Grey Squirrel Resort & Vacation Rental Homes — Hotel in Big Bear Lake

Terrible! Do not stay here. Came home today from a weekend stay here. Only pros are that the beds were comfortable, for me, as I like a soft mattress. My husband likes it more firm and didn’t think they were comfortable. Also, there was an electric fireplace that warmed up the living room nicely. Those were the only pros. |Here’s a long list of the cons, get ready:|Dirty, sticky, nasty. |Very little supplies in the kitchen. For example, I wanted to reheat fries in the oven, as a microwave would make them soggy. What do I put them on? Nothing. No cookie sheets or oven-safe ware. Had to throw the fries away. Provided a coffee pot and coffee grounds, but no sugar or creamer. What’s the point? |Towels feel like they don’t dry. I think because the bathroom is freezing. That takes me to my next point.|Bathroom ceiling heater lamp broken. Informed them via text. They said they would take a look. Was not fixed or given any remedy like a standing heater. |Only one shower for a cabin that accommodates 6. |Hot water doesn’t work right away. You literally have to “activate” the hot water to get the hot water heater to work and then take a shower 2 hours later. Figured this out after my two kids each took a cold shower. I texted the property in the evening as that is the only way to reach them Afterhours or for an emergency. They didn’t respond until the next morning. Their response….”the hot water isn’t endless. If you use it for anything else, it will run out quickly”. So, 4 people can’t get hot water for a cabin that accommodates 6? And we didn’t use it for anything else. |Their office hours are only 9-5pm. Up to 7pm on Friday and Saturday. So, if anything comes up after that hour you are out of luck. As I mentioned before, they have an Afterhours texting line that they didn’t respond to until the next morning. What if it was a bigger emergency? |Only Netflix available on the TV. You can’t watch any other TV. |One of the bedrooms is freezing, if you close the door. The only way it heats up is to leave the door open to the living room area. But then you are hearing an annoying clicking noise every time the heater comes on. So, it was a choice of freezing or not sleeping. |No extra blankets to be found anywhere. All you get is a sheet and a thin comforter. |Very few outlets. And none next to your bed. Unless you count the one that is butted up the mattress, which you would have to move the mattress from the wall to access it and no table. So, the electronics would have to sit on the floor. |We were just feet from Hwy 18. Very loud with all the cars zooming by. ||Last but not least, the very dangerous floor heater vent. There is a huge heater vent in the living room. They warn you to not step on it or your shoes will melt. Wtf?! I’m glad we have teenagers. If I had little ones, they would have surely gotten burned. ||All this to say, I could rationalize it if I was paying Motel 6 prices. The total for two nights was $484. That includes a $50 admin fee. Not sure why that isn’t already included in their price and a $70 cleaning fee. What cleaning?! It sure wasn’t clean. They ask that you wash your own dishes and take out the trash. What’s the cleaning fee for then?...

Terrible! Do not stay here. Came home today from a weekend stay here. Only pros are that the beds were comfortable, for me, as I like a soft mattress. My husband likes it more firm and didn’t think they were comfortable. Also, there was an electric fireplace that warmed up the living room nicely. Those were the only pros. Here’s a long list of the cons, get ready: Dirty, sticky, nasty. Very little supplies in the kitchen. For example, I wanted to reheat fries in the oven, as a microwave would make them soggy. What do I put them on? Nothing. No cookie sheets or oven-safe ware. Had to throw the fries away. Provided a coffee pot and coffee grounds, but no sugar or creamer. What’s the point? Towels feel like they don’t dry. I think because the bathroom is freezing. That takes me to my next point. Bathroom ceiling heater lamp broken. Informed them via text. They said they would take a look. Was not fixed or given any remedy like a standing heater. Only one shower for a cabin that accommodates 6. Hot water doesn’t work right away. You literally have to “activate” the hot water to get the hot water heater to work and then take a shower 2 hours later. Figured this out after my two kids each took a cold shower. I texted the property in the evening as that is the only way to reach them Afterhours or for an emergency. They didn’t respond until the next morning. Their response….”the hot water isn’t endless. If you use it for anything else, it will run out quickly”. So, 4 people can’t get hot water for a cabin that accommodates 6? And we didn’t use it for anything else. Their office hours are only 9-5pm. Up to 7pm on Friday and Saturday. So, if anything comes up after that hour you are shit out of luck. As I mentioned before, they have an Afterhours texting line that they didn’t respond to until the next morning. What if it was a bigger emergency? Only Netflix available on the TV. You can’t watch any other TV. One of the bedrooms is freezing, if you close the door. The only way it heats up is to leave the door open to the living room area. But then you are hearing an annoying clicking noise every time the heater comes on. So, it was a choice of freezing or not sleeping. No extra blankets to be found anywhere. All you get is a sheet and a thin comforter. Very few outlets. And none next to your bed. Unless you count the one that is butted up the mattress, which you would have to move the mattress from the wall to access it and no table. So, the electronics would have to sit on the floor. We were just feet from Hwy 18. Very loud with all the cars zooming by.

Last but not least, the very dangerous floor heater vent. There is a huge heater vent in the living room. They warn you to not step on it or your shoes will melt. Wtf?! I’m glad we have teenagers. If I had little ones, they would have surely gotten burned.

All this to say, I could rationalize it if I was paying Motel 6 prices. The total for two nights was $484. That includes a $50 admin fee. Not sure why that isn’t already included in their price and a $70 cleaning fee. What cleaning?! It sure wasn’t clean. They ask that you wash your own dishes and take out the trash. What’s the cleaning fee for...

I thought I had stayed here a long time ago....we had not. Nevertheless looking for a cabin, not air bnb, and found this. I wouldn't come back unless I toured the particular cabin in person in the future. I hardly ever give bad reviews but want to save people some hassle.||Pros: well heated in winter; good amount of space; kitchen worked; newer appliances; adequate supply of cookware, dishes, etc; decent mattresses and clean sheets and towels. Somewhat cute grounds and we were back from the street.||Cons: Serious musty/mildew odor. Like there was water damage but we didn't see it. An outer door (seemed to be storage) was completely thrashed with water damage so maybe it was coming from there. Were we not so beat from our trip would have moved. It made all our clothes smell. And the cleaning was substandard. Grunge on floor around stove, in bathroom around the sink, lint/stuff on soap dishes, stove and oven dirty. Tables sticky. And on top of that you pay a $75 cleaning fee in advance. Granted as I walked in, we were told the housekeeper just quit and the owner was doing the cleaning. Also no deadbolt on front door. Bed room wall heaters seemed tied to the front room wall heater thermostat. That front room was a little drafty (no seal around front door...you could see daylight) therefore if you closed the bedroom doors the bedrooms got up to like 80F. Couches in front room beat....no way could you sleep on them as you hurt yourself sitting on them (the frame stuck up between the sunken down parts.) Lastly the plowing was marginal. Very narrow access or not plowed. If you had a big vehicle, hard to fit through, especially if others didn't park straight due to the snow. ||||I've been all over. Stayed in plenty of Motel 6s, plenty of 60s-70s era cabins (like this) as well as nicer places. Just the smell and the dirt was a turnoff and laughable with the $40 "resort fee" that paid for your "free" wifi (which did not work on the SMART TV.)...we had to use our phone hot spot. With the $75 "cleaning fee" it approached $600 for two night stay. Also for a ski town, near LA where most people can't drive in the snow anyway, for goodness sakes get a snowblower or something and clean the roads. California banned road salt (you can use pumice) but no need to leave slip and parking chaos for guests more than two weeks after the last snow. Office was spotty on hours and answering the phone. ||||I really don't trust AirBNB for many reasons and am used to rental places. If any of the other cabins have these issues honestly I'd would be better to do a full redo of a few than rent these out in this condition. I understand Covid and business (and getting help) is crazy but this was pretty darn bad, especially considering the pretty decent reviews here on TripAdvisor. I hope things improve...