The KOA site in Chula Vista, within walking distance of supermarkets and shopping centers, has more than campsites. It also offers 26 one-room cabins that sleep up to four people starting at $69 per night. The cabins include bunk beds and electrical outlets but guests must share a communal kitchen, bathrooms and showers.
"With the economy the way it is, people are turning in their RVs and they don't want a tent so they go with the cabins," said Clint Bell, general manager of the KOA site. Bell plans to add three new cabins this year, a bike path and a grass field for baseball and Frisbee play.
Charles Prato Jr. and girlfriend Carmella Rondinelli of San Diego rented a one-room cabin at the Chula Vista KOA site and shared it with their four girls, ages 4 to 10. Prato dismissed the idea of taking the family to a hotel. "Too expensive," he said. Camping? "I don't want to camp in the dirt," he added.
Prato sat at a picnic table in front of his cabin, sipping a beer while the girls were inside putting on their bathing suits for a visit to the campground pool.
Later, the children would rent bicycles and ride around the campground while he and Rondinelli prepared dinner in a communal kitchen. Prato scanned the park and grinned. "Everything you need is right here."
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hugo.martin@latimes.com
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Diversions for a tents situation
Despite the recession, resort campgrounds are investing in new amenities, including:
* Campland on the Bay, San Diego, is spending $50,000 on a skate park.
* Flying Flags RV Resort, Buellton, is spending $1.3 million to add three cabins, a fitness center, electrical and sewer upgrades and landscaping.
* Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park in Cobb, Calif., recently spent about $500,000 to build a miniature golf course.
* The Kampground of America facility in Chula Vista recently built a dog park and plans to add bicycle paths and a grass playing field.
* The Vineyards Campground and Cabins in Grapevine, Texas, plans to spend $1.5 million this year to add RV sites, cabins, a gatehouse, store, landscaping and a sewer system upgrade, plus geocaching and kayak rentals.
Source: Times research
