Indiana Beach / Monticello KOA Holiday

Reviews

Reviews are sorted by relevance, with the most helpful and insightful feedback listed first for easy reference.

  Annabell Folsom
8 months ago
First, I want to say how incredible Robin at the front desk is!! She was incredibly accommodating & her kindness was infectious. We told her our sons birthday is tomorrow and she told us to come back and there would be a surprise for him. She put together a note and little gift for him! He couldn t stop talking about it. This company is lucky to have her!! The campgrounds were great. Bathrooms clean. My only complaint is the swimming pool. It wasn t open when they said it would be. Also, it was very dirty. However, I would camp here again.

  Megan Smith
a year ago
Indiana Beach/Monticello KOA - Monticello, IndianaWe just finished a long weekend at this KOA Holiday located near Lake Shafer. We are typically cautious when we choose campgrounds and like to find good reviews and there wasn t much available on this one except a fair amount of warnings and negatives about the adjoining Indiana Beach Campground (violence, rowdy crowds, police presence).ProsFriendly and helpful staffClean areasLarge sitesFair amount of shadeLarge pool (cold)LifeguardsNice camp storeClean bath house and laundry facilityKOA side was quiet and very family friendlyFree trolley to Indiana Beach Amusement Park (we did not use)Fairly level sitesConsIt is literally connected to Indiana Beach Campground and they share amenities. Indiana Beach has 1003 sites ranging from primitive tent to FHU and brings in a variety of campers. Indiana Beach campers wear wristbands which make it easy to identify and we noticed they were the only campers that sped around on golf carts blaring loud music. However, it was enforced for quiet times.Security guards constantly walk and ride patrolling the camp grounds (pro and con because we have never been anywhere that needed it, but nice to know it was there.)Limited activities for a Holiday. It had a basic playground and the pool.The splash pad is located next door and free to use. The kids did enjoy it but you can see the general neglect.General neglect it the running theme with the amenities available.Most of the games in the arcade don t work.Water pressure was poor at sites and in the bath house.The showers are push buttonThe mini gold is surrounded by ponds full of gross, stagnant water.Mosquitos were unbelievably bad as were gnats and ants.General feeling was if we were close we would go for a weekend, but we were 3.5 hours away and would not drive that distance for this facility again.

  Jake Osselburn
9 months ago
Just nasty advertises has playground etc. It doesn't. The campground next door has it. No wifi-, no TV. This is a KOA Holiday? Not for us ever again. Playground equipment was broken and covered in weeds, swimming pool abandoned, cables and wires hanging out everywhere.

  Scott Ireland
10 months ago
Excellent place to stay! The park employees are helpful, and I can't say enough about the opportunities at this park. WOWPlayground: All very nice.Restrooms: Very cleanDog-friendliness: Hugh dog parkPicnic area: Plenty.

  Team Cahill
3 years ago
This campground was big and had great spacious sites. We ended up with a full hookup across from the gift shop so there was a lot of traffic near our site. We did not use the restrooms/showers so I don't know how clean they were. The KOA had a clean pool, big dog run and nice grocery/gift shop. The staff worked hard and they were very friendly. You can get discounted tickets ($27) for the Indiana Beach Boardwalk. A historic amusement park and beach/water park The Boardwalk was rundown, but new investors have bought it and are in the process of remodeling it. Still the kids had a great time there. The KOA is next door to the Indiana Beach Campground which was a massive crowded campground. Looked like a lot of fun. If you like big crowds. Will visit again in the future.

  Barbara
10 months ago
We really made the most of our stay and all the activities we wanted to do were withing walking distance. We spent a lot of time on the Indiana Beach side though. The cabin wasn't very clean when we came in and was lacking many of the kitchen items our local KOA has which made our stay interesting. The pool alternative was also dreadful but you shouldn't have to worry about that once the pool opens on location. I also feel like when there is a holiday weekend it would be helpful to have two people at the craft/activity area. A huge shout-out to Eva from the Indiana Beach side (Mini golf and arcade area). She was our favorite staff member. Our stay was really made great all because of her knowledge and helpfulness.

  Ryan
8 months ago
Sites need gravel left my camper a muddy sandy mess even using a rug. The sewer pipe stuck out of the ground so high that I had to pick up the pipe to dump the tanks. Terrible cell reception with Verizon. Terrible TV antenna signals 5 campers and none of us could get a signal. The camp store and arcade were nice with nice staff. The office was a disorganized mess. Double booked 1 of our sites. It's been at least 5 years since we stayed the last time and didn't seem like much improvements have happened since becoming KOA. KOA should be ashamed of this park.

  Gail Grinstead
8 months ago
We just had a terrifying experience. We were traveling yesterday and found this KOA that was only an hour from our destination. We decided to stop for one night since we knew we could check in on a Sunday. We had a wonderful evening and thought we may just commute this week to our job site. Then this morning my husband had a lady come ask if we paid. Then another woman drives up on a golf cart and tells me they want to see us in the office. We get up there and my husband is pulling up to the gate to let me out and they locked it. A park truck came up and then two other people surrounded us. We were kidnapped!!! I had my parking pass, papers etc. The young guy working said that our reservation showed for a different date. They were trying to accuse us of not paying. He even asked how much I paid. How rude!!!! We were treated like criminals and paid fifty plus dollars to stay there. We will never be back!!!!!!!!

  The Koz
7 months ago
Not up to KOA standards. Pool was dirty and the max # of people was not adhered to. It was a hot weekend but literally 150 people in the pool. It s shared with the campground next door. Small kiddie pool was not open. Bathrooms needed attention more. The Trolley to Indiana Beach in the morning was a very small bus and could not accommodate the 2 stops because it s shared with the next door campground. Sites were bigger so that was nice but tight getting in/out. Some of the sites needed mowing. No Wifi at all. Couldn t even get on the website where you could pay. Felt nickle and dimed. $25/ day!! Not stay! But there was no available parking in the overflow. The IN gate with code, failed often.

  Pam Haskell
7 months ago
Betty who checks you in. Is rude,confrontational, very unfriendly person.Once we got past her , we had a nice site but felt threatened by her when checking in.= They have a list of rules and on it it states they have the right to kick you out at anytime.My brother also camped there and told us she was rude to him also.We love KOA CAMPGROUNDS, we have stayed in probably 20+ and this was the only time we were treated rudely!!They only let you swim when they have a lifeguard, you have to pay for their wifi. Both of those are usually free wifi and you can swim with no lifeguard.

  Yami Yami Rodriguez
2 years ago
We had an amazing experience at this campsite! Staff, location, and facility was amazing! Definitely recommending this location to family and friends.

  Michelle Schupp
9 months ago
Great place. Shower be ready to push a button over to finish. Water doesn't get hot and smells a little. Parking lot is hard to check in, it's a little crammed. Check if pool is open, if they have no lifeguard no pool. If you stay at site 18 bring a canopy. Tree is missing so the shade is gone. Have to pay for wifi, they don't deliver firewood like others do sometimes. Security comes through so that's nice. Just need more things to do at campsite. Diffently need a bounce pillow.

  CINDY FAWCETT
9 months ago
Worse experience ever. Campground was packed. Pool was allowed to be way over capacity. Don't enforce any of their rules. An absolute circus. Cancelling all future reservations there. We have season tickets to Indiana beach but will drive from simewhere else. Too many issues to list. This was our third stay this season but the absolute worse. We are avid campers but have never stayed someplace this bad before.

  James Moyer
10 months ago
I made an error in our reservation for a week and had accidentally selected a site without sewer. After discovering it, I went back to the office and the new manager was very helpful and set us up in a full hook up site. The park is attached to the Indiana Beach campground. Everything is run down and poorly maintained. No staff was wearing KOA attire except the office staff. The pool was being repaired and not usable. There was no cable available. The wifi was pay as you go. Old stumps on corners of most sites and driveways. These should be cut off close to the ground and ground off. The bathrooms were clean, however, the paint was pealing off the bottoms of the walls of the shower which will grow bacteria. On the side of Indiana Beach, there are over 50-60 seasonal sites that look like nothing has moved in years. Porches, sheds, leantos all over the place. Looked absolutely terrible. There were 4 or 5 permanent campers on the KOA side near where we were camped. They were well cared for, but I found it odd they were allowed to build large decks, have large sheds, large enough for golf carts and tools sheds as well. I understand seasonal campers but every camper should have to be moved every single season. This campground does not live up to the standards portrayed by KOA.

  Donna K
9 months ago
Every site is drive-thru, trees on every site, we love a shady spot. There are a lot of old decaying tree stumps on many of the sites that need cleaned out. They do not pick up the trash like some campgrounds, if people leave a trash bag as they pull out it will lay there for days. Wi-Fi is spotty or non-existent and no cable if those are important to you. Nice camp store, large pool was open, game room was nice, friendly employees. Easy bike riding in the two parks (connects to Indiana Beach campground) and they share some facilities, connected by paths. Pool is on the KOA side, splash pad on the IB side. Playgrounds on both sides. Got a season pass to Indiana Beach and visited every day, saw their fireworks and the ski show. The shuttle system is unreliable, would not stop at the KOA pick-up spot, left us standing there after waiting, just picked up on the IB side and then drove away. Other things to do in the area: Saw a drive-in movie, visited Fair Oaks Farms and the Wolf Park, rented a boat and went tubing one day. Kept the kids busy, did not really miss the TV or Wi-Fi.

  Torie Kelley
9 months ago
Very let down by this weekend camping. Not sure if it's staff or management. Security is a joke, one gaurd witnessed our dogs get bite/ran up on by other dogs that were not on leashes and nothing was said to the owners. Pool was so over crowded, had to be over capacity, yet still letting people in. Had an incident at splash pad where neice was knocked down by a teenager, life gaurd witnessed and she chose not to say anything, and her response when asked why, "I've told them to slow down, but we can not ask anyone to leave per management" Not sure why management has told these lifeguards to not ask people to leave if they can't follow rules. How is that safe for little kids. DO NOT expect this KOA to do a report or invole police if your kid gets jumped. They will just suggest you take your child home, instead of going after those who committed the crime. Will not be going back, nor will be going back to Indiana Beach. New owners need to get things figured out.

  Jane Bongo
10 months ago
Nice park with lots of trees. Easy access. Level site. Pleasant and helpful staff.

  Scott Harrington
9 months ago
$30 per day to use my own golf cart. I paid it because I promised my grandkids we'd use it. A panicked young boy showed up Saturday night and begged us for help because a group of kids (All under 16, unlicensed) on a golf cart beat up him and his 6 year old sister. Police and EMS had to be called. The staff demanded that everyone have a bracelet to get in the pool, also demanded that they put the bracelets on everyone, then ran out of bracelets and basically let anyone in. The adjoining Indaina Beach Campground seems to be where most of the problem is, and the drunks and teenagers are basically allowed to run rough shod all over both campgrounds. The KOA was clean. That's the only reason I gave it a second star.

  Danny Perez
10 months ago
Me and my family just camp this Memorial Day weekend, first camping of the year, unfortunately pool was closed do to construction, they give us passes for a hotel pool, but no good pool, I supposed to check in early be pay a small fee of $20, unfortunately couldn t check in early but still got charged the $20 spoke with Thomas explain to him I was charged the check in early fee but I didn t check in early, he told me was going to let the manager Charlie know to see what he says, we ll I m still waiting, I know $20 is not much but when you get charged for something you didn t need to get charged and couple days has pass and you don t heard anything about it. Also Bathrooms were very dirty, good thing they have is a dog park very good size.

  Ryan G
9 months ago
Pool closed on hottest day of the week understandable but when I asked for a discount for my stay the rude lady snapped NO. Bathroom lights are stadium lights making everyone around the fire blind by the lights. Tree stumps everywhere They told me no electric scooters but elect bikes were everywhere. Trashy people from next door camp allowed to run their golf carts all over the Koa with crazy loud music playing. None of the KOA rules enforced. Place is a joke. Corporate KOA should really take a look at this place.

  Sarah Miller
a year ago
I booked this campground without reading reviews, and once I read them I had a internal panic attack because of all the negative reviews. I decided to keep the booking anyway and hope for the best! IM SO HAPPY I DID!!! All these negative reviews are people grasping at straws to be negative. Picky over stupid things. Most of which is not accurate. I ll start with my only issue first the rest is praise.The only issue I took with the campground is one that is statewide and out of there control, which is a lack of lifeguards to have the amenities open at all times. At times they had the splash pad open and would announce that the splash pad would close so the pool could open. They share the lifeguard service with Indiana beach campground and Indiana beach, school is back in session so the lifeguards have been reduced in staff.People were complaining that the splash pad and mini golf/arcade were not actually on KOA campgrounds, they are not and you do have to walk, while I do think there is misleading advertisement the walk is not bad and they share these amenities with the neighboring Indiana beach campgroundPeople complained about noise late at night and lack of security- We never had a single issue, in fact my nephew asked why there was so much security around. Granted we did go during the week so I can t attest to weekends.People complained that the trolly service to Indiana beach didn t advertise when the last trolley was. Guess what, why don t you ask when the last train comes People complained that staff wasn t friendly. EVERY SINGLE ONE of the staff members we encountered were beyond friendly and went above and beyond.The bathrooms cleaned daily, showers while push button are warm and the water stays on quiet awhile.The splash pad was said to be run down, guess what my kids didn t notice or care and even by my standards I thought it was fine.Another review the pool is green it s blue for any who are concerned, a little cloudy after a bunch of people were in it but never green! The arcade was so fun the kids had a blast a few games out of order but nothing out of extreme.The mini golf -people were complaining the water under the mini golf bridges was swampy. Who cares your not swimming in it just playing mini golf my goodness.

  Josh Bowman
a year ago
Campground was clean and quieter than the connecting Indiana Beach campground. Being able to use the trolly to Indiana Beach was convenient. The camp store was nice and all staff were friendly. Beware of the washing machines though. I had multiple clothing items ruined as the washers left some kind of rusty stains on them. This first happened at one laundry room so then I tried the other laundry room and had the same thing occur. Overall the best place to camp if you want to stay close to Indiana Beach.

  Holly Winder
10 months ago
This KOA was ok. Check in process was not very well organized. They kept shutting down the pool. Pool is shared with another campground. They did have a shuttle to Indiana Beach which was ok but hot!

  David Parent
9 months ago
Pool closed on hot day, told by office closed for cleaning and found out it was closed for several days waiting on a part. Park discontinued cable service and no internet. Told by same rude office clerk wifi was was out from storm while another office worker said it had been out for weeks. Been coming here for years since it was a Jellystone and will never return. KOA should be,ashamed

  Kraig H
2 years ago
The campground is super clean it's the first time we have been here but it won't be the last we ended up extending our stay bc we are so satisfied

  Nathan Blessinger
a year ago
Having been to a lot of KOAs with our camper, this has been very disappointing for the price. They must be on the verge of being a KOA. We came here for the splash pad in the campground and the amusement park, only to find out they didn't have enough life guards for the splash pad to be open. The splash pad was rather run down. They had the outdated 70's cold pool open but not the splash pad. The water was yellow at the campsite. Also, the neighboring campground that belongs to the same owners allowed their golf carts over all night causing extra traffic at our site. There is terrible cell service, and the wifi at the campground does not work at all. While the campground was clean and shaded, it is not enough for us to come back. Don't believe all the pictures.

  Czarnecki Family
a year ago
I reserved the most expensive cabin they offer thinking it would make things much easier on us for our stay. Pool was broken, splash pad isn t even KOA property and you have to walk to the neighboring campground to use it, splash pad closed an hour early each day so my kids only enjoyed it for literally 4 minutes before being yelled at to leave bc the girl was closing it, mini gold is also not property of KOA (just as the splash pad), WiFi was down, ant infestation in my cabin was terrible, found fresh mouse poop upon arriving from getting dinner, screened in porch was torn, the mosquitoes were so thick we were miserable being outside, shower was awful, and the Indiana Beach trolley doesn t even come into the KOA after dark. I spent entirely way too much money on a terrible experience. I will not ever recommend this place to anyone.

  Char Erwin
a year ago
Very disappointing. 2 stars only because it was clean. We love staying at KOA's but this was by far the most disappointing. First, we booked a concrete patio. We may have well saved the extra money because these things are tiny. Next there is no cable and barely any internet. They website states all these extra amenities but they are in the next campground over. The pool was a very cloudy color and cold! Nothing much for kids to do. The store always closed early. They have you sign all these waivers but they don't apply to adults. They said my kiddo could not ride his Razor bike that goes all of 10 mph yet the kids were flying around on electric scooters. Adults were on electric bikes and if you have your own golf cart, you have to pay to ride it!!!Idk how this place can call themselves a KOA.We never felt welcome. It was just a place to stay and waste our money. Definitely do not recommend, especially if you have kids.

  Donna Stepp
a year ago
My bf and I have been camping here since 2020. Great camping, but do you recent events, they are no longer allowing golf carts.Only the seasonal campers to have them, that's just wrong.If you're going to go down this rabbit hole then absolutely NO ONE can have them.yo your dec

  joycelouise1
3 years ago
We have stayed at this campground twice this year. It is definitely up to KOA standards! The sites, bathrooms, cabins and pool are very clean. The store is nice and has a variety of items. We love the transportation (trolley) that can be used to and from the amusement park. I love that there are even lifeguards at this pool! We are looking forward to staying at the new cabins they are currently installing next year!