Castle Wood Cottages — Hotel in Big Bear Lake

We decided to come here for a little getaway and was referred by our neighbor. This was a nice place, walking distance to restaurants etc. Since this was off season, we got there about an hour before check in time and our room was available. We booked the Castle Garden room. Very spacious. The guy who checked us in/out (Richard) was very nice. I almost didn't book the room because they had so many 'rules' (cancellation....). I guess since they are a small family owned place, maybe they had bad luck with some people but I felt like there was not much flexibility. ||Anyhow, I would recommend this place but I think we would try another room. So these are not deal breakers, just my opinion/thoughts re some things in this room.||Bathroom||Although pictured in the photos, I really didn't think about it much until I got there. If you are a peeing machine (like I am LOL), the bathroom is located next to the 'kitchen/dining' area - 2 floors down! So getting up in the middle of the night and working your way down each time (had to leave some lights on so that I didn't fall down the stairs).||No soap dish in the bathroom - i would imagine over time, that soap would damage the counter top. No cups either. The only 'cups' were the ones left on the table for you to use. We did have to ask for more towels - (didn't think to take the ones at the tub :( ). The shampoo/conditioner were very small and didn't smell very good. I have a lot of hair and there was 2 of us so luckily I brought some of my own. We were there for 2 nights and I didn't feel like calling the front desk for more shampoo. There is no plug in the bathroom sink so if you have anything small, don't bring it in there because it might fall down the sink. I usually take my rings off and i was afraid that it would fall down the drain if I accidentally knocked them off the shelf. |There was also no 'tissue' - just used toilet paper if you needed.||Kitchen/Dining area||As you had only the dishes on the table, we would wash our cups etc but there was no mat/dish towel to dry. again, didn't want to just leave it on the counter to chip or break and water soak into the counter. I also wished there were some instruction re how to use things. They had an ice machine but apparently if the basket is lined up correctly, it wouldn't work and the sensor would be off. Never used one before so didn't think it was such an easy fix. |We called the front desk (from cell phone - phone in room didn't work) and it was figured out.||The dining room was very dim. although the light in the bathroom and 'kitchen' area was bright, the table area itself was dim. i don't have the greatest sight so it was too dim for me to enjoy sitting and eating there in the evening. would have been nice to have a light with a dimmer that you can brighten when necessary. the morning wasn't too bad with all the curtains open. ||Fridge - does not get 'cold'. it does get things 'cool' and it takes a long time to get cold and it is very small. It is one of those fridges don't get extremely cold. However, I think that if they knew someone was checking in, they should turn it on waaaaay ahead of time. We had some things that needed to stay in the fridge and was worried it wouldn't stay cold enough. ||Bedroom||The remotes and the battery covers gone and it took a while to figure out that you turned the tv on with one remote and used the other one for the channels? not that we watched a lot of tv but we had it on when relaxing. it is difficult to watch because at a certain angle (poster bed), you couldn't even see the tv due to the post. so we just listened to the news in the morning. Also, wish there was a little 'light' in the closet. it isn't very big - but there was no light and it was dark - when you are trying to see if you left anything etc. The fire place was nice and large (although we ended up not using it) and there was wood you could use (for a cost). ||General||There are a ton of light switches all over the place, had to go around flipping them to see what went where - especially when trying to go to bed and turn most things off.||We didn't use the tub but did notice that there weren't any 'bath salts' we could use - would have to remember to bring your own I guess.||There is a 'moat' in the room which was cool. However, I think it should be turned on once in a while. When you walk into the room for the first time, it smelled musky/mildewy? We had to open all the windows to air out the place. Again, I think if they know a room is going to be occupied, it should be aired out and things turned on sooner. ||When checking out - I usually ask for a final bill - even though we didn't owe anything since room was already paid for. It would still be nice to get some kind of final bill so you know there are no surprises coming your way.||Again, these are not deal breakers. We did have a relaxing few days and would come back and try a...

I'm impressed with the level of detail that went into this themed cabin. It's tri-level and you enter from the second floor, where there is the Jacuzzi upon entering to your left and a swing under a tree to your right. Downstairs you pass a little drawbridge with a "moat" (with water!) to a dining area with long table where the kitchenette area is, replete with ice machine, Brita pitcher, sink, mini fridge, microwave, keurig and a restroom.

Upstairs is the bedroom, with a gargoyle overlooking and statue of king and queen. Some of the lights and sconces are broken or missing, the knight no longer works. We were tripping out hard when I flipped the switches by the swing and the blue lights and moat began spewing water down fountain by the kitchen.

This was amazing. I was literally jumping up and down when we entered the place. I am so impressed by how cool this place is, even with the things over time that have fallen into disrepair the detail overall is nothing short of impressive. Not sure how anyone can complain about something like this. The shower head has a rainfall head, the stones in the shower, to the shape of the mirror, it was all intentional. I saw nothing "icky" in selecting the specific stone-like accoutrements to complement the theme.

There's a tv in the bedroom but why would you even wanna watch tv in a castle garden? COME ON!

Loved the vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, flickering lights, ambiance - we put on Celtic music and enjoyed the peace away from the city. This isnt even our first day here I just couldn't wait to update my review.

I happened to get his and her house slippers as one of the anniversary gifts for my bf and it worked out perfectly to grace our castle floors. Highly...

Although the Treehouse is a great theme, it did not meet expectations. Upon arrival, room was "picked up" but not clean. There was a Condom wrapper on living room floor! The small amount of carpet in the room is horribly stained. Then we discovered a small picture in a weird place high on the wall outside of the bathroom. I lifted off the picture to find it was covering a smoke detector! Other things to be aware of - The front door only has a key lock, no deadbolt and no door chain. Based on them concealing a broken smoke detector and lack of door security, it appears this establishment does not care about the safety of their guests. Also, bring your own hangers if you want to hang your clothes, none are provided. Last issue, they tell you no guests are allowed. However, last night there were no parking spaces available for me to park on the property. The office staff leaves the property around 6 p.m. and it becomes open parking as no one is around to enforce their no guests policy. After approximately 5 minutes, we noticed 4 individuals leave on the the cottages and get into separate cars and leave. This opened up a space for me to be able to park on the property. Overall, the stay in the treehouse cottage was just OK. Guess I thought the room would be cleaner due to the high cost of the non-refundable cleaning deposit. All comments made are just my opinion based on a...