The Pinetree Hotel — Hotel in Idyllwild-Pine Cove

I just had the most peaceful and rejuvenating time I’ve ever experienced at the Pinetree Hotel in Idyllwild. I went off-season and basically had the whole place to myself. Part of me wants to keep this gem a secret so I can have that again… but I also need them to stay in business so I can come back. So here it is!

This little slice of heaven has everything: cozy, spacious cabins (I stayed in #3, which has two patios — one facing the street (super quiet) and one overlooking the pickleball court, ping pong table, and small first courtyard with a firepit). Cabin #2 looks similar but is attached to Cabin #1, so #3 felt more private.

The grounds are beautifully maintained, peaceful, and easy to stroll (about 10 minutes end-to-end with my slow chihuahua in tow).

The communal spaces are well thought out — hangout and grill areas, multiple firepits, and a perfectly heated pool. Big shoutout to Lance, the guy who maintains it! On my last morning, it rained and the warm pool gave off smoke in the cool air — magical. The little sauna is a dream. It heats up faster than they say (20–30 minutes). Perfect routine: turn it on, head to the pool or the little dome for some yoga or stretches (come on, we all have back pain), then come back to the sauna… and if you’re brave, try the cold plunge outside. I only managed my legs, but wow did it feel good.

At night, the property is gorgeous. I do wish there was one corner with no lights at all because the night sky here is unreal — but I get they can’t plunge guests into total darkness just because I’m a star geek. Take a short walk and you’ll get your galaxy fix. It's already pretty dark for a hotel (in a great way) and peaceful and romantic with string lights surrounding the property.

The cabin itself had everything I needed: full kitchen setup, clean, spacious, A/C worked perfectly.

Price/quality is unbeatable. My anxious little chihuahua, who never leaves my side, was suddenly happy to explore — that alone made the trip for me.

I never wanted to leave. I will 100% be back.

I could totally see renting this place with a big group and having a blast, but at the same time I really loved the peacefulness of my...

This place was great! Truly a unique experience! Felt like something right in between a hotel and an Airbnb, yet with a private mountain resort setup. My fiancée and I hosted our coed bach party here and we all loved it! The cold plunge and sauna literally took our breath away! (You’ll know what I mean when you try it!) ;) The pickleball was great and competitive! The pool was warm and relaxing. We even tried out the giant chess board a few times! It was great that we felt like we never even had to leave the place the whole day even though the town center was only about a mile away. We BBQ the first night and had s’mores over the fire pit the next. We stayed up way later than we should have, but it was worth it! The amenities are all really updated and super modern! We stayed in cabin 1 which can sleep 10. We felt like we all had plenty of room and didn’t seem too cramped at all. We would definitely go back again! Maybe just my future wife and I some day… (we get married in June) and we could stay in one of the smaller cabins they have available. Super great experience! Definitely recommend if you love getting out in nature without having to...

The whole property is really cute, but it definitely doesn’t look like the pictures on the website and as far as our cabin, we stayed in the cabin 10 and unfortunately it was really dirty when we checked in there were stains on the floor, very sticky. The cabin smelled really bad. The pillows had stains on them, which made me very uneasy to stay there. Nothing smelled clean and I did send an email about the cleaning and fortunately I did get a response very fast and the cleaners showed up but they wanted to just clean with water and a towel. They didn’t even want to use soap or disinfect or anything and there was clearly junk all over the floor. My parents stayed in cabin five and there were a lot of things that were either broken or not working in there. I’m a little confused because usually when you stay at a hotel, they bring you towels and stuff like that daily but nobody checks up on you there. I guess you have to email and then get somebody to help you afterwards so I wouldn’t really call it a hotel. It’s very close to the town which is nice, but I would probably stay somewhere else next...