Big Bear LakeFront Lodge — Hotel in Big Bear Lake

We were looking for a place to stay overnight and didn't want to break the bank, so found Big Bear Lakefront Lodge. We chose the lodge knowing that it is an older place, but it had decent reviews and I wanted something close to the lake and not too far from The Village.

Check-in was very pleasant, and Losha at the desk, and the manager, Lisa, were very helpful in answering our questions and trying to meet our needs. The lodge uses normal keys (remember those) instead of the credit card electronic type/which was fine with us. The lodging is set up in two two-story buildings with a courtyard in between, and a picnic area with barbecue grills behind, lakeside. One of the things I like is that there were interior corridors to the rooms, which I think would be important during those snow days. I noticed a ping-pong or billiard table in the wide corridor in the front building, and the courtyard area had a ping pong table and play area with slide and swings for children. It was charming, and I liked how the area was protected for young children to play. In the back of the lodge are some picnic tables, the grills as mentioned, and a volleyball net set-up. There is also a pathway to the lake that I saw people take advantage of on morning or evening walks. The lodge is within walking distance from the Village (maybe 15-minute walk), yet off the main drag so you don’t hear the traffic. I really liked that.

As I said earlier, the lodge is older, but that will not be a deterrent for the next time I stay in Big Bear. Our room was very adequate for our needs, and I loved the location. The room itself was simple, with two queen beds, a simple/small bathroom and a kitchenette. There was also a gas fireplace, which was a plus for us. The rooms also include a nice sized balcony with chairs so you can go sit outside and enjoy the outdoor atmosphere. There is no closed closet, which was not an issue for us. There is also free wi-fi included, which is one of the first things I look for when getting accommodations.

There is a place to hang clothes, and a luggage rack to put your suitcase on. The bathroom was older, with an older tub, but everything worked, and we had enough towels, soap/shampoo for our needs. If I remember correctly, there was a hair dryer, but we didn’t use it. There was also an iron/ironing board, but we didn’t need to use it. I liked that there was a chest at the foot of the bed, and a table folded against the other bed with two chairs. We had the ability to open the table bigger so for four people you could set it up to all eat. One of the things I like about this lodge is the ability to have simple meals using the kitchenette with the sink, small refrigerator, and microwave, or cook something on the outdoor grills out back. The beds were comfortable and had sheets and a comforter. I do recommend, and will enjoy staying here again next time we come up to Big Bear. Oh… and I forgot my pillow there, but didn’t report it until the next day. Lisa personally looked for and found it, and she’s sending it back to me. I’m so happy she found my favorite pillow. She was extremely helpful and pleasant, and made me feel important in getting my pillow back to me. That’s important to note, I think.

I uploaded some pictures, and am bummed I forgot to take pics of the bathroom, and the...

||We arrived at 9pm well within lobby hours and were told that someone had left and mistakenly took the room keys with them so we had no key and that the room was unlocked and we can go right in!  Not good.  And that we can lock it from the inside however if we wanted to leave then we would have to leave the room unlocked.   Not good! The young man offered to waive the late fee to make up for the missing room key but there shouldn't have a late fee as we arrived well before the 11pm cutoff.   The room was a little chilly so we tried to light the fireplace, didn't work. We then tried to turn on the heater, didn't work.   The young man at the front desk came and tried to fix both but no luck.  There was only 1 bath towel for 3 people, just 1! So the young man had to go to other rooms that weren't occupied to get more since their dryer was broken and they didn't have extras.   Ceiling and walls are paper thin so we heard everything. Microwave handle was broken.  There was a coffee maker in the room but just a coffee packet, no cream, sugar, stirrer etc....  We were looking for lodge info and checked the desk drawer and the entire bottom of the drawer was missing!  The outlets were old,  worn out and loose so it didn't hold our charging plugs.  The floor was FILTHY!!   I walked barefoot from the bed to the bathroom and back and my feet were totally black. I washed off my feet and it happened again while just walking around inside the room.  Bathroom door kept hitting the shower rod and you had to force it open and shut.  I went to get a water from the vending which per site said was by the front lobby but I didn't see one so I  asked and was told they don't have vending machines on property. We go the next morning to check out and get something from their continental breakfast which was suppose to be served 8-930 (per hotels.com) but the door was locked and no one inside at 0850am.  So we left the location and I got a call from the resort at 4pm asking if we were already checked out and I said yes, we left a 9am and no one was in the office. She then asked if we still had to room key!?!??!?  I was floored.  This experience at Big Bear lakefront lodge fell far short of what was expected. Very subpar.  I wouldn't recommend this location any time soon - maybe if they do a complete upgrade/renovation.  Its a shame cause its a good location, nice...

I gave this location a chance because I read that there was a change in management and an improvement. However, I was very disappointed. The location is great right next to the lake. They could really do a lot of great things with this location, but when I went to my room, the fireplace wasn’t working, which is fine. I let the front desk know. The girl was very nice. Came to my room tried to fix it was not able to and then stated she could upgrade my room for no extra charge. She gave me the room next-door, which had a Jacuzzi tub very nice however there were no drawers to put my clothes in and no hangers to hang anything on. I wasn’t even going to write a negative review initially until I saw two charges on my checking account. I called the next day and spoke to a young man who explained that the hundred dollars was a security fee and would be refunded in 2 to 3 days. That’s fine. I can wait the 2 to 3 days but the initial charge for 192 was supposed to be for my room plus a pet fee which the girl refunded because I had a service dog with me. He stated she was new and made a mistake. I had a very difficult time talking to him because he kept interrupting me which made me more frustrated, and when I asked for his name, he refused to give it to me. I had to ask for a manager or the owner to call me back. I cannot state how rude he was to a customer and how horrible his customer service was even if he wasn’t able to give me a refund. He could’ve been much more polite, but he chose to be rude and continue to interrupt me and tell me that I was the one getting hostile. I was not hostile at all. I was frustrated yes but I wasn’t threatening to hurt him or anything. All I did was say that I wasn’t initially gonna write a review but now I’m gonna write a negative review that’s not hostile. That’s just telling the truth. Oh, and by the way, my bed had some kind of crumbs in it before I even got into it. I don’t normally get this upset, but I’m extremely upset and dissatisfied and will never I repeat never recommend this location to anyone. They’d be better off sleeping in their car than staying at...