Holiday Inn Club Vacations Tahoe Ridge Resort — Hotel in South Lake Tahoe

There was a lot to like and a few complaints about the 4-night stay we just completed. Let's start with the positives. We stayed in a "Studio" room in the Terrace building. The room was nicely appointed though small-ish, and well maintained, though according to the staff, our room had not yet been updated. The room was nice enough. The staff were generally friendly, and the check-in/ check-out processes were easy, though not exactly quick. They've been working hard to clear the snow from the roads after the record snowfall they had in December. The proximity to Heavenly for skiing is great. The ski lockers were convenient, although after the first day, we didn't really use it. The bathroom in the room had dual sinks, one in the shower/ toilet room, and one outside it. There is also a third sink in the "kitchenette" area. We LOVED having covered parking, although I have to imagine, if the place was anywhere near capacity, parking would be a nightmare. As it was, the whole place seemed mostly empty, and we always found a convenient spot in the covered garage under our building. There were always ample luggage carts on hand for transporting ski equipment, groceries, etc, into and out of the room.

Now for some negatives: On one night, a fire alarm went off in the building, which in itself is not a negative, but it highlighted a couple other problems, and the first one is a big one: We walked out our door and followed the glowing "EXIT" signs towards the nearest marked exit, the one near the spa on the 4th level. The day before, that exit had been cleared of snow, but on the night of the fire alarm, the exit was blocked by wind-blown snow. We literally couldn't get out the fire exit during a fire alarm. We had to backtrack to the stairs on the far end of the building to get out. I realize the weather had been a challenge in the weeks leading up to our stay, and I also realize that staffing levels have been a challenge as well, but you simply cannot have a blocked fire exit. So we made our way out of our building and went up to the "Clubhouse" building (the main building where the lobby is) to find out what we could learn about the fire alarm. We asked the security desk if they could give us any information, and the guy working basically didn't seem to know or care that a fire alarm was going off one building away. He was like, "Yeah, crazy, right?" I wasn't made to feel particularly "secure" by the response from the "security" desk.

The sheets were coarse and scratchy, as were the towels. On the "coarseness" scale, the towels were about average for a Holiday Inn, but the sheets were really bad, closer to what I would expect at a Motel 6. I had to sleep in a night shirt, which I am not in the habit of doing.

Finally, the "resort fee" is an absolute rip-off, especially with so many amenities closed due to Covid. No spa, no sauna, no gym, no picnic area, no pool, etc.

A couple other points: the hotel operates a little tram called the "Skier Express" that takes you from the Clubhouse to the Stagecoach ski lift. It would be quite convenient if you're staying in the "Clubhouse," "Tower," or "Naegle (11)" buildings, but from the Terrace, Plaza, or Cascade buildings, you would have to carry all your gear up a very steep, icy hill to access the tram, and it didn't make much sense to us. We just drove down to the Stagecoach lot one day, before we discovered that the Boulder lot is much more convenient to park and ski. There really isn't a "ski in/ ski out" from this property, except from those buildings via the tram. The room had a Sleep Number bed, which I didn't like or dislike. Apparently they're doing away with them in the updated rooms. Hopefully they'll get new sheets, too.

We did do the membership sales pitch. We decided it wasn't for us, but they were polite about it, and fulfilled their promises with regard to time and compensation.

Overall, I would stay here again, but I would raise hell about the resort fees, especially if so many amenities are closed. And I would demand that they change...

Booked a two night stay for a self-catering studio as we knew we were a little out of the way. On arrival, receptionist was lovely and suggested we use the restaurant before we checked in as it was minutes before the restaurant was due to close when we arrived. The man running the restaurant was great, the food was great and all felt good. However, when we got to our self catering room, I was surprised to find just coffee making facilties, a fridge and a microwave. No hob, no plates, no cutlery, no bin!!, no tea towels or cleaning materials. Having done 12+hours of driving over the last 2 days, we decided to forget it for night and get some sleep and mention it to reception in morning. Well, apparently that's standard for self-catering. I seriously couldn't believe it and questioned that in all of the places I have stayed, that has never been the case before. Hob, cutlery, plates, binds, tea-towels etc are standard. At this point it actually started getting abusive whereby one of the staff members listening in the background, I think her name was Vlada, made some very inappropriate comment. At this point I asked to speak to a manager and was told to come back in the evening. It seemed sensible to leave right now to avoid real conflict so we went off on our day's activities and decided to pay extra and eat out, also forgoing use of the pool and hot tub as we weren't now getting back in time to use those facilities. On our return, we asked to speak to the manager but were told she wasn't present but the duty manager could possibly help. This lady, I think Tamara, was pleasant and apologetic. I explained the issues and she said she would offer a $50 credit for the shop. I did request if that could be set against the resort fees as to be honest, we had lost out there. She explained she didn't have authority to do that but would email the manager for her to deal with it in the morning. Come the next morning, again, no manager but a supervisor (linsey) to whom we had to explain all the issues again. Again, she re-iterated this was company policy, no hob,no plates,no cutlery etc etc. I was astonished and again said this was totally not normal. Once again, abuse was forthcoming from the background from another member of staff because I had questioned what was normal for a self-catering studio and I knew nothing. Polite words were exchanged with the supervisor and the member of staff was asked to leave the room. When I mentioned the offer of $50 credit, she said she would not do that but would give me a $20 credit instead. So my 'compensation' has now gone down. I mentioned that Tamara? had offered 50 the night before and there should be an email and she checked and made up some story that Tamara had explained everything in the morning (we didn't speak to Tamara in the morning). So, now, lies on top of the abuse. Anyhow, to finalise, I didn't take the credit but asked her to escalate it. As we had booked through British Airways (who are they she said!!!) it had to go to a different department. Anyhow, she asked for my phone number and email, both of which I provided, and said she would contact me in the next day or so with an answer. Guess, what, No call, no email (and I always check my spam folder). TBH, I wasn't surprised.||So the sum it up, its NOT a self-catering studio so don't go there under the impression it will be and tbh, I've never had to deal with such unpleasant and unhelpful staff in my life before. I can't even say the views are good as from the resort itself, you can't see the Lake. AVOID (and no need for the patronising, We're sorry we did not meet your expectations and appreciate you taking the time to share your rating. We hope you’ll give us your consideration for a future trip to the area, where we can look to make your stay everything you were expecting_ Just get your act together and get some decent staff. Oh, yes, you can refund the resort fees for at least one night which was...

Leave your expectations at home and come with an open mind. We booked this place through an Interval International exchange so I don't know what they charge to stay here. If you're a ski bum looking for a warm place to call home, cook a meal and rest up for the next day maybe this is your place. Beyond that, you may want to move on.

The property is like stepping back into 1980 except the VCR has been replaced with a Blu Ray player. Rooms are dark brown decor (obviously to hide stains) with terrible lighting. Tub/toilet room is claustrophobic and stepping in and out of the tub/shower requires some caution due to the height. Furniture is worn and you sink to the bottom of every chair you sit in. Sleep Number beds are ready for the dumpster. Carpet is worn out and at the bathroom threshold you have to be careful not to step on the painful tack strip. Sound and smoke seals are shot on the entry door and connecting room doors (which should be rated fire doors) and the corridor light penetrates the perimeter at night as well as daily sounds from our prolifically intimate neighbors. Although, I must admit, their stamina and frequency were impressive. If you open the windows, the wind continuously howls through the entry door because of the flattened, worn-out fire seals. It sounded like the tornado scene in the 1940's Wizard of Oz. Speaking of windows, three actually function in our 1-bedroom unit but the openings are limited to about 3" which totals about 2.4 sq. ft. of ventilation for a 900 sq. ft. unit. That's it, and the problem is, there's no A/C. Yep, you read that right, it’s 2022 and there’s no A/C. We had a washer and dryer but running it sounds like a Drum Corp is in the room and we were fearful the neighboring guests would complain about the pounding rhythm from our side of the door. The elevator buttons are worn to a frazzle and if you want the garage level, pound on the #3 button four times (really hard) and the door will activate and you will be on your way to your car. A housekeeper was kind enough to show us this maneuver. Restaurant at the Clubhouse is closed and abandoned (but looked really good in the marketing video we saw) and the bar is small and gets crowded quickly if there is an obnoxious, overbearing group wanting your seat. But the prices suggest you are at a 5-star facility. The grounds and landscaping could use some serious maintenance. I could go on, but I think anyone reading this review might get the drift.

All in all, we still managed to enjoy our stay in Tahoe because we didn't stay at this unit much during the day and found the circumstances somewhat entertaining and comical. If nothing in paragraph 2 concerns you, then you will probably fit in really well here. The kitchens are clean and functional with updated appliances. Wi-Fi works sometimes, Housekeeping seems to be doing the best they can and they manage to keep a smile on their faces (or perhaps they thought those sounds were coming from our unit) and we were fortunate enough to have pleasant weather, so the absence of A/C was not a significant problem. Location is good, rooms are spacious and the buildings seem to be structurally sound, so I hope IHG plans to update these units and turn them into a first-class property. The potential is here and I'm sure the winter crowd has much different expectations because they are primarily here for the slopes. You decide, but our decision has been made. I honestly don’t believe the other 5 star reviews were written by real guests who paid good money...