American River Resort — Hotel in Placerville

We utilized the American River Resort for several different aspects of a recent family reunion. 36 people total.

Positives: Location! The location is ideal for anyone looking for time by the river and easy in and out for rafting the American River.

Rafting! Mostly positive, initially we spent the first mile or so on the river worried about our guide who was irresponsible in her decision to still guide a raft while ill and having difficulty breathing. There were moments where our boat felt very concerned and very unsafe. The guide made the smart decision to pull over and let another guide step in. That is where we met Luke. Luke turned the trip around and made the experience better than we could have ever imagined. We had 5 boats total for our large family and every single one had a great time with their guide on the river.

50/50: Food, Cabin Lodging, Service

The food situation was not at all as advertised. We were under the impression our large group would be dining as such, with our own space and able to enjoy our meals without a time limit. We sat at outdoor picnic tables with the rest of the resort, or whoever has signed up to eat the meal being provided. The initial lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers were fine (how would anyone mess that up), but other meals had questionable cuisine.. including a gray potentially molded frittata of some sort for breakfast. They advertised beer and wine for dinner but, there was no wine. We felt very rushed and often uncomfortable at times due to the staff pressuring us to arrive and leave within certain time limits, again not as advertised. We were told completely different times than what we were provided when we booked. We are a large hungry family and were often rationed on the food and members were told they could not have a second of something. Totally not what we were expecting and not worth the money to eat at the resort.

The service provided was about 50/50. Some members of the staff were friendly, eager to help and informative. Others were rude, unfriendly and one in particular we avoided due to the way she treated myself and my wife.

The cabins: fantastic location and spacious, the air conditioning units inside the cabins cannot keep up with the heat, if you’re worried about the heat the river does bring some reprieve thankfully but the cabins turn...

I rented a spot at American River Hotel and around 7pm I had just set up my awning, and sat down for a nice cozy quiet night to read my book. About 5 or 6 cars full of men uploaded right across the street from me, at the bathrooms,and started playing loud music, drinking, shouting and laughing. No one else was nearby and so I called to ask for a refund then and leave (wasnt even bothered in the sense of just agreeing to depart and get a refund) but no one answered. So I just left, leaving a message. I called back in the morning to get Melinda or Mirada (I forget which) to advise that I had to leave due to the loudness. She apologized but never got back to me for 2 weeks (she claimed she did but i never got a message but lets grant that she did). I called her back to get an answer on a refund or even credit, assuming that was a rare occasion, I would come back. She affirmed who they were, so affirmed that it did happen, but because no one else was around and therefore it didn't bother anyone else, they wouldn't credit or refund me. I will not be going back. I camp a whole lot and most if not all have rules against such partying behavior but Melinda flip flopped saying they had until 10pm to party while in the same breath saying that if they bothered anyone they would put a stop to it. They did bother me and also no staff was around to stop or answer my phone call to complain in the first place. There was no way to get a refund. I was only there for a few hours and didn't even stay the night. If you have a problem good luck getting good or any service and especially good luck on getting your $ back. I'd advise going somewhere else. There are 2 other places nearby that offer...

If I had the option to do a negative star I would!||Planned a rafting trip over the weekend for my children and I||We arrived late Friday and were unable to upgrade to a cabin as they were all closed, not booked just closed.||We set our tents up in the rain and made the best of it.||Then late that evening I got a call that my father had been rushed to the hospital so I choose to stay the night and leave first thing in the morning.||I went in as the office opened Saturday morning and told them about the situation and asked if I could simply reschedule the $450 rafting trip I had scheduled for the kids and I.||Was told no one is in the office and had to go through the reservation desk on Monday . So we packed up and rushed to the two hour drive home to see my father.||Just received a call from Melinda Jones the lead reservationist and was told that they were unwilling to reschedule the rafting trip and I would loose the $450 I spent despite the need for having to leave unexpectedly to see my father in the hospital. What kind of family friendly business is this?||Asked to speak to the manager was told this is as far as it goes, asked who made the decision to not let me reschedule and refused to release a name.||The spot was beautiful but the customer service is atrocious. I would never recommend this place to anyone because of how poorly they handled an already very...