Great location for group retreat
I led a church youth retreat to Big Bear last month for a group of 10, and we stayed at Golden Bear. I was a little nervous because I hadn't checked it out ahead of time in person (had just looked at pictures and read reviews), but there was no reason for my nerves... it was exactly the way I had hoped it would be.
We stayed in the five bedroom cabin, and it was great. Lots of space for us to sleep upstairs, relax in the living room area (couches can be moved around for different configurations for games, movie watching, devotion time, etc.), and eating in the dining room.
One of the best parts is the kitchen - stocked with plenty of plates, cups, mugs, cookie sheets, pans, cheese grater, spoons and spatulas, etc. We brought up our own food in a cooler and loved being able to cook for ourselves all weekend - it was cheap, and a great bonding experience as we made spaghetti, tacos, brownies, hash browns, etc. together.
We did have trouble one night with the sink backing up when we were washing dishes, but we just used the bathroom sink instead, and someone promptly came and fixed it so it was no trouble the rest of the weekend.
Golden Bear is conveniently located just a few miles away from the ski resorts (although, we were there on a sold out ski day and it took a long time to get there because of traffic... but that would be the case no matter where you stay!)
The cabins are charming, had great snow coverage, and were very cozy... exactly what we were hoping for. The staff was very kind and friendly to us... check-in was quick, and when we checked out, someone gave us directions to get back home a faster way down the mountain.
Trying to think of anything else... there was a DVD/VHS player in the living room, which we enjoyed using. We never used the fireplace, but the cabin was plenty warm with just the heat on.
The high school students in our group really enjoyed the place - I think they're used to a little more run down conditions, and I heard several times that we had picked a good place and that they liked it. It's also nice because we were all in the same "house", and no one else was with us, which isn't always the case at a typical retreat facility - you often have to share with other groups, or are split into two different buildings far apart from each other.
All in all, a great place. If we choose to do another Winter Camp next year (which at this point, I think we will!), we would definitely return to Golden Bear.