Beware! This site steals deposits from young travelers during wildfire advisories, refuses all refunds, and demands extra fees to rebook for 2027. Book somewhere else! read more

South Beach Gardens Campground - HOW THEY DEAL WITH ISSUES - Campgrounds Near Me - Penticton, British Columbia

Do not book a stay at South Beach Gardens Campsite and RV Park in Penticton BC. You will be required to make a substantial deposit which you will never get back if your plans change for any reason. I had booked for the requisite minimum 5 day tenting stay as a way to explore Penticton. I was considering moving there once I sell my current house. Unfortunately two days before my scheduled arrival all the routes from the lower mainland were compromised by out-of-control wildfires. Those same highways, by the way, were subsequently closed a few days later. I did not feel it was safe to travel into the interior under the circumstances. When I called, the woman in their office who answered said I could come up highway 97. Ridiculous. I would have to travel a fire compromised route just to get to highway 97. I was told no refund of my $250 was possible. I suggested this was quite the cash grab to which she responded that it was no such thing, they were a friendly family run business. I beg to differ. Theirs may be family run, but families can be corrupt. Their office phoned the night I was to arrive to ask if I was planning to arrive. I suspect they were preparing to rent out the site I had booked and paid a deposit for. This is called double dipping and seems to be a habit of theirs. There have been at least six similar complaints against this business in the past two years. The South Beach Gardens RV Park (often referred to as South Beach campground) in Penticton, BC, currently holds a C+ rating on the Better Business Bureau while the owners other business, Wrights Beach, holds a D- rating. There have been additional and numerous complaints about intrusive security guards, double booked sites, garbage, and filthy washrooms. My concern in this review, however, is their refund policy. I would very much like my $250 returned to me. I had offered to change my booking to later in September but was told that would require another deposit and I would still not get my original deposit back. Stay away from this business. The South Beach refund policy is simply an unethical cash grab. This is particularly the case when you look at the rigidity of the policy even in the face of extenuating circumstances. read more

Under new management at of summer 2024 and sadly not the same. The new owner has let it get run down without watering the grass, not trimming the weeds and allowing full time residents. The full time residents have constructed all kinds of miss matched structures that just makes the park look horrible. We will not be coming back as well as a lot of the regular customers. read more

Dangerous power grid and narcissistic owners who don't stand behind it The ownership of this campground is dismissive about problems within their inadequate RV power grid, and was sleazy about not refunding us for replacing the $179 CAD power it melted, or their inability to run our ~13amp A/C unit due to the insufficient power during the heat. During July 2024, RV stall C-1 couldn't deliver more 98-104 volts of power. We met with staff at South Beach Gardens about power problems we experienced for the duration of our 4-5 night stay in stall C-1. During the entire stay, the voltage was inadequate and unsafe for most appliances, and my Power Watch Dog (a device that protects the RV from poor park power conditions) routinely disconnected from park power due to inadequate voltage falling below 104v. Healthy park voltage should always be 115 to 120 volts. Instead of consistently being 115 to 120 V, the park power was only 100 to 107 V when pulling 14-16A. If I attempted to pull more amps than 14-15a, the voltage would sag to 98 V or so. We could never get anywhere near 30a amps of power which meant we could run appliances including A/C. At the end of our trip, we discovered that the receptacle had also melted our 30 amp to 30 amp cord. The cable was no longer safe to use. At the advice of the campground's maintenance technicians, we went to Leisureland RV Centre and bought a replacement cable at a cost of $179.20 CAD. I've attached photographs of both our melted cable plug, which is no longer safe to use, and the melted park receptacle in C1. I have also attached a photograph of the receipt for the replacement cord. South Beach Gardens brushed us off for both the damage their power grid caused us, and the the fact that we couldn't run A/C and appliances off their grid. This was also the first park where we were promised 30 amps, but were only able to pull about 14 amps before the voltage sag became too great for the Power Watch Dog safety device to permit electricity to pass into our RV. I was incredibly let-down by the narcissistic response on email by the owner. We will not be back and would advise others to be extremely vigilant about the problematic power grid here. Use a Power Watch Dog or similar device to protect yourself during voltage brownouts during hot weather, and don't assume you'll be able to run you A/C or appliances during the day. In July, voltage was only normalized well after sundown. read more

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Don't stay here! The people that work here are so extremely rude! From the rude teens to the dismissive owners. The place is so rundown now. They just don't care about the property or their guests! read more

This is the second time my wife and I have been to SBG and certainly will not be the last. The campground is located a stones throw away from beautiful Skaha Lake and offers plenty of space on each site for a tent, picnic table, summer inflatables and anything else you bring on vacation. We currently have a 6 man tent, a 12 x 16' tarp, a picnic table, 2 bikes, a kayak and a car in our site with plenty of room to spare. Each site has a barrier that offers privacy from the adjacent sites and the tent and clothesline offer privacy from side to side. The bathrooms are very well kept and tidy. A very secure campground. Never have an issue with anything going missing and the staff is extremely friendly. We absolutely love it here. We do not have kids, but it seems as though the little scamps have a blast here as well with plenty of kid friendly things they can get into. Fishing, arcade, playground.. This place is good to go. read more

South Beach Gardens Campground - Base camp - Campgrounds Near Me - Penticton, British Columbia

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There is no one here. No campfires. Ok thats the rules. They made us shut off the propane fire pit at 11. We are just a group of adults talking quietly trying to enjoy some downtime and conversation...no music, no fire, no fun read more

Upon arrival we were told no mastercard. She was very rude about it assuming I called my reservation in and didn't pay mastercard. I mailed a cheque in and paid deposit that way. Nowhere on the confirmation states no mastercard! You are allowed a small tent with trailer spots and she didnt want to allow my sister a tent for her son. It is nice to be across from the beach and close to the end of canal that you can walk. Its like a KOA my husband says, but I'm sure they update over the years, laundry is always broken and the mini golf is pretty sad looking, needs updating! We only stay here cuz my sister does and its close to the beach!! read more

This is probably the worst campground I've ever stayed in. $38 gets you a tiny patch of grass with a picnic table and absolutely no privacy. There are no where near enough bathroom facilities for the nearly 275 available RV and tent spots, and the bathrooms were filthy. I didn't dare have a shower after seeing the thick coating of scum on the floor and learning that $1 gets you six minutes of water. The dish washing sink was a rusted basin propped up on cinder blocks. There is a quiet time in effect at 11pm, but don't expect to sleep through the symphony of screaming infants as South Beach caters to families. Quick math shows that this place brings in at least $10,000 a day, but you wouldn't know it by how much of a dump it is. We couldn't leave fast enough the next morning and will never return. read more

I am more of a 5 start hotel kind of person and have to admit that this was my first camping trip EVER. I was horrified by the 1 star rating of the previous reviewer and dreaded going but I had committed to it so couldn't bail. Upon arrival I was pleasantly surprised. Our camp site was right on a pond that was covered with lilly pads. It was so soo beautiful. the lots were wide enough, I don't have any frame of reference, but they were wide enough to park our car, set up the tent (it was sold as a 4 person tent but in my opinion it could sleep maximum of 2 adults comfortably) next to it (with a 3-4 foot gap) and still have another 2-3 feet of walk way on the other side. So space was not an issue. I expected the bathrooms to be filthy, but they were actually very clean! The showers were also clean and had hot water. as the previous reviewer mentioned $1 gets you 6 minutes. I never had to wait in line for either the bathrooms or the showers. In fact, most of the time I was the only person there. The staff were very courteous and respectful. The location was right across the street from the beach so we would just walk to the beach carrying our floaties and drinks. It was also a very short drive to Superstore, walmart, save on Foods, Safeway, London Drugs, and DQ. All and all our stay there was fantastic. I am not sure whether the same level of comfort and cleanliness can be expected in busier seasons like the August long weekend but our Canada Day stay at this camp ground was absolutely amazing. read more

Save yourself the disappointment and drive further down the street to any other campground. On arrival we were told no loud music, no talking after 11 PM. At midnight their irrigation sprinklers came on and soaked us all as well as our stuff. Our last 2 days the ladies showers were jammed and did not work. 1 day mens were completely locked and couldnt even use washrooms. No one ever in office or answered phones. It may be accross from the beach but it certainly was not worth the convenience. I would give a zero star if I could. read more

For those of you who are under the impression that this campground is against any of the LGBTQ, or believe the recent new articles writing this. You are extremely misinformed. The couple that claims to have been kicked out for "holding hands and not being a proper family unit" were actually kicked out for being rude and not listening to simple rules that were in place and most likely told to them at the beginning of their stay. There have been multiple family units around me in my stays here and none of them have had any issues whatsoever. But when you're blatantly rude to staff and tell them that they don't know how to run a campground and refuse to cooperate with their rules, you're going to have a bad time. Now. I'm not saying its paradise. The sites are in need of some TLC and being a campground theres the odd waterline break and electrical problem. The staff is friendly and try their best to fix everything as fast as possible but it is a large campground and it is understandably hard to maintain 100% all the time (god knows I can barely keep up with house and yardwork). If you have children it is a fantastic grounds for them with playgrounds and an arcade. I would highly reccomend it. read more

I usually don't do reviews but as I prepare my reservation at SBG as a regular visitor for over 20 years I have to say PLEASE DONT BELIEVE THE BAD REVIEWS. There is a reason why we go every year. Because we know we will have a great time with family and friends. And we don't need to worry about unruly campers after 11:00pm. I personally know people who were going to SBG as kids and are now taking their grandchildren, so what does that tell you. You cant beat the location right across the street from Skaha Lake and the weather is always great. The owners are fantastic people and who work long hours everyday. The grounds are kept as clean as they can. I always see staff walking around picking up garbage and cutting grass. If you want a 5 star resort go stay at the casino and leave SBG for those of us that know what it is which is the best place for a family vacation you could ask for. read more

We have stayed there for 15 yrs and have found if you treat them with respect you will get it back. I have found them to be very Accommodating and a pleasure to deal with. I will keep going back. My kids are now going on their own because of all the great memories and friends they have gained.So for all who want to come to SBG do it you will not regret it. By the way the price you can not complain about. See you there. J&G and Kids read more

this campgroung is in a great location but with that you have to put up with the owners which are very mean and rude. do not dare show up couple hours early for check in or phone and say have vechile problems and be day late cause they will cancel your spot.. it dont matter if you been going there 20 yrs they dont know you which you would think customer service they would...dont dare talk out side your camper after 11 pm cause the security stands on rosd to listen and if he hears you you get written up.. i understand family campground but come on if my little ones can sleep while we talk im sure other peoples can...not worth go for location... read more

We have been going to South Beach Gardens for 30+ years until this year when they denied our reservations because last year there was Teens in behind us camping and they were drinking ( one of kids 19th birthday) and got a little loud and using some not very nice language. Somebody with little kids went up and complained and they the owners came down and gave these kids 1 hour to get out they didn't even give them a chance to change there attitude. As I was saying they were drinking and my husband thought that they should be given a chance so he took the one kid up to office to try and get them to give them a chance because they were drinking and shouldn't be driving and he said they were related to us thinking that we have been at camp ground so many years that they had respect for us but that didn't matter the kids were out. So this year when I sent in our reservation they denied us because of what happened last year I am so disappointed in the owners and that campground. read more