Giant Oaks Lodge Motel & Cabins

Was able to book a room at the last minute. Upon arrival we were created by the friendly staff. The room #111 was amazing. My husband and I needed a getaway from reality and we found it here. We loved the in room spa. Electric heater/​fireplace. Nice to have a coffee maker, microwave and mini fridge. The front desk staff was kind enough to refer us to a few restaurants. We will definitely have to plan a trip in the summer.

This place is way better than you’d think by the reviews. The rooms, the pool, and the stream. The location, the price, and the service… It’s awesome.

My wife and I planned to go to Big Bear this past weekend. Once I started looking for a place to stay I found Giant Oaks Lodge. Although some reviews were not very flattering, I decided to book it anyways. I had a gut feeling about this place. Once we arrived we were happy with what we saw. So we proceded to check in, it was quick and easy, the older gentleman that checked us in was nice and cordial. Once we got to our room, 102, we walked in and saw that it looked cozy. The room consisted of 2 beds, small bathroom, a tv in the corner with directv. No ac but it did have a ceiling fan that made the room comfortable. They have a pool and jacuzzi also a nice Koi pond. Overall my wife and I enjoyed our stay here. So the place doesn’t have an HD TV/​flat screen or ac big deal. Would definitely recommend this place.

Pros: It’s a good location; about 25 minutes from Lake Arrowhead, and 40 minutes from Big Bear. Very close (10 minutes) to Snow Valley Resort. From an amenities perspective, they have a heated pool, a jacuzzi, and they leave you with key items in your room (mouthwash, soap, shampoo, shower caps, makeup remover towelettes, and even snow towels to wipe your boots in the winter!)
Cons: The rooms are very dated. The walls separating rooms 101, 102, and 103 are paper thin and you can literally hear everything, good thing our neighbors were in bed at a reasonable time and were relatively quiet until they woke up at 7am…
The man who works the front is very awkward to converse with. He would run out and tell me «you need to move your car.» and then walk away, and when i’d explain i was staying there, he’d say «i know, but you need to move.» Can you please explain to me what you want me to do? Where do you want me to move? «You have to get much closer to that car so we can fit an extra car in here.» OH OK, JUST SAY THAT.
There are not enough parking spots for the number of rooms they have. Two of the nights we were there, we had to improvise and find parking elsewhere. There was a lot across the street, not sure who owns it or what it’s for, but we ended up parking there 2 of the 3 nights we were there.
The worst part was the lack of care they gave to their parking lot. We were there during the recent snow storm on 12/​31/​2014. By ½, all snow and ice was melted off the mountain roads and chain requirements were lifted, except this parking lot. I had to keep my chains on just to leave their parking lot, and once we got to the top we had to take our chains off because no other road in the entire mountain region required chains. On ¹⁄₁ it was 40 °F, on ½ it was 45 °F. Their driveway was slushy, they should’ve cleared the slush instead of allowing it to turn into sheer ice after 5pm, forcing their customers to require chains. What’s even worse is that their parking lot is a major hazard for the guests walking through it. It is literally a skating rink where i watched multiple guests fall or almost fall. DANGEROUS.
If this place took care of their parking lot, i would’ve given them 3.5 stars, but with how little care they gave to it during a snow storm really makes me wonder how much they truly care about their guests.

We stayed here during the snow storm and from the reviews expected a crappy stay. However, we found this place to be quite great.
— rooms are tad small, but charming and not at all in a dire need of improvement.
— rooms are reasonably priced for the area
— heated pool and indoor heated Jacuzzi was great in the snow storm
— staff was great and accommodating
— close to the village, in fact we walked there
— close to Big Bear village
— close to the Arrowhead area
We only stayed a night, but we were very happy with the cabin that we rented and would definitely come back again.

DO NOT STAY HERE. BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE
We booked a room with this motel because we thought that it would be a great stay. Shortly after my wife stated that she wasn’t sure if we should go because she was pregnant. So I called the manager back and asked if there was a way for us to cancel our booking and she told us no because it was passed 15 days since our stay (mind you this was 14 days before our actual stay). What kind of motel doesn’t allow you to cancel (Even with a fee) two weeks prior?
That is very poor customer service.
Also, when we got there the 3^rd night I asked for some extra pillows for my pregnant wife. The women at the counter acted as if I was a burden for asking such a thing.
The beds were also small and very uncomfortable.
Needless to say this is not the place you want to go, there are better places nearby that will give you a better experience and have better cancellation policies in case things come up.

I’m honestly confused by reading some of positive reviews previously posted…
My biggest issue of all was the lack of customer service!!! I’ll point out that, for part of this, the situation may be out of the ordinary as I am 9 months pregnant. My husband booked the stay so that I could enjoy snowier weather around the holidays, which was very sweet of him, however I explained that it might not be a good idea to be so far from home (about 2 hours) at this time.
Two days after he made the reservation he called back explained the risks and tried to cancel but she refused to do it for him! Apparently you can’t cancel if it’s 14 days before your stay, and this was EXACTLY day 14!!! She stated that if we didn’t show up she would still charge us for the ENTIRE stay (3 nights), and proceeded to say that they were now full, having to turn people away!!! It seems to me if she had to continue turning people away she’d have no problem filling the room! Everywhere in the area was full! Most places just charge a small cancelation fee, which is what we had expected.
So we showed up, myself being irritable from sitting 3 hours (due to traffic) in a car. Any woman who’s ever been pregnant knows how awful that is!
I can confidently say that we are passive, light hearted people. If the stay had been nice I could have forgotten about the beginning, but it was only the beginning! She didn’t seem nice in person to me either. The way she spoke to us was a little condescending.
We went to the room and the ONLY positive thing I can say is that it appeared clean at first glance and it was cozy. However, there was a little garbage still in the bathroom and we had an empty tissue box. I do think it’s strange to have the coffee pot in the same room as the toilet, especially since the room had a little kitchenette with a counter, fridge and microwave… :-/​Sometimes little things get missed and that’s acceptable, so overall it was well presented.
The mattress was awful to sleep on! It definitely needs upgrading and I’m not the first person to post that. We each had only one pillow which was about the same quality as the mattress. Finally, before the last night my husband asked her if we could have a couple extra pillows. She agreed but he said that she acted like it was incredibly inconvenient!!! They showed up that day with housekeeping, and helped a little.
Housekeeping came in during the day as usual, but the only thing they did the first day was change the trash. The bed wasn’t re-​made, the towels were not replaced, and neither was the empty tissue box. The second time we put the tissue box out where they could see it and they replaced it, and they did make the bed, but still didn’t take the dirty towels. Instead they just left a pile of clean ones on the bed. It was strange to me and seemed like a very disorganized operation.
After staying here and dealing with this lady I was more exhausted leaving than before I came. One star for overall appearance. Minus the rest for VERY POOR service. Would never come back, and would only recommend for a one night last minute stay, in a pinch, as she WILL NOT refund your money if you, by some chance, must cancel a planned stay!

This place was great!!! Location was perfect! The lodge itself was very nice and well kept! The price was also perfect! I stayed in one of the rooms located in the 2^nd floor, it had a hot tub bath, fireplace and huge bathroom. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer place. The couple who own the place were very cool and laid back as well… Very polite! It felt like home away from home here! The indoor pool area is pretty much open to the customers at all times as long as you are quiet and respectful. There is plenty of food, gas & liqueur store within walking distance. I will definitely return and encourage anyone who reads this review to go ahead a book here! You will not be disappointed!

We enjoyed our two night stay in Rm. 104. Very cabin like room with lots of knotty pine paneling. Nice fireplace! Had very nice indoor pool and spa that were great temperatures. One less star because I believe the beds need to be upgraded. Very nice friendly people run the place. No breakfast offered but very quaint eating place a short walk away. WiFi was free and had good connection speed. Will return!

We stayed there recently. The place was clean and appeared to be taken care of. The complaints we had was that the room we stayed in was deceptively small, we picked our room based on what we say on their website and while actually sitting in the room we pulled up their website and looked at the room and realized that they had to have used some kind of wide angle lens to make the room look much larger than it actually was.
I don’t mind cozy, but this room was so small it only had one chair in it, we had to share the chair back and forth, which we found a bit annoying.
The bathroom was so small you could barely fit on the commode… LOl
The plus side is that it was clean.
Another reviewer noted that the husband of the husband wife operation had the social skills of a badger… which is fine, I don’t care for chatty types, but others would probably find him off putting… LOL
Other than that, I suppose it was ok…

The picture of the room look big, and it said that it sleeps 5, but when we entered the room, it looked «a lot smaller» than the picture. the bed which is suppose to sleep «2», is just a double bed, not even a queen size bed. Very tight for 2! so they had a bunk bed with a double bed (looks like a pull out or futon) in the bottom, I guess that’s how they claim this room sleeps «5»…
1^st of all, the room key wouldn’t even work! We couldn’t open the door, and had to call up the owner, took forevr to find her, and she admits that the lock was acting wierd and blamed on the rain… it took her forever to finally open the door, but she didn’t change a room for us!!! so when we went to the pool, we had to lock our valuables back into our cars otherwise the room wouldn’t lock! so I had to worry all night about someone breaking into the room~~
2ndly, the TV wouldn’t work, either, at least we were able to use the wifi. and of course couldn’t find anyone to complaint to…
3^rd, the room isn’t sound-​proof at all! al night long I was hearing «a large group» of people chatting, laughing, and non-​stop. Don’t know where the noise came from~~gosh I was so tired and woken up so many times by the noises. not even mentioning how uncomfortable the bed was. I was afraid of touching either the comforter or the blanket. The only thing seems clean enough to touch were the sheets. Also I can hear the road traffic clearly… you would think staying in a little town like this should get you a quiet night of sleep, but nop!
last but not least, when we are ready to check out in the morning, I wanted to find the owner to complaint to her about the TV not working, the noises, and of course the non-​working door lock, but of course no one was in the office, and couldn’t find anyone. There is a «Key Drop» box, so I guess they aren’t expecting to greet any guests in the mornings… normally other hotels would change a room for us or give us discounts or vouchers for issues like this, but I didn’t even get the chance to see anyone to complaint too…
Do not recommend this place at all~

I absolutely loved staying at Giant Oaks. It was clean, quiet, and clearly the owners take pride in their property. I’ve stayed in many places from Lake Arrowhead to Big Bear and this one, by far, is my favorite.
The location is excellent! Running Springs is located in middle of Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear so we were able to enjoy both! Plus, by staying outside the city limits, it was more quiet, less traffic, less rif-​raff, and we could actually enjoy being in the mountains!
The price is very good compared to both Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear logding locales. Sometimes when you stay at places that are a bit lower in price, you pay for it with run-​down, off the beaten path-​type places. Not Giant Oaks! I am single mom with two young children, so I’m always looking for the best value. This place is affordable, they had a last minute availability, and no additional cleaning charges were tacked on that other places often require.
One thing that stood out, was the care the owners take for maintaining this property. The lodge was in excellent repair with new windows, all paint and trim had clearly been done well and not very long ago, the pool area was clean and in excellent condition, and the grounds were well-​kept and clean too. I really can’t say enough about how impressed I was with the condition of our lodge and the grounds surrounding it.
I would definitely recommend this place!

they are rude over price‘d they kept hanging up on my friends and us as well… they don‘t respect no one at all, i would never in my life stay here even if was 30 below 0 there is another place in arrow bear my friends found was really super nice and very helpful to them kind folk up at that place and the price was around $ 65 opposed to $ 100 plus somthing… GIANT OAKS LODGE SUCKS

Worst customer service ever. Booked a suite for my family. Online said suite sleeps four. Arrived on date with proof of rate and they would not honor the reservation.
Explained that we booked it online with the service they use and it was not our doing the rate was lower then they wanted.
Instead of allowing the 50% increase in rate to ruin our Thanksgiving we called the company we booked through and they have said they will fix it.
Bad on Giant Oaks to be rude and over charge a customer on Thanksgiving weekend.
We hear Rainbow Lodge treats customers better. We will stay with them next time. Please stay away from Giant Oaks.

Reasonable prices, cute rooms, very friendly lady running the shop. The guy that runs it with her could use some customer service work.

A warmer mountain welcome or more grateful host/​hostess, you will not find. This intimate group of well located cabins and lodges are clean, well maintained, well lit inside, well equipped (refrigerator, microwave, nice TV, balcony) and there is onsite heated pool/​spa, grill, garden, all a short walk from the shops, restaurants, and bars of Running Springs. The pretentiousness and institutional operations of so many hotels doesn’t work for me, but person to person care and service commitment do. It is obvious that management cares at Giant Oaks, and they’ve invested to provide a great guest experience.

This is a really nice place to stay. The location is great, just five miles from Snow Summit. The rooms are nice, and ours at least was heated by a gas fireplace tied in to a thermostat; fireplace went on when it was cold, off when warm enough! Very comfortable indeed. Clean and quiet, with an indoor pool and spa that were very welcome after a day of skiing. Wireless internet works great and was very fast for those like me who had to work on vacation! We will be back!