The Tamarack Lodge

Don't go here. I made reservations several months ago for this week. I called about a month ago to confirm, and the number has changed, along with the owner. He had no record of reservations so I felt lucky to snag a room. We arrived at 1 pm on our check in day and no one was on the premises. Empty lot, manager office locked, nothing. Thankfully, a young man drove in and I asked if he knew anything? He said oh I know the guy's real phone number. My phone had no service so this wonderful person called the 'manager?' And he said just go to room 5, use that one. Huh? Yeah, all the rooms are unlocked, key sitting on table. Pretty dirty, one old sheet on bed, one old bedspread. Dirty kitchen, brown toilet, something blue on the shower floor, maybe old comet? I don't knowI felt lucky to find 2 pillowcases on a kitchen shelf and they looked clean. We spent one night, had a friend who had an extra bedroom for the second night. It is so weird! This guy, whoever he is, charges your card when you reserve. You show up to this beat room. Rip off

BE WARNED - there is some sort of scam going on with this company and the several companies linked to them. None of them are active on Google Maps or Yelp and they all try to pass you off on to the other. If it was possible to give zero stars, I would. I have never left a bad review or dealt with such an unprofessional, fraudulent, inconsiderate company.Trying to keep our long story/nightmare as brief as possible: We arrived to The Tamarack Lodge at 5pm, 10 month old and 2 year old in tow, to find the office closed and no one inside. Another guest at the lodge came out and told us to check our room, the key should be in there - red flag number one. We were never issued a room number upon booking, so we immediately called the owner. He said he overbooked and did not have a room for us, acknowledging it was his fault with no real apology. He said he would call his buddies at other cabins, in a small overbooked town, to see if they had space for us. An hour later we call him again to check on the progress and he tells us to meet a guy named Jay at a gas station 20-25 minutes down the road - red flag two. At first we can't find Jay, so we try to give the owner of The Tamarack Lodge back and he no longer responds to our calls - I suppose he felt like he had handed us off to his friend and we were no longer his problem. We eventually find Jay at the gas station, that seemingly does not appear on Google Maps or Yelp - red flag three. Jay gives us directions to meet a guy name Dave at Musik Creek Inn and that Dave will show us two rooms and we can pick which one we like. Not showing at this point, Musik Creek Inn comes up as permanently closed on Google Maps and Yelp - red flag four. We meet Dave down "just pass the stack of wood", and he shows my husband two barren rooms in this desolate lodge we can choose from. Lost count of red flags at this point. He tells us we have to drive back to the gas station to pay Jay to get the keys. We're 2.5 hours into this nightmare now, hungry and tired babies and an early morning of hiking ahead of us, we begrudgingly drive back to the gas station to talk with Jay. He claims Dave should have given us the keys since we already paid the first guy, so we should drive back and tell Dave that... and I'm out. We frantically are calling around and eventually find what seemed to be the last available room in the town at a quaint little B&B (a HUGE thank you to Joanne & Greg Elliott) and didn't pay a dollar to The Tamarack Lodge or any of their questionable affiliates.Of course, we were still charged despite not staying there. When we called to ask the owner to refund the charge, he said he would and did not. So this all ended in us disputing the charge with our credit card company.

What a Great place, I have stayed here many times and always look forward to coming back. This is not a five star resort, it is a rustic lodge that fits right in with its environment. If you like peace and quiet, this is the place for you. We have off-road machines and find this place to be perfect for enjoying them, there are many trails and Beautiful lakes to explore and a nice hot shower and clean bed to sleep in when we come back from a long days riding is Great.Darell the manager is one of the nicest people you could ever meet and goes out of his way to make your stay memorable. We stayed here this past June and had a great week of Beautiful weather and great riding, I only wish I could come back more.Thanks Darell for the great times my friend! Hope to see you soon.Dante M

We have stayed here 1 time in the past. We were stranded and they had a sign on the porch. That said to the weary traveler room one is open pay in the morning. So we did. We just got home from staying a second time. We were there December 24-27. Had five of the 9 rooms. A group of 16 people and Darryl made us feel so welcome. We had a blast. Played in the snow he even went the extra mile a few times to make our stay even better. This place is great and we love it. We won't be staying any were else.

Tamarack has been our go to ever since it saved us on a last minute boarding trip at 2 am 4 years ago. Since then, we have been here for Christmas, and family snow trips. Darell always takes care of our needs and we couldn't be more thankful! He is a great down to earth guy who makes coming here so easy. We absolutely love coming. We usually rent several rooms since we caravan with others. It comes with a nice kitchen set up and beds. Amazing view, and so close to the resort! We will continue to keep coming back every time!

My husband and I stayed there for 1 night this past weekend. Yes, the room has an "old fashioned" feel, older furniture, and the appliances are a tad "out dated", but that really didn't matter to us because we were there to enjoy the outdoors and were just looking for a warm/safe place to stay. The room's kitchenette area was perfectly fine and the fridge was full size. The bathroom was clean and the shower was great. Darryl and his staff were very attentive, friendly, and available for help. The price was great and the heater worked perfectly. We felt safe there and plan on visiting there during the spring/summer months! I def recommend this place! We stayed in room #1, which was more than enough room for us two, we would have been comfortable with 2 more friends/family in the room.

I tried repeatedly to verify rooms available by calling thier office numver a month, then weeks, then days before thanksgiving. NO ONE ANSWERS THE PHONE. You just get the recording. You keave multiple messages and not get a single returned call. So we tried again to get a room for end of December. Again NO ONE ANSWERS THE OFFICE PHONE. NOT ONCE. I have left messages. Thier recording states that "if you want call me , Darrell, at my cell" and gives his cell number. So I call that number and he acts confused. I had to ask him twice if he was Darrell with Tamarack. Then when I state I left messages and need to ask about rooms he says "oh, uh, well, um, I am not in the area. If you left a message then I'll just call you back in a few hours when I get there, ok?". Ok. That was a week ago. Nothing. Thier online info says you can 'inquire about a room" with thier "room request form". Then if the room is available you will be EMAILED confirmation. The room is charged and and there will be no refunds no matter what or how much notice. But since I won't know what.day to request off at work without knowing what days the rooms are available.... I don't want to be charged a non refundable room until I can confirm the day off. I need a PERSON to speak to. But apparently no one actually works there on site. What if you have problems when you stay there or need something?? Geez.

We showed up at 3pm and the place felt abandoned. No one in the office (which was just piles of supplies) and our room was open but not cleaned (beds dirty, bag of garbage in room- looked like they were half way thru). We waited awhile, then called. Phone number is a different lodge and they said they would try to get help. 30 min later, we saw a person who lived near but not an employee. He let us know many of the employees out sick. We ended up going into the office, getting clean towels,sheets, and cleaning supplies- and cleaned our own room. At least 2 other families in similar situations. Around 5 and ?employee? Did show up but she was rude and didn't seem to know anything about our situation. We did sleep there. Served our purpose. I hope they close or sell. Do not make a reservation.

I stayed in one of the guest suites (room 2). It was plenty big and seemed clean. The furnishings were old and quite worn. The bed was comfortable, though.The kitchen is in dire need of renovation. It has what appears to be the original cooktop/oven combination from the 60's (or earlier?). None of that works, though, so all the components have been removed. The four holes in the cooktop were incompletely covered with a plastic cutting board.Other than the presence of the nonfunctional appliances, the kitchen was OK. For cooking, there was a 2-burner hotplate, toaster, and microwave. Also a hotel-style, 2-cup coffee maker. The refrigerator was full size, but at least 20 years old. Still works, but runs a lot. There were enough dishes and cookware to heat up the food I brought. If you stay here, bring bottled water! There's a sign in the kitchen that says there is is a high amount of sediment in the water "due to our high elevation" and to "let the water run until clear." I don't know how long that takes. I made do with the water after letting it run for about 5 minutes. Even after that, if I turned the tap on full I would get a spurt of dark brownish-red water that reminded me of something from a horror movie.There's something else funky about the water. When I took a shower, I could never get the temperature below "too hot" (but I could get it a good bit hotter)! I thought the shower control was broken until I turned on the cold water in the sink, and the same 110-degree water came out. I don't know how or why they are heating the cold water, but it made for a quick, unpleasant shower.Tamarack is relatively inexpensive ($100 for my room) considering the "god's country surcharge" and the fact that it is a large room with kitchen and could sleep 6 in a pinch. If you're looking for a place to sleep and fix a few meals while enjoying a beautiful area, you could probably do worse.

This place is great. We stayed there for two nights this summer and had a wonderful stay. Walking distance to the river, incredible hiking nearby, and a friendly, clean, and nice place to stay. Owners were friendly and showed a clear interest in their customers.For those who rated poorly, first, get over yourself. For those reading reviews: if you're expecting a 5 star resort go to the many places in the Sierra's that will charge you $400+ for a room and no better experience, except to feel good about your financial success. If you're going to enjoy the scenery, a quiet place, and proprietors that are interested in their customers, rather than their pocket-books, go here! We're definitely going back, both summer and for some winter snowboarding!