Paradise Cove Lodge

We stayed here for two nights and were very pleasantly surprised! The lodge was very quiet and quaint. You could tell it had a history. There was even a ghost of a tennis court at the front of the property that bespoke of ancient traditions long ago.
We had reserved a King room. The décor was a little dated, but the room was spotless. Super clean with what looked like new carpeting. The bathrooms had obviously been made over with all new appliances and fixtures. It was a beautiful, sparkling bathroom. The room included a mini fridge and coffee maker. The air conditioning/​heater was old looking, but worked great. The TV was smaller than we expected, but had excellent clarity. Obviously it was a newer flat screen. The bed was not rock hard like at some places and was a true king.
We didn’t eat at the restaurant this time, but it seemed to be a popular destination judging by the cars in the parking lot.
The prices are very reasonable and we intend to come back year after year. We truly had a fantastic visit!

Food was delicious. Had prime rib and husband had top sirloin. Waitress Heather was great.

Love this place! Best prime rib in town. Great views great service a must if you are visiting.

This review is for the restaurant only as I have not stayed at the hotel.
Whoa. How does this not have higher reviews? Did we get lucky and come on a good night?
In all seriousness, I traveled with my family and some family friends on a road trip for ten days and this was probably my favorite meal of the whole trip. We came here on our first night of the road trip, so us eight Swedes piled into this restaurant around maybe 8:30pm? I know it was pretty close to closing time because all day we had been terrified we would show up to Lake Isabella too late for dinner.
Anyways, my family and I were here back in 2005ish, and there was a gorgeous view of the lake at the time. Now, due to the drought, there is not much lake to see which is very unfortunate. When we showed up we could barely believe it. The restaurant is on the second level, and they seated us fairly quickly after we came in. There were a few other parties in there, including one of maybe 20ish people! I think I just ordered a water at first, then we got a bottle of red wine for those of us who were 21+ and it was very good. I ordered the shrimp scampi for $ 19, after much deliberation about whether I wanted that or the teriyaki chicken.
First we were served some yummy cheese bread and this fantastic salad. I am not sure what it was about it, but I am still dreaming of it. Our lovely waitress (she was very sweet and answered the questions we had and such) mixed it in a big bowl at the table, then served us all. It was creamy, and what made it spectacular was the small, crunchy bits of bacon. There is just something about a mixture of textures that puts a dish over the top.
Then, we all got our entrees. I only got about five (fantastic) shrimp which may sound too little, but it was fine since so many sides were included for the price. Good price for the food we got, and I dislike when you get way too much food and feel way too full after. My baked sweet potato (choice of potato with the meal) was so good, they brought over bowls of butter, sour cream, and chives which was a nice touch.
I ordered the cheesecake for dessert, there was also the option of orange sherbert which was very good too (I stole a few bites from my mom). The cheesecake was so, so good — clearly homemade and just a small square of cheesecake on a graham cracker crust, but it really hit the spot. My mom tried some, realized how good it was, and went back for a second bite and was shocked that within a few seconds I polished it off. What can I say, I do love my cheesecake ;)
Everyone, adults and children alike, loved their meals.
The view was wonderful, pitch black outside so you could just see car lights passing by every now and then, looked almost like falling stars.
Overall, amazing meal and fantastic service.

I am reviewing both the motel and restaurant. My husband and I just got back from eating dinner at their restaurant and I was compelled to leave a review. this is one of the best dinners ive ever had, my husband as well. we also ordered one liter of wine to share for an amazing price, the wine was so good we had to ask the name of it before we left! food and service was equally amazing. The hotel portion has also been good, the bed is clean and super comfortable, free HBO for watching at the end of the day and a huge clean bathroom. What else could you ask for! If we lived closer we would be here often. This place deserves 5 stars! Thank you for the great experience!

food was great, service was fabulous. Except I had grill shrimps entrée and come out with 4 pcs of Shrimp have to stay hungry … although they gave you alots of Vegetables but … I want more meat than Vegetables, if I do need I will order a salad.

I’ve stayed here a few times and I wanted to leave a review because the rating does not reflect correctly in my opinion. They have remodeled the rooms recently and updated them. The beds are very comfortable and the A/​C works perfectly. I enjoy staying here when I’m in town visiting family. The management is friendly and care about their guests. I would recommend this hotel to anyone visiting the Kern River Valley.

Big City folks won’t get it…
Small town dinner only steak house with Fine service and motels rooms for rent. What they lack in big city comforts, they make up for in small town charm! The staff is family… literally and all go out of their way to make you feel welcome. Get a grip people… this is not NYC or Chicago… this is the Southern Sierra! Mom and Pop businesses rule here and this is a great place to get a nice dinner and unwind. If you want extremely fancy amenities, you will need to go 50+ miles elsewhere… you won’t find it here or anywhere else in the Kern River Valley. Small town=small town service: ignore the negative reviews. If you want to get away to a slower pace and area, The Kern River Valley and Paradise Cove is the place to go.

Paradise Cove Lodge is a great family owned and operated business. This place has a great old fashion sense of customer service. The grandson of the original owner is a great young man who is very proud of the family business. He was also our waiter at dinner. Everyone there was very nice. The NY steak was absolutely one of the best. The room was clean and comfortable. This place has that great old road charm. I will return to Paradise Cove Lodge. The view of the lake will be spectacular once the repairs on the dam are completed and the lake is filled. I would highly recommend this place to family and friends. Food is great, service is great, and the family makes you feel welcome. Do not miss dinner here if you are in the area.

The guy that checked us in looked like he was straight out of the Sopranos, and he kept saying «Is that so» to everything we said. They had us booked for 4 nights rather than the one we were staying. and originally booked us for 7 rooms rather than the 2 we actually booked. The rooms were not super clean and the air conditioning was terrible (it was hot when I was there) and it only cooled the corner of the room in which it was in. I had to pull my bed away from the wall and put it in the corner under the conditioner just so I could get some sleep. The TV was hard to work and only offered very few channels. Did not try the restaurant, it was empty when we were there. They also placed us next to some German Harley Davidson bikers who partied most of the night on the porch even though the whole other side of the hotel was empty! Did not get much sleep. Also, NO ice machine, soda machine or any other amenities. Next time we will stay in Kernville and pay the extra $ 25 a night.

Only acceptable. Problems: Heater didn’t work but they provided us with a space heater. TV didn’t work. Sheets were stained.
Positives: Friendly staff and beautiful view of the lake.
Overall, not worth the price.

Paradise Cove Lodge is both a restaraunt and a motel. This review covers both aspects.
The Lodge is a pretty fascinating place. It’s a fading vestige of a bygone era when travelers could stay the night at a family-​run, independent resort rather than a Motel 8 or Travelodge. The roads are still dotted with these places, many are abandoned or on the verge thereof. Paradise Cove seems to maintain a relatively full house.
We stayed here for one evening while transiting between Mammoth Falls and the coast, and ate dinner at the restaurant. The place clearly has not been updated since maybe the late 1960s or so (liberal use of wood paneling); this either will charm you or annoy you. I enjoy this sort of vintage aesthetic, so I’ve got no problem with things looking a bit older. The dinner menu is a fairly classic meat-​and-​potatoes surf-​and-​turf deal reminiscent of the supper clubs I’d see dotting the upper Midwest as a child. Portions were generous, the water was served in some neat old red-​glass goblets, and the cheesy bread was tasty.
The rooms are much the same. Very 1960s, with some maintenance issues becoming apparent. Bathroom faucet was a bit leaky, corners contained some spider webs (little house spiders), and some wear evident in the curtains and other furnishings. This may be sufficient to turn off some people. Cleanliness-​wise, not too bad, though the shower floor appeared a tad iffy. For $ 75/​night, the value is a tad on the marginal end but not terrible.
Paradise Cove is probably not what it used to be in its heyday. The grounds aren’t maintained well, there’s an abandoned tennis court and an empty pool whose pool house is now an apartment of some sort (sign says ‘private yard’ on the fence), likely the pool is too expensive to fill and maintain. The coffee room is worn out. The place could use some TLC alongside some improved housekeeping. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my stay in what is a part of California’s motor tourism history. Less hardy souls who require greater luxury or service level probably wouldn’t enjoy it.

Paradise Cove Lodge is a traditional dinner house that has been around for decades. Don’t let the tacky façade fool you: while their menu is limited, the portions, quality and pricing will bring you back. This is an especially nice place to bring a large group. Staff makes you feel genuinely welcome.
Best cheesecake for miles around and the best prime rib short of McNally’s. Bar service is warm and attractive with good spirits and fair prices.
A romantic view of Lake Isabella complements every place setting. Highly Recommended.

This family run Lodge & Restaurant overlooking Lake Isabella offers friendly hospitality in clean & spacious rooms with tasty home cooked comfort food.
The dinning room overlooks the lake from the second floor and really has the feeling of eating at a friends home. Pam & Michelle are your good humored hosts and do have the cheese cake it’s possibly the best on route 178.

Awful! There were food chunks in our drinks, food was both over and under cooked. They didn’t have much to offer. The service was… not the best.