Rock Lake Earth Lodge — Hotel in Alberta

Generally,

Pro: wildlife sightings, peaceful and relaxing area , cabin was renovated, had almost all basic supplies needed

Con: long drive from Jasper and Hinton, gravel track with no scenic views , no cellphone service in the area , no wifi at the cabin (it's only available at the reception/lodge), can't park car next to your cabin overnight . Kitchen was not well designed as there was no designated spots to put airfyer and stove so had to be careful plugging the appliances to keep kids away from potential hazard

Personally, bitter sweet experience:

booked the cabin for 2nights

sighted a few deers, grizzly bear on the gravel road and a group of elks around the cabin, it was fantastic! But the drive to the cabin from Hinton was long and not scenic

easy check in, staff unlocked cabin and we moved our bags inside

However: no way to communicate with the reception desk cuz no phone signals and no wifi (even though airbnb ad said there's wifi), u have to walk over everytime to the lodge

staff member did not fire up the fireplace properly, it fizzled out, I spend 1/2 hr trying to reignite without fire starter/twigs/paper/oil . staff came again to fix it

cooking pan from cabinet was burnt/damaged, asked for replacement and struggled with the alternate pan provided as it did not work on induction stove ... started preparing dinner 810pm, simple chicken wraps, fire alarm went off twice upsetting the kid and baby, had dinner 1020pm cuz of all these issues

as per instructions, I put a big piece of log in fireplace around midnight before going to bed, reduced the airflow so that it lasts the night, fire fizzled and had to spend 40min ~2am to restart the fire cuz it was cool night

4am heard scratching noises in kitchen, it was a mouse! we as a family get disgusted and uneasy with mice! Had food items on the floor (cuz there were no shelves or pantry) and I was worried that it will get contaminated, mustered the courage to put the bags on the island, didn't dare to open the bags to check inside ... Over the next 2-3 hrs noises continued and I counted up to 4 mice near refrigerator and under the sink cabinet, and one of it ran into the washroom so we couldn't even use it that time ... don't know if there was gap in plumbing or some other hole, never dared to check and there was no way of notifying the staff either, Finally slept 7am :(

in the morning after the rain stopped, my wife to the lodge and registered the complaint to the owner, who came back and assessed all the food items and said that luckily there is no damage to the food

we expressed to her that we don't wish to stay at the cabin, she offered an alternate cabin or to stay with the owner/staff at their lodge in a private room and replace some food items ... We appreciated the kind offer! We were not comfortable in shared accommodation with kids and did not want to risk another night at the alternate cabin ... So decided we won't be staying at this airbnb and requested a full refund because of risk of food damage/contamination and a terrible 1st night with hardly any sleep ... She said that since there was no damage to the food so she cannot provide a partial/full refund for the 1st night and agreed to only a full refund for the 2nd night

we cleaned up the place, washed the dishes (as with any airbnb we stay at), locked the place and gave the keys to the staff

we were visiting from Mississauga and staying at Calgary, part of us was sad because we were really looking forward to this trip and we drove all the way from Calgary to this property instead of staying at Jasper/Hinton airbnbs but were satisfied with the discussion with owner had in professional and accommodating manner

THE BIGGEST SHOCK was when we did not get the refund and contacted the owner who refused to provide it and airbnb customer support said that there is no written communication of such an agreement between us & the owner! Never had such an experience before, feeling we got played for not documenting our agreement on airbnb, Extremely...

We had this venue booked for our wedding but once we viewed it, it was not the place for us. It is a beautiful spot but not what we wanted.

We were not told they live in the basement of the venue where our whole family would be staying.

There’s quite a large amount stairs to get up and down from the main lodge area, told them about the concerns with family members in crutches who would not be able to get to and from the bathroom. There’s only one bathroom in the main lodge or you’re using a porta potty outside.

There’s no parking for 120 guests.

We were told the campgrounds were just a quick walk over a field to get to the venue, that it’s not the case at all!

The road to get it is not maintained well.

Our wedding is more than a year away and the owners will not refund ANY of our money. So now we are stuck trying to find another wedding $9000 short.

After emailing Cheanise the day after we went and viewed the wedding venue she emailed me back to pretty much say none of my worries were valid and I’d still have a great wedding there. This is OUR wedding and we decided this was not the place for us.

Very...

Rock Lake Earth Lodge was such a wonderful place to stay. We stayed here for 5 days this summer 2024. I was looking for somewhere with limited cell service, low traffic and with amenities to make it easier with a 4 and 3 yr old. This place fit all the boxes of us. (We also brought our pup along as well) Brody and Cheanise had everything ready for us when we arrived. We stayed in Cabin 4 and it had the most amazing views of the meadow and a little creek running behind the cabin. We enjoyed a day at rock lake fishing and did a couple little hikes in the area. Otherwise we relaxed. We took a day trip to Jasper (before the fire) Any questions we had Brody and Cheanise where able to help us with. We got to see a couple herds of elk right outside the cabin, a fox and many deer.

If you are looking for a getaway with few people around this is a great spot. But remember you are about 30-45 minutes from the nearest town so you will be cooking and doing dishes still. For us that was not an issue but if you don’t want to cook then this may not to be...