Heartbreaking to write this review as my family has been coming to Lake Raystown Resort my entire life. My parents never received the renewal letter to their dock slip and stopped in on their own accord at the end of September. After being verbally abused by an unprofessional front desk worker, they spoke to the marina manager who was no better. The problem wasn't that they were being told no to the renewal, it was that the method they were being handled was beyond unprofessional - it was disrespectful. The insane part was that the wait list offers had not even been mailed; so the slip was still totally available yet the marina staff continued to harass two elderly members that had supported their business for decades. The following weeks have been met with unanswered attempts at communication, as the managers and owners are hardly ever actually working. The few times we've come in contact with representatives of the resort were met with muttered excuses. The owner of the resort, Josh Patt, even stated, "You're right, we have no proof that any slip holders received their letters" but then proceeded to tell me how they would then hold the slip-holders responsible for proactively reaching out and renewing their slip since "it's at the same time every year". Seems like an interesting business model... Through all of this, not once was my family offered a chance even to get on this infamous wait list; which I pointed out to Josh Patt and asked why his staff wasn't equipped with next-steps for lapsed users. I was met with a mumbled answer on how the marina manager stepped away because "he enjoys hunting and fishing this time of year." And, "We all work really hard for 6 months of the year!"
To close things off, we suffered a traffic death in the family the exact day that my parents attempted to renew their slip in-person. Had they not spent so much time being accosted by the resort; they could have made it home in time to save my brother's life. I mentioned this to Josh Patt today and his response was, "Everyone has their own circumstances and we have to draw the line somewhere."
Similarly, I booked my wedding with the resort in January 2021. Well before the slip-issue arose, I suffered through 10 months of non-sense with the event managers. Any communication with them consisted of several emails and phone calls until I was able to reach them; even in the case of trying to make payments. Interestingly, they often begged for "forgiveness and patience" since it was "really busy" - but its very odd that the resort doesn't have this same flexibility towards their customers. Also, it was slid int the BEO mid-way through planning that the ballroom had to be cleared following the reception due to another wedding on Sunday. Again, this was something never pro-actively mentioned by the staff and I had to bring it up to confirm. So, after my wedding and spending $15K with Lake Raystown, I stood in my bridal gown and packed up my decorations at the resort. I have over 15 years of experience in marketing and events - and to any bride or even any person considering hosting event - DON'T DO IT. It's a beautiful venue - but not worth the lack of professional.
Lodging was an entirely separate issue. Room blocks are only accessible via the phone; so anyone living in the year 2021 and accustomed to basic technology was out of luck. Of course this isn't mentioned on their website; and rooms held within the room block just show as unavailable, with guests being none the wiser. The weekend of my wedding was the last of the season, and there was a second wedding taking place that weekend. Despite this, the resort made the savvy business decision to start winterizing early and turned away several guests the two weeks leading into the wedding trying to book rooms. I stayed in the bridal suite and had freezing cold water for two days because, according to the front desk, "The building is half-empty".
Overall - terrible ownership and management and hopefully karma comes back around to Josh Patt. read more