Lake Quinault Lodge — Hotel in Hoquiam

The location, right on Lake Quinault, is fantastic. And the original lodge building is gorgeous, a real treasure. Our room was clean enough and unlike some reviews we didn't have issues with thin walls and noisy neighbors (we were in the Lakeside building, which is from 1990.) We went on a nice, easy hike through the Quinault rain forest from the trailhead right across the road from the lodge, which was lovely. That said, all the other amenities were lacking. For the price of the place, which was quite high for what we got, the management seems to nickel and dime you at every turn.

First off, we drove to the lodge in our EV, having looked up ahead of time that they had two fast EV chargers on the premises. However when we got there we found that the chargers had a permanent "out of order" sign attached to them, and the lodge literature says "we no longer have EV chargers," so it doesn't seem they plan to fix this. This is a real issue, since the lodge is an hour drive from the nearest town with chargers, and all the attractions on the peninsula are at least an hour's drive away. Not having a charger at the lodge seriously hampered our trip, and with how cheaply it seems the place is run, I don't have confidence they'll take the time or money to rectify this anytime soon, if at all. The staff kindly allowed us to plug our backup charger into a wall outlet in their maintenance building, but of course it charged the vehicle at a rate of maybe 5 miles of range per hour, meaning we couldn't stray far from the lodge before having to turn back.

It wasn't especially warm weather while we were there, but the room still felt hot and stuffy, even with the window open. The ventilation in the room felt insufficient, if there was any. We used the provided box fan and it kept things almost comfortable, but just almost. And again, for the price, the room wasn't in the greatest shape-- vinyl peeling off the headboards, stains on the curtains. I would expect a room of this quality to be less than half the price we paid.

The food and service at the restaurant were good enough, but like the room, the food was way overpriced for what it was. My wife and I came here for a special occasion, but paying well over $100 for the dinner we got (without even ordering any alcohol!) felt extremely steep. We did have a great view of the lake during dinner, though.

One night we swam in the indoor pool, which was also perfectly good. The water was a bit chilly, so my wife and I hopped out to warm up in the saunas. However, she and I agreed that both the men's and women's sauna was hardly even warm, and there were no cups provided or other way to pour water on the hot rocks to make steam (though I did drip some water on there and confirmed the rocks were hot.) But a barely-warm sauna with no steam really defeats the purpose. It's just kind of indicative of the overall experience here-- good on paper, but doesn't deliver the experience you were hoping for.

So, the location is fantastic, and the original lodge building is a treasure-- the hand-stenciled designs on the ceiling crossbeams are just one excellent historical touch. And being right on the lake, and right in the center of all the attractions of the peninsula (if your car can make it to them..) is pretty ideal. But unless you really aren't concerned about value for your money, or the details of your stay being attended to, I sadly can't recommend staying at the...

Oh, dear reader, buckle up for a journey back in time at the Quinalt Lodge – a place where the term "historic" doesn't just mean charmingly old, but rather a bold celebration of outdated living. Don't get me wrong, there is so much charm to an old log cabin nestled in the mountains that screams "Christmas is here, lets break out the holiday sweaters and sip on a hot toddy." Driving down the long winding road got us more excited with each passing of an electric green mossy Spruce. However, the lodge instead decided to preserve the past without considering any updates for the present.

Let's start with the rooms, shall we? Upon entering the lodge you are greeted with handfuls of literature aimed at teaching you about the construction of the building. You'll notice that none of the pictures depict children, despite the past widely approving of child labor. The walls at the lodge are so thin that eavesdropping on your neighbors becomes an unintended activity of your stay. Picture this: you're trying to enjoy a peaceful evening, savoring the ambiance of a historic lodge, only to find yourself an unwilling participant in the bedtime drama of the family next door. The children's enthusiastic screams and yells become an impromptu soundtrack to your stay, turning the quaint retreat into a live-action sitcom without the courtesy of a remote control to mute the cacophony. So, for those seeking the ultimate auditory adventure, Quinalt Lodge offers an unparalleled experience where privacy takes a backseat and the decibel level reaches historic heights. Sweet dreams, indeed.

The accommodations at Quinalt Lodge are a true testament to the art of time travel – back to an era when saggy mattresses and worn-out carpets were considered the epitome of luxury. If you're a fan of bathroom sinks placed over carpet, then congratulations, you've found your dream destination.

Now, for the price – because who wouldn't want to pay a premium for the privilege of experiencing a blast from the past? Prepare to part ways with your hard-earned cash for this stay. The room rates at Quinalt Lodge are pretty ridiculous considering the above, to include 30 minutes of complimentary wifi (per DAY). Fun fact we were not privy to: if you start your 30 minutes and then disconnect your wifi session, your 30 minutes for the day is now over. Now, despite being of the younger generation, we did not expect to come out into the woods and spend our free time posting highlight reels to Instagram. However, amidst our late nights and early mornings thanks to the neighbor children, having something to drown out the noise would have been the least of accommodations.

Now for the positives: the staff were absolutely wonderful. We learned that quite a bit of them are seasonal workers who did a phenomenal job. It certainly was not their fault that the lodge sucked up all their hard earned work, to only NOT put it back into the environment they were fostering. There was even Hoh tribal members who came for a storytelling evening on our stay - asking for donations - I can only hope that the lodge is adequately paying them for their time as well.... but despite conglomerate Arakmark owning the place, I can only imagine that their sort of virtue signaling is doing land acknowledgements to make themselves feel better.

In conclusion, Quinalt Lodge is the kind of place that leaves you wondering if the historic charm is worth the sacrifice of...

We arrived around 7 pm on a Friday evening. It was pouring rain outside and windy. My fiancé went inside and checked us in. He was given a map and rooms keys that were in their little envelope the room number was written on the map and the key holder. The map we were given had 211 written on it and on the room key it just looked like she wrote 211 but upside down, so it could be 112. But she told my fiancé 211. We carry our heavy bags up the flight of stairs to the second story and the keys won't open the door, so he goes back down and she re-does the keys. He comes back, door opens this time, but the room is clearly occupied with someone else's personal items so we hurriedly close the door, thanking God they weren't inside (how embarassing). He goes back and she realizes she messed up and gives us keys for 112, Which is in a completely different area. My fiance gets the car, we load back up and drive to the new section of the lodge. Upon entering the correct room this time, I am shocked at the condition of our King fireplace room. It looks like something out of an old horror movie. Completely dated with old dingy stained carpet, popcorn ceiling, the television had a few basic channels, with a horrible snowy picture,even the fireplace looked to be 20-30 years old with fogged glass so bad you could barely see the flame, all 4 pillows on the bed were different. 3 of the pillows were super inflated hard rocks and one was usable. There were dead bugs on the bed that appeared to have been there awhile, a live grasshopper and 2 more spiders that I could see. I did pull the bedding all the way down to make sure there were not any more.The room was 52 degrees when we entered and the main heat source is an old wall vent with dial turn knob. There was not an extra blanket so I was hoping to call and ask for one. Guess what? No phone in the room to call anyone, the only wifi you get is a free 30 minutes, which worked for about 5 minutes, barely. If you wanted more, you had to pay for it! I then went to the bathroom because I wanted to get warm in the shower, only to find a shower full of dead bugs, including a dried up green worm. They had to have been there for a few weeks, which means our room couldn't have been freshly cleaned. I had to clean those out in order to shower. There was a dial in the bathroom to turn on the heated tile flooring, which never worked. The mirror looked like it was cleaned with a lint rag. It was covered in fuzzy lint, so odd. My fiance was so embarrassed because he thought he was getting us a beautiful, romantic cozy room, especially since it cost over $335. The walls are paper thin and we could hear our neighbors until about midnight and they were back up at 6. The mattress was absolutely horrible. I tossed and turned all night and we both woke up with a sore back. It should have been taken to a dump 15-20 years ago. In the morning we went to get coffee in the main lodge around 7 and saw a sign that coffee and breakfast didn't start until 7:30. I was so hoping there could be one thing positive to come out of the stay. Thankfully there was a store about 20 minutes down the road with fresh coffee. I really wish I could have written a positive review and that this is an exaggerated review. Sadly it's not, and we are Sooo disappointed! This place needs...