Portal Peak Lodge & Store

My sister and I stopped here for a late lunch before some afternoon birding. We absolutely loved the burger and fries! The outdoor patio was perfect on a sunny afternoon. We loved everything in the little shop and even left with matching bird hats. This place is run by the sweetest employees who go out of their way to make your meal nice- little things like making sure my dog has water and giving us birding tips. Make sure you stop by for lunch anytime you are in portal! If you walk towards the post office there is a sweet little feeder to watch birds.

Great food here at a good price. Really good view of the mountains as well it's really a portal to some amazing country.

Stayed here after driving 10 miles on a dirt road trying to find this place... Hoping to see the elegant trogon. The motel sadly ranks the lowest in a while. It would be fine if they just updated it. I am an artist and it doesn't take that much money to make a positive change. Very dark, dated, a bit depressing for 95.00. I suggest sleeping in your car. Unfortunately, I did not book an Airbnb ahead of time and they were booked- so stuck.... Also recommend Sierra Vista for the elegant trogon.

This place is super convenient, albeit a little expensive. I've been here many times over the years, and always glad that it's here. I stayed in the lodge (room 9) last night. This cost $100, which is high for the quality of the furnishings. But the bed was comfortable enough, and the AC worked, so I couldn't complain too much. This felt a lot like a Super 8 experience one might have 25 years ago in a small city. The restaurant is accessible through a small convenience store, and the food there is pretty good. I had the green chicken wet burrito with green sauce today ($11) with a small scoop of refried beans. This was filling but overpriced. So don't look for any great value here, but you aren't here for the food or lodging anyway, right?

Little cafe and a bygone era of general store. Drive past and if you blink you will miss it. The only place in town to buy food (anything) so luckily its good stuff. Standard diner fare as well as their specialty of Mexican food. Overall its good stuff but nothing that knocks your socks off. Fair prices and solid eats. No complaints from this weary traveler.

This restaurant / convenience store / motel is one of three businesses (the other are a library and a post office) in 'downtown Portal' and it has a wonderful, country atmosphere. The convenience store part is excellent for beer/wine, snacks and local-interest books. The lodge looks good, but I didn't stay there. It's central to all you could want to see/do in the area though. The restaurant is simple, but thoroughly excellent. I dined there twice and got an omelet the first time and pancakes the second. Large portions and quite good. I especially liked the pancakes.This seemed to be a place to meet all your neighbors and it's a very friendly, communal kind of place. Feel like a local and be sure to stop here for . .. . well, whatever you are looking for - a meal, road snacks, souvenirs, lodging, conversation....

First I'll say that if you haven't been to the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains, then you must go. The beauty is overwhelming at times. It's steeped in history, from artifacts, and stone and adobe houses and ruins everywhere, to monuments to the surrender of Geronimo, plentiful animals, cooler, greener, more lush than much of Southern Arizona, just a lovely place.Now, on the 4th of July we rented the more expensive Myrtle Cottages, $130.00 a night, rather then the attached dorm like lodge rooms. These in theory are off the neaten path a little, slightly secluded from the store, slightly more private. A perk is that they come with a full kitchen. So, we get to the place and the out side looks ok, like a pre-manufactured cabin, but not unattractive, and it has a porch, which was a must. First off, the beds are two twins pushed together, I'm not kidding. Then I noticed everything was covered in a thick coat of dust, and dead bugs. Then I noticed even the couch was covered in cobwebs... and here were abundant spiders in the corners of the ceiling all the way around the whole place. Then,....I noticed that the area that had the water heater was a piece of wall that had been pried off, with exposed nails sticking out, propped up by a wooden chair, if you have little kids, do NOT bring them here, danger! it was conspicuously disguised with a mural of the desert. I was totally creeped out knowing then we would sleep in a bed that probably had spiders crawling all over it. Then here comes the gross part.... Oh, you thought that was it? NOPE.... We planned on making a snack before a short hike... I had an urge to toast my bread, looked at the toaster, and decided from the rest of the place I should shake it out cause I thought there would be dust or dead bugs in there..... well...... yeah there was that,.... but when I turned the thing over, ..there was MOUSE TERDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I dumped them in the sink, I will include a photo, and then I looked under it, and there was terds there too.... then there was dust, dirt, bugs, terds and coffee grounds, in the cupboards. Luckily we are always prepared for camping, and brought our own cooking utensils.You'd think for over a hundred dollars in the middle of nowhere they could manage to dust, and wipe the counters. We asked to move to the empty room next door and the manager refused, absolutely would not budge and we stayed in the infested room. there where spiders in the shower, 4 spiders, three different kinds, living AND dead..... I know its in the forest, we camp all the time, I'm not a fussy B****, but this place was nastier than motel 6's I've stayed in. In fact it was the 2nd most disgusting place I've ever stayed. Also, no one ever came into the adjoining room to stay that night, it was vacant. The manager was totally unreasonable.Also, all the windows were unlocked and the screens had been cut like they had a break in, SO i went around to every window and locked them myself...terrifying.Flip side, the restaurant ( In know your like, eww she ate there?!) had great huevos rancheros, and my partner loved his pancakes. We ate there cause we figured they cook everyday in the kitchen, and it decent reviews, and if they cook everyday, hopefully they clean everyday, and the entrance to the toilet is behind the kitchen, I walked through many times and it looked ok.So, buyer beware, lovely setting and surroundings.... but the manager sucks, and the place is disgusting, bring your own cleaning supplies or something.I'm adding photos..

This review is specifically for the Portal Cafe. My boyfriend and I visited Portal to stay at Cave Creek Ranch and experience some of the amazing biodiversity in the area. We mostly self-catered, but for our few meals out we headed to Portal Peak Lodge. It seems to be the only gig in town, restaurant-wise, so it was a relief that their food was actually tasty. We visited twice - on the first visit, we got the guacamole burger and red chili pork tacos and our friend got a platter of assorted fried goodies (chicken fingers, fries, etc). On our second visit, we got a carne asada burrito enchilada style, a grilled chicken sandwich, and a fried fish sandwich. Everything was cooked and seasoned well, and they had a nice mix of diner-style grub and southwest style meals. It seems like everyone in this town has a PhD, so you can probably expect some interesting conversations to be happening around you. Overall, we had a nice experience here!

My review is only for the Motel portion of the Portal Lodge. My first room was unmade so I requested an alternate room. Good news, the second room was clean. The downside was the unavoidable decor and atmosphere. If you dial the wayback machine to the 1960's then you can imagine the room. The interior was extremely dark with a small window facing onto a common deck. The curtains were drawn because otherwise any guest walking by could look inside. Hence it was an exceptionally dark room with a small amount of filtered light. Updating the furnishings, painting the inside, etc. would make a huge improvement. Overall, I would have vastly preferred camping. Unfortunately, I didn't think of that ahead of time and had already booked 2 nights at the lodge. After one night I found the lodge too depressing and returned to Tucson. I did not request a refund since it was my mistake and the lodge needs the money for room renovation.The Portal region itself is fantastic. Great hiking, birding, and so on.

The restaurant and store are superlative, however the motel is another matter. It is dark, barely decorated and has ancient bedding. The very worst part, in the wake of covid, they do not service the rooms for multiple night stays. So, no sad little packages of pathetic coffee each day, no replacement towels ... you only receive these items on the first night's stay (same $95.00 price tag). We did appreciate the micro fridge and microwave oven. Would it be so bad to provide chairs for the walk way in front of the doors?