Estes Lake Lodge — Hotel in Four Corners States

My husband and I were looking forward to staying at this Lodge. We never saw/had contact with any staff on the property. They leave the office open with the key for you at check-in and some supplies you can just take if needed. The room was okay. It was clean enough, but somewhat dated. A quick carpet cleaning would work wonders. The bed was absolutely awful (yes, it is as hard and box-like as it looks in the pictures provided by the Lodge). I even took the only extra blanket in the room and put it under the fitted sheet to try for any kind of additional mattress softness. It was so firm (or just hard) that it made my husband's back hurt and my hips hurt and we are athletic/fit. The comforter was quite thin and older feeling/smelling. The 2 pillows on the bed are so very thin. Good thing we always travel with our favorite pillows, otherwise a good night's sleep would not have happened. The bathroom really could have been cleaned a lot more. There is no plug-in in the bathroom (luckily, I brought an extension cord for my curling iron/blow dryer). The shower water temperature will fluctuate while you are showering. The window on the bathtub/shower wall opens, but there was a huge spider web/dust web on the outside of it. The window A/C unit worked as good as a 20 year old unit could. It is above the head of the bed and would spit out ice pieces/water on our heads at night while making monster noises. The view was beautiful from our sliding glass entry doors though. The sun sets on the entry door side and gets the room quite warm (the A/C unit couldn't keep up with the room warmth). I brought a black bed sheet (after reading earlier reviews) and we put it up on the rod with the curtains to try to keep the heat out. You may want to take a hot-spot for internet because the internet in the room is very slow and spotty.

I feel a little bad writing this review, but there are so many things that can be done to make this room so much better...things that would not cost a lot of money to do/fix. Granted, we did not travel to Estes Park to hang out in the room, but it is always nice to be comfortable in the room you are...

Three of us adults stayed in the Elk Cabin. While there were some pros to the lodge - like the elk coming to the lake on several mornings - we were ultimately really disappointed with our stay.

We arrived late at night, and though our reservation said three people, there were no sheets for the sofa bed. The sofa bed was horribly thin (maybe 4 inches total), to the point that we could feel every metal spring and bar in the mattress (see photo). I've slept on sofa beds in hospice, and this was worse than that! When we asked for sheets, we were directed to the office, which they left unlocked with extra supplies, but there were no sheets in the office, only extra blankets.

Now, to talk about the water. The water supply and pressure to the cabin was extremely variable, and it was not related at all to whether or not someone was using the shower and the kitchen sink at the same time. Multiple times, the shower slowed to drips. The tank water for the toilet refilled so slowly that we were not always able to flush the toilet. Inconvenient and a bit ridiculous for Estes Park prices.

Lastly, the kitchen was not well-stocked. We stayed here over hotels for the "full kitchen." While all the appliances you would expect were available (coffee machine, toaster, oven, fridge), that was about it. There wasn't any olive oil or common spices like powdered garlic. This place does not compete with the stocked kitchens you tend to find in Airbnbs.

The place could be vastly improved by a couple of very easy additions, like floor lamps and an extra vanity so multiple folks could get ready in the morning.

Ultimately, this was way too much money for what it was. The lodge seems to be run by off-site management. We did not see a single staff person for our four night stay, and we were right next to the office. The sign said "no vacancies," but the lodge was maybe 30% occupied. This made us think that they didn't want walk-ins, because they didn't have...

I stayed at the Wonderview Cottage with 3 others, and we had such a wonderful time! Check-in was contactless, fast, and easy. I spoke to Aaron on the phone prior, and he was very informative and helpful! Upon arrival, you head to the office. If your room is ready, there is an envelope left with a map and keys for you. In the office, there are board games, a DVD selection (of course we rented The Shining!), extra toiletries, towels, and coffee supplies. We loved being able to walk into the office whenever and get bundles of firewood, which were only $5 each. Having a fireplace in our Cabin was certainly a highlight of our trip, especially as we were visiting in the winter. If you're unfamiliar with fireplaces, I would recommend double-checking with the managers on how to open/close the fireplace chute. You'll want to bring some newspaper or whatever to help get the fire started. We prepared all our meals in the cottage over the weekend and found the kitchen was well stocked with pots/ pans. The space was clean and inviting. The view from the windows and outside of the mountains was gorgeous! There was an outdoor fireplace and picnic table just outside of our cottage, which I'm sure is a hit in the summer. The location is right off the main road, but we didn't really hear any traffic outside. Its also a quick drive into town. Our cottage sleeps 6, but I personally would suggest keeping it to 4 guests for comfort. (The couch to bed sofa I'm sure has seen some better days, and being right infront of the fireplace probably plays into that too. Plus, the counter seating was only for 4 anyways.) We would love to be back in the future, and highly recommend to others! Maybe next time we will see some Elk! :) Thank you for...