In this edition we will be reviewing Sun Outdoors Orange Beach located in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Sun Outdoors Orange Beach is located southeast of Mobile, AL along the gulf coast. We opted to take interstate 10 to state route 59 through Foley, AL instead of paying to go over the toll bridge. The bridge isn’t expensive to take and will save you about 15 minutes. We are in no hurry these days and we are always looking to save a couple of bucks where we can, so the longer route was fine with us.

If you take the same route we did you get to enjoy a nice little drive along the inner coastal canal before you reach the resort. If you take the toll road it will drop you off almost across the street from the resort after you go over the bridge. So both ways have their advantage depending on if you like slow and scenic or quick and easy.

The road leading to the resort is a two lane road with a 55 mph speed limit. The problem is people drive a lot faster than the posted speed limit and it can get sketchy at times. While on this road be aware of the oncoming traffic as we watched people trying to pass cars, and trying to pass us in the RV, with little concern for everyones safety so it can be dangerous when people grow impatient.

The approach to the resort is very easy with a divided two lane entrance. They do have a couple of traffic circles as you drive up towards the clubhouse to check in. You also might have to navigate these circles when you head to your spot depending our what site you are in. They are wide and it’s not hard, but I will never understand the point of putting traffic circles on the interior roads of a RV resort. It’s just asking for trouble.

Amenities

Campsites – Sun Outdoors Orange Beach offers a wide variety of campsites including pull-in, pull-thru and back-in sites. All sites are full hook-ups and the entire resort is paved with large concrete pads and plenty of grass. The pull-in sites are the premium sites and you can get them facing the large lake or facing the beautiful trees. We chose to face the trees as we felt it offered a little more privacy than facing the lake. You really can’t go wrong with any site in the resort as they are all spacious and have large grassy areas. Make sure to keep an eye on your pets at all times as there are gators in the lake and surrounding area.

Common Areas – This is a very nice resort so visitors will never have to worry about the grounds being unkept or in disarray. Everything is clean, orderly and well maintained. Inside the office and clubhouse area they have a small store, gym, meeting room and a laundry room. And if you are full-time RVers or going to stay for awhile they allow package deliveries to the office.

The resort offers a wide variety of activities including a large pool and spa next to the clubhouse. But if you don’t travel with kids and would prefer a more relaxed setting they also have an adults only pool which is much more quiet and relaxing. This is where we spent most of our time when just hanging out.

In addition to the pools they have a beach volleyball court, pickle ball court and a nice pet area that is divided into two sections.

Cleanliness

As we said this is a very nice resort so everything is kept about as perfectly as one could expect. If there is one gripe it would be that they only have two large dumpsters that are located along the entrance road. This is a very large resort, and they are in the process of expanding and adding a large number of sites, so almost everyone needs to drive their trash to the dumpster as it is too far to walk. And when you add in the heat and humidity, forget about it!

Additionally, because the resort fills up to the max just about every weekend those two dumpsters do not have enough capacity and the overflow mess can be very unsightly when you drive by. I appreciate that they try to keep everything far away from the campsites, but more capacity and probably a second dump location is something that is needed, especially with the expansion going on.

Customer Experience

Sun Outdoors Orange Beach is without a doubt one of the nicest resorts we have ever stayed at and the staff was wonderful and very accommodating. Aside from the perfect peaceful setting with the lake and trees there is also no shortage of activities or places to see. Some days we went out and explored while other days we just lounged by the pool and enjoyed an adult beverage or few. While the resort is not located directly on the beach it is a very short drive away from several very nice beaches and they were never overly crowded.

If you enjoy biking, hiking or fishing then this place is for you as the resort backs right up the Gulf State Park were they have some of the best trails to bike and walk. The trails take you all through the park and all the way down to the beach. We did a ton of bike riding in the park and still never covered all of the trails!

You can drive over to the park and pay for parking there, but we rode our bikes from the campground to the park and back a couple of times. Including the trails each time was about 15 miles round trip. Just make sure to bring A LOT of water and take a few rest breaks as the heat and humidity will definitely have an impact on you!

Cost

Great accommodations and an amazing location come at a price. Our one month stay cost us $1,500 which was double our monthly budget, but at least it included electric. The daily rates are actually pretty reasonable for such a high end resort as they start at $63 per night and go up from there. But you get a lot of bang for your buck at this resort so it’s well worth it!

Conclusion

This was a difficult place to leave as it was so relaxing and we enjoying every minute of our stay. While we were there we visited the beaches, enjoyed picnics along the canal, biked in the state park and just lounged by the pool. There are so many different options and ways to enjoy this area it’s impossible to not enjoy yourself!

If there is one complaint it’s that everything in the gulf coast area is very expensive. For example, food was double what we paid in Texas and if you want to buy alcohol plan on paying more than double what you normally pay anywhere else as the state controls the price.

Protip – Florida is about 5 miles away from the resort and everything is much cheaper. They also opened a Total Wine & More in Pensacola while we were there, which is about an hour away from the resort. We put in an order and enjoyed a nice day in Florida while restocking our shelves for half the price.

Bonus

Across the road from the resort is a great place called The Wharf. They have all sorts of shops restaurants and an amphitheater. During our stay we enjoyed concerts from Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Phish all from the comfort of our campsite and without paying a penny. But if you do like to see the concerts then this is a great venue and very close to the campground.

We hope you enjoyed our review and if you have any questions or comments please post them below.

Thank you and safe travels!

Joe

P.S. If you haven’t heard we started an online store called StuckonCamping where you can get some of our designs on stickers, magnets, shirts, hats, tote bags and more! Check it out for camping, RV, Jeep and other outdoor designs! 

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