Sometimes all you need is to put a coat of paint on it, mow the grass and trim the shrubs and a campground is as good as new; but other times, the whole place has to be redone. For Mesa Sunset RV Resort in Mesa, Arizona, it was certainly the latter.
"It was downright scary before," says RV Resort Manager Donna Bolin. "I think that the previous owner and manager just stopped caring about the place and didn't keep up with anything. The reputation was terrible. I saw a few pictures and heard some really bad things about it."
The reviews of the previous place attest to that. One review puts it abruptly, "No way I'd park my RV in this place. Very trashy. The back area is downright scary!"
Eventually, the RV park was sold in early 2019. The current owners, who own several RV parks and have a lot of experience with RV parks, changed the name and got right to work on making the park somewhere people will want to be. "They have been working 7 days a week making sure this park is the best it can be," explains Bolin, "And it is completely redone. They turned this place from a dungeon into a castle."
Bolin and her husband came on as managers in July and have steadily been increasing clientele since early fall, though the official grand opening of the resort was on January 17th, 2020. "We were camp hosts at one of the other RV parks the owners had and they asked us to come help build this place up," Bolin tells The Buzz. "My husband and I have been doing just that. Our park supervisor, Paul, has done everything he can to help, too. He was a resident here before the park was bought and re-done, so he knows more than anyone how bad it was and he has stuck around and hung in there through thick and thin to help with everything."
Sunset over the nicely renovated Mesa Sunset [Photo/Mesa Sunset RV Resort]
One of the most noticeable improvements right of the bat is that the roads in the park have been repaved, which was badly needed. "We also have a brand new fitness room, pickleball courts, two dog runs, a heated pool and the inside of the clubhouse has been decorated very well by one of the owners," admits Bolin.
People have noticed. One reviewer had experiences at both the closed RV park and current one and writes, "I’ve stayed at this park from time to time throughout the years and have always enjoyed the convenience of the location but upon returning this year I was surprised to find out that the park is under new ownership and new management. I must say that I am completely blown away by the remarkable job that the new owners/managers are doing. It looks like a brand new park. New clubhouse, new roads, new fitness centers, new amenities, new landscaping, new atmosphere, and lots of friendly new people. I highly recommend this park. Good things are happening at Mesa Sunset."
Many current reviews echo the extreme positive change of the RV resort. Even people who live in the area are coming to check out what is happening at the park. "We have people coming in on foot and are just amazed at how different it looks now then how it looked before," says Bolin.
Though RVers have been coming to the new park since early fall last year, business really started to pick up around Christmas and now they are going full-force after having the grand opening. "The grand opening was a great turn out. We had a ribbon cutting ceremony, one of the owners gave a speech, we had giveaways, handed out fliers with special prices, and the weather was just perfect. We had lots and lots of free food which was delicious," describes Bolin.
Since the grand opening, Bolin notes that people who come to the park - snowbirds, permanent residents, locals, and young families - have started telling everyone they know about the changes. "We are all working hard to get the word out about this place," she says. Many people who drive through or stop in are "completely amazed by the transformation."
Beyond the new upgrades to the resort, the location is perfect. "You can walk next door to a bowling alley," Bolin reports. "And there are restaurants everywhere that are easily walkable, along with a CVS. And if you need to get to work, we are right by the Interstates and freeway."
Most of the upgrades have been completed and now Bolin is switching gears to planning activities for some of the people who come to the park. "We have some permanent residents here and they are younger families that work and mostly keep to themselves; however we are getting a lot of snowbirds, who are active and have time for activities so we are learning what they like to do and planning activities around that," explains Bolin.
One of the most rewarding things for Bolin is to have RVers book again after coming the first time. She mentions she has begun to see just that since coming on in July. "Some of the people we saw when we first started here are coming back and it is just so great to see familiar faces again," Bolin concludes.