Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa — Hotel in Lake Arrowhead

The best part of this Resort for our family was the gym and the steam room and the wellness classes. We were happy the Resort had these available. We were happy the Resort allowed our dog to accompany us. Before booking our stay we were told by one of the Front Desk people that there was someone who was knowledgeable about local trails that we could take our dog on. First, upon arrival we were told there really was not anyone who could help us with this. Had we known beforehand, we would have done our research while still at home. The internet can only give so much information, we have trail books we left behind. For a resort that has a "wellness" aspect to it, there should be someone on staff or materials that help guests find what they want to do in terms of hiking or water sports; the material in the racks did not have this kind of information. We go on vacation to unplug, though having the internet is handy, it does not substitute for people who know the area. In fact, for a resort to be dog friendly, there should be a map to dog parks in the area and we had to go into the Village and ask around. Second, it turns out we were not the ONLY people who were dissatisfied with our accommodations and the condition of our room. Our room not only had peeling wallpaper but missing towel racks. The descriptions of the rooms and the views and what is supplied REALLY needs to be updated because we spoke to many guests who felt they were misled about the description of the rooms they were staying in. In fact, upon coming home a neighbor commented that a few years ago she found the Resort and its rooms to be awful. We almost agreed. Also, we were told before we made the reservation that if the dog is not in the room, our room would be tidied up. Instead, upon our arrival we were told that we would not be able to have any room service/room cleaning, but we could always ask for fresh towels and toiletries. We understand the accommodation and we would never want anyone to enter a room who does not feel comfortable with a dog or an owner who simply has not trained their dog. But we were told we could have service if the dog was out of the room ( or crated) and then we are not provided with this service. Third, if guests arrive after the 3pm check in time, there should always be an "open reservation" for them and they should not be told, after a long drive, that all they should have made their reservations days ago, especially if one has a dog. If the dog cannot be left in the room, then there should be a space to accommodate the guests at the on-site restaurant upon the arrival of the guests. After a long drive we should not have been having to scrambling to figure out dinner and be expected to explore the Village if we wanted to eat. Fourth, this is a Resort. The excuse given to our family that we could not do smores on a Sunday evening and we should have chosen to do it one of the other days, is simply not a okay. CLEARLY there were many other families who wanted to also have smores on Sunday and were also told no; it seems antithetical to the meaning of a vacation and resort experience. Also, smores are usually made after dinner when it is dark, not between the hours of 6 and 8pm when people are still dining and it is still summer light out at 8pm. Fifth, it is not relaxing to be by the pool with loud music. This is especially true after dark if one is trying to relax and look up at the stars. Lastly, we remembered this Resort fondly from many years ago. We had expected, from the website and reviews that it was similar in service and accommodations that it had been before, chill and inviting. Instead it was a disappointment. Unfortunately, our family will not be returning as we had really looked forward to our vacation in the mountains and returned home dissatisfied, thought it was a waste of money, and we were not rested...

It’s not all bad, but it is a poor value. While we haven’t stayed at any other inns in the area, I would recommend trying them first, because you are probably spending your money with a proprietor that is interested in improving their facility and the community. We’ve stayed at lots of boutique luxury properties, giving us a good basis for comparison

This facility is presented as a luxury resort, but the condition of our suite(315) and the overall property was far from it. Our suite had several broken bathroom fixtures, broken tiles with missing grout, a shower door that wouldn’t seal and allowed water to pour into the rest of the bathroom (likely the cause of the grout issues), several places where the wallpaper is peeling, several chunks of missing and poorly patched carpet, stained furniture, pet damage, an air conditioner that drips on you as you stand at the vanity, and an overall dinginess that comes with years and years of traffic. The staff appears to work very hard at cleaning what they can, but there is only so much lipstick you can put on a pig.

In the common areas, the carpet in the primary staircase was worn to threads, the exterior of the building is badly weathered and in need of attention( siding rot, paint, etc), and one of the hot tubs appears to be permanently “disabled”. I’m sure there are lots of other areas that need attention, but at a certain point you just stop looking because it steers the focus from enjoying the weekend with family.

My wife said that the Spa area was a highlight from a condition/cleanliness standpoint, but still didn't offer a lot of normal spa amenities that she would expect to be standard.

On another slightly positive note, the restaurant appeared to have received a recent facelift. Unfortunately, the kitchen management must still be a work in progress. The one meal that we did have at Bin 189, drove us to look elsewhere for the rest of the weekend. The food took 40 minutes from placing our order to be served. Of our 3 meals, the Airline Chicken arrived dry and cold, the Beef Filet was cooked medium(ordered rare) and was also cold, but the ribeye was cooked correctly and arrived warm. The replacement Beef Filet took an additional 25 minutes to be “rushed” out and was still slightly overcooked.

The hotel and spa staff we encountered were friendly, capable and generally helpful, and certainly not responsible for how I rate the facility.

Had this been presented(and priced) as a 2 star hotel, I would have more tolerance for some of this. However, at $700/night for a holiday weekend, this is an unacceptable value proposition and the owners should be embarrassed. I would invite Benchmark management to spend 3 days in suite 315 and see if they would feel good about spending their own money to stay there. They likely won’t and their proximity to an endless SoCal population of people willing to give it one try, means that they can probably continue to milk this cow for several years before it eventually just falls apart and they sell it off to the next management group.

At this point, I only hope my review can save someone else from overpaying for this resort. IF you can get a suite for $200-250 night, or a regular room for $150-175, I would probably tell you to give it a shot, just don’t be a sucker for more than that, like we were. The resort location is fantastic and completely worthy of bringing this hotel back to its glory days of what it obviously was. FWIW- The current ownership group has owned the resort since 2018 (and it was probably in need of a refresh then) so they’ve had plenty of time to prove if they intended to invest in the quality of their accommodations. Further neglect and decay will be a sad outcome for a place with such great...

My wife and I stayed here the night of our wedding and the following night. We paid $1600 for the Lakeside Presidential Suite with Balcony for two nights, a Sunday and Monday. Check-in process was fine and staff was friendly. The room, however, was completely underwhelming. The locking mechanism on the entry door into the room was damaged and required to be slammed shut every time we entered or left the room. Immediately upon entering the room I attempted to utilize the thermostat, which fell off the wall and was no longer functioning. I made several attempts to reattach and reboot but was unable to do so. Being it was my wedding night, I opted out of contacting maintenance and accepted that climate control was no longer an option. The room was clean but outdated and lacked attention to detail. The fire place was likely out of code as the actuator switch was not secured in place and simply rested loosely on the exterior of the fireplace. The bed was sized as advertised but felt well beyond its life expectancy and was quite uncomfortable. We were looking forward to relaxing and staying in so we attempted to utilize the tv and were looking to rent a movie. The television interface was completely antiquated and mostly out of service. When a technician was called to our room we were informed that "it's just a terrible system" and cannot be fixed. We were unable to rent any movies, access a simple tv guide, or get most of the channels in HD. In such a beautiful location, I agree that the television is less than important but under these circumstances the lackluster performance of such was a huge let down. The service of the hotel was also quite underwhelming. We had a dessert and beverage paid for and ordered for us by family members the night of our wedding. The staff assured them that it would be delivered. Despite several calls from our family member that night, the dessert was never delivered. Several more calls the following day and the dessert was finally randomly delivered our last night. The restaurant is adequate and offers a decent array of food and drink. We were informed, however, that room service is not a service they provide. The restaurant is closer to the elevators than the front desk yet they don't offer to bring the grossly overpriced food to your room. I have yet to stay in a hospitality establishment with in-house dining that does not offer room service. Overall, the location of the hotel is fantastic. It is close to the village and offers lakefront property and great outdoor experiences. But so do MANY other establishments in this area. For $1600 I cannot possibly imagine a greater disappointment. If you are headed to Lake Arrowhead I would highly suggest you look into one of the many other options for lodging or I fear you will also be greatly disappointed...