The Vintage Lakeside Inn

We absolutely loved our stay at the Vintage Lakeside Inn. My husband and I were coming off the PCT and needed a place to stay in Big Bear Lake. The Vintage Inn had a deal for $ 49/​night. We booked online and checked in a few minutes later. The rates were incredible, the lowest around. The staff was amazing! We felt incredibly welcome, and management was so happy and friendly! They really went the extra mile for us and that’s something you can’t say about the majority of hotels. The Vintage Inn has a ton of amenities, too. WiFi worked great and was very fast. We loved the proximity to everything in town; the hotel is a quick jaunt from restaurants and is directly on Big Bear Lake. We will be staying here the next time we’re in Big Bear.

For a hotel out in big bear this is legit. If you’ve stayed out here a lot you know none of the hotels are modern. This hotel however is the best one I’ve found.
Staff is very friendly and accommodating. Room was very clean. Has full kitchen with plates etc. TV works. Beds are good a little hard for my liking but definitely not bad.
The room we stayed in had a bedroom with two full beds (these are suppose to be upgraded come spring) and a living room slash kitchen (also to be upgraded in spring) with a couch and love seat. Great spread for the price Imo.
Plus it’s pet friendly!
During our stay there was a storm and the power briefly went out but the heater still worked!
We came up to go snow boarding and my friend fell hard so we had to leave early. Was very surprised that we were refunded the days we were not staying for. Couldn’t be more pleased with that.

This is not a luxury resort by any means but definitely a great value. It’s a bit run down but it looks like they are slowly upgrading the rooms. 5 – 10 minute drive to both mountains to go ski, 1 mile from shops, restaurants and bars downtown. 2 minute walk from the lake and Italian restaurant (which I don’t recommend despite the tempting free entrée given at check-​in!) Complimentary continental breakfast runs 7:30 — 10:30 and includes coffee, juice, fruit, waffles, bagels and oatmeal. WiFi is terribly slow but reasonable in the mornings when people aren’t streaming Netflix… There’s a fireplace, super hot water for showers, and if you get the family suite– a fridge, stove and sink in the kitchenette.

So much potential this place has. Prices are good and rooms are fine but don’t expect the «amenities» to be worth your while. Just enough to get you in the door. Wifi wasn’t even sufficient to browse Facebook on a tablet. Had to use my 4G to do this review lol. Location is great and rooms are ok.

Hidden Charges
I booked a room for 3 people. (Jan 2016) When I arrived I was asked for 10 dollar extra/​night for the 3^rd person. Although it stated clearly on my confirmation that my rate is for 3 people, they charged me the extra 10 dollars. Very bad business practice. I was honest, but the property is not. I recommend to be dishonest as well by not telling them how many people are in your party.

Was a last minute booking so there wasn’t a lot of availability so this hotel had to do. The rooms were pretty out dated and the green carpet that was high traffic I could see that they were a darker green than the low traffic areas. We went during the snow season and I was backing in my 4×4 jeep and I get out to see if I had more room to back up and this guy from upstairs yells at me asking me «what the hell do you think you doing» so I said, «uh parking» and he said I was on the grass. Well I said sorry but I don’t see any grass because the ground was covered in snow, and then he went on to say I’d better move my car or I wouldn’t be staying there. Now, that was my first negative experience bc you should never talk to a guest that way, if you wanted to advise me to «get off the grass» you could of just said politely that I had jumped the curb and was on the grass and can you please move. So I proceeded to complain to management and she told me «oh your the guy with the jeep» and I said yes mam that’s me, and she told me that she understood his point of view and that I should of known that I drove up a curb, but I explained that I was in a 4×4 and there was a huge amount of snow and I was just backing up and didn’t feel a curb then she kinda just said whatever and didn’t care about my complaint. Second complaint was the beds were super hard and not very comfortable but again last minute booking. I won’t be staying there again

We stayed here for two nights during New Year’s weekend. Overall a very satisfactory experience.
The best quality of the Vintage Lakeside Inn is its location. Close to the slopes, the lake, restaurants and shopping areas.
The décor is «vintage», but the rooms have everything you need for a comfortable stay.

This place is really nice and affordable. The fireplace in the room really saved my cold butt after a day of snowboarding. The staff is pretty cool and we checked-​in and out with no hassles. There is literally an italian restaurant next door that delivered food right to our door for dinner. They also have a free continental breakfast, and it was pretty good (yogurt, pastries, cereal, bagels, waffles and all!).

Awesome gem tucked away. So clean and comfy. Close walking distance to all the best restaurants and bars. Even in the cold. Loved the proximity to everything. Snow summit 3 mins away driving. Loved the wood burning furnace. So nice and toasty. And the breakfast was awesome. The people working were so friendly and more than helpful. Telling all my family and friends. We will definitely be back. And old school cabin feel.

Seriously, I don’t know how anyone could write a positive review about this property. They state that they provide wifi, it was extremely slow and intermittent at best, you could never stream video here. Actually browsing was even a problem. The TV is from the 1980’s.
We arrived from hiking needing a shower but there was no hot water. We called the front desk and an unapologetic woman told us it would be a half hour. 2.5 hours later we were finally able to take a shower. The bed was the most uncomfortable one we have ever experienced in any hotel and we have traveled all over the world. The carpet was not clean. There was no desk in the room. I could keep going on about this place. AVOID AT ALL COSTS if you want to have a good experience.

It was nice and in a great loction Close to the lake and close to the mountain to ski. Pet friendly (they do charge $ 10 per night tho) was nice as we always have 2 little dog with us. I would stay again.
Cons:
They only offer 1 bedroom with a pull out.
TVs are small
Internet is a hit or miss
Jaccuzzi tub was dirty when jets were ran

This place, including its rooms, needs a MAJOR overhaul. Old carpet and furniture, small bathtub, cracks in the ceilings, etc. My biggest complaint is how hot these rooms get in the summer, and there is no air conditioning. The only bit of relief the staff could offer me is a fan that didn’t make any difference. Even Motel 6 rooms are air conditioned, and they are about half the price. I feel incredibly ripped off for what I paid for. The only reason I gave them 2 starts is because they are dog-​friendly and because of their close proximity to the lake.
I would not recommend staying here.

Property management here was nice. Can’t give 5 stars when there’s no A/​C in the room. Other than that, it was a nice little place to stay with about a 2 – 3 minute walk down to the lake. Fireplace inside the room makes for a nice room during winter but not having air conditioning during the summer was brutal — even with the window left open all night and not under the covers.
They do, however, serve a free continental breakfast on Sat and Sunday from 830 — 10:00am. Free waffles, coffee, OJ, and some other little breakfast pastries.

A 10,000 acre fire, one road in is closed, smoke advisory issued and no refund or date change allowed. I guess they have to run a business, but guest safety and CUSTOMER SERVICE should be considered. Disappointing…

No complaints at all! Only reason I don’t give 5 stars, is because the room didn’t have a fridge or a microwave. Lady at the front desk was super friendly! They were kind to our late check in and left our room open for us. I had waffles and a bagel for breakfast, and apple cider/​hot cocoa throughout the day!

We were stuck in Big Bear overnight and luckily were able to secure a family suite here at the Vintage. It’s a little bit hidden off of Big Bear Blvd (the sign is pretty small). The rooms are NOT updated, but honestly it really wasn’t an issue as we had plenty of heat and plenty of room and all the kitchen equipment we could possibly need. Great location close to everything (village, slopes and lake). We have a few children and the free breakfast was AWESOME! Free wifi is always a plus, they had several connections and we had zero problems connecting. The lady that booked our room was also very helpful with instructions on getting down the mountain when we checked out.

It’s a nice cozy place rooms are clean but outdated. Fireplace was nice but didn’t work how it was supposed too so our room was cold. Great locations near bear and summit resorts walking distance to lake and village. The breakfast is nice but get there early cause they run out of fruit and other items the lady who worked that morning was a little rude in her tone when talking to us but she was probably tired. All in all its a nice place to sleep for the night between boarding.

Good location, near the lake and downtown. Good continental breakfast with lots of choices. The hotel said they wanted to pre authorize my credit card. I specifically told them not to charge my card and they did anyway. The beds are the most uncomfortable ones I have ever slept on.
The pull out bed in the couch was unusable, yes it folded out however is was not comfortable in the least.
This would be a one star if not for the location…

Decent pricing. Room has a sign that says my particular room (walk in closet, huge bathroom, 1 bed) ranges from $ 59−239/night depending on day/​season. Before taxes.
Pros: great customer service, helpful staff, continental breakfast, walking distance to some shops/​restaurants. Cheap (about $ 59/​night I believe) and close to the lake. Staff willing to work with you (office closes at 9pm, but allowed me to check in over phone & they unlocked my room & left my key inside since I couldn’t get there in time. So nice. Room is very clean and well stocked, inviting, spacious, and comfortable. Loved, loved, loved my stay! PET FRIENDLY!
Cons: thin walls so you can hear the next room (there even had a sign in the room that asks you to limit your «horse play» noise, lol!), ice bucket in room, but no ice machine, no A.C.-but they do have a fireplace heater, basic cable tv that changes channels on its own. And No tv guide, No fridge, so bring a cooler (and ice!) if you plan to bring food/​drinks.
***These things DID NOT bother me/​ruin my stay since it was an enjoyable experience, mainly listing cons to help others make a decision.
Note: no smoking (you will be charged extra if you smoke, I think min $ 100, at least my room was like that, and if you have extra guests you will pay extra (basic idea/​my assumption: 1 bed=1−2 guests)).
Enjoyed my stay. Highly Recommend it :)

I wish I could have given a better rating because there were some positives but not after 5 minutes of checking in and unpacking the Manager came to our room in a confrontational way and insisted that the hotel would have to charge us $ 10 per child per night, do the math 3 kids 3 nites equals $ 90 that’s almost like paying for an extra night mind you the children’s ages were 8 7 & 4, since our whole reason for coming was to go snowboarding and I took my sisters 8 year old since he’d never gone. So that kinda set the tone for our stay, we were in room 19 which was a king size bed and figured our 4 year old would sleep with us and the 8 & 7 year old would sleep on an inflatable bed we brought and sleeping bags for them.
The room seemed clean and in decent condition the bed was a little stiff with a thin 4 inch mattress but it had what looked like the original comforter of when they first opened I know they are rarely washed due to being so bulky and they hold a lot of bacteria so that was the first thing to go on the floor. The TV was how should I put it, literally a tube with no HDMI connection looked like it hadn’t been changed since they first opened, the carpet and furniture you ask? well you didn’t have to be an archaeologist to determine they were all from the same ice age all this said they ironically managed to be in fairly good condition. It kind of reminded me of staying at your grandmas house who was clean but hadn’t gotten around to updating her furniture since your parents were teenagers.
Our first day we decided to take a walk to the lake which was just a few steps away and ended up walking to the park which was just down the way. After that we asked the blonde girl at the front desk about any good pizza places and she recommended Village Pizza and yes it was really good. The next day we ended up going snowboarding at Snow Summit where we had a blast we came back to our room and it hadn’t been turned but we did have fresh towels apparently you have to put the sign on the door for service. The following day we asked the blonde girl again of any good hiking spots during our continental breakfast and she mentioned Castle Rock Trail which we did hike to the top and enjoyed the views of the lake but after snowboarding the day before going down the slopes has much better views of the lake.
Our last day we have breakfast and check out so here comes our additional fees lets see what the manager is going to workout since our confirmation email said 2 kids free as long as they are under 12 years old and using existing beds when I mentioned that she said that only pertains to a two bed room and I’m like no where does it say that, I also throw in the fact that on the back of the room door it confirms what I am saying up top 2 children for the price we paid and she says she will have to change that and agrees to only charge for the additional third child $ 10 per night which was $ 30 and was what I had thought about paying from the beginning.
We were so happy to be heading home because like Dorothy said there’s no place like home but the bad thing is we left with a bitter taste in our mouth from our experience specially from the manager. The POSITIVES= The blonde girl at the front desk was very helpful and nice, the decent Continental breakfast, close to the lake and walking distance to many places, cable TV. The NEGATIVES= The pile of pet dung in the dirt in front of room 20 that hadn’t been moved since we arrived, the hit & miss wifi kept saying connection error good luck streaming movies, the outdated furniture and TV, the manager. Would we stay here again? Most likely not, maybe if only we couldn’t find anywhere else to stay and they had a different manager that wasn’t nickle and diming you & micro-​managing the employees I could probably put up with the outdated rooms but not the manager.