Lagonita Lodge — Hotel in Big Bear Lake

I guess it is best to start at our arrival. We arrived around the designated check-in time of 1700 hours and the staff members on duty were extremely polite, friendly and helpful and made the process quite easy and simple. Then the fun begins as we learn that this lodge is a time-share location and there is no air conditioning in the condo, which I am sure was listed somewhere in the small print, but we did not know until then. This fact leads the first problem encountered, which was parking. Since this is not like a normal hotel/motel, and there are many owners living here, many of them have more than one vehicle, which makes it a challenge to find parking. We checked in at the proper time and already the parking lot was almost completely full. After finding parking, we had to carry our luggage up to the third floor, which was made easier by having luggage carts available as well as an elevator. Oh, but let us talk about the elevator in Building 4. The moment the door opened you were overcome by such a terrible musty , moldy or foul smell, which we had to endure for three days. Really, they cannot do something about the smell. After making it to our room, the first thing we noticed was the room was extremely hot, because there is no air conditioning in the condo. They do provide you with a single fan, which did nothing to cool down the condo, especially in the bedroom. On the positive side, the condo was a very good size one bedroom and it appeared to be kept clean. I remember when I made the reservations, I spoke directly to the property staff to ensure we had one of the rooms with a full view, since why pay extra if you get only a partial view, which was offered in some of the other condos without paying extra. Well, the staff member told me this was a good room with a view, and they had just trimmed the trees a few weeks ago, so the view would be great. Well, look at the photos and you tell me if this is considered a full view of the lake. Next, we opened the refrigerator and noticed it was dripping water from somewhere. I tried calling the office, but no one answered the telephone, so I had to walk down to the office for assistance. I believe the staff member’s name was Heather, and she was very nice and immediately asked one of the maintenance personnel to meet me at the condo. After returning to the condo, within minutes, the maintenance man, name Hovencio arrived and checked out the refrigerator, but nothing could be done until we checked out, so we used a towel to catch any further water drips. Were we done, nope, went to use the television and one of the remotes had dead batteries and again called the front office and once again no answer. So, I am back down that smelly elevator again and walking over to the office to get new batteries. After receiving some new batteries, I returned to the condo to find that the remote still does not work. At that point, we stopped trying to even bother trying to get anything fixed. That night, we had placed the fan on the deck patio to draw in the cool evening air, which did a good job of cooling the great room down but the bedroom, no such luck. After attempting to go to sleep in the bedroom, a little after midnight we had to move to the pull-out sofa bed, which I would refer to as the mid-evil torture bed rack. The mattress was all of 4” thick, and no matter how you laid on the sofa bed you had to readjust constantly because the bed frame could be felt through the mattress. Unfortunately, this would continue during the second night of our stay, which was unfortunate to say the least. On the morning of departure, it seems all the luggage racks had all but disappeared, and the cleaning staff did not provide much assistance, except to say to check some of the other surrounding buildings, great thanks for your help. To the response by owner, no need to respond with your standard “boiler plate” responses. Let us just agree to disagree and...

Go to this place. It's so close to downtown Big Bear Village that you could easily walk there. Which you'll probably be grateful for because it's busy during Christmas time, which is when I'm writing this. This was an amazing resort. I think you need a membership if I'm not mistaken. It's been awhile forgive me. But the only gripe I'd say I have with this place is that the rooms need some updating in some areas. But it's also kind of nice. Like a cabin'90s, type feel. The dvds they provide are great. The games. It's really family centered. So while they don't have smart TVs, you don't need it either. We, as humans, survived that time back then. Crazy huh? They even have a small playground and a horseshoe game! So before I go on sounding like a boomer too much, those things aside, the updating I'm referring to is with the other equipment. Like the water heater. It didn't last long with the heater on simeoultaneously. It's like one shower worth. For a family, that's not good. Also, the cabinets need a film or a protective material or some sort of vinyl stick-on or even a paint job to update it. But no. They didn't care, and the insides are really worn. It gets on the dishes a bit. However, it's not a big deal at all, and ultimately, the location makes up for it. Big time. Ley me say, it's absolutely beautiful! It's a great place to disconnect and spend time with family. I highly recommend it. The staff was also very, very nice. They were excellent. So helpful to us and our family all the way through. 100%! Amazing service. One other thing I'd say that's important for staying here is that it is at a high elevation. Please prepare for altitude sickness and bring some things to help you with that. Oxygen, slowly climbing the mountain, not physically draining yourself, getting plenty of rest, lowering the alcohol intake, no high sugar content, etc. There's more things, but you can do research more yourself. It is around 6700 feet above sea level, which is on par with Peru in some areas like Macchu Picchu. Get prepared. The elevation here takes some acclimating to. Don't underestimate the mountain. You'll pay for it. The mountain is way bigger than you. Overall, I'd say this is an absolute must. But because of some very slight maintenance issues that you will notice, this place is not perfect. Nor is it a 5-star exclusive hotel like the Fontainebleu in Miami, which is why it is knocked down to 4 stars for me. But its location is amazing, and that as well as the staff and service is well worth it making this...

The rooms were perfect for us, providing a bed, shower, living area, kitchen area along with a private balcony/patio. The rooms aren’t very modern or “updated” but that’s not a problem for us. We actually love the “original” old fashion big bear room decor. Free parking (which is always great) This is our second time staying at this hotel, my fiancé and I last stayed here towards the end of May and we just had to come back. The prices are very affordable, the rooms are nice and clean. Providing all the amenities you would need for yourself, extra guests, bathroom necessities, and plenty of kitchen amenities. The tvs worked in our room, in the bedroom providing direct Tv and in the living room a dvd player was attached To the tv. You can rent movies for $2.00 from the main lobby and it’s great if you have your own dvds and need something to play for the kids. The hotel also provides a pool / hot tube for all guests, along with a rec room with pool tables/ping-pong/foosball. A 18+ small gym and a gated 18+ area that has a pool for just adults which is nice when you don’t want to be around splashing kids. There are also outside grills/ picnic area and a playground area for kids (but be careful as the playground isn’t fully fenced off and you’re a couple feet from the lake). There is also an adult lounge area but sadly the door was locked when we were trying to check it out. In the main lobby they provide a small snack shake, a few health care travel necessities if you forget something. Small fishing poles/ hooks/ and worms. This hotel is great because you’re right next to the lake, and they also have their own dock which you can rent one of their vehicles. The dock is also great for fishing off of.

The only only down side was that our bed wasn’t really comfortable. The last time we stayed we were on the 1st level and didn’t have a problem with the bed. This time we were put on the second floor and in this room (203) the bed wasn’t completely comfortable and it was a little hard to sleep at night. It felt like one side of the bed as starting to sink. But other than the bed the room was great, the staff were kind/ friendly and it was an easy check in/ check out. The location is great, it’s affordable and being next to the lake is beautiful. We can’t wait to come back again...