Basecamp Tahoe South — Hotel in South Lake Tahoe

This hotel earned 5 stars for concept and 3 stars for execution.

What we loved: The location is within walking distance of many restaurants and to a beach, and they give you a beach pass for the duration of your stay. (Otherwise, you have to pay an entry fee.) Despite the nearby casinos, the hotel also seems to be in a quieter part of town.

The hotel itself features several outdoor spaces with seating, fire pits and makings for S’mores for enjoying Tahoe’s gorgeous evenings. There’s also a large courtyard outside the micro brewery with Adirondack chairs, porch swings, picnic tables, cornhole/bags and ping pong. For families with kids, this is great because the kids have open space to socialize and move around.

We also enjoyed the live music, although their A-list groups aren’t on the schedule early in the week. Instead, we experienced open mic night, karaoke and a Tuesday night no-show.

The microbrewery deserves 5 stars on its own for selection and taste. They had about a dozen beers on tap, and the ones we had were good - the stout, the Black Dog Porter and one of the IPAs. (While they also have wine, I would vote for a smoother, higher quality Chardonnay.)

Roomwise, we had great water pressure in the shower, and I appreciated that they had wall-mounted containers of shampoo, conditioner and body wash. Not only does this reduce waste, the products also seemed to be high quality (more natural vs mega mass produced cheap stuff).

Here’s what was lacking: We had booked the Mountain View Junior Suite because we needed at least a queen-sized bed plus one other bed and a fridge. We booked a week out, and this time of year, there weren’t a ton of options.

Unfortunately, our room had a funny smell that bothered me every time I walked in. It SORT of smelled like sour milk, but I couldn’t quite place it. The room looked clean so I didn’t see any obvious source of the smell. On top of that, our room was like an oven. It had a portable A/C unit that sat on the floor and pumped out cold air, but it never cooled the room. To cool the room, we closed the windows and blinds all day, ran the AC and then opened the windows at night and cranked the ceiling fan. The first night, though, we set the ceiling fan to the wrong speed and it made an annoying noise all night. There is a wall-mounted AC and heat (?) unit in the room, but the plastic is still on it. We’ve seen those work well at other places so maybe that will fix the temperature issues. One final annoyance was that the bathroom fan also made a constant noise.

Because of the smell and the temperature, we asked the next morning to move rooms. They were very nice about it and, we thought, we were moving to a king room with bunk beds. However, after packing everything up and lugging it downstairs, we went to the new room and it only had a king bed (nowhere for our little one to sleep). It sounded like there was a misunderstanding on their part and ours, so I’m not holding that against them. Unfortunately, the only rooms left were the one we had vacated, the king bed only, and a room with two full beds, which was only available for 1 night. Because we’d already wasted a bunch of time trying to change rooms, we went back to the suite and sucked it up. The staff was very nice about everything, but they didn’t offer anything more than an apology and vague offers for free drinks. I’m assuming they know there’s a weird smell and AC issues and just keep apologizing vs doing anything about it.

What they also don’t tell you about the mountain view suite (for obvious reasons) is that you predominantly see the ground floor of a massive unfinished parking structure. While the hotel can’t do much about that and while the mountains are in the background, I would not choose the room for the view.

Lastly, the free breakfast was very limited in options and we were disappointed that the rooftop hot tub was closed. (We’re guessing that it has been closed for some time.) While there’s a larger one in the courtyard, the jets actually stopped working on...

This is our second time staying with Basecamp South Lake Tahoe and while I would have rated it 5/5 stars for the first visit (August 2016), things have changed over the past 3 years that are not necessarily in the best interest of the hotel guests and I would now rate them 3/5 stars. The Good (please see “The Bad” below because with the good comes with a countermeasure of not so pleasant): The price - because they offered us a group rate (family reunion/wedding anniversary) the prices were more reasonable than those offered on the website. The dog friendly rooms have a laminate flooring vs. carpet, which helps lends an extra air of cleanliness (but could use a good mopping). The overall atmosphere of the hotel is Glamping (camping without the hassle). The ambiance both indoors and outdoors is very conducive to the Tahoe area and is what ultimately drew us back for this second visit. The beer garden and outdoor spaces are perfect getaways (when the spaces aren’t reserved). Free beach access for up to 6 people to Lakeside Beach only a couple of blocks away. Easy walk, which means no having to drive and find parking. Continental Breakfast included - (hard boiled eggs, biscuits and gravy, toast, yogurt and granola, and oatmeal).

The Bad (the forces that drive me to give a lower rating and consider staying at Basecamp in the future): The Hotel Staff - were lackluster and uninviting in their demeanor. There were no friendly hellos upon check-in and anytime we stopped in the office during our 4 day stay we seemed to be more of a bother than current or potential returning guests. First Aid Availability - by no fault of Basecamp a member of our group tripped and fell across the hotel (corner of Stateline and Cedar) and required some first aid. When we asked the front desk for their first aid kit he was able to hand us some antibacterial spray and bandaid made for a small, superficial cut. A hotel with 73 rooms and multiple sets of stairs needs to be better equipped for slip and fall type incidents (even though the fall did not occur on their property). To Basecamp’s credit, they did offer us a handicap parking space once is was determined that this member of our party required 5 stitches and had broken her kneecap. The flooring in the dog-friendly rooms was great following a day hiking and a day at the beach. However, they could use a deep cleaning following each guest’s stay. The floor had no visible debris on it (i.e. dog hair) but felt incredibly gritty walking around barefoot upon check-in. The floor just never felt solidly clean. This hotel and most in the area lack air conditioning. In Tahoe this usually isn’t a problem but in summer months, in a building made of cinder blocks, you will be hard pressed to feel the cool evening air (even with the fan running on high and the windows open). This is not entirely Basecamp’s issue but an issue with Tahoe in general - just be warned that it gets toasty and stuffy during the sleeping hours. Basecamp and The Beer Garden are no longer one company (as advised by the hotel staff) but working together in co-op type business model which to me was not the most productive. The Beer Garden is now a stop along the way for Tahoe Brew Tours - great for the Brewery but not great for hotel guests who no longer have the outdoor space to enjoy as advertised on the hotel website. A simple solution is to add this aspect to the Basecamp website and let guests know what days to expect tours to be stopping by. The Beer Garden now controls the decks and common areas in the public space. We were asked to leave one deck because it had been previously reserved. This is fine but a simple sign stating the hours of the reservation could have helped. Also Basecamp staff does not know when the decks surrounding the Beer Garden have been reserved. If you are going to work in this type of co-op...

Mediocre at best: If you need an EV charger or Wi-Fi, this is not the place for you. September 2024 Well, I knew I wasn't getting a luxury resort, but based on the comments I thought I'd give it a try due to location. More cons than good:

Pros: Location. Amazing and a block from the "strip" Outdoor space: Lots of it, very social and bands all the time, if you like that (I don't, but will give it a pro because that's really the attraction. Nice ambiance and unique overall. Very pet friendly. Pets are cheap and space for them to roam.

Cons: Had a pet room. Didn't get the king bed I was expecting, but so goes life. However ants decided to nest in my dog's bowl. Nice. Wifi is absolutely horrible. When I say absolutely horrible, I mean if you plan on connecting for any reason, go somewhere else because it won't work here. I am a real estate agent and had to work while I was here, and to try and get anything is very much a challenge--even next to the lobby. If you have an EV, do not stay here. They let anyone park in the EV charging areas. Case in point:

On my last day and night I was trying to get access to the charger for my trip to SoCal. It was taken up all day by a non-EV Kia and a non-EV Explorer. When I went to the front desk a little before 10pm to complain, he said "well, they are guests", and I asked if he could call them or tow them since they should have passes. He said "well, I"m about to close". Really? He then had the gall to state that had I "reserved" the spots then it would not be a problem, because it was busy. LOL--at what time was I told that? And the fact that these two cars were literally parked there since 11am with other spots open throughout the day told me that he could care less. He made up the reservation issue completely so he could go home. I called him on this lie, and he simply looked down at his desk and didn't say anything.

So, even if you don't have an EV, I would say that the attitude and accountability should make you want to stay elsewhere. I stayed here specifically for the EV (slow/all night) charging, and--obviously it's an attraction for guests, not something they really mean to offer.

For over $300/night, I will be taking my business (and recommend you do too) elsewhere. I wouldn't pay $125/night here; I would have had (and have had) better service at a...