Boyd’s Key West Campground – Key West, FL

I’m sitting in Boyd’s right now. It is a campground for loud drunks, blaring country music and loud hillbillies. I will never come back. Don’t waste your time or money here.

This was a very Nice Campground. The only one with a pool we could find. They had a cooler for the pool water and it was very nice. We asked to watch the game on the big screen in the tiki hut by the pool and they were more than gracious. They have 24 hr security and I had no problem leaving my grill and cooler outside all week. The ladies in the office were very helpful and accomadating with us. I realize the higher price is due to the land here being very expensive, the proximity to Key West and the fact they have a POOL. Stay where you want but from experience I know where to stay when I come to Key West. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.

I decided to end my 5 year relationship with Boyd’s Campground after a progressive decline in customer service and a rise in prices. I went back to Boyd’s Campground each year hoping that the lack of customer care was a rare occurrence but after repeated struggles with the front desk to book a site I have decided it is not worth my time or money to stay there. I booked a site for 4 nights – for 4 people check in 5/21/09 check out 5/25/09. I explained 2 people were arriving and staying for only 2 of the 4 nights was quoted 70 dollars a night on the phone by Carol. They retained a $75 dollar deposit and was told the balance would have to be paid in full upon arrival. Upon arrival my daily rate was increased to $80 a night and each person was going to be an extra $10 for a total of $100 per night for a campsite (this was not verbally disclosed on the phone at booking). I paid their new price in full. As a side note – I booked a large campsite that would have easily accommodated my party of 8 but as per their rules the site was limited to 4 people 2 tents and equipment and 1 car. I noticed this clearly did not hold true for other sites and was told by the manager that the sites with 5 plus tents on them had a long and special relationship with them which made me feel my 5 year relationship plus the extra site bookings for my friends each year meant absolutely nothing. The 2nd half of my party arrived around 12:30am Saturday morning due to heavy traffic. The front office was obviously closed and they could not notify management of their arrival although they were paid for already. The next morning the manager placed a call furious about the 1 extra car that was parked at the site for approximately 6.5 hours of the early morning 12:30am to 7am they then moved the car and parked at a garage in Key West to comply with the 1 car per site rule and we left for a boat tour. Mr. Jones called furious and demanded removal of the tent even though the car was gone. He stated that we all needed to arrive at the same time in the same car to be able to have 2 tents on the site. We told him we would be happy to pay the extra car fee of $15 even though the car was removed from his property. Their parking rules was clearly not communicated to me on the phone or when I checked in. It was obvious the 2nd half of our party was showing up at a later time as we paid for 2 extra people for 2 of the 4 nights we booked. Carol, who checked us in notified us of an extra car charge if they were leaving it at the site but did not disclose the amount. Upon our return from a boat tour Mr. Jones immediately showed up in a golf cart and demanded full payment for another site ($67) in order to compensate for the car that was not parked on his property or we would have to pack up and leave. Payment was made under the watchful eye of the manager and the 8 of us finished our so called vacation nervous and in fear of having Mr. Jones pulling up our site or demanding more money from us. I was escorted on a golf cart with Mr. Jones and his dog to the front desk where he told the desk attendant to charge the $67 even though their printed rules said $15 per extra car. In Mr. Jones’ word this was his compromise with us. Upon departure some members of our 8 person group stopped by to express their dissatisfaction with the entire staff and their business practices.

I was 12 years old when my parents had to stay at Boyd’s camp while we were waiting for Navy housing at Perry, Connecticut. That was the best time of my youth. Thank you for the memories.