Diana M.
Yelp
Okay, I agree, this place is SUPER dated - like, literally, sections outside are falling apart. So let's get the negatives out of the way:
Our room was super dated, the sliding door was incredibly difficult to open, the carpet looks absolutely disgusting - like I didn't want to take my shoes off even. Food is stupid expensive and not that great - certainly not enough to justify the price. They don't serve lunches, but you can get prepackaged sandwiches and even breakfast burritos and sandwiches at the general store. We didn't try either. But we did purchase two coffees (lattes), an apple cinnamon "scone" (looked like a flat chocolate chip cookie), and two hummus and pretzel chip packets - $27!
So why 4 stars instead of 2 or 3? The experience and location are stellar!
Food: The first night I had a Cesar salad with salmon. The salmon was over cooked - like by a lot. Our server, Kevin, was so embarrassed and got me not just a new fish, but replaced the salad entirely. I kind of would have preferred just the fish, bc the second salad had some tough (probably old) lettuce leaves. At any rate? The second salmon was perfectly cooked. We also had the prosciutto caprese - OMG! Super good and the taquitos (meh). We had breakfast in the upstairs restaurant as well. My husband had the oatmeal and I had the BLTA Sandwich. The sandwich was amazing, but would be best shared. It was huge! We had Teo regular coffee with that. Grand total after tip was over $50. Just be ready to pay through the nose here. They can, bc you're literally 11 minutes from anything else. So if you don't want to drive back and forth up that somewhat windy road (not like Big Bea Mountain windy, but still), you'll eat here.
Service: Kevin (our server for dinner) and Alex (bar tender) were awesome! Super chill, ready to chat about the mountain, skiing and snowboarding (wide stance va narrow stance in snowboarding), and just fun guys who probably deal with more pretentious crappy people than they should. Genuine good guys who want every guest to have an outstanding experience - you guys were awesome and are the main reason I'm giving this place 4 stars instead of 2. Other reasons for the 4 stars:
Dogs are welcomed and yet the place is quite clean - either the staff is mindful of bathroom mishaps or people are doin a decent job of picking up after their pets.
Location can't be beat! Literally walk 50 paces to the nearest chair lift. Okay, I didn't exactly count my paces, but it's super close. Only downside to the location is that it's an 11 minute, windy drive to the village and longer if you want to do anything beyond that.
Parking is more than ample and there's even covered parking if you prefer.
The lobby is actually quite nice. Lots of comfy seating and a fireplace where you can warm up while sipping your overpriced coffee and "scone".
All in all and pricey AND mostly enjoyable experience thanks to Alex and Kevin and the location. I understand a demolition and new build is in the works - I'm sure this place will be amazing - just don't let go of Kevin and Alex.