Lakeside Lodge Clemson - Hotel & Resort — Hotel in Clemson

If you’re expecting a good night’s sleep, don’t. The train comes through in the wee hours of the morning and doesn’t shy away from blowing its whistle repeatedly. It doesn’t come once, it comes repeatedly. Second, the pool closes at dusk. Instead of something like 10a - 10p, it opens at sunrise and closes at sundown. Everyone wants to swim at sunrise, right? Disturb the other guests!! Why not? The train already has. Third, you better not forget one single item, let alone important medications!! I left a small bag of my prescription medicines on the counter in our room. We checked out yesterday and upon our return home last night (3.5 hours away) I realized I didn’t have my prescription bag. I remember last seeing it on the counter thinking I would put it in my purse - I must have been distracted by my toddler and somehow forgot it as we were loading. I didn’t call the hotel last night and instead opted to call this morning to speak to the day staff, who I mistakenly assumed would be better informed on matters and better trained in customer service. Wrong! On both accounts. My husband first called at 9:30 this morning to inform them of my bag I left behind. He was told “housekeeping” would return his call. When the buck is passed, that’s typically not a good sign. So, he waited. No return call from housekeeping. He called Lakeside again at noon/12:30 and was then told by “Echo” that she is not allowed to disturb guests in their room. So, was the room checked prior to the new guests’ check-in because he called at 9:30. Was it thoroughly checked by housekeeping when we checked out yesterday? He also left a message for the manager, Caleb. My husband then told me when he got off of work he would make the 3.5 hour trek to Clemson and attempt to retrieve my much-needed medications. I told him I would try to call and see if they could help - maybe we had not talked to the “right” person. So, I called. I was told the manager was on the phone but I could leave a voicemail - by this time it’s about 3:00pm. I left a voicemail and then immediately called back - this time being transferred to “Echo”. From the moment she answered the call I could sense her irritation. She told me she was the “agent” on this and she was “very familiar with the situation.” Instead of her using her hospitality and customer service training I assume she received to hold her position as an “agent” for the hotel and guest matters, she told me “your lost items are not my responsibility” and “I cannot disturb a guest in a room”, talking over me instead of offering whatever assistance she could and trying to assist a distraught prior guest. She was rude and dismissive, instead of understanding and sympathetic. “As I’ve told your husband” was a favorite phrase, too. I think it would have been helpful and nice of her to say, “I will be happy to call the guest room you stayed in and ask the current guest if they noticed anything left behind that housekeeping may have overlooked”. I didn’t want her to go SWAT on her current guests and I wasn’t asking that of her. I had hoped I could convey to her the importance of my plight and gain her understanding and sympathy. After speaking with Echo, it is a very helpless and hopeless situation to be at this hotel’s employees’ mercy. Fortunately, I called my doctor who was able to call in to my pharmacy what I needed until my next full refill. I am so thankful for that. I am afraid I won’t see my medicines again. Having said that, if I were the current guest in the room we stayed in over the weekend, I would not mind a single bit if an employee phoned my room asking if we noticed anything left behind - ESPECIALLY prescription medication. I’m not sure anyone in the hospitality industry or any decent human for that matter would have minded. Steer clear if you want sleep, an evening swim and good hospitality!! We were in town looking at real estate to purchase. It’s safe to say Lakeside Lodge is scratched off...

Spacious, modern, clean hotel with nice outdoor large pool, hot tub, cozy fire-pit area looking out over the lake. This hotel is located on the far side of a strip mall that has shops such as Aldi Grocery, Michaels Arts/Crafts, Marshalls, Petco, Five Guys Burgers, nail salon, Clemson fan store, urgent care (that was open even on Easter day when we were there)... so SUPER convenient and walkable. The hotel is more of a small studio condo/apartment feel with a lobby & restaurant on the main center area and a small checkin desk in that same lobby area. We stayed 1 night in a studio King w/ small kitchen. Bathroom is just off the kitchen with a large shower, sink and toilet inside bathroom and a pocket door. Towels were fine and shampoo/conditioner/soap was in a dispenser inside shower (not toiletry sized containers). Kitchen had dishes/utensils/glasses/cups for 4, a full sized stove/oven combo, microwave, refrigerator w/ ice maker and sink. Blender, hand mixer and toaster also in kitchen w/ pots/pans, mixing bowls, sheet pans and serving utensils. There is a small 4-cup Cuisinart coffee pot with hotel like generic coffee in prefilled pocket filters and some individual non-dairy creamers & sugar. No tea bags. No hotel room phone either. AC/Heat worked well with room adjustable thermostat (we actually used both heat and AC b/c in May first day was hot and next was cold... never know that time of year). WIFI was good too. Rooms are either facing the front hotel parking lot, side facing parking lot or the back lake view. Front rooms will hear the train just across the highway that runs quiet often until about 12:30pm and again at 6:30am. We found it super expensive for a 1 night stay (over $300 which included a dog fee of $100)... but friends of ours were staying for a week in a bigger unit with a dining table and full living room and separate bedroom area and the price was a much better deal. I'm sure Clemson game weekends the price goes up, but excellent for a fan weekend stay I'm sure. We ate at Traditions Restaurant in the hotel for dinner one night with a reservation... party of 8 sat outside... nice area and view with excellent food and drinks for the price. The service was ok - typical service of a young, college aged staff. With a child at Clemson - this hotel was super close to campus (walkable to the stadium... a long walk, but walkable) and really convenient with the walkable shopping/grocery in the area to cook in our hotel room. Will...

I really wanted to love this resort. The architecture is beautiful. The pool area overlooking the lake is gorgeous. But there are some notable upkeep problems that need to be addressed. First is the elevator that smells like burning rubber. Only one was working and your key must be held in place for at least 5 seconds before the light will turn green for you to use the elevator. But our keys didn't work on 3 different occasions. We had to go back to the desk multiple times. Second, the rugs in the hallways are severely stained. It looks very dirty as you walk down the hall. Or room was very pretty and very well laid out, but dirty. The top of the refrigerator hadn't been cleaned in quite some time and there was mouse poop on top of it. There was webs in the corner of the room with little bugs in them. I called maintenance to come and clean and they used a broom to clean both things. I re-cleaned it with a wipe because the top of the refrigerator was still very dusty and grimy. We left our sign on the door for 3 days to have the room cleaned and no one ever came. On the fourth day we received fresh towels, but our beds were not made and the room was not cleaned. Third, I would say the noise level of the cargo train is terrible if you plan to work from a room facing the parking lot. As the freight train goes by it blows the horn for quite some time and it's very loud. The train goes by multiple times and day and makes it very difficult for zoom calls. I called the front desk to see if I could change rooms and they told me they did not have the same room on the other side of the building. I asked for an earlier check out but they said that I would need to pay the full amount because I booked through a third party. Positives was the mattresses were very comfortable as well as the pillows. The shower was very nice and the bathroom was quite big. The pool area is wonderful. We swam in the pool and had a dip in the hot tub. Unfortunately the pool bar was not open. The restaurant was lovely. The food was absolutely delicious and the staff was great. The grounds are very well kept. The lobby is very beautiful as well. I thought this place was very well priced and I really wanted to love it. I am a bit disappointed. It's too bad because we will need to return...