Holiday Inn Resort The Lodge at Big Bear Lake by IHG

Location.

Paint on the wall are peeling off. I reserved a room for 4 people, they are only giving us a breakfast voucher for two. Breakfast voucher is $12 per person. It was advertised to have a free breakfast with the room reservation.

Lovation

DO NOT STAY HERE! Do not be fooled by the IHG name, this is 1 star motel quality at a $350/night price tag. The Breach: I found a hole drilled through my door, allowing anyone in the hallway can see into my room. The hotel’s "fix"? They sent someone to put a sticker over it. A sticker is not a repair. The Management: Debora and Manager Mahaila are shockingly rude. I was dismissed checking-in at 3:10 with a flat "no" without apology. Mahalia admitted an "upgraded" room was ready but demanded I pay extra to move into it essentially charging me a fee to escape a room with a hole in the door. No apology, no flexibility, and zero hospitality. The Only Positive: Anthony at the front desk. He was professional, kind, and the only person here who understands basic service. Verdict: Avoid this place. Look at the manager’s defensive and rude responses to other guests’ reviews. it tells you everything you need to know about how they run this business

I read all the bad reviews here after booking and was concerned but it was actually fine. The two front desk staff who helped us (young guy with glasses and older lady) were very kind despite being busy, the housekeepers were also friendly. It was the weekend after a big snowfall so probably the busiest of the year. When we arrived there was a line to get checked in but they worked fast. There is a nice lobby with coffee and a fire while you wait to check in. It is an older place and not fancy but our room was clean and cosy with balcony overlooking the pool. Pool was covered in snow but the hot tub was running. Room had fridge and microwave, tub, hairdryer, Dove products and Keurig. The games room/arcade takes cash only, could do with updating and adding new stuff. There are drink and snack vending machines on each floor I can imagine it gets hot in the summer due to the low ceilings in the hallways but location is perfect for walking to the village stores and restaurants and to the parks etc by the lake.

It saved me from what started to be a horrible night. The staff was good. I had rented a air bnb and it was a nightmare luckily this hotel was available and made it easy