Canaan Valley Resort State Park — Hotel in Davis

Overall, I would recommend and would stay here again. I'm giving 3 stars because I felt it deserved an average grade. It was nice, but not perfect.

When I called to make my reservation, Jennifer was awesome and belped me get a good room, with a view.

Other things in a random order:

I had the privacy/do not disturb sign on the door the morning of checkout and slightly before 8 am (I was awake, but still in bed and groggy) someone started pounding on my door loudly. I tried to yell from my bed, "who is it?" But I guess they couldn't hear me and they pounded again, and I said again, "who is it?," and I was trying to get up and get my glasses on, when I heard the lock click and the door started to open but the safety stopped it. Then she mumbled, "sorry," and slipped my bill under the door. I've never had anything like this happen anywhere else before. It was quite the rude awakening!

Also, speaking of the bill, the reservation, nor the final bill showed a grand total. Just the individual charges (which is good), but there should be a grand total stated, so you know what to expect on your credit card statement.

Considering they have 3 restaurants, the menus are extremely limited and not very veg-friendly. I ordered a veggie pizza and it was gorgeous and delicious. But a tad expensive, and way too much food for one person/one meal. For 2 people, it would be perf. It would be nice to have some options like a caprese sandwich, or veggie wrap, or pasta salad, etc. And for brakfast, how about an egg & cheese sandwich or a plate with eggs, potatoes, and fresh fruit (not stewed apples), or avacado toast??

The room itself was nice, seemed clean. The only thing I didn't like was the couch. It seemed really old, and creaked really loudly every time I sat down. And it really made my back hurt too, like a lot; I had a hard time standing up from it; it made all my back muscles stiff and sore, no matter how I sat. The bed was really comfortable though. I slept great!

One thing I didn't like was being on the ground floor. It was nice seeing the deer walk by, but when my next door neighbor, who was apparently popular, kept having people walk up to his patio and talking loudly, I was getting annoyed! It had rained off and on most of the day and I wanted to sit on the awful couch and relax and enjoy the view, but it was awkward with people standing right by my window. Also, a maintenance truck drove by once and there were people walkimg their dogs occasionally... That's not really the lodge's fault though. Just something to think about when you're booking, ask for a higher level if you're getting a balcony.

Also, the balconies aren't really that private. There's a wall between them, but it only comes out about 3/4 of the way, so you can see your next door neighbors. And the chairs on the balcony don't face out toward the valley, there are 2 chairs facing each other. So if you have 2 people in your room and 2 next door, and you all go out on the balcony to sit, the inner 2 will have their backs to each other, and the outer 2 will be facing each other. Like so: | Awkward!

Other miscellaneous things:

The rainy day was cool and I felt like the carpet might have been damp, but there were NO damp or musty smells, so it might have just been really cold, but my tootsies were freezing!

It was nice to have a hair dryer, but the one in my room looked really dirty. But I used it anyway.

There was a bug in my room on the first night. A black beetle. I shooed it out under the door and never saw it again, so I think it was just passing through. Oh, but there was a small squished spider on my ceiling, I noticed on the first day, so that was uncomfortable to keep looking at. I couldn't not see it!

If you don't get a room with a view, there's a huge balcony on the main floor that overlooks the valley. I recommend you go check it out!

That was my 2-night experience; the good, the bad, and the ugly....

Canaan Valley is a perfectly fine two-star hotel. I would not, however, classify it as a resort as it doesn’t near the assortment of services and level of luxury you expect from a “resort.”

The Pros The location is spectacular. Gorgeous views on all sides. The staff with whom we engaged - with one exception - were warm, welcoming, professional, and eager to make our stay as enjoyable as possible. The lobby and other public areas are open, airy, and very comfortable. The rooms are fine; they are comfortable with nearly all of the amenities you’d want in a hotel room. The prices are very reasonable.

The “Mehs” The restaurant serves pretty standard hotel fare. My breakfast omelette and the sides were perfectly fine but dinner was a mixed experience. The menu was limited to a buffet (which I assume was done to control food costs during a low occupancy period). As with steam-table buffets everywhere, some items didn’t fare well. The mixed vegetables were limp and mushy. The chicken tenders were rubbery. The petite filet mignon steaks were unseasoned and were well-done. (This was early in dinner service so I had expected medium-rare.) The salad, a standard mixed-greens base, was acceptable but there no options for toppings (cheese, croutons, olives, etc.) and only three dressing choices. (I have to note that the staff in the dining room were terrific! My wife was not terribly hungry and they prepared a salad with protein ‘off menu.’ Great customer service from everyone.) The room amenities were limited. The small closet had only three hangers for two people (pictured below). There weren’t nearly enough accessible power outlets for phones, tablets, and a CPAP machine. A small power strip on the desk would solve this problem. Maintenance is not terribly attentive to issues. There was some kind of calcification around the faucet handles on the sink (pictured below). Signage in the North Tower elevators is incorrect. The description noting what’s accessible on the 2nd floor includes the dining room (pictured below) but it’s impossible to get there from that floor of the North Tower. No printed map of the hotel floor-plan could be found in the room or online.

The Con The young front-desk associate is officious and uncaring. Oh, he was very eager to impress us with his knowledge of the hotel and its services, but he did not listen carefully to our questions and concerns. For example, when I shared our experience with the incorrect signage in the elevator, he simply repeated what he had told us earlier that day (at check-in) about navigating the hotel spaces. I told him that I understood all of that, but I suggested that guests might be confused by the language on the elevator signage (as we had). He sighed audibly, dropped his shoulders, and gave me side-eye - clearly showing his displeasure with me and seeming to suggest that I was some kind of village idiot. He then simply repeated the instructions he gave to me at check-in. I started to respond but stopped when he crossed his arms and looked...

Let me start out by saying this: this review was ALMOST a 2 star. This place is not worth the money you pay, but that being said it's not wholesale bad. There are some very good redeeming factors about this place that I will detail below.

Starting out with the bad, however:

their housekeeping is non-existent. Full stop. We were here for 3 nights and not a single time did any housekeeping come by to give us fresh towels, toilet paper, or any other bare minimum things that you'd expect a place like this to do. We even asked the front desk if they could get us some fresh towels on our way out for some activities. We were gone for 7 hours, only to come back to see that no one had bothered to come by the room during that whole time.

the rooms are very disappointing, and general upkeep of the facilities is poor. Peeling wallpaper, mildew on the soap holders, dried pee running down the sides of the toilet, dust covering everything. It feels like the only thing they do between guests in the rooms is change the sheets. Far below the bare minimum you'd expect for the price you pay.

both entrances to the resort perpetually REEK of cigarettes. Despite the no smoking signs, not even the employees follow that rule. The whole building outside of the main lobby area is musty, humid, and poorly lit. Several trip hazards as well in the loading area due to the sidewalks falling apart. The buildings layout is very confusing and hard to navigate. You cannot travel from one end of the building to the main lobby without either going outside or going up/down elevators or flights of stairs multiple times. Very annoying and difficult to pick up on.

they are EXCEPTIONALLY understaffed. This is one reason why the review wasn't lower because we understand the employees are very much so overworked and I'd bet they're underpaid too.

Onto the good:

the staff are generally very friendly, with the exception of the front desk staff being frustrating to deal with every single interaction we had with any employee was pleasant and positive. The employees obviously work pretty hard.

there is SO much to do here. Both at the resort and in the area generally. The landscape is drop dead gorgeous, lots of activities for the kids and the adults. There are a couple nice towns within short driving distance, and are all very easy to reach. I could sit here and list them all but it's already a long review as is.

the food and drinks are good enough! And are generally affordably priced. Service at the restaurant and bar were excellent.

Overall, it wasn't the worst experience ever but we do feel like we overpaid a LOT for this place. Be mindful of this when planning your trip. Maybe some of these negatives will change if they...