Ice House Resort

Great I go every year. The bar is a sight to see must go not another one like it. The campgrounds great been going since I was a kid nothing but good friends and good times.

Kids insisted on eating out, camping!!! They had giant burgers and fries and we bought overpriced processed crap for s’mores, meanwhile ran into hillbillies (i know actually) on rubicon trail stop… Best $ 70 ++ ever spent. Wait staff part of the show, very welcoming, drunks in bar are all extras at no extra charge… they sing… must stop!!!

I have been trying to get a reservation since April.
No answer on the phone, no web site, no e-​mail.

We were just there for a visit 10−4−13. Stayed in motel. had drinks in bar and dinner in café. The service was prompt and friendly. We learned this is a family business and the staff we dealt with were grand children of the owners. Our dinner was very good and our accommodations very clean and comfortable. A great fishing resort! PS caught our limits.

This place is awesome, it’s exactly what we were expecting it to be in the mountains away from everything else. We stopped at the store just to grab some water to have for the night (we were staying in our old family cabin along the 50). As we were getting into the car to leave, we decided to grab a beer since we had no where else to be. One beer quickly turned into multiple and we ended up staying till close to midnight, having dinner and hanging out. A couple of people came and went while we were there, including family of the owners, friends, and nearby campers.
The staff was friendly, fun, and welcoming. Definitely will return for a drink or two next time I’m in the area with friends.

cool place!

We arrived in the Crystal Basin region on a Friday morning, hoping to score a site in Camino Cove. Everything was taken, so we spent another fruitless two hours checking out campsites within 15 miles. Finally, it was obvious that our only two choices was either a really primitive camping site or a $ 22 campsite here.
I took a look at the campsites, hopeful.
Suffice it to say that I would rather pee and shit in the woods at a primitive camping site in the middle of nowhere than pay to camp here.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
The woman who checked us out at the store was extremely rude and no help at all. The very limited fishing selection and food items in the store were way overpriced. Do yourself a favor and either stop in Placerville or Pollock Pines, I will never set foot in this place again. The other reviews are true, I don’t even think these people know what Unilocal is but it sure doesn’t love them.

Overpriced rooms which are horribly dirty. Beware. Family is nice but this place is really dated. Good store for camping and fishing needs, decent bar, but stay aware from the rooms. Cobwebs, spiders, showers don’t drain. Spooky. Food is also pretty weak.

Bar/​Café/​General-​Store/​Cabins. This place has 25 miles on the nearest competition. Bar/​Café service and quality is about expected at a rustic outpost such as this. General store usually comes through for those «oh crap» forgot it at home items if you are camping in the Crystal Basin area (Ice House, Union Valley, Loon Lake).
Be prepared to pay a little more than you would back home or back in modern civilization.
Act like you been there, be nice and the staff will befriend you in a heartbeat.

So this review is based on the conversation with Deb who answered the phone at ICE House… She didn’t know pricing, she didn’t know the website for this place, she didn’t know how to take a reservation, she didn’t know who else I could speak to, and she was a complete jerk.
I am not sure if this place is private or run by the state or Fed… It was such a turn off… If it is run by the government, they should want people staying there so they can generate revenue instead of pissing people off.
I don’t think it is that hard to ask a question about a reservation. Or if she didn’t know, maybe transfer me to someone else who did know.

Headed to El Dorado National Park for camping over Memorial day weekend. We didn’t have food of our own for the last night’s dinner so decided to eat out at the closest place we could find.
This place has a basic restaurant as well as a convenience store. I think it’s also a camp site as well.
Funny incident #1
Friend: «What kind of pasta is in the Chicken Pasta»
Server (without flinching) «Panini m’aam»
Funny incident #2
Me: «I’ll take the hefeweizen»
Friend: «I’ll have the Sierra Nevada Pale»
The server comes back and mixes the beers up.
Me: «Err, I think you gave my friend the hef»
Server (very politely) «Oh no sir, I saw the barman pour it, the darker one is the hef»
Friend: «Yeah, I asked for pale»
later…
Friend «Can I get another Sierra Nevada»
Server comes back with an actual Sierra Nevada this time, pauses. «Ohhh, I DID get the wrong one last time» Looks at me «Let me get you a beer on the house»
She comes back with ANOTHER Sierra Nevada. So I order 1 hef, and got 2 Sierra Nevadas — d’oh!
ANYWAY
The food was fine. My lasagna was respectable, as was the chicken pasta (panini?). The chicken fried steak was apparently excellent. They even managed to accommodate my vegetarian friend even though there were no vegetarian options on the menu. And despite the hilarious hiccups the service was friendly and attentive.
It wasn’t cheap, at around $ 15 per entrée. I certainly wouldn’t pay this price for this kind of food in any metropolitan area, but it’s really not too bad for the middle of a forest :)
The store was well stocked although the firewood they sold us didn’t catch fire too well!
Overall not a bad option if you’re camping nearby and too lazy to cook or have run out of food.