January 25, 2022 - Our "Premium" Lot and the Wet Weather

We have been upset with Roberts RV Park management since arriving here on December 1st. The reason is a long story and I won't bore you with it here. We ended up being put on a different lot than the one we thought we reserved. It is on a different street from our friends and our mail would be forwarded to the wrong lot. We were put on a "premium" lot, meaning it costs $125.00 per month more. We had no voice in the matter. According to management it is a "premium" lot because it is bigger. We don't see how but we lost that argument. We protested the additional rental amount because we did not reserve a "premium" lot and should not have to pay for it since the one we reserved is occupied. Our protests fell on deaf ears. We were told we could have our money back and go elsewhere for the winter. Obviously we didn't want to do that since all our friends are here and our friends are the ONLY reason we come to this crappy park. Here is the view we have out the back window of the RV on this "premium" lot. Here are two pictures.

It is a view of the park maintenance lot with machines and workers coming and going all day, every day. In addition to this lovely view when we set up on the lot the electric did not work properly nor did the cable for internet. The park sent an electrician to put in a new breaker so that we would have 50 amp service. I then had to call Spectrum for a service call to get the cable to work. The serviceman could not get a signal from our cable box so he just laid a cable across the ground form our RV to the neighbor's cable box. While we now have cable for the internet I have to be careful not to trip over the cable laying on the ground when walking around. Also the meter box for our lot and the lot next to us is in the middle of our lot. This, my friends, is a "premium" lot in Roberts RV Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Due to the above issues we decided to start looking for an alternative park for next year and thereafter. We mapped out a number of parks to visit, about eight of which were north of here and about five south of here. The other day we took a drive and of the eight parks north of St. Petersburg, we found only two parks we would consider moving to. One of the two is already totally booked for next year. The other would cost more but is a significant improvement over what we have here. 

Yesterday we took a road trip to check out the five parks we targeted south of St. Petersburg. Of those none were better than where we are except for one park in Punta Gorda. The park in Punta Gorda is about the same price as what we are paying here for this "premium" lot. We like that if you reserve a lot there you get that lot - not a promise of "a" lot, which is what we get here. The Punta Gorda park has lots available for next year. It is actually a resident-owned mobile home park with sixty RV lots. We really like the park, the activities, and the vibe of the place. Unfortunately, it is about sixty miles south of St. Petersburg. Moving there next year would mean leaving all of our friends here (a number of which will not be back here next year anyway) and getting new doctors in Fort Meyers, the closest large community. We have time before we have to put a deposit down at either place. Here they have increased the deposit to $500.00 and you are only guaranteed "a" lot, not the lot you would like. This rule caused us a major problem this year with mail delivery, distance from friends, etc. The Punta Gorda park requires a $1,000 deposit but the lot you reserve is the lot you will get. We like that a lot.

It has been raining since the middle of the night and the rain and cooler temperatures are predicted to continue in different degrees until next Tuesday. While this is a bummer it is still better than the freezing cold at home. A nice day for me to make a big pot of chili for supper.