The Lodge at Lolo Hot Springs — Hotel in Alberton

My husband and I went here for our honeymoon. We stayed from June 22nd, to the 25th.  It was easy to find, and the drive there from Coeurd'Alene idaho was a beautiful one. We were later than expected, but they were accommodating.  We had made reservations, which was good, because the place was full when we arrived.  Sherry checked us in, and gave us a quick tour and explained the necessities. Sherry was wonderful. After learning it was our honeymoon, she offered to bump us to a King room the next day, for $20 a night. We took that deal. The 1st nights room was about the size of what I imagine an economy room on cruise ship would be. The mattress definitely needs replacing.   The magnet on the shower door doesn't really hold it. An accidental tap, and water gets on the floor. But, the room over all wasn't bad.  It fit our needs. The rest of the lodge? Historic tidbits scattered around, rustic and comfortable. A few tables for people to do whatever in the lobby, coffee and breakfast bar, nice sofas facing each other with a tables of games between them. Chess, checkers, etc. There was more seating facing a tv, tucked away, so you're not just sitting out in the open. I liked the layout.  The rooms, have tv's with DVD players. No channels. But there's a lot of dvds of all sorts, old and new. There's also a few shelves of books, and 2 shelves of games, like trivial pursuit,  SORRY, etc. All free to check out.   Only wifi available,  is the lobby, or the restaraunt next door. We knew this in advance, and saved several movies on my tablet, and comic books galore. But there's plenty to do, so you might never need it. The hot springs were relaxing, and had this almost blue/white lighting,    the pools were blue as well, it was very easy on the eyes. Wood panels walls with stones on the pillars and edge of the pool. The 2 springs had a wall dividing them, and each side had a shower. The springs were a comfortable 102°/104°. And provided a sense of privacy. We went in several times a day for 3 days. Still loved it, but after 3 days the water was a little dirty. Hair and misc people debris could be seen, they drain and clean it every 72 hours. It was clean on our 1st day though, so I know they do clean it. Probably just natural build up. Over all, we loved it. We changed rooms and the new room, 2-e, was awesome. King size bed, tables, chairs, a futon. And the tv was bigger, as was the refrigerator.  Bathroom and sink down a short hallway, adding privacy between the rooms. It all had a log cabin look on the walls, and big windows on 2 sides. Very nice. There are gathering places outside all the lower rooms, with benches and tables, and chairs, and those metal grills you find in parks, for burgers and such. If that's not your speed, there are a few fire pits scattered around the property. One is by the big pond out front, surrounded by green grass and flowers, and a few picnic tables. But what really makes it a good visit, is the staff. Everytime we'd pass one of them, they ask how I'm enjoying our visit.  Is there anything we need? They were very nice and knowledgeable about the area. There's a small "store" in the front of the lobby, you can find snacks, tv dinners, various travel size health and beauty items, ice cream, soda, juice. It's all pretty inexpensive, considering how in the middle of nowhere they are, they could jack the price up way higher, but they don't.  I went in there looking for Imodium.  They didn't have anything like it, but one employee, Logan, ran up and brought back 2 pepto pills, from his own room. Really appreciated that. When we switched rooms, my husband left his wallet on the microwave. Sandy and Logan returned it. We even sat and talked about ghost sightings on the grounds, with Sherry.   (Mostly at the bar next door) There are hiking trails nearby, and 2 natural hot springs you have to hike to, to reach. We'll be back for sure. THANKS again...

False advertising! Our first room was dar away in a run down building with snow and ice on the wooden steps to the entrance. This room was disgusting and the door didn't lock well enough to seem safe. No towels were provided and the sink was right next to the bed. We asked for an uprade, which was granted for a hefty price. Our king room was clean but the drapes didn't block out the bright light outside our window. The walkways between lodge and room buildings were covered in ice. We were informed that the restaurant was closed for "winter hours", but we, along with the other guests were unaware of this at time of booking. The desk clerk woman told us we could eat at the lodge at Loscha Peak, ID or go to Lolo. She lied about the distance to the peak, saying it's 13 miles-- it's really 20 and snowed the whole drive there. Service there is terrible and the waitress turned the lights out while we were still eating our expensive steak dinners! Lolo is farther, about 23 miles from the hot springs. The two indoor tubs were tiny but seemed clean. There was a barking dog and screaming children in them. The next day, we tried to soak at 11:00 am and the maintenance guy was draining the tubs! The sign says the tubs are open from 8am to 10pm, also a LIE! We sat in the hot one while it drained and he flushed us out with cold water!! He said they'd reopen at 6pm! That's when we'd be out scouting our next meal. When we returned for an evening soak, the desk clerk kicked us out, saying they closed at 9:00! Then she locks up the lodge, where there is the only phone service-- what if someone has an emergency? This is highly unsafe! Also, the only way to get ice or a DVD is from inside the lodge, so be prepared. From the hot tub, you can have a clear view of the maintenance room with its water heaters, cleaning supplies and junk, through a large opening in the wall that they never bothered to finish boarding up- it's partially boarded. Breakfast consisted of sugary cereal or a do-it-yourself waffle. That's it!! Even though this was April with people on spring break, the adjacent restaurant is closed. There's no Wifi but in the lodge and no TV, but shelves full of old DVD's to watch. There is a tiny wooden phone booth in the lodge to call home. The driveway needs major maintenance with potholes the size of bathtubs. We were awoken at 7am by someone shoveling snow and ice outside our window, yet the walkways remained icy during our entire stay. This place is way overpriced and it seems that they do not care about their guests experience! We ended up spending most of our time in Missoula, since the hot tubs were closed. Also, the public hot springs next door are pricey and filthy! The indoor pool hasn't been recoated in decades it seems, with bare concrete. The outdoor pool was not in use due to the temperature being too cold. We will never return here and don't know HOW they stay in business! Two nights and too much...

All in all we had a bad experience. We got there and there is ice everywhere, yes I understand it is winter but it didn't seem like they tried very hard. Most of the sidewalks were clear but several including the one between our room and the lobby were completely iced over as was the parking lot. We went in and the lady at the front desk was very nice, she said she thought we overpaid and gave us an upgraded room. We went to our room and dumped our stuff and headed to the restaurant next door the receptionist recommended. I don't know if the lodge is associated but the receptionist was going back and forth and in the kitchen talking a few times so I assume they are. They have a special pushing $30 a plate but we didn't feel like that so we ordered a (still overpriced but what do you expect at a tourist destination) chicken sandwich. Glad we didn't order anything more expensive because it was one of the most overcooked dry pieces of chicken I've ever eaten. I'm not a particularly picky eater but I didn't even finish mine it was that bad. Went to get the check, waitress is nowhere in sight. Realized she was outside smoking, waited 5 more minutes, went to the bartender, waited 5 more minutes (there is a grand total of 7 people in the whole restaurant) then the waitress showed up and we finally got our check. We went back to the hotel and headed to the hot springs. Now not good bad or indifferent but after spending all day at naturally occurring hot springs a filtered indoor hot springs basically just amounts to a hot tub. They were nice and warm but the experience is certainly different. We headed back to our room and that's when we realized the place reeked. The whole place smelled terribly of marijuana enough to give me a headache. I took some meds and went to sleep. The bed is not great for a $130 a night stay but not terrible either.

Some high notes so I can be fair here, no cell service is a plus for us, dvd collection was good, room furnishings looked nice (but again, they smelled).

EDIT: I was going to separate out the reviews for the Lodge and the restaurant after finding out they are separately owned, however the owner said they would contact us and make it right publicly here on the reviews and has never done so. There are employees and they are human, there certainly could have been some honest mistakes, but when you publicly comment on a bad review to make it look like you were going to take care of it and then don't even attempt to reach out it starts to look a lot less like honest mistakes and a lot more like you...