On August 14, 2004, we moved to Columbus, GA for a 3-5 month stay while my husband completed a project at the airport there. We were surprised when we found only 1 reference on the net for a campground. I couldn't find any reviews, but I called and the owner was incredibly friendly over the phone. Assuring us that a long term stay was perfectly fine, there was a pool, a rec hall and all the hookups we needed. We thought we were so lucky to have found someone so helpful that we couldn't wait to get there! It's seems very pretty when you pull up to the campground and pass lovely green pine trees and lawn and a lovely huge poind, although it did have a railway track running along the outside which worried us a little! We had just left an extremely noisy KOA in Springfield, MO that also had a very active rail service running the perimeter of the campground at all hours of the day and night, and we had to endure that for 10 months, so we weren't very happy to see the railway line..but we thought we would give it a try. We arrived about 7pm on a Saturday night and the manager checked us in. All seemed fine except I overheard her telling someone that the pool was out of order. When I enquired about it, (because it was going to be very hot there and I really wanted a pool), she advised it would be repaired on the Monday...and I believed her..silly me! Of course Monday came and went, so did the next Monday and the Monday after that. We had 3 weeks of extremely high temps and the highest humidity that I have ever experienced...and we had no pool. Thursday afternoon, September 2, the manager knocked on my door to inform me that the 'pool is finally open'. The timing couldn't have been worse because it was just before the Labor Day weekend and of course we were planning to go out of town the next morning on a flight and so I was too busy packing to think about the pool that afternoon. I asked the manager that because we had all been deprived of 3 weeks of our summer by having the pool closed, if he intended leaving it open through September for us (as the campground rules state that the pool closes for the year on Labor Day!). He said that the weather will probably still be hot for a few weeks and he had no problem leaving the pool open past Labor Day. That made me a little happier. We flew home on Sunday afternoon and it was very hot, so the first thing I wanted to do was to FINALLY have my first swim of the summer! It wasn't completely clean, but I was so happy to finally be in water that I didn't care. A friend joined me as well, and we sat in the cool by the pool until it's 9pm closing. It was probably the most fun afternoon/evening I had had since arriving 3 weeks earlier. We are on the Alabama/Georgia border and On Monday 6th (the day after we came back), Tropical Storm Frances came through. It wasn't a hurricane, but it was a pretty good storm..more wind than rain. In the morning, there were pine needles all around and in the pool. It was pretty messy. That was 4 days ago as it still looks that way. I asked every day why the pool isn't being cleaned because the weather had turned hot again and we were anxious for another swim. I kept getting told that the vacuum pump would be put on during the night, but each morning from Tues - Fri, it was still the same. Friday September 10th, I confronted the maintenance/manager and he said that he's not allowed to touch the pool, that I should speak to the owner. The owner is a lady called Connie in her early 30's. She lives on a property next door to the campground and I still had not met her in the 4 weeks that we've been here, but I have seen her patrolling around on a huge yellow tractor often. I saw her on the grounds and confronted her about the pool issue. She was very curt to say the least, saying that there had been 'technical difficulties with the chlorinator' in the first 3 weeks and now that it was past labor day and the 'rules clearly state' that the pool closes after labor day anyway. When I reminded her that it is still hot here and that she had deprived us of almost a month of pool use, what did it matter if she left it open for the month of September. She replied that it isn't the 'law' that she provide us with a pool and that a pool amenity isn't 'included in the cost of our stay'. I reminded her that if she is advertising a pool on her website as an amenity and attraction, then yes, it's included and we should expect there to be one and one that we can use! Her reply was, and I quote: "Well you have air conditioning in your camper don't you?". I told her that whether I have it or not is not, is not the issue. We have all been kept prisoners in our campers for a month because of her neglect of the campground and pool. I asked her one more time if she had any intentions of re-opening the pool for another few weeks and she gave a final 'No'. I said fine, and that we were out of there. At that point, I left her and went to get my camera. I photographed everything that is wrong with this campground (which is rated as a 3 star in Wheerler's Guide Magazine. I have no hesitation in posting these photographs as I have never seen a campground this bad, or being run with so much apathy. This place is a dump..don't be fooled by the 'pretty green trees.'

The Bathhouse: The roof is apparently being replaced this weekend, but it won't help the rest of the disrepair of this building.

The Bathhouse: I don't even know what they mean about these porta-potties. There certainly aren't any here!

Ladies Bathroom: I think I've seen about 2 people in a month actually use this bathroom. It's hardly ever cleaned, there is no hand blower or paper towels and ants are constant visitors all over the sinks. Regular campers in motorhomes or 5th wheels, aren't permitted to use this 'luxury bathhouse' unless they pay extra. It's reserved for the lucky tent campers and people without bathrooms. For this privilige, there is a $30 a month fee.

Ladies Bathroom: Weeds and branches grow inwardly from the ceiling.

Ladies Bathroom: Mould on the floor outside the showers is never cleaned.

Ladies Bathroom: The inside of the shower.

Sport Amenity: Believe it or not, this is the ONLY item of 'entertainment' supplied by Lake Pines. It's about to fall down and it's situated close to trailer lots, so it really would be impossible to throw a ball around and not hit one.

Gas Tank: Dry weeds and rubble surround the gas tank area and in view of the pool. Not a very pretty picture.

The Pool: Here is the pool the way it has looked for 4 days after the storm. It has just been left and not vacuumed and cleaned. LATE NEWS UPDATE: Even though she has stated that the pool would not be open, 10 minutes after our confrontation about the pool, I saw the maintenance manager go in there with a leaf blower and clear the cement area and he started up a vacuum pump. We will have to see if she has had a change of mind after it's cleaned!

Phone Service: There is a sign on the pool fence, just to the right of this picture, that says '<------- PHONE'. When you get to the phone, that's what you see. There is no public phone service available except for 911 and apparently there hasn't been for quite a few years. When I asked why they don't supply a public phone with local phone service, the reply was 'well just about everyone has a cell phone anyway right?'

Refreshments: This drink machine is also situated outside the pool area and has no 'Out of Order' sign on it. When I looked behind it after trying to buy a drink one day, the chord wasn't even plugged in. I was told by a resident that it hasn't worked for 4 years. I have seen many people putting money in it only to find out the same thing.

Laundry: This is the laundry on an open porch. It is never swept or dusted and there are no signs to tell you how much it costs or how much time you get in the dryer for your money.

Laundry: This washing machine has been 'Out of Order' since before we got here August 14th

Laundry: A closer look at the laundry porch. This is some sort of shelf behind the washers that we have to look at as we are loading laundry. I'm always scared something is going to crawl out of that!

Grass: In front and behind our camper and others have not been mowed in the 4 weeks that we've been there. The reeds are tall and not clearly visible in the photo, but they are knee high and very annoying to have to walk through.

Grass: The grass in the lot next to us has also never been mowed and very high. They seem to only ever mow the few open spaces around the ground, but because of 2 recent 'broken windows' from the lawn mower, maybe that's why they are staying away from the campers!

The Bathhouse: One side of the bathhouse shows no glass on the men's room side. There is also no heating (of course), in this bathroom and this campground is open year round. There is a charge for using this fine amenity.

Mens Bathroom: Words just fail me when it comes to describing the condition of the men's bathroom! This shot is a collapsing shower wall.

Mens Bathroom: Tiles falling off the wall

Mens Bathroom: Very considerate of them to put some of musty old wood for you to stand on before you contract a deadly disease!

Mens Bathroom: These are the 2 shower cubicle choices!

Mens Bathroom: This is the cleanest of the 3 toilets.

Mens Bathroom: UGH!! is all I can say. I did in fact see a man walk into the mensroom the other day, then I saw him walk out of the ladies one! Guess he had a change of heart after seeing it and took the lesser of 2 evils.

Bathhouse: Roof is rotting. In all fairness, I will add this statement. The owner has approached one of the campers here who is a builder and asked him for a quote to fix the bathhouse roof! He agreed and is going to start this weekend. In my opinion? The roof is the least of the problems with that bathhouse and I think it should just be bulldozed!! It's a disgrace Lake Pines!!!!

Broken Windows: This camper had his window broken by a rock that flicked up from the lawnmower. Apparently he is being compensated, but not by the owner. The gardener is being to made to pay for it out of his own pocket. Another person had his window chipped and cracked by a flying rock and wasn't compensated. The campground did not accept responsibility.

Summation: • There are NO garbage bins around the campground except for outside the laundry and in the bathhouses. It's a large campground and if you only have a small bit of trash in your hand or you have scooped up doggy poop, you have to carry it all the way down to the dumpster. • Ants, ants and more ants. They are everywhere and they DO get into the campers!! • The roads and lots inside the campground have large rocks which makes it very difficult to ride a bicycle and a child wanting to ride a skateboard or roller skates would have nowhere to do that. • They don't even bring the mail up. It's your responsibility to walk down to the roadway and filter through the stack of mail that just sits in the mailbox to see if there is anything for you..I've never seen a procedure like this anywhere!! There are no other amenities here. • There is NO recreation room • There is NO children's playground • There are NO fire rings and you may only have a fire in a couple of areas, but they MUST be approved by management. • There are limited picnic tables, so it's first in, first served. • There are NO brochures or maps available about the area. • The office is always closed except if they are expecting a new arrival so there is no one to offer a visitor here any information about where to go in Columbus or where to eat. The owner obviously has no interest in truly welcoming people to her town and it seems she could care less if you enjoy yourself while you are here. Much better value for your money, especially if you are ex military would be to drive 15 miles or so a little further south and stay at the gorgeous Uchee Creek Campground at Fort Benning If you still feel that you want to make a reservation here at the luxurious Lake Pines. Call (706) 561-9675 (you will only get an answering machine, but you can try!) or you can visit their version of their campground on their Website.