Golden Bear Cottages, Big Bear Lake

This has been our annual family reunion spot for over 10 years. And we will continue to come to this nice resort. The rustic cabins are clean & well stocked with all you'll need to enjoy your stay. We take 3 or 4 cabins including the largest one which is our "hub" of activity. There's plenty of room to cook for a large croud. The kids enjoy swimming, & playing ping pong, basketball & volleyball. There's quick access to the lake and not a far drive to downtown Big Bear. The owners couldn't be nicer or more willing to assist in any way to make your visit a wonderful experience.

My entire extended family visits Big Bear every summer and we always stay at the Golden Bear. Our favorite part of this place is the huge cabin they have that can sleep about 20 people. Everyone hangs out in this cabin because it holds a lot of people and it is a great place for everyone to meet. We love this place so much! It is a great place for families to stay when visiting Big Bear.

Big Bear vacation for our family was the perfect getaway and Golden Bear Cottages was the perfect place. A quiet rustic cabin is what we wanted. The staff suggested one when we called to reserve. When we got there it was just like they described; it was great! After spending a week vacationing with other Christian families, we were not ready to go home. Now that we are home, we are still thinking about those great times at Golden Bear Cottages. We reccommend this rustic family resort. It is a great value. Thanks to all the great staff. We are going back very soon!

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.

My friends referred me to Golden Bear. Since I was not familiar with Big Bear, I decided to ask my friends who referred me to Golden Bear. They told me they had stayed many times here and had always had very good experiences. They also said "The prices were fair and the staff was great". Because I trust them, we booked our family retreat. Well, we just returned and we can say we are very satisfied too. Our entire group retreat consisted of seven cottages of various sizes, so I believe we got a good sampling of the resort. Every one of the cabins were clean. Each was different, but decorated with a cozy and warm feeling of someone who really cared about how the cabins looked. Each cabin was fully stocked with the kind of amenities you would hope to have. Each day our housekeepers gave us attentative care. They went out of their way to be friendly and helpful, as was the attitude of the entire staff of family owners. We received all a reasonable person could ask for. We are some of what we believe are the great number of happy travelers who will return again. Thanks to all at Golden Bear Cottages Resort.

we found the cabin comfortable, cozy and relaxing. it had everything we needed to make our stay comfortable and fun. Excellent customer service. sarah and mark

We have always done private rentals in Big Bear before, but we found Golden Bear to be a more affordable option for the Christmas period so went with it, and now believe we will return to Golden bear rather than do private rentals in the future. Our cabin was a studio with a bath jacuzzi, Cabin #18, Grizzleys Den. The kitchen had a cooker, microwave and fridge freezer and we successfully cooked our Christmas dinner and did self catering for the 5 nights we were up there. The kitchen area also had a dining table and chairs and conveniently opened out to seat 4. The bed was a little soft, but completely fine and the cabin was nice a cozy. When we arrived it was 17 fahrenheit, but the wall heater was so effective we were soon toasty at over 70 degrees. On our last night there our friends came up to join us as the cabin had a sofa bed; it was great for the time that we were there very economical. The jacuzzi bath is a nice touch too, and great for the evenings when you've been on the slopes. It was great to be in such a great family environment for Christmas. Lots of snow and It had the right balance of privacy and community. We also had great fun on the grounds of Golden Bear. There is a play area which is great in the snow, but I can also see how good Golden Bear would be in the summer with its pool and hot tub. The owners and housekeeping staff were helpful and lovely. When we asked for extra blankets for our friends it was no trouble, and we felt very welcomed. The internet was a great advantage too as it meant we could video chat with our families back home on Christmas day. It was reliable and effective. Golden Bear Cottages resort is rustic, charming, and welcoming." Becky Porter Los Angeles, CA

Have stayed there several times. It's great for families and pets, BUT... The owners need to put some money into it. Several things in our cabin were either broke or didn't work.

Our summer vacation memories at Golden Bear are all my son and his friends talk about. Our yearly weeklong trip to your resort seems to get better with each passing year, and we have gone every year for almost 20 years. We especially enjoyed the family movie nights on the big screen TV at the pool. The resort amenities and cabins are constantly being restored and are kept-up beautifully. Golden Bear Cottages is a true AAA mountain resort with historic cabins. It has all the amenities like fully stocked kitchens and woodburning fireplaces. It is clean and private, which is just what we like. Thank you for continually adding new things to do and all the activities at the Golden Bear. Sincerely, Karen

Why do we see so many unhappy people ranting on the Internet in the form of reviews? I believe it is their human nature. So many people are much more likely to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to hurt someone or thing than we would normally take to compliment it. How may times have you written a review about the places you frequent the most? Have you written a review about your favorite grocery store, clothing store, gas station, yearly vacation spot or dry cleaners? Probably not, because you are already satisfied and you will see them next time. It is far easier for us to remain anonymous and complain about something we believe should have been done, than we are to take important time out of our day to compliment someone with whom we are satisfied. There are no consequences for saying whatever you want, truthful or not on an Internet review site. It is far easier than discussing the matter and solving it with the person or company you have a disagreement with, because that might be confrontational or you may not get what you want. You may really believe you are right, but there are always two sides to every story. Complaining about an issue you feel strongly about on the Internet has no threat of reprisal from a court or other authorities, even if what you say is completely one sided and untrue. An untruthful dispute almost always looses when seen by impartial people! People who love to rant now have this protected forum and these unhappy personalities continue to rant on the review websites. Most happy normal people simply continue going back to their favorite places because they are satisfied. They do not write any reviews because they have busy lives and are not normally motivated enough to go through the hassle of writing a review. For the kind people who do take the time to share good memorable experiences, we commend you. But, because of human nature the website operators will go on making money from us while we only believe we are getting correct information. Think about it.