with most of your comments, but respectfully Frank, I'd disagree with your statement that the top five are worthy of being there. I've been to all and would not rank a couple of them that high. But then that is MY personal opinion which pretty much validates Larry's comment.... "Each voter used their own criteria to determine what was the BEST."

Hopefully, the voters will have an opportunity to visit TX RV campground sometime before the next vote.

Larry> Thanks for making this a forum poll. I appreciated the opportunity to participate in the survey.

Regarding Ft Bliss, I could not agree with Frank’s assessment more! We have visited twenty-two FamCamps over the past four years, several of them more than once; two of them multiple times. During these past four years several fellow RVers have heralded the outstanding FanCamp at Ft Bliss along the lines of Skyking8’s post, “if you haven't been to the MCG at Ft Bliss then you have not really stayed at the "premier" C/G in the MWR system.” So, imagine our disappointment when we spent a week there February 18 – 25, 2008 and found the campground to be nice, but certainly nothing out of the ordinary!

Probably my biggest complaints are:
1. Dog run, as commented on by Frank – with the alternative being to walk the dog outside the CC and dodging cars using the road between the shopette and CC as a short cut, and having the dog suffer goat-head impalements to his paws..
2. WiFi support – The system was down when we arrived, and had been down all weekend long (February 16th & 17th), and was down more than up throughout our stay. I spoke with the responding system technician twice who was unable to explain the inability of the system to operate with greater efficiency – ‘down’ means not available even in the community room! Many CG residents traveled to the food court at the BX on base for their internet access.
3. Security – While I do not mean to imply we felt insecure during our stay, there is a total lack of security in the CC and anyone can drive/walk into the CC. With the high school across the street, folks are always wondering about the shopette, and who knows where else.
4. Lack of local area and base facility handouts, with times, locations and possibly, special event information. The FamCamp handout is/was limited to the map of the CG and base provided at check-in.

I likewise did not vote. With only 22 FamCamps as my base of reference, I felt I did not have sufficient knowledge of the almost 220 FamCamps to cast a legitimate vote. However, had I voted, Agave Gulch is our favorite and would have been our choice as the Best MCC – we have stayed there at least eight or nine times over the past four years.