Cedar House Chalets — Hotel in Area A (Kicking Horse/Kinbasket Lake)

We feel very mixed writing this review for Cedar House Chalets in Golden. There is much about the place, the cabins and the surrounding area that are wonderful, but sadly our experience was anything but wonderful.

We stayed for five nights (we booked for six but left early) at the very end of July in the Adventure Cabin.

However, very sadly, we didn’t enjoy much of our stay there (and not because of the mosquitos). We chose Cedar House (and paid a premium in comparison with many other options we shortlisted) because we were sold on the promise of a quiet sanctuary marketed on the website. I quote the following: “The Cedar House is geared for peace and relaxation. Please refrain from playing loud music outdoors so it doesn’t interfere with the serenity of other guests. Any loud or disruptive behaviour will result in eviction from the premises without reimbursement of payment.”

Unfortunately a peaceful sanctuary it was not.

On our the third day a large party of young people arrived, booking out The Green Lodge (a combined booking of the Sun Suite and The Green Chalet) just a few steps down from our cabin. This combined booking creates accommodation for fourteen people, and this fourteen were clearly on a mission to spend their time at Cedar House partying and drinking - from the moment they arrived to the moment they left. That’s three nights and two fulls days of loud music outside, beer pong, screaming and cheering games, chasing around the grounds, and all running late into the night. It was invasive and completely destroyed the natural beauty of such a wonderful retreat.

On the first night we put in ear plugs and tried to sleep, hoping that Cedar House would enforce their own set rules. They didn’t. Day two it was worse. We rang the owner (who doesn’t live on site so we realised she had no idea what was going on). Sadly the owner was ineffective and nothing changed. On day three we spoke to the owner directly. She was defensive and said that the partying group were an AirBNB booking. She asked us what we expected her to do, that she couldn’t just kick them out. In short, she wasn’t remotely assertive or effective managing or dealing with the disruption, which for the record was also affecting those staying in another cabin nearby. In the end she did apologise and issued us a 10% refund on the cost of our stay and we left it at that, put our ear plugs back in and looked forward to our final night when the party would be leaving.

How wrong we were. At check-in time the following day another large party arrived, screaming and shouting as they explored The Green Lodge and asking if they could play music outside. We couldn’t face another night of such frustrating disappointment so we packed up and left.

Interestingly, on leaving at lunch we spoke to a local in Golden who knew the resort very well. They explained Cedar House has been a resort for many years and told us that the current owners are new. They made it clear that nothing like this would have been allowed to happen under the previous owners. This suggested to us that the statement on the website about peace and quiet is a historic one and no longer applies.

Later on that night we emailed the owner to let her know that we had left early and explain why. We also suggested that she amend the policy on the website to avoid an issue like this happening in the future. She didn’t respond to the email until we sent a follow up message a week later. I think this also says a lot about the new owners and their care for their property and their guests’ experiences.

So based on our experience, go to Cedar House if you want to party with your friends. You’ll have an amazing time! It’s awesome. Do not go if you are looking for a quiet mountain retreat or a romantic getaway. We are left with such a bitter feeling after being cheated out of the much needed rest we were sold by Cedar...

We stayed at the Cedar house, cedar cabin, for 2 nights. We have never met the host and we are sure they are doing their best to maintain the place at its best, but we would like to share our experience. This cabin is situated just across the restaurant, so in non-covid times when the restaurant is open, there is gonna be a lot of fun to be in this cabin and also relax. We are staying in cabins and hotels in different places worldwide, from very basic to more upscaled places and we mostly care about cleanliness. The cabin was indeed clean and spacious, it has a separate bedroom and a living room area with a kitchen and a porch with a hot tub and a grill apparatus (we do not use these). The place has lots of labels everywhere dictating you every step of your stay: turn off the lights, take your trash out, use these towels, close these doors, don’t use that, use this etc. Also, one of the notes stated that property managers will come at unspecified time to check on your hot tub. It feels as the sole purpose of the guests is to destroy this place completely or if we are coming from a different planet, so we need some instructions how to operate. It creates an uncomfortable feeling that makes you aware of every single movement that you perform in that house. The rooms are outdated and need a touch to refresh the place. There is also a smell of old cooking oil, probably because the previous guests were not reading carefully the instructions and did not open all the windows in the house while turning off the air-conditioning standing on one leg and clapping 3 times. There is a TV that has only one channel (marketing or tv shopping). The towels are old and unpleasant to touch. In general, we do not think we will come again, although this place has a lot of potential. It could be that it is us and not the place. But we have never saw any mentioning of these facts, it was important to share, so the reader can make a decision...

Driving from Ontario to BC for a move is stressful. And while staying at mid-level hotels with dog in tow is better than camping, a person might start to crave more comfort and space along the way. Such a person would be smart to reserve themselves a night or two at Cedar House Chalets in Golden, just over the border from AB to BC. We checked in mid-afternoon, which allowed time for my wife to enjoy a massage in the chalet (pre-booked) and me to forage for supplies in town. Chalet was spacious and super clean, with clear instructions and guides for use. While there are several chalets and all were occupied, we had privacy galore.

Since we didn't want to leave the pooch alone and go dine in the restaurant, we had also booked a steak dinner in the chalet, which was ready in the fridge, pre-prepped and ready to grill on our very private deck. Our chalet had absolutely everything we needed for comfort and relaxation -- right down to mosquito coils. The hot tub was a most welcome treat after days of travel. Mountain glimpses from the chalet were topped only by the magnificent views from the property's look-out area.

Highly recommend this place -- for its beautiful location, clean and well-equipped chalets, friendly staff, luxurious add-ons, and privacy. It's not just mountain chalets -- it's luxury mountain chalets, and every detail has been thought of. Can't wait to go back...