Playpark Lodge — Hotel in South Lake Tahoe

Stayed here to gain "quick access" to Kirkwood - this being a reasonably priced and well reviewed place at the south end of S Lake Tahoe. The "quick access" turned out to be a myth over the MLK weekend - Kirkwood's newly instituted (starting in the '23/'24 season) parking lot restrictions (once all lots are full, the place is closed to more skiers) made us turn back en route. We were told the resort had been closed to additional traffic since 6 am on that Sunday. Later, someone on the Heavenly lift told us their party left for Kirkwood at 7:30 am and were turned back.

Meanwhile, we enjoyed our stay at Playpark Lodge. It features (1) a new facility with a beautiful bathroom, (2) microwave & frig (no freezer, so your blue ice would need to rely on being outside overnight), (3) comfortable bed, (4) effective heat - if a bit noisy when it turns on, (4) efficient contactless check-in/out process, (5) responsive service if a bit delayed due to no staff physically on site.For a contactless facility, the text-for-service seemed effective.

We also liked how empty drawers were featured so there were places to stow stuff, even though there was no closet so you'd be living out of your suitcase. We asked for, and received, additional hangers for our ski gear; there was a hanger bar in the bathroom in very confined space.

I'd say we would have liked a K-sized room (for 2) instead of the Q. The Q room felt a bit confined, what with the bed occupying nearly the entire space. Also I believe the K rooms feature jacuzzi bathtubs (do verify). Q room works if all you do is sleep in the room. Otherwise a small couch would be a welcome feature.

Coffee was like water. It was a K Cup style maker, so you'd have no choice unless you bring your own compatible K Cup selections. "Just enough" cups, plastic utensils, plates, paper towels, sugar & Coffee Mate packets. Check out Cuppa Tahoe - it was a prized find for great coffee and even better hangout, right nearby.

The biggest problem was the lack of instructions on how to operate the microwave. Shouldn't have been a brain teaser, but it took us 2.5 days to figure how to operate it! A quick cheat sheet would have been nice, like they had on the "Smart TV."

Walls were thin. We could hear our neighbors talking at night (they were not loud; the walls were very thin). Bring earplugs. The "quiet hours" of 10 pm - 8 am made good and necessary policy. Our sleep was not overly disturbed, since we were exhausted after skiing. Given that this place is located right on Hwy 50, the "quietness" was quite good: whenever heard...

Decent motel, but WAY overpriced.

I'll start with the positives: really friendly staff, convenient location, and I liked the new natural tiles in the standing shower... but this is where the positives end.

In the photos, a lot of the rooms look spacious and nice - with fireplaces and sitting areas. Unfortunately some rooms are much much much less comfortable.

My room (#7) was TINY - with barely enough space to walk around the bed, and not even enough space for a closet. The mini fridge, luggage rack and clothing rack are in the already small bathroom! The central heating did not work, I had a small portable space heater. IN TAHOE!!! IN THE WINTER!! HEATING WAS BROKEN!

Bed was uncomfortable, with synthetic sheets and really sad pillows... There was basically no sound proofing between rooms! I was between parents on one side, and children on the other side, and it was SO NOISY! Oh, the sink was chipped, and the wall above the bed had white plaster on it.

And I got sent SO MANY emails from the hotel, AND text messages from two people. Guys, one email with the check in code is enough. I don't need ten texts to checkout.

Also, I booked the place on booking.com, and the rate did NOT show the $55 cleaning fee (for reference, other hotels include this upfront). Don't trust the rates you see, it's NOT going to be $160/night, the total is much higher...

So for $250/night total, this is steep for this level of accommodation.

I may have been more patient, but literally the weekend before I stayed at Black Bear Lodge 10 minutes away. FOR THE SAME PRICE, Black Bear has beautiful modern rooms 3x the size, a lovely lodge, huge bathrooms, (and a separate closet), working fireplaces in every room (in addition to working central heating), amazingly comfortable beds, and lavender essential oil diffusers/humidifiers. Oh, and it's 3 blocks from Heavenly. And the concierge has snacks to take to go in the morning!

Screenshots of cost breakdown of both properties shown below side by side. INCOMPARABLE experience. If I had one of the bigger, nicer rooms, I would have felt differently.

Not coming back to PlayPark unless they significantly lower the prices for their...

Play Park lodge home away from home..... A few months ago I visted Lake Tahoe for the first time and I was fortunate to find this cozy and warm place. I can say I'm not easy to impress since I been in the hospitality business for quite some time and my standards of cleanliness are pretty high and Play Park lodge has meet my expectations, a place where I feel very happy and comfortable during my entire stay. Highly recomend suite 8 or 9 definately my favorite specially for a romantic get away, very comfortable living space with fireplace an extra heather. Very comfortable bed and inspiring decor, spacious closet and a nice sink area with a lot storage space for food and personal items, fridge and microwave even though I miss having coffee maker in the room but that was fine with me, it actually incourage me to enjoy a walk in the morning and explore around the local coffee shops and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee. ( Crazy good bakery, Alpina cafe, great breakfast at Bert's Cafe, Cup of cherries even though for this one is only 10 min drive)

Last week I came back with my daughter We got to the enjoy this time suite #3 and we were both so happy to be there since We were staying the previous night in a bigger hotel right by the water and let me say We were relief to enjoy the cleanliness on this spacious room, great for families with bumpbeds with private bedrooms.

I would like to mention also the easy check- in process with clear information/introductions simple and efficient for your stay. You get a private code to access your room and not have to worry about losing your key while you are enjoying the surroundings.

Another BIG plus for Play Park Lodge is LOCATION ..... you have everything you need in a very close distance ( Hikes, beaches, restaurants, stores, etc) Stuff are extremely helpful with recommendations and always making sure you stay is very pleasant. Its great to be in a place where everyone has so much love and passion for what they do and it definitely shows.

Don't forget to take advantage of the outdoor area enjoy the fire pit and the beautiful market lights so so pretty..... Definitely looking forward...