The Lodge at Lykens Valley — Hotel in Upper Paxton Township

I really really wanted to love our stay but I can't say that I did. We are local to the area and wanted a Valentine's Day weekend trip with a break from our kids. I can't speak to the condition/quality of the golf course because I don't play golf lol and we went in the off season, so this is entirely for the lodge and Swing restaurant.

The lodge: There were no check in instructions sent in a pre-arrival email so I had to call in. There is no clear signage directing you to the lobby, but they did have a convenient contactless check in since I arrived around 7pm. At first glance, the room is clean and well equipped to include a tv and mini fridge and there were plenty of wash cloths and towels in the bathroom. The room also had a small pullout bed that I don't believe was included in the description online and they do include a $5 off coupon at Swing Restaurant. The tv was broken so we had to prop it up and you have to run the water literally for 3-4 minutes for it to get hot. I called and was informed of this when I told them that we did not have hot water. The pillows are horrible and lumpy.

Swing: our quesadillas were freaking delicious but ridiculously small. If I had to guess, I would say that they used a 7 inch wrap tortilla wrap? And it had baby shrimp, for $15?! I was quite disappointed when we got back to the room and saw the size, but again, it was absolutely delicious.

Miscellaneous: the guest book in the rooms is outdated. They still have businesses listed that closed years ago and other newish businesses are not listed, so this isn't helpful at all for families or couples looking for dining or activities. We saw several moldy and expired items both at breakfast and purchased from the vending machines. Snow removal/salting was very slow at the lodge but was done at the restaurant. I booked a handicap room because of my ankle and did not feel safe getting to my car when having to go out for lunch because the restaurant does not offer delivery to their guest rooms. My husband ended up finding a piece of a cardboard box and "shoveling" a pathway to the car for me. I don't know if it's because we stayed during non peak season, but I hope that they are more attentive when the place is busier as there were only a handful of rooms booked this past weekend. I guess I just expected more for a place that brands itself as a resort.

Side note: the woman who answers the phone is very sweet and professional! I appreciate her husband's...

We stayed at the Lodge on two separate occasions and enjoyed them both enormously. The rooms are cozy, clean and well attended by the staff. The grounds are meticulously maintained and the views are just plain gorgeous. We don't golf so I can't comment on that, but the rolling course to the south of the Lodge looked like a painting of a bucolic landscape. We sat outside to visit friends, took in a brilliant sunset and stargazed at the south facing skyline. (Pluto, Saturn, flanked the moon to the west and Neptune and Jupiter flanked it to the east!) The food was delicious, fresh salads gave to decided impression of local produce. The lodge offers dozens of craft beers. The staff was friendly and courteous. The lodge is located in a pastoral valley rimmed with mountains. A short drive down lightly used county two lane roads took us to hiking on Short and Bear mountain, a picnic in a Glen park in Lykens where we sat by the water watching brook trout entertain us. We visited antique shops in several nearby towns. So, if you are looking for Fern and Brass schlock, bars full of thumping computerized music or Disneyesque plastic, this place may not be for you. If you are looking for a peaceful, intimate place far from the gear grinding modern world in one of the safest locales on the planet, this may be just right. I warn you in advance, you may find yourself holding your wife's hand again and truly enjoying each other's company. Oh yes, the coffee runs out quick at the Lodge. So get out of bed early and enjoy a romp in...

Stopped here for one night on our way to NY. The place is cute and the rooms were clean, but I never saw any staff. We arrived at 8:30 pm. Google had the location incorrect, so that was frustrating after a long day of driving. (Where it says it is... pass it and go to the next road on the right to the entrance. It didn't give me a new pin to update it 🙄) There was no information given on how to check in, other than that they have a "self-check in process." There was no clear entrance. Just tennis courts and 2 buildings. Thankfully, there were guests outside that advised me that they were closed 😳 and to go into the "door at the end of the building to get our envelope. " There was zero staff there when we arrived - which would have been great to know before we arrived! Got our key and headed to our assigned room. The room was clean and had what we needed for 1 night. The area rug in our room had curled up on the end, so we tripped over it quite often! The towels were thin and small. I wanted to notify someone about the rug when we checked-out, but again, nobody was at registration at 9:30 am when we left. If you've ever traveled to this area of PA... there isn't a lot of good options for places to stay if you don't want a Super 8, Motel 6, etc... so this was a the best option. Just wish I had more information going in and could tell someone about my rug issue. There is a suggestion box at registration - but no paper or card to leave it on and no...