FT Belvoir Update

Well, I got a quick reply to my ICE comment and it's pretty much what I expected.

Thank you for your comment card, all comments and concerns are how we improve our services. DFMWR at Fort Belvoir spent a lot of time doing research and time developing the plan for our Travel Camp. The price is $60.00 per night and we are sorry that is not within your travel budget.
We hope that you considered giving us an opportunity to show you our Travel Camp even if you are not an overnight guest. The Travel Camp has 52 sites each are fully loaded with water, electric, sewer, cable TV, wifi, a picnic table and fire ring. Each site has a great view of the Potomac River and is located between two fishing piers that turn out great catches year round. The site of your choice will be 40 foot in length and 20 feet wide with a 10 foot by 10 foot extension where your picnic table will sit. The Travel Camp also has a community pavilion and fire pit for group gatherings.
We hope that you will make time to give us a try and let us know how your experience compares to other stays. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Again thank you for your comment and sorry for the disappointment but we hope you see the value in our Travel Camp when you visit us soon.

Have a great day,
Brianna

floridakamper wrote: Well, I got a quick reply to my ICE comment and it's pretty much what I expected.

Thank you for your comment card, all comments and concerns are how we improve our services. DFMWR at Fort Belvoir spent a lot of time doing research and time developing the plan for our Travel Camp. The price is $60.00 per night and we are sorry that is not within your travel budget.
We hope that you considered giving us an opportunity to show you our Travel Camp even if you are not an overnight guest. The Travel Camp has 52 sites each are fully loaded with water, electric, sewer, cable TV, wifi, a picnic table and fire ring. Each site has a great view of the Potomac River and is located between two fishing piers that turn out great catches year round. The site of your choice will be 40 foot in length and 20 feet wide with a 10 foot by 10 foot extension where your picnic table will sit. The Travel Camp also has a community pavilion and fire pit for group gatherings.
We hope that you will make time to give us a try and let us know how your experience compares to other stays. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Again thank you for your comment and sorry for the disappointment but we hope you see the value in our Travel Camp when you visit us soon.

Have a great day,
Brianna

Pretty much the same reply I got from my ICE submission. I followed-up with another email trying to justify my concerns on their high price. Especially since Andrews AFB, Annapolis, and Camp Meade military campgrounds are nearby and all are under $30 a night. I didn't get a reply to that email. I'm sure they may be questioning the decision for a $60 a night rate.

Based on the responses so far, it seems this MCG cares little about the pricing. If we exclude California, this it more than twice as much as many campgrounds and three times a much as most. Even King's Bay and it new and very well kept grounds is only $20 ...

So, I sent a little ICE note, and in addition have an appointment to speak directly to my Congressman in person (his staff, of course) next month on another matter, but will bring this up as a personal issue during that meeting.

The idea that we have this camping benefit all these years at a reasonable price, and suddenly the thought occurs to someone - wow, these guys like this camping / RV thing, maybe we should start charging like a business kinda churns my stomach a little - no matter what happens in our lives, as soon as someone realizes it can 'get milked' it gets milked.

Believe me, we have bigger problems in this economy that a new MCG ripping off the RV and camping community of the retired. It's not a requirement that MCG charges as much as possible just because they can ... I hope no one goes - and I do know one thing, we will never show up there.

I'll post my note and the response when I get it, and will let you all know what my Congressman thinks about this as well. He's very in-tune with his constituents and down-to-earth, and has helped us directly and successfully in the past on other issues. SO, we'll ask and see ... BD

monkey44 wrote: ripping off the RV and camping community of the retired.BD

And it's worse than just profiteering from the retired community, what about the active duty folks. That's got to price it way out of reach for the troops. It's just wrong.

I just spent a few days at the newly opened Fort Belvoir Travel Camp and want to provide some feedback. The physical location of the park is beautiful. Great water views can be had from almost all sites. Although there is no overhead cover as clear cutting was employed during its construction it does have a very nice tree line surrounding the entire facility. The pads are all paved and large with nice picnic tables and a fire ring/grill at each site. The only thing that I found rather wired was the pad layout. It is obvious that whoever planned them never set foot inside or out of an RV. The sewage dump is located at the rear of pad and the electricity/water/cable hook ups are located way at the front. Don’t know about the majority of you but on my rig all of the external hook ups reside towards the rear of my RV. Make sure you bring appropriate extensions. Wifi was provided along with cable TV. The Wifi signal was super strong and provided fairly rapid connections. The bath house was very nice with individual shower rooms/toilets with tiled walls and soft toilet paper not the GI 20 grit type! :woohoo: The laundry room was large and well equpped. There is a nicely stocked Class VI with gas located nearby. As far as security goes, besides being on post, entry and exit is controlled via a combination gate and the Military Police make routine rounds in the park. The cost has been reduced from the original $60.00 dollars per night to $40.00 per night and humbly I proffer that it should go down more as it almost compares with the cost at Fort Wilderness at Disney World in Orlando, Florida and it sure does not compare. I understand that everything is more expensive in the National Capital Region (NCR) where everyone is out for a buck, including MWR, but the rate does seem rather on the high end, just sayin... I guess for a few days stay in the NCR it's OK, but really MWR, $40.00 per night? :dry: Enjoy and travel safe. Shorty sends…

We've been crossing the country now for about five months - mostly staying in MCG's state parks and national parks. No where in any of these parks has the price been more than $25, and usually, under $20 for a night, including hook-ups, trees, showers, etc.

Any MCG that charges more than $20 a night (with VERY limited overhead) - including DC area with NO rent or site costs accept operating budgets is ripping off the veterans. Course, that's just my opinion, but if a state and a national park can offer sites for under $20 and manage, then the MCG should certainly be able to manage with volunteers and other costs not in play. To me, this is supposed to be a benefit, and now soon enough it will go the same way our medical did on base - gone. Always wonder why the benefits go first, instead of the staff cars and golf memberships.