Pepper Tree Inn — Hotel in Tahoe City

I posted this on trip advisor, but wanted to make sure to get the word out because I was so disappointed with how the hotel handled this situation, which really didn't help with improving my outlook on the noise and uncomfortable bed.

My coworker and I both woke up with allergy issues and I had a hard time sleeping on the hard bed with a bad hip. However, my biggest complaint is that upon arrival I hung my down jacket in the "closet" (alcove with no door) and forgot it when checking out since it was to the far left on a hanger and you couldn't see around the alcove. I wanted to pick it up before heading to the airport once I realized this, so I called to ask about it. I figured it wouldn't be an issue, I had just checked out earlier in the day.

However, when I called and without even checking with anyone, the woman who answered the phone told me that it was impossible that anything was left behind as the room was cleaned. I noted during our conversation that that jacket (the only real winter coat I own, an expensive Patagonia jacket that was a gift from my husband and is probably the only real quality winter item I've ever owned) couldn't be seen unless you walked into the alcove and suggested that it might have been overlooked. The response I got, again, was that it was impossible anything was left behind. Well, when I opened one of the drawers there was a long dead spider so I know not everything is cleaned and checked, but that is beside the point.

If I was alone in the room I could maybe begin to second guess myself, but I hadn't worn the jacket after hanging it up post-flight and my coworker saw it in the closet the morning we checked out. She meant to remind me to grab it off of the hanger (again you couldn't see it looking straight on at the alcove), but we were rushing and both of us forgot.

Look, I wasn't there to party or vacation, I went back and forth to two locations during my stay in Tahoe City. I did not bring the coat to the second location, an indoor conference. However, because I knew the coat would not have been seen unless one went into the alcove and I gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and asked the alcove to be checked the next time housekeeping ran the rounds.

I did not hear back from anyone, not even to say, sorry, no we don't have it. When I follow-up emailed, I received rude responses that made it seem as though I had lost the coat somewhere and no one had found it. I did not lose a $160 winter coat, I know where I left it and I called once I realized I left it there THE SAME DAY. What happened, I don't know, but I don't THINK I left the coat on a hanger in the closet, that is where I left it. I filed a police report today after it was clear that no one was going to return the coat and still find it odd that before asking anyone else or checking, the initial response was I received was that it was impossible I left anything behind.

Aside from that, it was hard to sleep with the noise from the outdoor hallway and traffic. If I were to visit Tahoe City again for a personal vacation, it's not someplace I would stay. I'm not very picky, but one of my deal breakers (I worked in customer service/hospitality when I was in school and my parents were in the service industry) is seeing rude or snarky responses from owners in review comments. Some people have valid complaints, some don't, but how you choose to publicly respond to those complaints says a lot about the quality of service provided. There are a lot of things you can overlook if you are provided with good service. I've certainly stayed in nicer hotels, even ones with outdoor hallways, for around or less than the cost...

DO NOT - I REPEAT: DO NOOOOOTTTT - STAY HERE!!!!!!! Ok, hopefully i have your attention now. This place looks OK from the pictures .. the price was right for a basic hotel near the lake, so we booked two rooms. IT WAS FAR FROM OK. There is only someone there until 10pm, and there is a phone number you're supposed to be able to call if you have issues after hours. The door key stopped working right after we got there as we were still trying to get our things from the car, so we were locked out of our room with our dog inside. I frantically called and texted the "after hours" number and got no response to repeated calls and texts. Thank God we had opened the window and it was unlocked so we were able to crawl through the window. My brother was in another room and was also locked out because the door lock stopped working. He also had to go through the window. ||||Now for the rooms: The carpet is disgusting, the beds are hard, the pillows are flat and old, the towels are like gym towels, the shower head is full of gunk, the shower door wouldn't stay closed, the wallpaper is peeling. The water wouldn't work in our other room. ||||The elevator: the elevator is old and obviously not being serviced. It is so slow and the door was smashing us when we were trying to put the luggage cart in. It shakes like crazy when in use. It's a safety issue. ||||The stairs: the stairwell is a safety issue. The stairs are too short and are crumbling in places. God forbid there is an emergency and people need to evacuate. ||||The staff: here is where it gets REALLY bad: I was fighting with the elevator door as it was closing on me and would not open to allow the luggage cart in. My fiancee and brother were downstairs waiting for me. The employee approached my fiancee and told him to stop holding up the elevator. He explained that we were trying to get our luggage down. The employee had an aggressive tone and my fiancee didnt like it at all, especially after the horrible stay we had. My fiancee tried to tell him about all the issues and the employee threatened to call the sheriff. He stated that they didn't know about the issues with our keys (despite the fact that I have the call logs and texts to show that we tried and tried to get ahold of someone). I would venture to guess that he hears complaints ALL THE TIME and this is the way they operate so they can avoid hearing from unhappy customers. I came down and was understandably upset because he was treating my fiancee this way. I tried to bring our complaints to his attention and he CALLED THE SHERIFF ON ME! What?!?! Absolutely ridiculous.||||We spoke to some folks in town who said that our experience there is common. ||||The ONLY positive thing about this place is the location... but there are much better places to stay in Tahoe with views. Take my advice and spend a little more and avoid this dump and their horrible customer service. They think it is OK to invest no money in renovations and safety upgrades because of the location. Only when people start avoiding the place will anything improve....

DO NOT - I REPEAT: DO NOOOOOTTTT - STAY HERE!!!!!!! Ok, hopefully i have your attention now. This place looks OK from the pictures .. the price was right for a basic hotel near the lake, so we booked two rooms. IT WAS FAR FROM OK. There is only someone there until 10pm, and there is a phone number you're supposed to be able to call if you have issues after hours. The door key stopped working right after we got there as we were still trying to get our things from the car, so we were locked out of our room with our dog inside. I frantically called and texted the "after hours" number and got no response to repeated calls and texts. Thank God we had opened the window and it was unlocked so we were able to crawl through the window. My brother was in another room and was also locked out because the door lock stopped working. He also had to go through the window.

Now for the rooms: The carpet is disgusting, the beds are hard, the pillows are flat and old, the towels are like gym towels, the shower head is full of gunk, the shower door wouldn't stay closed, the wallpaper is peeling. The water wouldn't work in our other room.

The elevator: the elevator is old and obviously not being serviced. It is so slow and the door was smashing us when we were trying to put the luggage cart in. It shakes like crazy when in use. It's a safety issue.

The stairs: the stairwell is a safety issue. The stairs are too short and are crumbling in places. God forbid there is an emergency and people need to evacuate.

The staff: here is where it gets REALLY bad: I was fighting with the elevator door as it was closing on me and would not open to allow the luggage cart in. My fiancee and brother were downstairs waiting for me. The employee approached my fiancee and told him to stop holding up the elevator. He explained that we were trying to get our luggage down. The employee had an aggressive tone and my fiancee didnt like it at all, especially after the horrible stay we had. My fiancee tried to tell him about all the issues and the employee threatened to call the sheriff. He stated that they didn't know about the issues with our keys (despite the fact that I have the call logs and texts to show that we tried and tried to get ahold of someone). I would venture to guess that he hears complaints ALL THE TIME and this is the way they operate so they can avoid hearing from unhappy customers. I came down and was understandably upset because he was treating my fiancee this way. I tried to bring our complaints to his attention and he CALLED THE SHERIFF ON ME! What?!?! Absolutely ridiculous.

We spoke to some folks in town who said that our experience there is common.

The ONLY positive thing about this place is the location... but there are much better places to stay in Tahoe with views. Take my advice and spend a little more and avoid this dump and their horrible customer service. They think it is OK to invest no money in renovations and safety upgrades because of the location. Only when people start avoiding the place will anything...