Holiday Acres Camping Resort - Garden Prairie, Illinois

Paul B.

DO NOT STAY HERE. Service was terrible. Grounds were not kept up. Theirs a reason why no one was there. Only bathrooms on property were being “remodeled” and we weren’t allowed to use them. I was told you have to go across the street and use the restaurant bathroom. We didn’t even stay the night. Just found another campground close by.

Kevin F.

I have never had a worse experience with customer service. I don't usually get upset if it's small inconveniences but this was over the top.

I booked a site on August 29th for a single night on the 20th of September. I chose a tent site specifically to be by the river. I had to change the day for the 21st due to other campers in my group and their schedules. The woman in the phone was extremely rude and acted as if this was a huge inconvenience to her.

I then received an email on September 15th, 6 days before the night I reserved, that stated that I had to be charged extra for a change in the booking. I, as most people do when they receive an email, skimmed the email and paid the fee.

I arrived at the campsite office and the woman woman told me that we had been moved off of the island onto a site in the middle of the camp, away from the river. I was refused a refund after she had printed up the email and pointed the fine print at the bottom of it stating that we were moved. Turns out that the extra fee was because that I was moved to another site and I had too many people for it.

Good customer service representatives of any business that cares would have called the customer to verify that they understand the change.

I will never return to this campground and I will recommend to anyone to stay far away.

Phil K.

We love Holiday Acres. We have been seasonals here for over 7 years. New owners purchased a few years ago, when purchased it was in a bad state! What a difference now, it gets better and better each year. Sites are big and beautiful! This campground is loaded with an abundance of trees and green grassy areas. No cement pads here!
People and management are wonderful. Many many wonderful activities each weekend.
We could not be happier.

Christine R.

My son and his family stay here.. we recently went for a week stay with them. I thought it was a nice campground.. unfortunately the weather was still a little cool so the pools were closed but they absolutely looked clean and taken care of. There are laundry rooms that you can pay thru an app and that was convenient. The showers were always very clean and no funny smells. There is a small restaurant / bar their, unfortunately we didn't get to go. Yes I am aware there are train tracks there but honestly I didn't hear any trains often. A few times yes but nothing that was annoying. I do know there was lots of rain a few weeks before we came and my son's site was flooded. There are multiple playgrounds for the kids. Honestly a couple of them could be updated just a little but there is one that's quite large that my grandson played on for hours. I cannot speak on the price because we stayed in my son's friends RV that was already parked there. It was very peaceful and not a lot of neighbors around our lot. I would absolutely go back and pay to stay

Chrystine S.

I have been a seasonal for 3 years and will be returning next year. Here are my pros and cons if you're considering a stay:

Pros - The sites are huge and grass, most are fairly level with little adjustment needed. Great if you have kids or dogs. If you're looking for a concrete parking lot campground, you'll be disappointed. The river is great for fishing and kayaking. There are many spots downstream to get out of if you go in at the campground. It's not a difficult paddle. The staff enforces the rules, especially with dogs. That may not be a pro for folks that want to let their dogs run wild and be a nuisance to everyone, but it makes me happy that staff enforce leash rules so strictly. As a seasonal, there are some rules on what you can do with your site because of state and local laws, but for the most part, you have the freedom to make your space your own. The people here are nice. The campground runs events every weekend, and the seasonals do potlucks, bags tournaments, margarita nights, and all sorts of things on their own. Usually, everyone is welcome. Lastly, IT'S QUIET. Sure, there's normal noise from the road during daytime working hours and occasionally from neighbors, but I love sitting outside by the river drinking my coffee and listening to the birds in the morning. Or at night, sitting by the fire having a drink listening to the crickets and watching the fireflies. Aside from certain holiday weekends (especially Halloween!), this isn't a party campground.

Cons: The campground is in the floodplain. That means higher than normal mosquitoes and lots of poison ivy. They spray for mosquitoes weekly, but still wear bug spray and mind any foliage with 3 leaves. This also means that after heavy rains, the river can and does flood into the campground. When that happens, they have to keep people off wet sites, or else you'll sink in the mud. Because of the floodplain, most sites do not have sewer hookups. There are train tracks nearby, but trains are short and infrequent. The campground has no control over these things. The campground is also on groundwater wells and can sometimes have an odor, but that's the way it is in this whole area. The new owner took over shortly before I started coming here and is still renovating the bathrooms, converting sites to 50 amp, and repairing the golf course. It takes time.

I think so long as you come here understanding the things above you'll like it. If you pick only one weekend, pick Halloween Weekend. It's SO fun!!

Victoria S.

Have been camping here for years, but sadly will never go back! Owner and employee extremely rude. We tried calling and went to office to check in, but no one answered around 5pm. We decided to set up our campsite (2yr old 5th wheel) and planned on going back the next morning to check-in & pay…because that was always acceptable in the past. We live just 15 minutes away and often do impromptu camping trips with the kids & friends. Two hours after we were set up the owner came and kicked us out. He did not care that we went to the office to try to check in or that we had called 3 times prior and got no answer before getting there. He wouldn’t take our money and he used extremely foul language in front of 5 young kids. Honestly the price is too high for how rundown the place is, but again it was in impromptu trip and we were willing to pay for the convenience of the location. Not a place that we will be giving our money to going forward. It’s no wonder that the majority of the seasonal campers have left and the transient sites all sit empty. SMH We ended up just camping at home, their loss. I guess they don’t like local repeat customers or their money. We will be using the County and State parks now before going this trashy campground ever again.

Susan S.

I would love the owner to contact me before I write my review. You haven't been here since we checked in and I would like to give the benefit of the doubt that you don't know how it is when you're gone.

Review: Holiday Acres Campground

Our recent stay at Holiday Acres Campground was nothing short of a nightmare. From the moment we arrived, we felt unwelcome and targeted by both the staff and the locals. It's hard to say definitively if this place was racist, but the behavior we experienced certainly felt that way.

Firstly, we were harassed and intimidated by the locals. They would drive around our campsite at night, yelling racial slurs and other offensive comments. This created a disturbing and unsettling atmosphere that made our stay extremely uncomfortable.

The staff were equally unpleasant. We were falsely accused of peeing in the pool without any evidence, which seemed more like an excuse to target us than a genuine concern. Additionally, one staff member consistently displayed unprofessional and rude behavior. She berated one of us and treated him condescendingly, as if he were a boy rather than an adult. She exhibited this condescending behavior with the locals as well.

Requests for assistance were met with eye rolls and obvious reluctance. Her dismissive and offensive attitude was consistent throughout our stay. The final straw came when we were kicked out for calling her a name after she persistently treated us with disrespect. While name-calling isn't appropriate, her behavior towards us was intolerable and unprovoked.

The facilities were also abysmal. The bathrooms constantly smelled like fart, possibly due to the high sulfur content in the water, which only added to the overall negative experience. The showers were yellow with orange bits that could be scraped off, and the lack of cleanliness was appalling. The playgrounds looked so poorly maintained that you could get a splinter just from looking at them.

To make matters worse, we were falsely accused of stealing by a local camper. Despite promises to review security footage, no evidence was provided, and no apology was offered for the false accusation.

The pool area was another disappointment. The pool was cold, likely because it had just been filled. While the pool area itself was nice, it lacked lounging chairs, which would have enhanced comfort and relaxation.

Overall, our experience at Holiday Acres Campground was horrific. The combination of harassment from locals, the hostile attitude of the staff, the filthy facilities, and the lack of amenities made for an extremely uncomfortable and distressing stay. I would strongly advise anyone considering this campground to stay far away, especially if you are looking for a welcoming and respectful environment.

Hailey G.

BEWARE !!! IF YOU ARE A PERSON OF COLOR AVOID THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE!!

We went camping this past week here and I would never come back!!!!
We are a bi racial family and the whole time we were discriminated against and constantly accused of doing things we never did like peeing in the pool or stealing peoples goggles. It was unreal!!! I am so ashamed there are still such hateful people in this world

Went to the bar and my husband and I were served right away. Great!! But my cousins were ignored and not even acknowledged. They eventually had to ask for service after several people were helped when they were there first.

The other residents were having parties until 3 am and nothing was done about it. They were yelling and screaming for hours. But that didn’t get addressed with them. Then my 7 year old daughter got jumped by kids at the park and again nothing was done and no one cared. Just unreal!!

We were eventually kicked out and given 2 hours after getting into with the manager. All because we told them that we were being targeted but, she didn’t like it so we got kicked out. These are just SOME of the experiences we ran into. There is a whole lot that went down.

You people should be ashamed of your selfs!!