Bonavista Campground

Reviewer: Not provided on Mon 04 Nov 2013 rated 9 out of 10.

Overall experience has been very good. Have had little to no problems as long as you follow the rules and get permission before you do any updates/modifications to your site or trailer. I have been there for the last few years and the experience has been enjoyable and I plan on remaining there for some time.

Positives: Camp ground is run really well considering the condition it was in when it was originally purchased. The owners have had over 9000 saplings planted and have been constantly doing upgrades to the camp ground. What campers have to realize is that it costs money to do this not to mention the mortgage on the property etc. I have personally been present when Louise has had to address unruly/agitated visitors. In the few years that I have know her I have never hear her use any foul language quite the opposite actually she has the unique ability to express her opinion/concern to a customer very diplomatically with same impact as someone who would have to resort to swearing "which is normally the customer" I guess that is where we get the work cuss from (customer). She remains respectful to all the visitors/clients and will stand her ground when customers think that they can snow her over or walk over her. The owners enforce the rules regarding speed/gate admittance which are clearly marked as you enter the camp ground. Visitors need to take the time to read the signs as they enter they are not just for show. As for the comments "they must have radar guns" in truth it is very easy to tell if you are going over 10Kph because the road is made of dirt and if you drive above the speed limit you will raise dust which everyone can see. Also it is not hard to judge speed when you see as many vehicles enter the grounds as they and the seasonal campers see during the season. Louise and Bob do have their quirks but name anyone who does not. I have witnissed several occasions where thehy have gone out of their way to aid campers IE. allowing them to pay montly etc just to be taken advantage of by the ones they have tried to help. In a nut shell follow the rules and if you want respect then you have to give respect.I hav

Negatives: People who visit the campground and figure they can bend the rules to meet their needs and they act surprised and get offended when they are confronted by staff. The primary complaint about the pool comes primarily from parents of younger children who could not be bothered to supervise their kids because alcohol is not allowed in the pool/play area. It is not the owners responsibility to supervise or babysit your kids. The weekend (non seasonal) campers tend to ignore the rules because they are either passing thru or don't plan on coming back. I have seen people come to the campground after hours expecting to get in and some who have gone over 50kph down the road and get upset when they are turned away. Rules are there for a reason just like laws and are there not only for the benefit of those who enforce them but to those they are meant to protect. If you break them then you have little defense just accept that you did wrong appologise and go on with your day.

Reviewer: Not provided on Mon 30 Sep 2013 rated 1 out of 10.

We have friends that have a trailer here. They have just pulled out and I dont blame them. The owners are very rude and do not have any class.
We were considering moving our trailer here until we spoke to others that were here.
I understand that this year they have another 11 trailers pulling out and that is not a suprise.
I hope they figure out that people camp to have fun and make changes to their attitude because I cant see them lasting long with the lack of people skills they posess.

Reviewer: Not provided on Sat 10 Aug 2013 rated 1 out of 10.

The park, is in a gorgeous area. The Pool they put in to offset the fact that the lake is often unsafe to swim in, is Far from the campground. There is no shower/change facility or washroom ANYWHERE near the pool. Being in an open feild Standing on the outside of the fence we were told our children can't be in the pool unattended, which there were attended and supervised, but because we were not INSIDE the fence we were against policy!

Positives: Location,
Cleanliness
Dogs allowed

Negatives: Pool is in a poor location. rules of the pool or enforcement of them is NUTS!
Play Structure, middle of no-where, wide open skies for the kids to burn. BUT Wait, it's out there OVER the hill from the campground because kids make to much noise for the senior residence who are seasonal here! Really, they maybe they should be in a retirement home, and not at a campground.
Campgrounds are meant for children, and fun. Have a disagreement with someone you might as well pack your bags and leave.

Don't buy firewood, it will be green, OR just Plain WET, and if the Wheelbarrow FULL, ya right,
Do not try to buy wood if it's almost dusk, because if the old guy can't see to navigate around his wood pile it's not safe and there's obstacles. Maybe they should hire a staff that can still get around.
By far the WORST camping stay we've EVER had, all because of the Owners, the management and their attitude, who claim to be child and family friendly but are anything BUT that. It is a nice park to bad the people who own it and run it (or think they do) should retire.

Access to one of the 2 public washrooms at night is dangerous to say the least uphill in the dark with a rut down the hill, where other areas of the park seem to have street lamps along the main corridors.

Reviewer: Not provided on Thu 01 Aug 2013 rated 10 out of 10.

Robert & Louise have created a beautiful Family campground. There are so many nice people here, we have been here for numerous years and we have seen people come and go and that seems to be the norm. This park was in very poor condition, but when Robert & Louise purchased the campground they had a vision and it truly shows that they wanted to beautify the buildings and the grounds. The swimming pool is fantastic, warm and very clean. The play ground was moved near the swimming pool so that the play area would be together. Robert planted approximately 300 trees and shrubs through out the campground. There are new trees in the play area, "Rome was not built in one day" everyone needs to remember that the cost of maintaining a piece of property that large takes a lot of work. We have noticed that there are certain people that do not respect the rules and regulations. When they disrespect the efforts that Robert and Louise have made, they disrespect our needs also. When people are rude and attempt to break and bend all of the rules to suite themselves, we all agree with Robert & Louise that these people should leave. Yes 11 left this year and for varying reasons. But we have seen so many people come in to look at the campground and when we asked if the empty sites would remain empty, we were advised that there were already eight new people coming in already. Every one should remember that BonaVista Campground is a beautiful place to camp for the weekend or Seasonal.

Positives: Beautiful and clean grounds and buildings. Owners have created a peaceful and quiet family campground. They are very helpful, and considerate.

Negatives: The reason people that are negative is because they were asked to slow down, take care of their children, stop stealing attempting to steal from the owners and seasonal.

Reviewer: Not provided on Tue 02 Jul 2013 rated 10 out of 10.

Grounds are well maintained. Washrooms are very clean. Owners enforce the rules and the speed limit to protect seasonal, children and all people camping. It seems that too many of the visitors can't read as their are 4 speed limit signs on the road. At the entry gates many visitors again can't read as the sign states that only one car can enter at a time, same as pay parking lots.

Positives: Swimming pool is meant for enjoyment, many families visiting the campground think that everyone else should supervise their children. All of the sites are clean, fire pits are empty when you arrive and their is water and hydro at the tent sites. Many shady sites. Many new trees planted in the playground area.

Negatives: Many visitors to the Campground are not very clean, they leave a mess on their sites, in the washrooms. Many of weekend people leave clothes around the swimming pool. Drop wrapping papers from candy on the grounds and we have seen people who smoke just through their cigaret buts on the ground when their are ashtrays everywhere and fire pits.

Reviewer: Not provided on Mon 01 Jul 2013 rated 10 out of 10.

Very friendly campground. Very clean and many flowers and trees. The owners enforce the speed limit because this is our children's back yard and they do not need to look. There are four signs showing 10 KLM. July long weekend, fire works committee and management share the cost. Great Band dancing singing, The Debenham Brother's entertained all with fantastic music.

Positives: Very clean, beautifully kept grounds and washrooms.

Negatives: People not respecting the speed limit and endangering the well being of our children.

Reviewer: Not provided on Sun 01 Jul 2012 rated 2 out of 10.

As a site visitor to family and friends, I will offer my opinion. The idea of the pool in the middle of a field, away from all facilities is odd, as well the idea of relocating the play structure from a beautiful shaded area overlooking the water is also odd. The addition of a pool and the move of the play structure can be explained if it's the first stage of an expansion. But I don't forsee or hear of any discussion of stage 2 coming soon.

The addition of the gate at the entrance can be justified, but it is not used in a professional way. It seems to be used to control everyones movement.

Warning to whomever decides to pop in and visit or stay, make sure you drive 5 KMH, because I think they sit behind the trees with a radar gun and will hunt you down if you drive at 13-14 KMH. Also make sure to find and speak directly to the owners (all members of the vehicle) if not you will be on the bad customer list or band from the campground.(where the gate comes in handy and the mandatory owner visit must be completed)

Most park members are great and all get along, all parks have issues some are more extreme than others, the extreme here is the site management.

PS: Have earplugs for children unless you are OK with vulgar language from management when things don't go there way

Positives: lots of mature trees, good size lots

Negatives: Does not seem like management is out to please customers. If you get on the bad customer list watch out.

Reviewer: Not provided on Sat 30 Jun 2012 rated 10 out of 10.

As per previous comment, I am not a nut job. This young man with his family was speeding down the driveway into the park.

He followed another vehicle through the gates that had been given access to the park. As you can see there are no other comments on our campground.

Positives: We are a family campground and the reason we have installed gates is to prevent anyone who is aggresive from entering and causing problems for the safety of our Seniors and children.

Reviewer: Not provided on Sat 26 May 2012 rated 3 out of 10.

We spent the last weekend at this campground. We were very disappointed with what it has to offer after looking at there website. The pool is in the middle of a field with no washroom or shower facilities close by. We were surprised that there was no supervision in the pool area. Also on the website it shows a kids playground in a park with trees yet the playground is in a field with no shade in the baking sun.

Negatives: Staff not very helpful.

Reviewer: Not provided on Mon 15 Aug 2011 rated 3 out of 10.

My family and I had been seasonal campers at Bonavista for over 7 years but we had to move out due to the owners attitude towards campers, guests and friends who visited us.
We also had several problems with the owner yelling and screaming at our family and friends who were coming to visit us. It got to the point that people did not want to come to visit us because they were scared of the owners. At this campground the owner treats you like they are doing you a favor by letting you camp there. There customer service stinks. There way or the highway is there attitude. Over the past few years family after family has left because of the same issues. I would not recomend this campgroud to anyone. You might be fine for 1 night. Its funny how its always someone elses fault other than the owners.

Positives: The lake is great when it is open to swim in. They have had a problem with blue algee in the lake the last 2 years with notices being posted telling you no swimming. This happened around the start of August both years.
Good fishing in the lake.

Negatives: Owners attitude. If it was not for them we would still be there.

Reviewer: Not provided on Mon 04 Jul 2011 rated 1 out of 10.

After accidently driving through an OPEN GATE that apparently was suppose to be closed, I was greeted by the female owner swearing and yelling at me. After trying to explain that I was new and just visiting a family member, she kicked me out for breaking policy. Don't waste your time even stopping there, the owner is a nutjob.

Negatives: Owner is nuts.