Stony Creek Lodge — Hotel in Exeter

The Lodge is in the park itself, which is a big deal since we wanted to beat the crowds and have some tranquil morning time in the park. It was the main reason I chose this lodge. The place is old - the lobby is very pretty and looks like a nice place to hang out. Earlier reviews mention construction under way- they must have finished it because I didn’t see signs of that.

This isn’t a standard hotel, it’s a lodge in a national park, so I expected it to be a little rough - but the room was perfectly comfortable and exceeded my expectations. There isn’t an AC, but there is a huge wall heater which kept us nice and warm on a chilly night, and two fans available in the room as well as two big windows with screens. The bed was comfortable and clean. The bathroom was fine - the shower needed some TLC - the door didn’t close at the top and the shower head needs replacing, but generally it was okay. Plenty of clean towels and nice toiletries. We had everything we needed for a comfortable stay.

We were very late coming into the park because of a travel delay, so we called ahead, and they saw to it that our key was available for us even though the staff were in for the night. We appreciated that.

The little shop has necessaries and staples, as well as souvenirs, so that was handy. The shop and cafe were both open till 8pm.

Guests should know there is no elevator. The lodge is a 2-story building.

My chief complaint - staff really need to take some time in the evening to gear up the coffee station for the early am. It would be even better if basic breakfast items could be available (cereal, granola bars or some such). We wanted to be out in the park early, and breakfast isn’t open till 8. So we skipped that amenity (included in the room price, but we couldn’t take advantage of it.) Would have been nice to have a hot breakfast before a long day in the park, and it isn’t surprising that park visitors (especially hikers) might want an early start, so why not offer an earlier breakfast?

There was a coffee station and we thought, at least we can have coffee - but there were no cups anywhere. A thousand coffee lids, but no cups. Coffee pods needed restocking as well. Why wouldn’t staff think that guests would not at least want coffee in the AM?

We were prepared with snacks in case there were issues with the cafe. I recommend doing this.

If you want to be pampered, there are other, more expensive lodges in the park. A basic, clean, comfortable room in a nice old lodge with the very big plus of being right inside the park is what you will get here. We were happy staying here and would stay again - would just expect to look after...

First, the positive: Accomodations in July on a weekend, very young but some of the staff was cheerful and helpful. ||I am not very picky at all, but some things you should know: their snack bar ("restaurant") was out of pizzas and a few other items. Despair and hunger left me with a $17 cheeseburger. Their little mini mart has about 5 frozen entrees for sale and the lobby has a microwave. So I am very glad I brought my own snacks, which is why I lived on.||"Breakfast" was a container of strawberries, one of blueberries to wash, cut and split between guests. Yogurt. Various sliced breads (no toaster) and jams. Shout out to the guests walking around with their instant oat meal in a bowl, but without milk or hot water. There was individual cereal contsinets, but again, no milk. Near the microwave (in another room) was a carton of liquid eggs, not sure if we were supposed to make our own. Coffee .... is a single Keurig machine for all the guests. No, it was not too early, we were tild breakfast would be available at 7.30, and it was past that. Now, to be fair, the second morning I could smell hot items being prepared but I did nor bother, I wanted to get out of there. ||The room: Adequate. Mine was unfortunately close to the kitchen vent, so the smells waffed inside, but not for long.||There are notes in room or bathroom that hot water can take up to 15 mns to come through the pipes, and I didn't find it to be true. It was scalding right away. || No nightstand lamp, just the ceiling light.||Only electrical outlet I found was across the room from the bed (your own extention cord is recommended)||No WiFi (there is, but it is open, so I believe the campgrounds around also use it)|Verizon performed better than TMobile in the surroundings.||Bed was facing the door, and the lights from the hallway comes through all around it. It didn't bother me, but maybe it would bother you. |My room was also close to a generator or what have you, so there was a constant hum. It was also facing the highway, which is much busier than you would think. I am including the "view" from my bedroom, where some employees come to discuss guests or the state of the common bathroom in colorful language (I believe my room was the closest slto the lodge where employees stay). Oh, and you could sand a couple of trees down with the toilet paper. So, grateful I could find accommodations on a weekend in July, but this place was not worth the $600 price tag...

Stony Creek Lodge has the potential to be a nice place to stay. But the owner apparently shows no interest in the property or in making improvements to make it more comfortable/updated. (Does he ever check it out????) Instead, he hires several young people who, though nice enough, have no stake in the quality of the lodge or power to change the status quo.||First the positive: |The location was great - inside the park and close to trails and visitor centers. Very pretty and tranquil. |The beds were fairly comfortable.|There were gas pumps on site. |The store was well stocked with snacks and supplies (though it closed early and opened late). |Our room (the ADA room) was large.|The pizza was excellent!||Now the negative: |I was expecting rustic. I like rustic. But rustic doesn't mean dirty. Dust on all surfaces and window sills. Bathroom had about 1 inch of pink and black mildewed caulk at the bottom of the shower. Base board near the shower was missing and replaced by a poorly-designed patch. I feel like they just do a quick surface clean in between guests. |No closet, and one small towel rack, so towels never dried.|Breakfast - Instead of starting at 7:30 am, it opened at 8:00 am (because of the "lateness in the season"). In a national park, most guests want to start early, so several times we paid for breakfast at a nearby lodge so we could get an early start. The entire breakfast room was locked until 8 am - so no access even to cold items (muffins, fruit) or self -serve items (toast, bagels, cold cereal). |Hot water: the note in the bathroom says it can take up to 15 minutes (and yes, that was true) to get hot water in the morning. The first night we took lukewarm showers because the hot and cold water was reversed.|Carelessness: | *One morning we lost power at 3:30 am because the staff miscalculated how much fuel was in the generator and thought there would be enough until morning. So no heat or hot water. | ** We were told there would be housekeeping unless we opted out. One morning we confirmed we wanted housekeeping and clean (dry) towels. Oops - didn't happen due to a "miscommunication." There are only 12 rooms, so hard to understand how they would "forget."||So this COULD be a nice place to stay if the owner showed any interest. I don't really fault the young staff, as I doubt they get paid enough to really be able to make...