Breaux Bridge / Lafayette, LA. Feb 9th - 13th

Lafayette wasn't necessarily a place we circled on our map when we were deciding where we may want to visit. It was a half-way point as we were heading from New Orleans to Galveston, and it had a Margaritaville Resort. So why not spend a relaxing week.

That being said, the city was fine. Nothing special that I feel like writing about but nothing bad either. Now for the interesting part...

We loved the Margaritaville Resort we stayed at in Pidgeon Forge, TN and I wrote about how we'd be staying at a few others on our journey. So we were excited as we left New Orleans and headed to Breaux Bridge, LA (about 20 minutes from Lafayette) since this would be our next Margaritaville Resort. That excitement lasted until about 5 minutes after we arrived. Or maybe it was 4 minutes. Might have even been 3. 🤣

Here's the conversation as we checked in:

Girl behind the counter: "Here's the park map and information. We have no water in the park right now but it should be back on soon."

Me: "Ok. No problem."

Her: "And we have NO amenities right now."

Me: "Ok. I specifically confirmed that your hot tub is open year-round. So we understand that the pool may not be heated right now but the hot tub will be. Correct?"

Her: "No. Pool area is under construction so no hot tub."

Me: "You have two pool areas so the other one is open. Correct?"

Her: "Nope."

Me: "Is your bar and restaurant open?"

Her: "Nope. They'll only be open on Friday & Saturday night."

Me: "It's Monday and you guys are a Margaritaville Resort so you should..."

She interrupts me and starts telling me about how they're not associated with other Margaritaville Resorts (no shit, I'm starting to figure that out) and it becomes apparent that I'm getting no where, so I ask for the manager. Of course the manager is out, but she'll have her call me.

We decided to stay a few nights until we could decide what to do, so we park at our site which hasn't been power washed in forever. The concrete is covered with a layer of hard packed dirt/grime. Lovely! Figured that I might as well get a workout in their fitness room except that the clubhouse is closed, so I can't get to the fitness room. She literally meant NO amenities. Might as well have been in a Walmart parking lot. To be fair, we had a nice view of their small lake and the park has a great dog area. Overall, I can see the potential, but it needs a facelift and a good cleaning!

Next day, we got up and decide to go check out Lafayette. We got back in the afternoon and I went into the camp store where the manager was stocking shelves with potato chips. Seems like a good use of the manager's time. Right? Doritos anyone? It's obvious that she had no intention of calling me. I won't bore you with the rest of the shit show but, trust me, it continued.

Personally, after the facelift and cleaning, I'd fire the entire staff and start fresh. I'd start by hiring the woman that works the drive-thru window at the daquiris-to-go place next to the resort. She understood something about hospitality. And, yes, you can use the drive thru in Louisiana to get daquiris. Not sure that's a good thing but, hey, when in Rome...

We were supposed to stay a week, but no way that was happening. Our next stop was in Crystal Beach, TX at another Margaritaville Resort. Obviously, I'm now a little concerned so I call the resort. No need to reiterate the entire conversation but they confirmed that "the pools are open and heated. Hot tubs are open and heated. Swim-up bar is open every day. Restaurant and bar is open every day and night. They're celebrating Valentines Day and Mardi Gras. There's a parade on Saturday."

Easy decision to leave, so we stayed one more night and had a romantic early Valentines dinner in Lafayette. We left the next day for greener pastures.

It was about a four hour drive to Crystal Beach, TX and we definitely saw some Louisiana bayous along the way. True hillbilly country. I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing SO many different parts of our country.

Thank goodness that all Margaritaville Resorts are NOT created equal. We arrived in Crystal Beach four days ago and this place is even better than we expected! I'll tell you all about in my next post but coming here early was DEFINITELY the right decision.

Make it a great week!