The Lodge at Spruce Peak

The valet employee irresponsibly left a bell cart unattended while I was parked in front of the lobby, waiting for the next valet to take my car. As a result, the bell cart rolled and hit my vehicle with significant force, causing two dents. This is completely unacceptable. My car is less than two months old, valued at over $100,000, and now bears visible damage due to the negligence of your valet staff. The bathroom lacked hot water on the night after Thanksgiving, forcing us to take showers in freezing conditions after returning from the swimming pool, with temperatures outside at 30°F.

My best friend and I did our annual girls trip to this resort over the Thanksgiving holiday. Pros: The views are stunning if you can get the right room. John the manager was truly amazing and so helpful. We were initially placed with a Mountain View but on the first floor and it truly was just a view of some trees and a highway. He was able to upgrade us for the second third and fourth night to the fourth floor and the views were stunning. He truly did work with us to make sure we were happy and we appreciated him. We ate at the Thanksgiving buffet at the hotel, food was perfect, lots of selections and wait staff was courteous and kind. The rooms were very clean and had daily maid service. They had a stove top, microwave, fridge and any and all utensils, pots/pans you would need. The shower was nice. There was a fire place and a decent amount of storage. We went to the spa and I had a facial my friend had a body scrub and we were both very pleased. Great services and you have access to the spa amenities all day. The breakfast buffet which we paid for at $30.00 was decent not the best not the worst but the made to order omelettes very good. The pool was cool as well. Most of the staff we encountered were friendly. The bellman was really nice. Cons: The food by far has to be the worst part of this experience. I would say that you should plan on shopping at a local grocery store and cooking most of your meals in the room. There are two places to eat in the hotel, the Tipsy Trout and the Alpine Hall. They do have three other places to eat at but you have to walk outside. The Whistle Pig which seemed to not have many meals more small things, Pico Taco (which we did eat at and was average) and the Beanery which closes at 4:00 pm. There was also an onsite deli it closed very early and it was the only place to pick up snacks and was very limited. We did Alpine Hall for dinner the first night and it was not a good experience. The hostess seemed confused and kept running around having us wait when the tables were clearly open (this happened at every meal). We ordered burgers that were average at best and way undercooked. Then given the check before we were even offered dessert. We ordered room service one day for lunch, the food was average at best. Not at the hotel but we were told that the only place that delivered to the hotel was Pie Casso pizza which was talked up like crazy, and was average to below average pizza. They only have coffee service until 10:00 and you will find a better coffee service at a Best Western, very limited selections, no flavored creamers, no tea, etc. There is no where on site to just get water. There are vending machines which are very well hidden but they are only snacks, no drinks and only take cash. We were told they would give us free boxed water at the desk, but then when we went were charge $3.50 a pop since they were not included in our deal. There were hard cookies one night for free. We expected more from this “luxury” hotel such as maybe a hot chocolate service or even a small area that was open near the front desk to purchase things. The front desk staff seemed confused, like they were all in training at the time and did not know what to do. Every single time we went there. The only person who seemed to know what to do was John, whom I mentioned earlier. While the room view was great, the bed is not a king bed (despite what it says) and I ended up having to sleep on the pull out couch as I was traveling with my best friend. It was not too uncomfortable but still not ideal. The concierge was horrible. He had zero suggestions for things for us to do, and we got better help from the wait staff at the Thanksgiving dinner and our rideshare drivers than we did from him. He honestly just did not seem like he wanted to be there or do his job. Tips: There is no free car or shuttle service. We did not have a car. The website said that it was available. When we asked we were told they were special events only, that’s not what the website says. If you don’t have a car you need to arrange transport everywhere. The hotel will refer you to a service but we found that service to be more than just calling Ubers. We were told there was limited rideshare in the area (only five drivers) but even with that calling one on demand was cheaper than using the scheduled services offered. We are not skiers but the slopes were not opened even though they were supposed to be. Without that, there is not a lot to do nearby, even for non skiers because many of the activities rely on snow. If you are looking for a relaxing just sitting there vacation this is perfect for you. There are lots of dogs, big dogs and personally I loved that, but if you don’t like dogs this is not the place for you.

Beautiful venue and area to visit. Staff is very friendly and helpful. Food is AMAZING!!! Have the steak frites, you won't regret it. Best steak ever. Hotel is clean and well kept. Pool was open in November! Very spacious venue for a conference. Put your walking shoes on! Loved it.

Even though we arrived in between seasons, we were well-taken care of! I absolutely recommend an Alpine Studio or Suite because the view of the mountains can’t be beat! And those floor to ceiling windows, WOW!! I also really enjoyed having a fireplace because we went from 70 degree weather to 20’s and the fireplace definitely got its use from us! Love the local artisan coffee in our room along with the full size coffee maker. The lodge itself is gorgeous both inside and out! We ate both breakfast and dinner at Alpine Hall and when I say it was amazing I am being 100% honest. My husband got the pork chop and I swear it as the best pork chop either of us had ever eaten! For breakfast the next day it was a la carte so I got the Pumpkin-stuffed French Toast on morning - OMG so good!! Also got some perfect bacon, perfect link sausage & Vermont ham along with crispy breakfast potatoes too! All just yum!! Valet was great and efficient and gave us a great recommendation for late lunch in town too! I cannot wait to go back! Thank you for such a great stay!

Let me start saying that the resort is beautiful and the people at the front desk and valet are friendly. But that’s about it as the major issue is that the resorts discriminates on third party booking. Let me explain and warn you, because as a hotel owner and a hotel consultant I have never felt more our business was not preferred. When you reserve a hotel you can choose to book directly with the hotel or use a third party like booking.com, Expedia etc. Third party reservations are usually a substantial amount of room nights and income for a hotel. Hotels work with (online) agents (OTA) to show up in search engines and expend their reach. Something that is highly expensive when you have to do it yourself. Normally there is no difference between a direct booking at the hotel and making a booking through an OTA. Other then perhaps you find a bit more flexibility if you need to change or cancel a room when you book directly with a hotel. And there are hotels that will reserve the better located rooms in each room categories for guests reserving directly a hotel. The Lodge has taken it to the next and very questionable level. Including charging $120 for use of fitness when you book via a 3rd party and not cleaning your room during your stay. Something they don’t communicate on their website nor is communicated on 3rd party websites often with information provided by the hotel. It is unfortunate because the hotel leaves a bad taste in your mouth and in the long run the greediness of the hotel will backfire as it has done in the past with this property. The rate we paid via booking.com was equal to the rate we would have paid directly to the hotel . So for 15% commission fees the hotel had to pay on a $1300 reservation resulted in a $120 per time per person fee to go to the fitness. Or almost $1000 for two days and four people . This ridiculous and should be communicated on the homepage of the hotel’s website and on every OTA page they try to sell their rooms. Additionally the hotel’s restaurant is dreadful and a bartender that doesn’t know how to make standard cocktail . In short once again , operating yet again under a different name and a different management group, the hotel falls short and discriminates guests booking on booking.com