Does the good outweigh the bad at Hot Springs KOA Holiday?

This KOA overall gets very good reviews online with a few exceptions. So, let’s talk about the good first:

1. This KOA is very close to Hot Springs National Park. I would say you can get downtown within 10 to 15 minutes. I highly recommend that you go there and walk bathhouse row – you won’t regret it at all.
2. It is clean and the staff is constantly working to keep it that way.
3. They have a very friendly staff and a large store.

Let’s move on to why we wouldn’t be eager to go back (pictures Below).

1. The county road that leads to the entrance is very steep. In fact, it displays the deep battle scars of many rigs that just couldn’t handle that incline. If I were the owners of that KOA I would petition the county to reconstruct that road. It was an “Oh Shit” moment for us when we saw the incline.
2. The fun doesn’t end there as once you pull into the KOA, you must navigate yet another steep hill to their office, where oddly, there isn’t decent parking for check in. Then to your dismay, you will need to go around an upper loop to descend the hill to your spot (unless you are in the upper loop).
3. The dog park is behind the office – so if you want to take your dog there – get ready to walk the hill.
4. This campground is multi-level, so some of the sites (like ours) are built on a hill that steps down to the next site via a cinder block wall. In our site, there was no grass, so not great for having a dog. We would walk to the road with Eva, as that was the closest grassy area.
5. This KOA wants you to sign a hold harmless agreement (HHA) when you register. In a nutshell, no matter what happens at this KOA, it is your fault. This would include any damage that happens to your travel trailer, other personal property or your pets, even if it’s their fault. I can infer from this that even if they damage your camper – it’s your fault. This agreement gets borderline ridiculous as it tells you that “consuming animals, vegetation, and water around the campground is dangerous”. If you happen to have kids with you get ready to sign a second part of the form that holds them harmless for anything that happens to them. Obviously, an attorney crafted this, perhaps in response to something that happened once, or maybe just as protection for the campground.

When I go to a campground, the last thing I expect to get with my check packet in is a Hold Harmless Agreement. So that alone really turned me off from going back. Also, you will see no mention of this HHA on their KOA website. My feeling is that they should be transparent about it so folks can decide if that is something they want to sign before they go there. I can certainly understand that the owners are worried about claims, and want to protect themselves in a litigious society, but most folks are not out to sue a campground.

Does the good outweigh the bad? That’s something you will need to decide. The steep climb coupled with the HHA, is probably a deal breaker for me. However, if you have a small camper, or one that won’t drag on the hill, you may enjoy it here, many folks do. As I mentioned, it’s very clean and well maintained.