Strawberry Lodge, Kyburz

I brought my Singles group to Strawberry Lodge (nearly 30 people) for an October weekend retreat and we had the most awesome weekend ever! Everyone raved about the lodge, loved their rooms, and loved Mike and the NEW desk manager, Stacy. They offered their perfect sized ballroom for our meetings and our Saturday night Dance (featuring singer Leon Patillo, formerly with Santana) and a DJ and it was perfect! We loved dining by the huge fireplace in the dining room, and Mike even arranged for a guide to take 13 people hiking up to Lover's Leap. Stacy and Mike work so hard! Waitress Mary - was awesome! We are planning a snow trip there in January, and will be back next October - I am still getting calls and emails about the trip - they can't wait to return! Yes, the rooms may remind you a bit of Grandma's house - but isn't that what a country lodge is all about? And TV - who has time for it??? I hear the put on a Halloween dance and a big New Year's Eve Dance and they sell out! Sounds like fun. Linda Christian Singles Network

Extremely rude woman at the front desk and a bartender that is completely lacking in common sense and personal communication skills with customers should have been my first clue. The waitress looked drugged out and the food was just so-so. The room was cold and looked old. We had to buy tire chains during our stay and had them install them. When we had them taken off (somewhere else) we were shown what a bad job they did putting them on. Not only were the chains upside down they were loose and just about to fall off. Never, ever again.

My husband and I were so disappointed with our stay. This lodge is in a fantastic location,and is a historic building. It is such a shame that it is ruined by an owner so rude that we nicknamed her Norma Bates. The food was bad, and the dining room infested with flies. We were told that we had the "wedding suite." The leaky toilet ran all night, the windows were broken and the room looked as if it hadn't been cleaned properly in years. Downstairs in the bar some unidentified sticky stuff on the filthy bar stools is still evident on my jeans. This place should be shut down by the health department. We will never, ever return as long as it is under this management.

This place is a nightmare.... took 3 hours to order dinner with no one in the dining hall.... The lady behind the desk a possible owner was so rude to our kids I couldn't stand it, and even sitting by the fire as people came in she was rude and made sitting threre to relax a horrible time.... The lack of professionalism was horrible... I myself am in the field of taking care of people and know someting about this. so take my advice and don't stay at the strawberry lodge

My family and I were planning a weekend getaway to the snow, I hadn't heard of the Strawberry Lodge before, so I decided to read reviews on it to see what other people thought. Well, I was a little weary since it's stated that there are no t.v's or phones in the rooms, and I honestly thought it was going to be really boring when we got back from the snow and into the lodge. After reading some reviews, a lot of people hated the food, disliked the management, etc... but I NEED everyone to know that this place was amazing!! It felt like a home away from home, the owner and bartender, Mike I think his name was...was an absolute sweetheart! He couldn't have made our stay more pleasant. When we were playing Trivial Pursuit by the incredibly enormous fireplace, he would come and join us, and shout out answers, pretty smart guy, too ;) And the food was great too! I am a vegetarian and I was surprised to see a decent selection for me! The rest of my family eats "normal" food, and they all loved their meals as well! There's also a guy who runs the ski/snowboard shop downstairs and he was so helpful during our stay! He put chains on our tires for a very reasonable price! So all in all our stay was more than great!! It was our first visit, but definitely not our last!! We are even planning on spending Christmas there!!

When my husband and I read the reviews on this website, we were concerned that our experience at the Strawberry Lodge could could turn out poorly. We had also felt that the woman answering the phone when we made our reservations was abrupt, confrontational and generally not very helpful in answerering our questions about the Lodge. After reading the reviews we felt validated that it wasn't just us feeling put off. We had been told the reservation was non refundable, so we decided to go and have a good time anywayl We were delighted to experience something very positive and we were treated very well by all the staff. The food was delicious, the bartender/owner Mike was hospitable and made us feel very much at home. We had such a lovely time we went back the next week! This visit.also was very pleasant . Apparently the woman who answered the phone was away for both our visits! She probably was taking some well earned vacation time. Running a lodge of this size is a huge exhausting job.....I hope now that the winter season has peaked, everyone that workds so hard here can rest a bit and be refreshed so that visitors in the future will have as wonderful experience as we did. It is a beautiful setting, the food and staff were excellent and we can't wait to have the opportunity to return. Things change....visit the Strawberry Lodge and experience its charm and historic spirit for yourself . We hope you will fall in love with it like we did.

We have stayed there for New Years eve 2 years in a row. We thought last year was a fluke....nope! The owner at the frond desk could not be more unpleasant & unfriendly. We ate dinner as part of our $50. celebration package (+ hotel) & we almost rang in the new year waiting for our food. One hour forty five minutes after sitting down hungry our food arrived. It was cooked improperly, wrong selection, & just a hair too much food, literally. My wife's food had a long blond hair in it. When we brought it to their attention, they wanted to argue. They said, they all wear hairnets & no one even has blond hair in the kitchen. Low & behold the busboy walks out with long blond hair & no hairnet. We spoke with the owner (front desk lady) & she was overly defensive & confrontational. We felt we needed to convey our experience to someone who cares so we spoke to the other owner (Bartender) & his only response was "what can I get you to drink". We ordered drinks thinking free drinks was his way of saying sorry....nope. He charged us for them. The rooms were kind of cute but no phone or alarm clock. Anyone that eats at this place better be ready to sit on the pot for a couple of days. The band was great & we were able to salvage our new years by dancing the night away. Stay away until they go out of business & new owners take over!

I've probably given Strawberry Lodge one too many opportuntities, but I really want it to surprise me one of these days. It is situated in a beautiful valley along the American River. I've never stayed the night, but have stopped for a bite to eat several times. The food has been marginal and sometimes just awful. The woman at the desk (is she the manager? owner?) doesn't seem to care that she has guests - her attitude is consistently unfriendly and no hint of 'service'. I thought she'd just had a bad day the first time but she's consistently cranky. I'd like to see this place revived with a new manager and cook. It could be great.

Beautiful location, beautiful lodge. The rooms don't have TV or amenities, but the beds are comfortable and the lobby is a wonderful place to play a game of checkers by the fire in front of the stuffed Grizzly Bear! There is a River in the back and it is located close enough to Tahoe for an evening of entertainment there without all the urbanization. It is a real Tahoe experience. I have not yet had a good meal at the restaurant out of about 5 tries. Eat elsewhere.

The location and the building are wonderful, and there is at least one piece of charming historic furniture in each room, but that is all this place has to recommend it. As long as you are self sufficient and avoid the owner, that might be enough (the owner is also the evening bar tender). I stayed one night and was glad my stay was short. The room had no telephone, no clock, no TV, and no radio. No wake-up service is offered either, so if you do go, remember to bring your own alarm clock! I was told very aggressively that I was not allowed to have any food or drink in my room. The owner was unnecessarily rude, and I really tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. The restaurant/bar closes at 8 pm. There is no coffee or continental breakfast included in the price, and no early availability. You can purchase breakfast in the cafe starting at about 8 or 9. The morning waitress was very nice. I am disappointed because I had been told this was a nice place to stay. I think the owner is new. If the ownership changes again, it may be worth another shot. Just one final observation that I found amusing, there are signs up everywhere stating "No public restrooms, No outside food or drink -- El Dorado County" but the County does not disallow providing restrooms or having personal food in hotel rooms to the best of my knowledge. I think the new owner is just trying to pass the buck. Still, it is a beautiful old historic building surrounded by gorgeous scenery; just remember to bring your own entertainment and a clock!