Woods Lodge — Hotel in Mammoth Lakes

Where do I begin... I called and made reservation for four days and they had openings and at that moment I considered myself very lucky. However, now sitting here writing this review I now know it had little to due with my luck and everything to do with the fires in the Mammoth area during the last of the month of July 2018. However at the time I made the reservations I was told that the smoke was extremely minimal at The Woods Lodge and that fishing was very good, so what more could I ask for…||||The Fishing: 2 days into my stay I had not gotten a single bite and I was perplexed as I was told by The Woods Lodge front desk that fishing was very good. So I decided to make a trip to one of the hatchery’s and found out the stocking of lakes and streams had been severly scaled back since 2015 due a to parasite referred to as "Whirling disease” This disease was caused by Myxobolus cerebralis, a protozoan parasite that destroys cartilage in the vertebral column of trout and salmon. It is fatal or disfiguring to infected trout and salmon but does not affect humans. Fish infected with whirling disease are safe for human consumption... Even though it was safe for human consumption I was not too eager to try some of these infected fish for myself. Fortunately I did not have to worry about catching any fish as I was told by hatchery staff that stocking the lakes had dropped from 500 lb. to 100 lb. per delivery. Now consider the thousands of anglers on the lakes, streams and rivers in Mammoth along with 1/5 the supply of stocked fish… I would wager the only fish being cooked around the evening campfire would more likely be coming from the local VONS supermarket then from anglers. At the end of our third day of fishing and our stay cut short due to severe smoke I had only heard of a single bite and a single 1 lb. trout caught fly fishing.||||The Cabins: Let me start with the general overall condition of The Woods Lodge cabins. First off I get that mountain get-aways have the rustic look that goes with the whole ambience of cabins in the woods overlooking a lake, however these cabins were rustic in the sense that they didn’t t look like they had been properly maintained in over 20 years. The issues ranged from cracks in the linoleum flooring big enough to trip over to showers that were perfect if you were four feet tall. Then there were the smaller things like the water diffuser missing on the kitchen sink faucet which made the water spray out at various angles and door keys that were bent to the point of almost being unusable. Also I think it needs to be mentioned that according to my wife, she suspected the linens on the bed had not been updated since the 1970’s as well as the bed itself we suspected was from the same era as it had a very well defined slouch in the center which made me very glad we took a plentiful supply of Motrin cometh the morning light. ||||The Trails: Routes leading to the cabins definitely had something to be desired as they were badly in need of landscaping and maintenance due to years of erosion. I have a 4X4 truck… without it, it could've been interesting making our way around where the cabins were located. so if you had less than a 4X4 car/truck you would have wanted to be extra careful navigating the terrain. ||||The Refund Policy: On the day prior to the last day of our stay we were forced to leave due to heavy smoke inhalation from the fires in the area which was now a health issue. During the 7 1/2 hour trip home, I called and left a message requesting a refund for the last day as the smoke was so severe I was awoken due to my sinuses being plugged with black soot about 4:00 AM. When it comes to their refund policy, its important to mention the only type of payments they accept is cash or check. Something else I found interesting is the is the person who returned my call from The Woods Lodge, explained his only task that day was to call every person that requested a refund and let them know under no circumstances would they get a refund because if they did give a refund for something like too much smoke in the air causing health issues, they would go out of business. I also told this person I would be writing this review that could be a BIG negative impact against their business and he had no issue with it. Great way to conduct business.||||I found out from the front desk that The Woods Lodge has been family owned since the 1920’s, so the way I see it, its going on 3rd generation. And everyone knows the old saying… takes two to make it and one to loose it. ||||The Conclusion: The way a business handles their customers in good and bad times defines them as a company as well as a good indicator of how long they will remain in business. By what I witnessed and experienced in the short time I used the services of “The Woods Lodge” by Lake George in Mammoth Mountains, I definitely predict “Under New Management” is the only sign that will change the direction this Lodge is going down.||||And shame on the tackle shops, lodges and resorts for making exaggerated claims about the status of fishing in...

Where do I begin... I called and made reservation for four days and they had openings and at that moment I considered myself very lucky. However, now sitting here writing this review I now know it had little to due with my luck and everything to do with the fires in the Mammoth area during the last of the month of July 2018. However at the time I made the reservations I was told that the smoke was extremely minimal at The Woods Lodge and that fishing was very good, so what more could I ask for…||||The Fishing: 2 days into my stay I had not gotten a single bite and I was perplexed as I was told by The Woods Lodge front desk that fishing was very good. So I decided to make a trip to one of the hatchery’s and found out the stocking of lakes and streams had been severly scaled back since 2015 due a to parasite referred to as "Whirling disease” This disease was caused by Myxobolus cerebralis, a protozoan parasite that destroys cartilage in the vertebral column of trout and salmon. It is fatal or disfiguring to infected trout and salmon but does not affect humans. Fish infected with whirling disease are safe for human consumption... Even though it was safe for human consumption I was not too eager to try some of these infected fish for myself. Fortunately I did not have to worry about catching any fish as I was told by hatchery staff that stocking the lakes had dropped from 500 lb. to 100 lb. per delivery. Now consider the thousands of anglers on the lakes, streams and rivers in Mammoth along with 1/5 the supply of stocked fish… I would wager the only fish being cooked around the evening campfire would more likely be coming from the local VONS supermarket then from anglers. At the end of our third day of fishing and our stay cut short due to severe smoke I had only heard of a single bite and a single 1 lb. trout caught fly fishing.||||The Cabins: Let me start with the general overall condition of The Woods Lodge cabins. First off I get that mountain get-aways have the rustic look that goes with the whole ambience of cabins in the woods overlooking a lake, however these cabins were rustic in the sense that they didn’t t look like they had been properly maintained in over 20 years. The issues ranged from cracks in the linoleum flooring big enough to trip over to showers that were perfect if you were four feet tall. Then there were the smaller things like the water diffuser missing on the kitchen sink faucet which made the water spray out at various angles and door keys that were bent to the point of almost being unusable. Also I think it needs to be mentioned that according to my wife, she suspected the linens on the bed had not been updated since the 1970’s as well as the bed itself we suspected was from the same era as it had a very well defined slouch in the center which made me very glad we took a plentiful supply of Motrin cometh the morning light. ||||The Trails: Routes leading to the cabins definitely had something to be desired as they were badly in need of landscaping and maintenance due to years of erosion. I have a 4X4 truck… without it, it could've been interesting making our way around where the cabins were located. so if you had less than a 4X4 car/truck you would have wanted to be extra careful navigating the terrain. ||||The Refund Policy: On the day prior to the last day of our stay we were forced to leave due to heavy smoke inhalation from the fires in the area which was now a health issue. During the 7 1/2 hour trip home, I called and left a message requesting a refund for the last day as the smoke was so severe I was awoken due to my sinuses being plugged with black soot about 4:00 AM. When it comes to their refund policy, its important to mention the only type of payments they accept is cash or check. Something else I found interesting is the is the person who returned my call from The Woods Lodge, explained his only task that day was to call every person that requested a refund and let them know under no circumstances would they get a refund because if they did give a refund for something like too much smoke in the air causing health issues, they would go out of business. I also told this person I would be writing this review that could be a BIG negative impact against their business and he had no issue with it. Great way to conduct business.||||I found out from the front desk that The Woods Lodge has been family owned since the 1920’s, so the way I see it, its going on 3rd generation. And everyone knows the old saying… takes two to make it and one to loose it. ||||The Conclusion: The way a business handles their customers in good and bad times defines them as a company as well as a good indicator of how long they will remain in business. By what I witnessed and experienced in the short time I used the services of “The Woods Lodge” by Lake George in Mammoth Mountains, I definitely predict “Under New Management” is the only sign that will change the direction this Lodge is going down.||||And shame on the tackle shops, lodges and resorts for making exaggerated claims about the status of fishing in...

We really went to this lodge many more years ago but I can't list that somehow. But I wanted to review it anyhow. I know it may be hard to get into the cabins at Lake George because they fill up almost like a timeshare. But sometimes in the fall they have cancellations and you can get in. Years back we had a reoccurring stay there in the cabins and reserved them a year ahead and just kept our slot. I was introduced to this place in the late 1970s with my husband and his family. And they passed on their love to us. First place I ever fished! |Views from the cabins and the walks around the lake are just spectacular looking up to Crystal Crag! The hike to Crystal lake is a favorite and not too hard .... sometimes even though we rented the cabin we would spend an overnight up by there. My husband would sometimes backpack up to Deer Lake. |This place can be romantic-it was for us and/ or family oriented. A great central place to stay to go to all the different lakes and trails in the area. We shop in town before we go to the cabins and also bring our food. The kitchens are stocked with dishes and pots and pans but not food.|It's rustic and may be a little pricey now for how a rustic it is! But to sit at our kitchen table and watch birds and smell the pine trees and see the mountaintop is worth it.|The last few times in Sept. it snowed by surprise-but not too bad we couldn't get out. |I do wish the cabins were more available.|As we got older and our son got older we stopped going regularly and we gave us our slot which I regret. But- the very last time we got in at a last-minute cancellation and loved our stay as always except the altitude got to us and we couldn't sleep very good, had headaches which didn't go away and left a day early. So just make a note of...