Manatee Cove Campground

They had entertainment on certain nights, a disc jockey and karaoke, everyone had a blast. Then things changed, they got rid of the hosts and moved everything down to a building that was previously the gun range. They added more sites and continued to tighten the rules. No longer could you wait for a spot in Chevron park, if there were no spots you have to leave. The camping spaces they added were too small and not laid out well. We visited yesterday and couldn’t believe how run down the place looks! Most of the spaces along the river were closed down and being worked on. Why were they closing down RV spaces to pour concrete in the middle of the busiest season? There were probably 25-30 spaces closed. This once vibrant campground looks bleak and run down and the prices have doubled. We will not be back.

Place is still the same. Rude people. Poor management. Only good thing is the guy and woman who worked in the office (at the park) are gone. All of the MWR staff on this base needs to be fired/replaced. Their attitudes are horrible. Could care less about the customer. The Riverside dining facility is another example of how bad things are at PSFB. Terrible food. Workers who are rude and don't care.

Patrick SFB itself isn't close to very much. The RV park is kind of tucked away on the small base. Regardless, still a decent place to stay. The laundry is coin-only with no coin change machine readily available.

Concur with the reviews regarding site layout, the sites are much too close together and poorly laid out. We are full timers and pride ourselves on being able to get into tight situations to camp but, this was ridiculous. We even opted for a pull through and found it very difficult to navigate and situate to ensure none of our slides hit the utilities. This left us no room for our TV. We also found the rules and restrictions at check-in to be a bit militant, even for a military installation. We are TX residents and do not receive a paper registration at tag renewal, all online now if you opt for paperless. We were told at check-in that PSFB won't accept a registration unless it's in paper form, ridiculous in 2023. Make sure you have a paper registration and all the information for your pets. Not one of our favorite family camps.

Nice campground and facilities. Close to the ocean beach. Enjoyed the base Tiki-bar!

We have a 45' toy hauler. If you're anywhere near this big, pull over in the pullout right before the RV park. There is a camp host right across the street. He was not on duty when we arrived, but was happy to help us. We also have a Jeep, so we took it up to the community center, where the other two camp hosts are and the on duty host checked us in. The sites on the backside of the park are tight. The host laughed at me when I said that, but for us (experienced, fulltime RVers for almost 7 years with a big rig), it looks tight. The sites are close together and the utilities and the picnic tables have barely 8 feet between them, some of the closest we've ever seen. The host made me sign a 3 page "insurance" pamphlet that "if I "broke anything, I'd have to pay to fix it" and proceeded to tell me stories, so yeah, the sites are tight and the twisty-turny roads would've definitely had us curb-checking had we driven through that area with our RV. Instead, we stayed in the front of the RV park in site 63, which was much more spacious with easier access roads, although I still had to be extremely careful backing in to avoid hitting the utilities or the decking. If you have more than one vehicle, you'll have to park one elsewhere. There's a park down the road during the summer, but the host said during the winter, thats not an option. Cell service (Verizon & AT&T) worked great, we never found wifi, and there's no info in the check-in material about wifi, so not sure if it's offered although the map shows a wifi symbol. Laundry rooms are sufficient and very reasonably priced at .75 each. You have to leave the base to go to the beach, it's only open sunrise to sunset, and the main gate, which is the closest, is rarely open after duty hours. You have to take the gate by the 404 by the BX & Commissary.

This is ran as a Trailer Park not an RV park. Most have been here years and think they have an ownership to include the hosts. People watch when you come and go, talk to others about you and basically don't mind their own business. Leave for a few days with your RV on the site to go to doctors appts or a cruise and you will find hosts calling management stating that you are just storing your rig there. All of this shouldn't matter as the rent is paid but they are afraid there might not be a site with their snowbird friends arrive so they want you out. Base outdoor rec management will tell you if you don't like it - Leave. Mgmt will also tell you that you can leave for Thanksgiving or Christmas but don't leave for both or they will throw you out and rent your slot to someone else. These are slots paid in advance but doesn't matter to them.

Spent the weekend at the Patrick SFB FamCamp during the off season in July. Plenty of spaces available. Easy access onto base via the commercial entrance off Rt A1A. Greeted by the camp host named Tom who was extremely helpful in showing me where my spot was and offered this newbie great advice on setting up camp. Cash is not accepted, so I used a credit card. The full hookup campsite was spacious, clean and leveled with a gravel surface. The camp does not provide WiFi or cable television, but our HD antenna picked up 56 over the air channels very clearly. There is a hospitality rec area that provided internet access if needed. Patrick SFB is an active duty base with all available amenities such as base exchange, shoppette, commissary, base hospital, gas station and class 6. Great restaurants are in the area. Shore power was reliable and tested by a severe rain storm that passed though the area. This was a nice base RV park to spend a weekend.

Agree wholeheartedly with @Maine_Adventures! I worked all last summer as a campground manager / campground host for a US Forest Service campground in the Rocky Mountains. The campground was at 100% occupancy for the three summer months it was open, had 181 individual campsites and 4 group campsites, and my wife and I, plus one other couple, were able to manage the location completely on our own. Key to this was the US Forest Service's use of an online advance reservation service (recreation.gov) to manage all aspects of the campground and customer experience. These modern systems completely manage all of the reservations, payment processing and campsite assignments. All we had to do was call up a list each morning of which campers would be checking out that day and who would be checking in each day. So while some users below have pointed to mismanagement, abuse of power, or lack of personnel resources; it really boils down to a (poor) leadership decision to use an outdated first come first served approach to managing this FAMCAMP. An online reservation system solves all of those issues while providing a better customer experience by removing all inventory management and financial transaction/accounting responsibilities from the staff, thereby freeing them up to act in a hospitality role to welcome and assist campers during their stays.

We visited Manatee Cove in February 2021 and it seems like the place is very poorly managed. I see what other users say about needing to be part of the 'in crowd', or being on the hosts' or managers' good side, to get a spot in the campground, but to me the problem is even deeper than that. Who in the world thinks it is a good idea in this day and age to manage a customer service operation like this without offering your customers the opportunity to make advance reservations? I mean who would go to a doctor or a dentist that didn't accept appointments made in advance? Who would risk their entire vacation plans on traveling an airline that didn't sell tickets in advance? In this age of constant connection with the internet, it has even become commonplace to make reservations or purchase reserved seat tickets for movies at the cinema. So why would Patrick make customers drive all the way out to this facility with only a hope and a prayer of getting a campsite? Online self-serve reservation systems like those used at hotels, airlines, state park campgrounds and national park campgrounds not only prevent the on-site host or manager from abusing their position and rigging the system to only serve their friends as has been alleged at this location in the past, but it also requires customers to pay via electronic means such as credit or debit cards which eliminates the high costs associated with collection, handling and auditing of cash. I am not fully retired, nor a snowbird, and usually can only get a few days off at a time from my job, so with an outdated operational model like the one employed at Manatee Cove prevents me from considering this location in the future. If I've only got 3-days off from work, do I want to spend it sitting in my camper in Chevron Park just hoping someone will call me into the FAMCAMP to occupy a campsite, or would I want to make advance reservations at a state or federal park campground and know that I can spend all three days relaxing and enjoying the area? @45 FSS - There is a lot of room for improvement here to alter your business and management model and offer increased customer service to your clients. Take a hard honest look at the management of this FAMCAMP and you will find better ways to operate this facility and improve the customer experience through advance reservations.

We spent the weekend at Patrick AFB. Around 10+ empty spaces everyday. No WiFi at each site. Restrooms were open, of which we did not use. We were at site #73 a back in at $24 per night. Surprised to find the host checks to see if you have your state vehicle registration/insurance/drivers license and ID-None of this was checked by Security Forces at the front gate except your DOD ID for entry. If you do not have the documents you will not be allowed entry. Overall quiet place with Exchange and Commissary. The host/staff really bent over to make sure your stay is a very pleasant one. Dump station closed, I believe to to Covid-19. Happy Travels!!

We spent 4 months here over the 2019/2020 winter. Even coming in mid-October, it was a bit difficult getting a site for the long-term stay. There's a variety of sites from old to new, from small to huge. We ended up in a site that was small and very close to our neighbors. The park had a few activities planned. The base is quiet but has a decent Exchange and a large commissary. The hosts and office staff were friendly. Overall, a nice RV Park to spend the winter at (if you arrive early enough).

Very nice park with various types of sites, some older but all in good shape, nice patio furniture. The office Mgr. is great, she is helpful and knows does a great job explaining the why and what for's. The camp hosts are also top shelf, Mike and Barb. I can't imagine wanting more from a FamCamp.

Wonderful park that's unfortunately poorly managed. The front office doesn't know about the status of spots on the park. They assigned me to a spot that was already filled. The office staff, although not outright rude, is not helpful or friendly. Asking them questions feels like an imposition. Mail delivery is problematic. Although they insist that they get mail daily, they don't. A package delivered to the base post office on Thursday, still wasn't available on Saturday. The front office has problems that take away from an otherwise nice park.