If you haven’t stayed at a military campground or hotel, you might wonder what the big deal is. Let’s look at why so many military families hit the road and use apps like FamCamps to find the best military lodging sites to set up their temporary homes.
Military lodging facilities and campgrounds are all over the country and near or on U.S. installations abroad. Active-duty families use these on-base lodging options for affordable, safe, and convenient respites, especially during a PCS move.
Military retirees can also use the facilities for vacations or because they’ve embraced the permanent home/RV lifestyle, traveling the country with the freedom to come and go as they please. The appeal is widespread among military ID card holders. Here’s what makes them so popular.
1) They fit your military budget.
Here’s the BLUF (bottom line up front): You get more for your money on base. Sure, you can haggle the hotel management for a lower rate, but is that how you want to spend your time during a chaotic PCS?
For the price of a regular hotel room, you probably could reserve a suite on base and give the kids their own room for the same price. Everyone knows a PCS is expensive. Saving money, especially while moving, is a huge reason to stay in military lodging.
2) Additional safety and security.
Safety is arguably the most compelling reason to stay on base. By law, military installations screen who’s allowed through the gate. The process isn’t perfect, but there's significantly more security when compared to a typical campground. You have no idea who is sleeping in the tent next to you, nor do you have many options to secure your belongings while you’re away from your site.
Whether sleeping in a tent, a camper, or a military hotel, the installation is safer than many civilian facilities. The sense of security offers one less thing to worry about when traveling with your family.
Lake of the Ozarks, Photo from Army MWR
3) The built-in convenience factor.
Campgrounds and military lodging facilities locations aren’t random. Most sit directly on military installations. They’re easy to find and extremely convenient when you're in the middle of a military move and need a place to stay while you’re looking for a home or packing up your house. And the shoppette, Exchange, commissary, post office, pools, laundry, restaurants, and more are just a few miles away.
Pet parents know that finding a pet-friendly hotel is one of the most challenging chores of the whole PCS or vacation process. Military lodging tends to be more accommodating with fewer breed restrictions and less expensive for pets.
If there isn’t availability, don’t forget to check the installation for pet care centers. You may find pet boarding available at reasonable prices.
4) Some locations add a touch of luxury.
Some military lodging facilities are more than a great place to crash for the night, offering luxury features that boost the mundane nature of a PCS to feel more like a vacation destination.
Military lodging such as the New Sanno in Tokyo, Shades of Green in Orlando, and Hale Koa in Honolulu deserve to be your reason to vacation.
Hale Koa Hotel, photo from Hale Koa.com
Some in-demand locations, like those listed above, require active duty orders to make a reservation, while others do not. It's important to check the hotel's reservation policy before planning your big vacation. If there isn’t a vacancy when you need it, don’t forget to ask about a wait or cancellation list.
Interested in experiencing the convenience and comfort of military lodging yourself? If you’d like to learn how the systems work, think about trying a staycation in your region. Duty stations like Washington, DC, Hawaii, and the Florida panhandle have multiple installations and many on-base lodging and camping options. It’s a low-stakes way to see if military lodging would work for your family's PCS or vacation in the future.
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