Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort — Hotel in Port Angeles

I can’t speak on the cabins/rooms for staying there. I can only speak for going to the hot springs for a dip. However I have heard that the rooms have been deteriorating over time & isn’t as nice as they once were. (Check other google reviews, I think I’m being nice when saying “not as nice as they once were”) 12 miles off the main road, you come to the hot springs!! (No service what so ever) But now onto our time in the hot springs….it was AWESOME!!! You can go just for a day but you do have to pay to get into the forest ($30 for a 7 day pass, is the cheapest option there is) so if your planning to go, try to use it & go to other parts of the forest also while your there. But then you also have to pay to get into the hot springs. (If your staying there you have unlimited times in the hot spring) It is first come first serve if you are only coming for the hot springs so don’t get there too late or the time slots will fill up. The time slots are 8-9:30 / 10-11:30 / & so on I do believe but if you go onto their website, it has the time slots on there. Now people who stay at the cabins I believe have seniority over day users. We got there @ 10am & signed up for the 12pm slot easily. You are allowed to come in at any time during your allotted time slot but why would you want to not use the whole time slot, ya know? & I will say BRING TOWELS. They try to charge you for “renting” towels & it was $5 per towel!!! For something you’re not even keeping!! Bring anything you normally would as if you’re going to a normal pool……

Now for families or moms with small children - they are strict on you not having certain age children in the adult hot spring. They have a kiddy hot spring for them specifically & you can bring in toys (I think) for them to be occupied with. But certain age kids can NOT be in the adult hot spring. My youngest was 6yrs old & she was allowed into the adult hot spring pool. They will kick you out if you’ve been warned too many times. They don’t want kids splashing the other adults or disturbing those trying to relax in the hot springs. They have 2 big adult hot spring pool areas, a kiddy hot spring pool, & a regular spring feed pool that is cold with a shallow & deep end. They even have a wheel chair access into the regular spring feed cold water pool AND into 1 of the hot spring pool. It felt AMAZING!!! & you should definitely go to experience it at least once in your lifetime!! You have to shower off BEFORE you get in also. It’s mandatory because it is NOT chlorinated! So they’re trying to keep the PH at the organic level. Once it gets too dirty or PH is off, they drain them & refill them back up so you may have to wait for it to be refilled. You can take in water but that is the only liquid allowed. All in all, it was awesome!!! My kiddos (6&12) did amazing!! Although I wish I would have been more prepared with toys for my little one but she did great playing with the other little kids in the kiddy hot spring pool. + what I love is that they are all close together so you can always see your child & with in close distance should they need you. Now if you have young toddlers you will probably have to stay in the kiddy hot spring pool with them unless they are old enough to be by themselves, know how to swim, etc but the kiddy hot spring is literally only waste deep when sitting in it (if that helps you know how deep it is) & unfortunately it’s not deep enough for our adult bodies to get the full effect. So keep that in mind. I hope this helps someone out there in need of information!! Go!! You won’t regret it!!! We had the best time!!! Beautiful view of the mountains...

Good thing for good friends who can make the most of any situation. When we checked in we found our room to not be very clean and a bed that was sandy and sheets not even on the bed correctly. It was late at night and almost closing time, we did get clean sheets in time. After that we found dirty towels hanging in the bathroom. Obviously they forgot to clean our cabin before we arrived. The next day we headed out on a hike and noticed the pool full of screaming children and hot pools very full. Once we returned later that day after our beautiful hike, we found the hot pools even fuller and more screaming children. Good thing we didn't pay and sign up for a relaxing poolside massage in advance, there would of been nothing relaxing about it. We decided to give the pools some time to maybe clear out. Later we figured if we were going to enjoy one of the things we came here for we better just go do it, only to find the pools full of people shoulder to shoulder. Making the decision to eat something while we waited even longer for the pools to hopefully clear our, we were very disappointed in the fact that the service in their restaurant was horrible. They would not seat anybody so we sat in their very small bar where you got some service, we did manage to get some soup and a burger to split between the 3 of us. As we sat and watched the line of people coming in to get into the pools reach out the front door of the lodge while people are still sitting shoulder to shoulder. One would think there should be a cut off for the amount of people they let in. We made the most of it and eventually were able to get in one of the pools to find strange things floating in the water. The cabins looked as if they had not been cleaned good for several year. There were lots of spiders and cobwebs everywhere you looked. For $300/night things should of been much cleaner and nicer. It states it has accommodations for 4, there were towels for two when they knew we has 2 people staying in the room, there were two wine glasses, 3 forks and 3 plates. Two chair's at the table, when we asked for another chair we were brought a very rickety chair that we made work. The last morning we were there and checking out we were wanting to enjoy a nice breakfast before our long drive home. Only to wait in line again behind people not being helped or seated. When somebody finally asked one of the staff if they could seat themselves they were told they didn't have any tables and they could not eat there. A large party had just left the restaurant so I understand you need time to clean those tables but being rude and turning away guests when there is nothing else close by and may not have food is not a way to run your business. The convenience store they advertise to have everything you could possibly need had hardly anything at all. Good thing we did bring some snacks to get us though this weekend. It was a long drive to Port Angeles for breakfast however. I would not recommend this place, and in fact everybody that has asked me about my weekend experience that sounded so wonderful before I left, I have told to not go there. Their website does a great job of making you believe you are going to a great place when indeed you are just going to rundown, over packed and over price "resort". The hiking and forest we great and beautiful I would recommend that part to anybody, but find a different...

The vibe here is very "we don't have to try because people will come anyway." The contrast between the historic photos of the luxurious original resort from the early 20th century, present in every room, and the "built in the 80s and we haven't replaced anything since" quality of your surroundings is is actually kind of hilarious. Some words that come to mind are "ramshackle," "hard-worn," "grift," and "the Reagan Era."

Check in : 45 minutes in line to check in, a very confused teenager was left alone to man both the check in desk and the snack shop checkout. Seemed like he was doing his best, but set up to fail. While this was happening there were several children with nasty coughs running around and touching everything while coughing freely.

The springs: The water was nice, but the pools are pretty crowded. Looks exactly like many public pools built in the 80s. Wished I had worn bike shorts instead of bathing suit bottoms as the concrete you're sitting on is pretty rough. Several more sick children (not all from the same family) were sprinting around the pools, jumping in and splashing next to people soaking. Never been to a hot springs resort with such a culture of leaving children to run wild, big public swimming pool energy, not much of a spa vibe. The lifeguard is a sullen young man who stares around angrily the whole time. You have to vacate every 1.5 hours for a half hour where they "clean." The guy was overtly hostile hurrying people as they left the pool deck, loudly slamming the door at the end. The showers in the changing room only have cold water.

The restaurant: I knew it would be expensive and didn't have high hopes for the food quality because I've been to a lot of national parks. Pleasantly surprised though! The food was simple but tasty and came out quickly, the price could have been worse, and the waitress was the most kind, professional, and competent employee we met. 5/5 stars for the waitress with short curly hair, she's a star. The restaurant itself is sad and dark, with low ceilings, a dirty rug that's worn through to the floor underneath in several spots, and large pictures on the walls of how nice the restaurant was in the original resort (parquet floors and fresh flowers on white tablecloths! an atrium!).

The cabin: In keeping with the cheaply built 80s facility that it is, the cabin was cavernous and barren. There was a great view from one window and from the little porch. Bed was mediocre, pillows were lumpy and overstuffed, sheets were heavily starched and scratchy. The power went out around 10pm and was out until 6am, and the thin comforter on the bed was not enough to keep us from waking up freezing throughout the night. Probably hit the 50s inside our room. In the morning I asked the front desk if everybody had lost power last night and they cheerfully said "yes!" without making any moves to provide hospitality. I know it's not necessarily their fault power was lost (although looking at the ancient restaurant carpet it's not hard to imagine that their electric infrastructure hasn't had enough upkeep), but for $300+ per night they should have a generator or at least extra blankets.

Of course the old growth forest is 5/5 stars. Beautiful location, but you could get a far more luxurious vacation rental with a hottub for less money and still enjoy the beautiful...