Food is AMAZING, night life is great. So much to do here. A MUST if you are in the area!

An excellent example of luxury sixties ski lodges. Beautiful great room with killer fireplace. Oversized rooms. I liked the place, but I'm in fifties. Excellent staff. read more

Stayed here for a weekend. Had a pretty bad experience. First of all tv doesn't work. No phone in room to call to the front desk. Then there's also no alarm clock in the room! However we called the front desk on our mobile phone and they came to fix it up. That was just our first day. The second day was fine until night came. They had a big party downstairs blasting music all night. The party kept going until midnight. It was crazy. Hard to sleep. We were on the third floor and it was still way too loud. Wifi is decent though. Of course it is slow but better than nothing. Our room was newly renovated and it was kind of nice. read more

This was the worst. It was really no more then a hostel at about 3x the price. I stayed here because it was convenient for a organized cycling event and while the event was great - one star is pushing it for the lodge. It is incredibly run down, out dated, dark and dingy. Check in was horrid. We were in line waiting about 20 minutes. We were then told our room wasn't ready ( we were about 15 minutes earlier then the check in time). The women seemed irritated that I asked to check in anyway and we would pick up the keys later. I couldn't stand the thought of waiting again in that line. The room ended up not being ready even when it was supposed to be. Finally a very kind staff member (she is the reason for the one star!) who saw us standing around waiting went to the front desk and got us another available room. Even she couldn't understand why we had been made to wait when there were other rooms that were available. I will say they had an okay continental breakfast. But on the whole the lodge had the look feel and pleasantries of a morgue. Maybe it is different in the winter but if not , a bull dozer might be in order. read more

We went here for a birthday/Valentines Day/Presidents Day. This place gets a one star (would love to give a zero) rating because of the management. I'm not positive of her name, but "Rosie" (or whatever it is) is unbelievably rude and hostile to guests. I believe she was the manager. First, the hotel cancelled the rooms of me and a number of my friends. Found that out at 6:30 at night, which is nice when you drive 4:30 hours to get there. There is little to no cell service there, so our friends who had already arrived, couldn't even let us know that. I had an email confirmation. No one ever called or emailed to tell us our reservations were cancelled. Really appreciated that. They initially told someone in the group the reservation was canceled because of a computer glitch. Then they said that they cancelled it because a block of rooms wasn't filled (which doesn't make any sense - you release the block, not cancel the existing reservations). Then it was because someone in the group allegedly cancelled the rooms but thought it would be fun to show up anyways with all her friends. After what was an ordeal to get them to fix it, they found rooms for the first night but were going to try and kick out an elderly couple, again because they messed up. That is when the manager or whoever she is at the front desk got incredibly rude, loud, and argumentative to the customers, again acting as if the hotel was somehow wronged. Most people are willing to acknowledge when they have made a mistake, but this hotel has no idea how to do that. They just accuse the guests. We were not the only people this apparently happened to that night. Whoever owns this hotel, needs to teach their employees how to not blame the customers when the hotel messes up. Someone needs to go to hospitality management school. Also, a proper reservation system is in order. It can't be that hard or expensive to put that in place. Then people wouldn't have to call 10 times just to reach someone to make a reservation (which will ultimately be cancelled). Checkout is at 11:00, but the front desk opens at 10:00 (it also somehow closes at 5:00, which makes no sense at a hotel). I didn't just drop my keys off to check out because I wanted to get a receipt to check my charges, but the guy who was supposed to run the front desk didn't show up on time, which makes perfect sense for this place. He was also rather dismissive. When I checked out, I spoke with some additional people who had similar unpleasant experiences with the management and front desk. In fact, someone was checking out early because they were without heat. The hotel advertises itself as dog-friendly, well, if you want to limit where your dogs can go, while the "hotel dogs" can go literally anywhere, including in the food areas. But, our dogs couldn't be in the lounge (where we had earlier seen the hotel dog). The service makes this place just so difficult, which is sad because this hotel has a lot of potential. The Lounge area is beautiful with high ceilings, huge fire place, and comfortable seating. It actually looks like it was recently updated. However, everything else needs some significant updating. The rooms are generally fine but they are a little dated. Our bed was as hard as a rock. The bathrooms in the rooms definitely need some updating. There was peeling linoleum on the floor and the shower looked a little moldy, or maybe it was just showing its age. Also, the shower head is so low that a person over 5'10" would have a tough time showering. The "coffee shop" is slow and often ran out of different foods over my couple day stay. The bar is nice, but maintains really short hours, and didn't even stay open until it's posted hours. The pizza place is pretty good in terms of food and pricing. The guy running the general store was really nice, and so was Miguel. But, regarding the general store, there is often only one person working, which means that they can't man the "deli." I will never go back and I won't recommend this place to anyone, which is a shame because the area is really pretty, including the areas with trails right across hwy 4. The people there were very nice including at the great little cafe. What was supposed to be a relaxing weekend had way too much stress. Other than a few key people, the hotel should just scrap most of their current employees and start over. Also, update your rooms. read more

Stayed at lodge June 14-16 for wedding. The wedding venue with mountains in background was awesome. The Lodge was somewhat of a disappointment. It is over 50 years old and showing it age. No hot water for 2 days , did get 20% discount for inconvenience and use of condominium to shower prior to wedding for all guess. Swimming pool was green and fence around pool was on the ground. There was a leaking pipe that was flooding hallway and rock climbing school. Beds weren't comfortable. The lodge had a funny old age smell to it. There was no air conditioning and the 80 degree weather made room hot as only one window opens for fresh air. Place is in disrepair and needs and a major renovation to bring it back to a resort. The bright side was Smokin' Barrel Cafe, excellent food, and the Sky High Pizza & Pub, outstanding pizza. If you are looking for a place to rough it then this will work for you. read more

So much potential, yet greatly disappointing. Friendly but highly incompetent staff. Noone responded to my online request. Finally, after I called to confirm the resrvation it was not there... They politely apologised and since that room was no longer available I was offered two rooms for the price of one. Very nice, I thought. After not getting an e-confirm, I called back a day later just to make sure. Sure enough they had me in the system but for the wrong room type. Again, plenty of apologies and yet another offer to upgrade at no charge. Very kind but inept. When we arrived and stood in line for an hour ( only two parties ahead of us !!!), it turned out that the room we tried to order in the first place was available. Upon opening the door, it turns out it was never cleaned from the previous guest. Another 30 min for them to "clean" it. Bottom line: they are poorly managed ( if at all), facilities are old and they don't care to get better since this is the only place in town. The only way they might change is if they read the reviews and act on it. But in a meantime, DO NOT STAY THERE TO TEACH THEM A LESSON. read more

I had booked a 3 night stay and then read the awful reviews and cancelled two of the nights. I have to say that we mostly enjoyed this place. The great room/lobby was cozy with a large stone fireplace and plentiful couches. It was a warm and friendly atmosphere. I was afraid to go to our room because of the previous reviews but was surprised to find everything clean and bug free. The t.v. was smallish but it worked and we got plenty of channels with Dish. We could hear people walking above us but it did not keep us awake. The place was rustic but it was ok. There were three choices for food on site; a pizza place, a bar and grill and a more upscale restaurant. We opted for pizza and were given free soft drinks with our order. The kids played video games, our waitress was friendly and service was prompt. I think you kind of have to lower your expectations at a place like this and I agree with others who say that this place has wasted potential. Our room could have definitely used an upgrade on decor and mattresses (ours were very lumpy). It was better than I expected though. The people at the front desk were helpful and friendly. Everyone seemed happy to be there and they were all working very hard to make the guests happy. There was a shuttle bus from the lodge to skiing and the woman who drove the bus was friendly and took the time to talk to my kids about their ski experience. I wish we had just stayed in the lodge for our entire stay instead of moving down the road to an inn for the next two nights. Our family had a lot of fun at the Bear Valley Lodge. We are already looking forward to another visit. read more

Ski at Bear Valley, stay in Arnold. We sort of laughed at how bad the Lodge rooms were, but our humor faded when we went to find food. The bar/restaraunt was almost unedible and the only other option in the whole town is the pizza place...which we had to eat at for the next two days. Kids had fun but we won't go back. read more

I went to Bear Valley Lodge to plan a rehearsal dinner for my son. I drove 3 hours to meet Mark Phillips the manager who didn't show. He never apolagized so I emailed the chef saying in the future I would deal with him. At that point Mr Philips emailed me, finally offering an apologize and stating if I didn't deal with him I couldn't have the affair at the lodge. There is no alternative to the lodge, you're stuck! I do have all the emails if anyone is interested, but it's too much to publish here. I did contact the owners, but got no response. The rest of the staff is wonderful, but dealing with Mr. Phillips is a nightmare. read more

this is the worst hotel you could ever stay in your life. everything here was from 1970s exceptthe price. no mobile phone service, no WiFi in the room, even the Plugins were too loose to use. there was smell in the room, and it is not even cleaned thorougherly. OMG it is a waste of 100 bucks for such a place. I wish I could rate it -5 star. read more

Arlene and staff are wonderful! There was a minor issue with the room that they resolved promptly. This is an older, classic ski lodge and could use some renovations, but the rooms are warm, the beds comfortable and the staff are friendly and attentive. I just booked my next stay and look forward to more visits in 2017. read more

Wow! I would like to give this #$%@ hole negative 5 stars!!! My husband and I drove up to Big Trees. We've never been up this way so we decided to keep driving up and ended in Bear Valley. It's so beautiful. We decided to try and find a place to stay and came across the Lodge. We thought, this is cool!! We had our chihuahua with us and thought it would be ok to bring her too. I inquired to see how much the room was. It was $185 for a queen room with a summit view. And no dogs allowed. Well we decided that our 4lb chi would be easy to sneak in and she is super quiet:) So we took the room. Stuffed the dog in my down jacket and walked the stairs to the 4th floor! The place reeked like stinky feet. The carpet in the hall way was coming loose and it was so dirty, I didn't even want to put our dog down. We walked into the room and couldn't believe our eyes! This place is an absolute dump! For $185? Are you freakin kidding me?? And they don't allow dogs??? Seriously?? We opened up the window to check out our summit view and all you can see are trees and roof tops!! NO SUMMIT! Total rip off! The walls are paper thin and you could here the man on the other side snoring all night!! I didn't sleep a wink and my poor dog kept sitting up in bed with every noise she heard. Someone else stated they leave ear plugs in the rooms, he wasn't kidding! We had them too. And the crappy little TV!! Total joke! We felt like we had to delouse our dog when we checked out there! This place isn't even fit for animals!! Nice try Bear Crappy Lodge! We've told all of our friends that are big skiers to avoid this place like the plague! HORRIBLE!! read more

Stayed at the Bear Valley Lodge for two nights during Christmas. I was fairly satisfied. The rooms were cozy and beds clean. They had a nice Christmas Party for the kids on Christmas Eve with Santa followed by a movie. Even during the holidays and snow , parking was not an issue. ( compare to the chaos in Tahoe ). I did not ski myself but enjoyed the snowplay and snowmobiling. The Pizza bar was great . I did see a lot of skiers so I am pretty sure the slopes are good. I would not disagree with other reviewers and there definitely is room for improvement. I guess they need to spend some money in renovating the bath rooms and probably improve on the menu in the Creekside Restaurant. To sum it up - this was my third stay here and I have the expectations set right - so was not disappointed at all. read more

I am sorry to say but this place can't get much worse. I have stayed here too times with my family and each time it gets worse. My family enjoys the quick ride to the snow but this place is so run down and has nothing to offer for family's. The lodge is run down and has not been updated in years. The carpet is gross and smells like mold. The staff is slow and can be rude. At one of the restaurants we actually witnessed a fight between the two waitress and one of them called the other waitress a bitch, I thought they were going to start throwing punches. We left. We rented a movie and the movie started skipping at the best part. The New years eve party that they had was over priced and the played folk music. Even my six year old did not like the music? What happened to the cool DJ and dancing for kids and adults? How do you dance to folk music? We didn't stay.. If you have visited other ski resorts in Tahoe like North Star, Squaw Valley Or Alpine Meadows you will be greatly disappointed. We rented a condo through Bear Valley Estate and the Condo is was small, smells and is very dark. We paid way too much for what we got. Next time we will pay a little more and go to Tahoe were you have fun tubing down hills, ice skating , relaxing by nice fire pits to roast marsh mellows, swimming in hot tubs, walking around the nice village and eating and drinking at good restaurants that offer good food along with a nice a atmosphere. We are going Snow Boarding in the morning so hopefully at least Bear Valley Skiing will be better. The only thing that this place has to offer is Head Waters Cafe, perhaps if they updated the lodge like this place it would be more desirable. We won't be coming back.....It is too bad that this place has not gotten a clue like the other resorts in Tahoe have. How can you not make some improvements?? read more

Great time! Rooms were comfy and clean.The lodge and huge fireplace was impressive. Staff was friendly and helpful. The dinner and wine was great too Check out Ski and stay specials (very reasonable) Scott read more

My husband and I wanted our wedding to be at a ski resort and were deciding between Tahoe or Bear Valley. I am so happy that we chose Bear Valley! It was perfect and exactly what we wanted. Bear Valley is a small, laid-back community with very friendly staff and lots of help. Mark Phillips was extremely helpful and overly generous. We had a very small wedding (38 people) in the Cathedral Lounge and it was beautiful. The huge fireplace was the perfect setting. We then had our reception in the attached Dining Room. The head chef, Rob Christie, and his staff did an excellent job. All of the staff - from the service staff to the front desk - went out of their way to be helpful and accommodating for our small wedding party. Although our guests did not stay there, my husband and I did stay one night for the ski & stay package. Granted, the rooms are not the nicest (I would have rather spent all of my time in the Cathedral Lounge), but it was convenient and contributed to the mountain feel. The rooms could use a good makeover. We also stayed in one of the new Bear Valley Real Estate drive-up condos on our wedding night and they were very nice with modern amenities. Overall, I couldn't be happier with our choice to have our wedding at Bear Valley. Even though we live in Maryland now, we will definitely make an effort to go back and visit after having such a superb experience. read more

low expectations cannot begin, we did not have a working toilet for the 3 nights we were at the bear valley lodge n room 211, after multiple calls to the front desk and multiple attempts by maintenance to fix the problem on the first day to no avail, they obviously knew they were not going to be able to fix the problem, no offers to move us, on top of that on day 2 no bed service or emptying our trash, we couldn't lower our expectations below the service we received, its so obvious that the staff could care less on how you feel about the accomodations, this is the worst establishment read more