Scotia Lodge — Hotel in Fortuna

This was for us, an excellent stay. For some others, I can see that there might be some things they may not really like so be sure to check it out before your stay so you won't be in for any surprises.

The location isn't really close to too much, and we kind of liked that. There is a small supermarket right across the street with limited choices but probably most things you might need to get by. The help seemed very friendly, however, many things are very expensive in this store. Not sure why that is? As far as something like a restaurant, you almost would have to drive into Fortuna to find any choices.

This is an old restored lodge with much history behind it and that is one thing we loved about it. Keeping all the original architecture is very nice.

When we checked in, late afternoon, the young man and young woman at the front desk were very friendly and helpful. Sorry to say the young woman working the desk in the morning wasn't quite the same though. Maybe she had to get up too early?

There are no elevators here so be prepared to carry your things up the stairs to the second or third floor where the rooms are located. This might be difficult for some but I think they have help available if needed.

Our room was very large, and comfortable, with a King bed. The mattress was memory foam. I do know that some people don't care for them and others do. My wife didn't like the mattress but I was ok with it.

One thing we had a problem with is there is no Kleenex in the room. I asked at the front desk and they said they don't furnish any??? We have traveled all over the country and this is the first place we have ever come across that doesn't have any furnished in the room. Come on, maybe they could at least put a small travel box in the bathroom?

You can get something to eat here but it is done up a bit different. You go to a counter/bar, and place your order. You will then be given a pager that lets you know when your food is ready. At that time it will be placed out on a counter in the dining room and you are free to take it to what ever area you would like to eat. There are many tables in the dining room and also in other areas. There is no service in the dining room but you can enjoy your food there and that was fine with us. There are limited items on the menu but we ate there and it was really very good. I would recommend trying it.

I would also recommend Scotia Lodge and also be sure to check out the history of Scotia as well as the history of the lodge. We would return if...

It’s fine for what it is, but not at all what we were expecting. Based on the price (I paid over $250 per night) and the Instagram I was expecting an Ace Hotel type experience. It is not at all that. It seems like they got about 1/4 through a renovation and decided to start charging full price, which is irritating. There was an overall sense of neglect (peeling paint and wallpaper, musty carpet, curtain rod hanging half off the wall, really bad water pressure, no premium cable channels) but also sort of funny examples of false advertising. (Example: The “handmade local chocolates” in our room were Dove haha). But the things I wish I had known before booking are: 1) there is zero sound protection between the rooms and the hallway. You can hear every footstep and conversation (and kids running up and down the hall at all hours sound like a herd of wildebeests). 2) when there is a wedding, it takes over the entire hotel (the front desk closed so they could use the lobby and eating dinner we were basically crashing the wedding). And 3) the food is not great and since it’s basically bar fare (burgers, pork sandwich, fries) it’s not what you want to eat more than once per day. (Also there’s no table service and you get plastic cups.) If you are staying multiple days, this is a pain because you have to drive about 10 miles on the highway to reach any decent dining. I think if they weren’t charging upscale prices and/or if I was staying 1 night, this would all be fine. But we felt cheated for the price. Good stuff: the lobby is gorgeous, the building has great potential, the food ladies were friendly and the coffee in the rooms...

We had high expectations, based on the previous reviews, and we were underwhelmed. ||The building is pretty and well-maintained. We took a premium king room, which was certainly large enough, and the bed was very comfortable. ||All the rooms are on the second floor, and there is no elevator. This was one stop on an extended road trip for us, so we have a lot of luggage. We had to repack into daypacks in the parking lot, rather than in the comfort of our room. If you are just on a weekend getaway, the walk up with an overnight bag would be no problem. |There were no towels in the room when we arrived. There is no AC, so we opened the window, but there are no screens. When we called to ask for towels, we asked if there were lots of mosquitos at night, and the clerk was somewhat non-commital. However, she did tell us there was a large fan in the closet, and it did provide enough cooling overnight. |There is no restaurant in the hotel. They serve a limited variety of bar snacks. The choice of restaurants in the area is also very limited, and most close at 8 PM. The complementary breakfast is coffee and small, very sweet, banana muffins. There is no milk or cream, only sweetened liquid Coffee Mate. When I asked if there was any milk or cream, I was told I could buy some at the market across the street.|The bathroom was large and had a charming claw foot tub with a wrap around curtain and a shower faucet. Getting in and out of the tub could be a challenge for guests with any mobility issues.|There was nothing terrible about the lodge. It was a clean, quiet, comfortable place to sleep. It simply did not live up to the rave...