Mount Charleston Lodge, Las Vegas

For $200+ I was expecting at least a nice bed. These cabins haven't been updated in a very long time. Plus our cabin was decorated for Christmas (in August!). The decorations are obviously permanent. Very strange. The room deodorizer smell was overwhelming. Even after opening all windows and doors it wouldn't go away. The fireplace was the only nice thing about the room. The service at the restaurant was horrible. A flyer in our cabin said there was seating both inside and outside the restaurant if you have a dog. The hostess was incredibly rude when I showed up at the door with my dog. After she threw her hand up in my face we decided to head down the mountain and find a restaurant that had heard of customer service. We had takeout nachos the night before - uuggghhhh! Food from 7-11 would have tasted better. Even if you do decide to stay at the cabins don't eat at the restaurant. Bring your own food - there is a microwave and small refrigerator in the cabin.

hotel was more like camping inside a fake out tent. heater making very lound noises innermittently -to the point we had to shut off. bed cheap and extremely uncomfortable. we tolerated it for 2 night out of the 4 planned...we paid and left. ruined my plan to spend a romantic getaway.too many annoiances to mention.from outdated evrything, terrible food-no dining(except very old lodge)-cheap junk food.

I live in Las Vegas and my husband decided to give me a night at one of the Cabins to celebrate my birthday. Upon checkin (about 5pm) the girl at the desk had us initial lots of their rules and regulations and said she would be leaving by 7:30pm. We were shocked that the sidewalks and the stairways were not shoveled and were DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS. Both of us are very athletic so we dealt with it. We went to the Lodge for drinks, we had eaten prior and brought cheese and fruit for snacks because we DO NOT like the food they serve. When we got back to the room at about 9pm we discovered that the Jaczzi tub did not work. The girl at the desk had been so excited that Pittsburgh won their game that she did not offer an after hours or emergency number or any other suggestions as to how we could enjoy our stay. She never mentioned the dangerous state of the sidewalks, etc. The room was very dated and not as clean as a hotel room should be. Upon checkout I mentioned the problem with the tub and the Manager (Ginger) said that she would have to check! She never got back to me on this! When I mentioned the sidewalks and stairs SHE SAID THAT I SHOULD HAVE ASKED to move to another room. She didn't say that the clerk should have offered, etc. Then she said that it was so inconvenient to hear all of this at checkout! IT WAS ALL ABOUT HER...SHE DID NOTHING. She let us walk out the door without so much as an apology. THE ONLY GOOD NEWS here is that this place will not last long with a Manager with absolutely no customer service training.

My family lives in Las Vegas and we like to stay in a cabin either as a family or just my husband & myself on a fairly regular basis. My huband planned a suprise trip this weekend as part of our "date night". He even went to the trouble of leaving our car up there in the daytime so the limo he hired for the evening could drop us off at the end of our date. ( I mention this because the manager on duty told me if I didn't like it I could just get back in my limo!) We arrived after 9:00pm, the management office was closed. The cabin was freezing! We turned on the heater but the cabin was not comfortably warm until 8am the next morning. Neither did we have hot water that night or the next morning for the jacuzzi tub. When I complained to the manager in the morning she said first she had to look to see if I was telling the truth! Then she said that I am just too hard to please and if I didn't like it I did not have to come back! She said that I should not expect service & amenities comparible to hotels on the strip. Although they DO charge FEES comparable to those on the strip. No effort whatsoever was made to appease us. She was rude, accusitory, and argumentative.

My fiance, my niece, dogs and I just came back from the Mt. Charleston Lodge. Although the location is picturesque, and the views spectacular, the cabin we stayed in and the restaurant we visited were completely below standard. The cabin itself was dirty and unkept. I didn't want to take the chance of being shoeless because it was obvious they did not maintain the floors. Food pieces appeared on the floor that I know weren't placed there by us. There is also no privacy when showering - only a curtain separates you from the rest of the room. The bathroom was like a vortex - each time someone used it, it was if the room would disappear into the abyss! The bedspreads were tattered, torn and dirty. The mountains of trash that were located outside of our cabin should have given us a clue as to how badly managed this lodge is. The restaurant had the same below-standard quality. It took awhile for the food to be served because according to the waitress, "Everything is made fresh daily." My niece and I ordered sandwiches. The bread was as hard as nails and there was no flavor to them. They weren't fresh at all! We spent over $70 on substandard food. We were so disgusted with the food offerings that we traveled into Las Vegas to eat at Sam's Woodfired Pizza and picked up snacks, etc. at the grocery store. We are never going back to this place. It's too bad the ratings do not have a 0 option because I would give service, cleanliness and value these values.

The restaurant was not clean, the food terrible and very pricey. The restaurant is in dire need of a paint job, and updating. The tablecloths must have all been in the laundry, not one to be seen. The drive up the mountain is wonderful but one is better off to pack a lunch or visit a deli before going.

I've lived in Las Vegas for over 10 years and have visited the Lodge, on average, about once a month for a nice meal and good time. That all ended on my last trip. I was informed by the server that there were new owners as of 3 weeks ago and that they were 're-doing' everything. Unfortunately, it is for the worse. It started when I asked for Sweet 'n Low for my iced tea. I was told that the new owners were 'working' on bringing it in. (Huh?) I ordered fish and chips (a new menu item that the server said was one of the best.) When it arrived, the portion was very small for the price, the fish was over-breaded and of poor quality and both the fish and the chips were soggy with oil. Also, all of the doors were open with no fly fans and I spent most of my time batting flies away from my plate (I sat indoors). When I called this to the attention of the server she stated the she had served several orders the day before and everyone loved it and there was nothing that could be done about the flies. When I again stated my disappointment with the food, she blamed the cooks and followed up with "I you have any CONSTRUCTIVE critism, it would be accepted." She nevered offered to get a manager to address my concerns, indicating that she was poorly trained or that management did not care (or both.) While they haven't managed to ruin the view (yet) everything else is a waste of money. If you want to enjoy a meal on the mountain, my recommemdation is to pack a picnic lunch and forget the Lodge. (Don't count on stopping in just for a beer or cocktail before your picnic, the new owners surrendered the liquor license and a new one in this county takes 6-9 months.) In short, it has become just another tourist trap, riding on the reputation of the previous owners.

We're very familiar with the Vegas area and decided this summer to escape the heat for a few days. We spent five nights in a cabin at the Mt. Charleston Lodge, an hour west of the strip, and at 7600 feet, it was delightful, with highs in the low 80's, lows in the mid-50's, excellent hiking in every direction. Others have written about the general cleanliness, the lodge restaurant, etc. I'll share a few of the irritations. They have no ice machine. We could pick up a gallon-size zip-lock bag of ice from the office where they keep them in an upright freezer. But on Tuesday morning, the young man on duty informed me that a bag of this precious ice would cost me $5. I had been given three bags up to this point, free, and told him so. He insisted that should not have been done. I told him I would not pay him $5 for a tiny zip-lock bag of ice, and that they should get an ice machine. He reluctantly said he'd give me a bag "this time" and mumbled that they could not afford an ice machine. Each day thereafter, I went to the office expecting to have to "fight for the ice," but the ladies on duty provided one free without question. Apparently the young man was mis-informed. After three days, we noticed that no-one had been in to clean the cabin. That didn't really bother us, and in the end, we found we could have requested it, but they don't bother you there if you don't request it, which is fine. We hauled out our own garbage (no problem) and kept the place reasonably tidy. It would have been nice if they'd left a broom in the closet, but it was tolerable. When we arrived home a few days after departing, we found a message informing us that they were charging us $50 for cleaning because the maids told them it took them longer (by about an hour) to clean our room. I disputed this charge. We'd even made sure the furniture was put back just as we found it, chairs properly arranged on the deck, when we left, etc. The place needed cleaning after five days, but there was no way we could construe it as "excessively dirty." That is nonsense. I informed Dianne that if she insisted on this bogus charge, I would, as a matter of principle, do two things: (a) dispute it with my bank, and (b) write the Charleston Lodge off my list. It's unfortunate, because we love the setting and I was considering renting for a month at a time up there and had inquired earlier in the week about a monthly rate, which they said they'd offer ($110/night). But after this kind of nonsense, we'll never stay there again nor dine in their lodge. Period. I just don't like being gouged. I cautioned Dianne on the phone that she was forfeiting perhaps thousands of dollars in future revenue. She said, grimly, that she had to "go with what her maids told her." I reminded her that they'd saved the hour or so by not having to "freshen the cabin" during the week we were there, since we never requested it. This logic apparently escaped her. The $50 charge, she said, would remain. There is so much competition in this industry, and one of the key parameters the hospitality industry works on is...well... HOSPITALITY. That is, making guests feel warm and welcome. We experienced the atmosphere at the Charleston Lodge to be distinctly mixed. Indeed, the overall feeling was one of being tolerated, not truly welcomed. We had that feeling from the outset, and the room cleaning nonsense simply nailed it shut for us. The subtext was, "We're a poor and struggling operation here, hard done-by, and doing our best in spite of you nasty guests messing things up." Bottom Line on Mt. Charleston Lodge: NOT RECOMMENDED, unless you're willing to put up with their attitude and irritating nonsense (and possible follow-on charges) to enjoy the views. Better to get a place near Red Rock in NW Vegas and just drive up (35 min) when you want to go into the mountains. Oh... and bring your own picnic lunch. The lodge restaurant is reasonably good and reasonably pricey.

This is absolutely beautiful, a jewel away from the madness of Las Vegas, we were married close to this lodge and spent some of our honeymoon here, quite, romantic and lovely accommodation. A must for all.

My boyfriend and I rented a cabin in January for the weekend and it was awesome. We almost didnt go because we were so discouraged by some of the reviews on here but decided to check it out anyway. And I am so happy we did because not only was it a lot of fun, but it was incredibly romantic. And its not just for the outdoorsy- my boyfriend is everything but, and he loved it too. The cabin itself is gorgeous and very cozy and the food was a little over-priced but still good. It really was the best getaway and we're planning on going back!