Winter Park Mountain Lodge — Hotel in Winter Park

My experience with Winter Park Mountain Lodge was far below my expectations.

To preface the experience, my group and the others in line at the time we were checking in had booked the rooms weeks and months ago, so my experience with other hotels has always been the rooms booked in advance were reserved and ready upon or about my expected arrival time.

The process of checking in was very stressful and time consuming as it took several hours in total. They overbooked rooms and when I arrived many people who had paid for rooms were simply turned away. They had only one staff person who clearly had no resources to work with and no management would answer or respond to phone calls asking for assistance. The employee did all that he could including giving people rooms that were out of order and not cleaned. My room did not have a functioning lock which I reported each night and never witnessed any attempts to fix it. One of our group had to repair the toilet that would not flush. Another of our rooms had a very strong chemical smell that made the people sleeping in it feel sick.

There was no parking available. We had to pay $35 dollars per vehicle to park in the garage. In my opinion, this would have been an acceptable amount to pay for upgraded parking however, with no parking spaces available, there was no choice but to pay the additional hidden fee, so, it felt like extortion under the circumstances. As we waited in the unloading area for room and parking assignments from the employee, the lift bus driver added to the stress of the situation by advising us he would have our cars towed if we didn’t move. At the same time, he did not have a recommendation of where to move the vehicles to. With the vehicles temporary parked in the loading zone and pulled as close to the right hand curb as possible there was still plenty of room to navigate though as they did several times during the situation.

I was told by the booking agent that breakfast was included in my reservation. On my first morning the clerk told me the breakfast was extra. After verifying I found breakfast was included. It was quite off putting to have to work so hard for a burrito I had paid for already. It was also clearly apparent that they did not have enough even for my group alone. Ultimately, I decided not to partake at all since it was such a hassle so , WPML is 5 burritos ahead of schedule.

The hot tub only had 1 working water jet and the water was not very warm. The water also seemed to have film on top and appeared to need maintenance.

Another inconvenience was at least one of the elevators was broken during our stay and you had to go outside to use the stairs which were open to the outside not secured with any type of lock or even latched closed as well as being out of sight of the attending employee at the front desk. I don’t mind using the stairs at all but the open door to the outside, my room lock not working, and no opportunity to see who comes and goes, I feel my stay had no level of security from theft, robbery, or any other criminal activity.

The bus schedule limits access to the mountain. Service does not begin at 7:30 as stated. Expect to get to the mountain at 8:15 or later.

There is no laundry.

There is no kitchenette.

The restaurant has very limited hours of operation.

The general state of the property is in need of maintenance and repair.

The WPML had one strong redeeming quality. That is the pro shop. I have been skiing at Winter Park on multiple occasions and the rental gear I received from the shop located in the lobby of WPML was the best quality rented equipment I have ever used, as well as the best service I have ever experienced from a ski shop. They got my boot fit perfect. The skies were sharp and performed perfectly giving me complete confidence even when hitting a couple small ice patches. They adjusted the binding totally perfectly. And they continued to maintain the highest level of customer service even during the busy times. Like a well oiled highly efficient machine with a...

I stayed at this hotel several years ago with no issues. However, during my stay from 12/30/24 to 1/1/25, this hotel introduced me to several “firsts” I never thought I’d experience—especially considering the amount we paid for our rooms.

Check-in Issues Our troubles began with our room not being ready for an hour past check-in time. While the manager did compensate us by covering parking, which was appreciated, things went downhill from there.

Lack of Basic Amenities We were sent to our rooms without any towels, soap, or the rollaway bed we had requested. Of the two rooms we booked, only one had a single hand towel. When we asked for towels and soap, we were told towels were being washed and would be delivered later that evening. As for soap, we were informed they had none available, so we resorted to using our own body wash as hand soap.

Despite their promise, we didn’t receive any towels until the evening of 12/31/24, and only after repeatedly asking. By then, we were given just 2 large towels and 8 hand towels for 7 people. This situation caused us to delay swimming the first night, as we assumed towels would eventually be delivered. When it became clear that wouldn’t happen, our kids were in tears.

The next day, we tried to make the best of it for their sake. We went swimming, but drying off was a challenge. Another family generously shared a towel they had scrounged from the hotel.

Rollaway Bed Confusion We were initially told we’d receive a rollaway bed, but it turned out there wasn’t a single one available in the entire hotel. I wish they had been upfront about this from the beginning instead of giving us false hope. Whether this was due to poor communication or deliberate misinformation, it left us feeling frustrated and misled.

Unresponsive Management After check-in, the manager was nowhere to be found for the remainder of our stay. When we checked out, I asked for a discount based on our experience, but the staff said they couldn’t make adjustments without the manager. With no manager present, we left without any resolution.

Other Issues The two hot tubs were lukewarm at best, and the pool was freezing cold. My kids managed to have some fun by alternating between the cold pool and the lukewarm hot tub to make the water feel warmer. I’m glad they were able to enjoy themselves, but overall, this was far from the relaxing vacation we expected.

Final Thoughts The staff, while nice, seemed overworked and exhausted. They repeatedly apologized and acknowledged the situation was unacceptable, but apologies didn’t solve our problems. This experience has made me wary of staying at hotels without packing my own towels and soap. Thank you, Winter Park Mountain Lodge, for giving me some “firsts” I never wanted to experience.

If you have reservations at this hotel and can’t cancel, I recommend bringing your own towels and toiletries just in case. Unfortunately, we will never stay here again. I also booked this stay through Priceline, and they were unable to assist with a discount, which added to our...

I wish I didn't have to write this review. My wife and I have been eager to get some time away and it had been 10 years since we were able to have a vacation without the kids and I wish I could have the week back. Where to start:

The walls and door between the room we're paper thin. The first night, I was up at 3 listening to my neighbor's TV program. And I spent the rest of the week, listening to their conversations every time we we're both in our rooms. Not a good start for privacy and romance.

The staff at the front desk was so unhelpful. I don't know why I keep seeing decent ratings for them. When we arrived on a Tuesday, they gave us keys and told us our room number. THAT WAS IT! We didn't even realize until 3 days in that there was a fireside lounge. Not to mention that we were never able to get WiFi to work on any of our devices (laptop or phone). When I called down to the front desk to resolve, they told me that no one else is having this problem so "just keep trying". We did. The whole time we were there and after hours of attempting to IT troubleshoot, we gave up.

The restaurant in the hotel was way overpriced. We found that the "buffet" which had very little selection, powdered eggs, and did not taste good cost more than Goody's across the street with everything fresh and served hot. I also asked for an orange juice - it never came. Dinner was just as overpriced and the service was spotty.

There were some positives, though. The folks in the ski rental shop we're very helpful and kind. Also, the view is beautiful if you get a room overlooking the mountains. However, we got altitude sickness the first day (not a single warning from the staff or on their website of how to avoid/deal with this until after we got it) and left a day early to avoid reverse altitude sickness (definitely a thing and I would warn anyone coming from sea level before travelling there). Of course, they couldn't refund us our last day even though we were leaving early - very kind and understanding of them :)

Every time we asked something of the front desk, we got blank stares and one word answers. Then, there was housekeeping. The first day, they didn't give us more toilet paper or facial tissues so we ended up having to use tissues that we had brought along when we were in the bathroom before going to get our own off the housekeeping cart the next day. Housekeeping never came the next day even after we didn't come back to the room until 4 PM so we had to put up a "do not disturb" so we could shower after being out all day. Housekeeping never came, the entire stay but was sure to leave us a tip envelope to give any gratuity.

Finally, there was a constant smell of marijuana in the elevators and hallways throughout our stay.

I was so disappointed by the stay and it was to celebrate my wife's birthday. I hope that if you're brave enough to stay that you don't experience the same problems and...