The Retreat RV Resort

I would have given them 5 Stars if I hadn’t had 2 emails confirming the spot I reserved, and on arrival found out it was occupied. The spot I was given was adequate; however, I had reserved an end spot because it would have been easier to get into due to the length of my rig.

As for the resort itself, it is much improved over the last few years. The new pool, clubhouse, and laundry are extremely nice! The additional sites are long, level concrete pads with asphalt roads.

My only criticisms are that it would’ve been better if the Pull-Through site were set up the same as the Covered, Back-in sites; wider parking and patio areas. Also, the trees that have been planted between the new sites will become problematic as they mature; they will likely overhang the pads, and put you at risk of scratching the sides of your rig or damaging your roof if not properly pruned.

With that said, I will be staying here during any future stays in Lubbock, and have no reservations in recommending this RV Resort.

This was our first visit and we absolutely loved the park! The staff are all very friendly and helpful. The park is VERY nice with wide concrete streets and large pads with utilities placed appropriately. The grounds are meticulously maintained with ample trash containers available. Very pet friendly with lots of grass. They even allow you to clean your rv if you like or utilize the services of a mobile service. There are plenty of long term residents who maintain the reasonable, high standards established by The Retreat. We will DEFINITELY be back! Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Pros

Good location. Conveniently located to Lubbock and Texas Tech University with less than a 15 minute drive to just about anywhere around campus.

Newly constructed and clean. When we stayed here this campground was still under construction with several newly constructed covered spots located at the back of the property with uncovered sites occupying the majority of the front of the property.

Flat pads + Grass. Fully paved and very flat pad sites with some grassy areas in between them.

Easy access to new hookups. Water, sewer, 50 amp, 30 amp, cable, as well as non-potable water connections are plentiful across the property.

Lots of dumpsters. We were able to find a place to dispose of our trash within 100 feet of just about every site.

More trees than you would typically find in Lubbock, Texas, another pleasing feature for this location.

Cons

Not customer friendly. You can tell by the way that the rules are written that the management team here is not very hospitable. We experienced this firsthand when we were admonished for putting up a dog run for our two small dogs (which we’ve done at virtually every other RV campground we’ve stayed at without any concern or a question). This prohibition was not documented on the rule list.

Not overly pet friendly. When we were scolded by management for our dog run, we were also advised that under no circumstances or pets to be left unattended outside the Camper. That said, when we were walking our dog, we observed several unattended pets throughout the property.

Very Slow WiFi. Both the free version and premium version of Wi-Fi offered here are ridiculously slow. We clock download speeds. It did not exceed 2 megabits per second, and upload speeds, or less than half of that. This was a huge downside for us as we like to work remotely. That said, the Wi-Fi in the clubhouse was very fast if you don’t mind working in a public environment.

No showers. Management indicates that showers are coming soon.

Potentially dangerous entrance. While this campground is located in a convenient location, getting into it was a challenge, and potentially dangerous. The entrance to the property is located right at the intersection of two high speed off ramps, and entering it with a 34 foot trailer was frightening to say the least. We would be very surprised if they have not already experienced several accidents. While there may be a safer route to enter, it was not obvious nor brought up when we searched Google maps. (Note, management mentioned that when construction is complete, there will be an alternate entrance at the back of the property that might be easier to get into.)

Summary.

If it were not for the inhospitable way we were treated on the first full day of our visit, I think we would be more excited about coming back.

We read their rules very carefully, and there was no mention about a dog run being prohibited. (Full disclosure - our dog run consists of a heavy climbing rope attached to our camper with two pulleys and two retractable leashes. This allows us to let our dogs out in the middle of the night if they need to relieve themselves without exiting the Camper on cold winter evenings.)

In our opinion, this “breach” could’ve been handled a lot better. When we came into the office to pay for our stay, we mentioned to the attendant that we did not see the dog run rule on their list and we apologized, suggesting they add it to avoid further confusion in the future. The attendant agreed, but another staff member looked at us with disgust, rolled her eyes, and gave us a dirty look. We’re pretty sure this is the same woman that admonished us.

This is a classic example of how an otherwise remarkable property can be tarnished by the management team running it. If the staff had been more friendly, we would’ve given this campground. Five stars without question. Unfortunately, we can only give it three stars, an average rating by our standards. If you’re just passing through for a couple of nights, and you don’t have pets you might feel differently.