Big Bear Village Lodge — Hotel in Big Bear Lake

Part of me is hesitant to give an honest review, because my selfish side wants to keep this gem all to myself for our next run up to Big Bear. But the Village Inn (which goes by a lot of names, by the way) is really the sort of motel that is sadly disappearing across the United States: it’s quite reasonably priced, the rooms are large, it has full kitchen facilities that have all the cookwear, dishes, and utensils you’ll need (and the fridge is full sized), the rooms are kept spotlessly clean for lodging in this class and seems to have been given a bit of spiffing up recently, there are a lot of thoughtful touches that makes life easier for the traveler, its rules are reasonable and assume that you are an intelligent adult, it has a very accommodating dog policy, there are no hidden fees, and it’s right at ground zero for walking to restaurants and shops in the area. ||If you are a couple who like to be able to stretch out with a separate bedroom or a small family that wants to save by cooking a few meals, this is the place for you. Just a couple of things to consider: (1) There is on-property space for only a single vehicle, and that parking can get a little tight if your maneuvering skills are at an amateur level (there is free public parking on a well-lit lot about 100 meters away if you need to park another car overnight); (2) Unless you have one of the two ground units, you’ll be walking up a flight of stairs (no big deal); (3) You should bring some basic spices (salt, seasonings, etc.) and oilutter; (4) This isn’t a cute cabin tucked away in a forest; it’s an old school in-town motel that was probably a small apartment building at one time and is located on a very popular street; (5) Like most places up here, it’s built for cold weather, so the heater is strong and efficient but during August you’ll need that big fan they give you; (6) If you are a delicate sleeper who can’t stand any night sounds whatsoever, you’ll need to use that fan to create some white noise, and (7) These are really self-catering units which means no daily housekeeping service, though the office is right downstairs and open during the day for swapping out towels and linens as you require (that said, the cleaning crew that comes in after you and your tribe have departed do a great job, so tip generously).||We’d come back here in a heartbeat. Wonderful place to use for a base for skiing or other exploration in this area!||Nick in...

Let me start by saying that all vacationers BEWARE! It seems that Alpine Village Inn also goes by Lakeview Forest Lodge possibly due to the numerous bad reviews they've received under Alpine Village Inn so now they are trying to use a different name. I recently made reservations for my friends and I for the weekend of 2/23/2013 online and when we arrived at Alpine Village the girl who worked there informed us that our reservation had been cancelled so they rented the cabin out. I was totally shocked because I had made the online reservation 3 weeks prior and had never been informed that there was a problem with my reservation(the money was debited from my account when I made the reservation). The Alpine Village employee said that the online reservation site must have made a mistake but she said that the manager would probably just comp us for an upgrade due to the inconvenient situation(btw it was after 5pm so we couldn't get a hold of the reservation office) Once the manager, Kareen, arrived 20 min later she basically said that we would have to pay the difference for the upgraded cabin of $121 if we wanted to stay there. At this point we were upset, tired, cold and had no other options. We really didn't want to have to pay extra considering either the reservation company or Alpine Village a.k.a. Lakeview Forest Lodge made the mistake with our reservation. Kareen then told us "there was no point to us standing around in their lobby so we should start looking for a place to stay" and that "it wasn't their fault so there's nothing they can do" with an insincere sorry thrown in there. Kareen gave us attitude and was completely uncaring to our situation. We felt like we had no choice but to pay the $121 and get the upgraded cabin for 1 night. Kareen also mentioned that our "upgraded" cabin had no cable but when we settled in the cabin not only was there no cable but no wifi or any internet connection, some appliances were not working and the heater never seemed to really heat the place so our "upgrade" didn't truly feel like an upgrade at all. We were so put off by the lack of customer service and the manager, Kareen's attitude that we'll never stay here again....and I'll be sure to let everyone I know that they should steer clear of Alpine Village Inn/Lakeview Forest...

This hotel/motel is really more like a very basic long-stay property. There are six units, two downstairs and four upstairs. I had one of the downstairs units, helpful since I have bad knees. It was more like a one bedroom apartment. Separate living room area with a complete kitchen stocked with utensils. Large king sized bed in bedroom with shower tub in bathroom. Also a large jacuzzi tub in the living room which I thought was an odd location until I realized that the fireplace (and TV and dvd player) were right there so probably a good place for a couple’s retreat. None of the furniture was fancy but it was well kept up. The only negative of this particular unit was the lighting in the bedroom- there was no real source of outdoor light and the nightstand lights didn’t throw off much light.||The manager is very nice and very helpful. My cable TV wasn’t working when I first turned it on and he was there right after I called and figured out a way to fix it. I had to do the same thing one more time, but after that I didn’t have any more problems. ||The property is on the main drag of the Village, walking distance to many restaurants, bars, shopping and The Cave. They have a parking lot in the rear, which was the only real problem that I had. When I came back to the hotel at 10:30 on Friday night, there were no parking spaces available, even though there are more than 6 spaces. I was able to find street parking that late, and just hoped it was legal to park overnight on the street. ||When I mentioned this to the manager on Saturday he told me I should have called him, but I didn’t want to bother him that late. I did mention the pickup truck that was taking up two spots, which evidently belonged to the man standing in front of my room smoking. Sunday morning when I was ready to check out and leave the pickup was parked right next to me, over the line and so close that it was impossible for me to get in on the driver side. I had to climb in from the passenger side. Again I’m sure the manager would have made the truck move if I’d bothered to call him but it...