Destination Big Bear — Local services in Big Bear Lake

A few months back over Memorial Day Weekend my wife and I booked a weekend getaway with our dog through Destination Big Bear. After driving a little over 6hrs from PHX we got to our initial house, and holy cow. The house was appalling (understatement). First off, they have no AC (most houses apparently in Big Bear do not- so be warned), secondly, it was FILTHY. Dust everywhere, dirt, bugs, etc. I don't think they cleaned the house before us at all. Or before the person before us...or maybe before them even! It was to the point where we quickly evacuated before even letting our pup out of the car. Some highlights of the first house included uncleaned/unvaccumed bath mats that were older than me, as well as dirty underwear left behind the couch, crumbs in the cupholders on the recliner, dust/dirt? on dishes, and oh yea- a half eaten Dum Dum Icecream cone left on a windowsill.

We quickly began contacting Destination Big Bear. They never answered our phone calls but would respond via email only. In the emails they of course claimed they coudln't really do anything but send some cleaning people; however, it may not be until 4-5pm (when we first arrived it was around noon). We eventaully had to drive to their office in town and demanded to speak to someone. Of course, there was no management to speak to, but after talking with an employee in-person they miraculously had an "Upgraded" house that we could go into. They assured us they would have a person swing by ahead of time to make sure the house was at least acceptable and we agreed.

When we arrived at the house the first thing we noticed was the state of cleanliness, which was again subpar. If this was the first house we would have been disappointed but dealt with it; however- this was the house we were given to make up for such a horrible first experience?! THIS house was the "UPGRADED?" We were blown away at the state of this house as well-ESPECIALLY, after having someone supposedly go through and give it a seal of approval for the company. This house had pee/vomit stains throughout the carpet (presummably from pets), cobwebs stringing down from the ceiling, dirty dishes/unwashed pans left in the cupboards, a dead boquet of flowers ontop the fridge, cheese/crumbs under the glass covering for the dining room table, and of course a similar dirt/bug situation.

It was around 8pm at night by this point, and after reaching back out to Destination Big Bear, we were told there was no other houses available (Again, this was all done via email because they refused to answer a phone call). In our email exchange they gave the option of either giving us a full refund and cancelling our resveration OR giving us a 50% discount. We initially accepted the refund, in hopes of talking to management to further resolve the situation. We decided to make the best of a bad situation (especially considering we were paying $150/night AFTER the dicount).

After our weekend getaway we were told someone would be in contact with us 3-5 days after our checkout to follow up concerning our stay. They didn't happen. We got follow up emails apologizing for not being able to reach out to us that day. Eventually, about a week after our departure management called us. It became apparent that Denise the manager had not reviewed our case before contacting us, and after looking through the events that occured we were told we were, "offered the world" while also saying we declined the 50% discount. Thankfully, it was recorded via email that we accepted it otherwise they would have charged us full price.

Throughout all of this, we never once recived an apology.

Between the disgusting houses, piss poor communication, lack of remorse, and overall horrible experience with this company- I would strongly discourage anyone to book their stay...

The location and the facility were really great as photos. However, our experience staying at the property was very terrible. My friend and I wanted to take a rest, but we had a really stressful weekend. +++Crisis management (1) Proactive: they were not proactive on the potential incidents. Although it might have happened by winds or so, it was not tied fully. No water was filled in the goalpost, and only some stones were on the goalpost to hold it. (2) During the crisis/responsive process: (a) No apologies and no support: while we were handling the crisis or incident, we spent so much energy, time, and money. After it happened, some staff came pretty soon and evaluated the situation. However, the answer from the management team was very disappointing. What if was it a human got the damage? What they gave as an answer via just “Airbnb—” is to use your other vehicle (we were 7 ppl and could not use a vehicle [max 5] even for going back home).” We could go to the grocery store with just a few guests, but we could not do anything else after spending 6 hours and longer to resolve the issue. It was during the daytime we could do something. We did not come to waste our time and to fight against our general right to enjoy as guests. The management team never apologized until Airbnb intervened in our conversation. (b) ignorance in person and threatening us: As they did not respond to support our time and help (this is honestly not helping, but we definitely deserve to spend our weekend with joy and by our plan), we needed to talk in person. However, from the management office, a guy (D*) looked down on us and repeated to resolve with the insurance company only. Yes, that is for sure. However, they did not even care how we felt when this happened and the situation we could not go home with a single vehicle for 7 and luggage. What if they offered “reimbursement” for a ride? Why should we ask our friend to come to pick us up? Why couldn’t we do any outdoor activities during our precious weekend??? The problem could be solved soon. However, the staff was very rude, and while the guy fought (why should we fight for our right as customers to enjoy our time there??????), he even told my friend to get out of the office and call the police. Besides, we could have been kicked out of our facility. (c) no managers during the weekend: Another point is that we could not talk in person with the management team during the weekend. The office guy told us they are working on check-in/out for their guests during the weekend. However, it seemed like he did not think of us as “guests.” If the management team or the decision-maker could not work during the weekend, why are they accepting guests during the weekend?? Our stays are during weekends only, and we ruined our stays/mood and the main day -“Saturday.” After giving up talking with the management team, we wanted to do at least something, but we could not go anywhere as we had just a car. We should not spend any money out-of-pocket on something that happened by not our fault. We selected the facility not to have this kind of experience and treatment by the host. —— After it happened, the problem resolved by the respresentative and received the credit...

We rented a cabin through Destination Big Bear for a 3 night stay. The website was sort of challenging as you aren't able to directly look up your reservations even after logging in. The only purpose for creating a login is so they have your email.

Prior to our stay, I read reviews about the Cloud 9 cabin we were to stay in that reported many serious problems. I asked the Destination Big Bear agents about the problems and they assured me they had been taken care of and would not be an issue during our stay. They lied. None of the problems had been taken care of. The worst of those was the filthy hot tub with too low water level. It was really gross and we couldn't use it which is sad because it's the main reason we booked that cabin.

The biggest problem with Destination Big Bear is that after our stay, I wrote a detailed review of the Cloud 9 cabin, as I do after any rental stay. Since I rely on reviews, I like to be thorough. I asked how to post it to their website. They said to send it to them so I did. After sending it, Heather from Destination Big Bear said they would NOT be posting it because they didn't think it was fair to the hosts for me to state what I "think" could be better. I was amazed. As if all reviews aren't about what guests "think" about the property.

They also complained that I hadn't brought up the issues during my stay giving them a chance to rectify the situation. That's untrue. I WENT INTO THEIR OFFICE and told them that the steps were iced over leading into the cabin and leading to the hot tub in the back (we hadn't yet looked at the hot tub.) The ice was too thick to remove with the plastic shovel at the cabin and too dangerous to walk on safely. They said they would try to send out a maintenance man, but that he was very busy. No one ever showed up and 4 out of the 6 people in our group slipped and fell due to the icy steps. Once we saw the disgusting hot tub, it would have been pointless to report it because it could not have been drained and refilled and heated within the 3 days we were there, and they did nothing about the icy steps so why would we think they would do anything about the hot tub?

This tells me that Destination Big Bear is only posting the most glowing of reviews which will never give you an accurate picture of the kind of place you will be renting. My review was NOT overly critical. It was honest and pointed out the many good things about the cabin, along with the things that need improving and the things that are very bad.

Destination Big Bear cares more about their hosts than they do about their guests and I guess that makes sense because they have longer lasting relationships with them. My point is, DO NOT BELIEVE REVIEWS POSTED ON THEIR SITE. If there is something wrong, they will not post it. Most of the reviews for this company say how the guest was blamed for not reporting the problems immediately as if it is our fault that we don't want a cleaning crew showing up during a short vacation and taking time away from a family get together! Maybe they should do a better job of ensuring that cabins are...