Hotels near Big Bear Lake Convention Center, Big Bear Lake

My experience with this motel absolutely shocked me and has changed my view of Motel 6 totally & probably forever. It happened when I stayed there on December 24, 2021. Admittedly a busy time of the year and a ski resort with many roads closed because of snow, but not an excuse for what they did. All motels in town that were reasonably priced ($60 to $150) were full. Only really nice ones that wanted $500+/night had any rooms, so I was surprised this place had any rooms at all, put I soon realized why. Imagine my shock when I was charged over $400/night. You must be kidding! $400+ for a Motel 6? A total OUTRAGEOUS RIP-OFF! So why did I pay it? Because in this instance I had to, because by that time everyone was full except them, many of the roads were closed and I wasn’t sure I could make it to the next town. I have almost never paid that much for a hotel room, but when I did, it was pretty damn nice, and I don’t think I have ever paid more than $100 or so for a Motel 6. To top it off, they were an older property and NOT in good repair. I noticed and was not surprised when I saw possibly more than half of their rooms vacant that night. Of course, they were, probably because many people said “No Way”, and just took their chances to leave town. I wish I would have had that option. Had they been more reasonably priced, I have no doubt they would have been almost full and probably made more money also. There is no doubt in my mind that they GOUGED me, along with everyone else who stayed with them that night, and I will never forget that they were even WILLING to do that. I don’t want to hear anything like “What-ever the market will bear”, because that has its limits, and it is an UNCONSCIONABLE way to do business. You offer a reasonable product at a reasonable price and a reasonable profit, and it should end there. Anything more than that is gouging, plain & simply. Taking advantage of high demand in order to charge a ridicules price for maybe even a bad product. LegalDictionary.net defines and describes Price Gouging as ………… “It is this taking advantage of a bad situation, raising prices for much-needed supplies or services to an unfair, or even unethical level, that is considered price gouging….…PRICE GOUGING IS AGAINST THE LAW, though the laws vary by state”. No doubt in my mind that this is exactly what they did, and didn’t even feel bad about it because the annoyance and my anger did not end there. There were also no amenities in the room (shampoo, conditioner, lotion, plastic cups, Kleenex, water, coffee or tea, etc.), as well as just one small bar of soap for a room designed for up to 4 people. I went down to the front desk, asked for at least 1 more soap, which she gave me, and then complained that they couldn’t even but a bottle of drinking water in the room. I was floored and pissed with her response. She had the audacity to say, “We don’t normally provide things like that so that it helps us

I arrived after staff working hours so they upgraded my room with a passcode door and sent me all information via text message. The place is cool and it’s a very convenient location, plenty of parking around at the property

Good! I like it!

Because we arrived very late, the hotel is very small and hard to find; the rooms are not small but the facilities are old and the location is OK. Lake views are generally low because there is no water! There is no breakfast, and there is a table tennis case at the door, which can be exercised.

My first time to Big Bear Lake. Lagonita Lodge was a good value. I would stay here again. It sits right on the lake. I didn't get a lakeview unit, but you can easily sit on benches in areas provided to get your lake view. It is a typical timeshare type of resort. Mine was a one bedroom with a hide a bed sofa in the living area. Full kitchen with microwave and stove, full sized refrigerator, dishwasher, fully stocked with dishes , silverware, and cooking gear. There did not appear to be air conditioning in my unit, but there was a heater and it worked. In September it gets cool at night. Around 44 degrees. There is an activity schedule of things to do at Lagonita Lodge. I went to the pancake breakfast, ice cream social, continental breakfast, and the lake cruise. Most of these have an extra charge, but it is very reasonably priced. Boat cruise $10 for example. You can fish right off the shore or their dock. Fishing license requited. There is an indoor swimming pool. Outside Jacuzzi, and exercise room. There is much to do in the area. LL is located very near ”The Village” which has many restaurants and quaint shops. I also rode the Mine Shaft Coaster, rented a bicycle and rode the North Shore Bike Path. A 3 hour zipline tour is located nearby. LL rents kayaks, stand up paddle boards, and even a pontoon boat. Their front desk is open 24 hours. Check in time is 5 p.m. And checkout on Friday through Sunday is 10 a.m. Checkout on other days is noon. They have two Internets - the basic which is free, and a higher bandwidth Internet for streaming, etc. that costs extra. My Verizon 4g on my smartphone worked great here, so I just used that. The rooms are a little dated which I have found is typical of a timeshare resort. My room had some door jams that had been jammed and needed some paint. The icemaker in the fridge worked great. There were 2 TVs. One in the living room and one in the bedroom. There was a DVD player. Mine didn't work, but I called and they sent someone up quickly to replace it. They rent DVDs for $2, and there is Redbox in Vons and Stater Brothers. The location is towards the very west end of town. The main grocery shopping centers are on the very other end of town. It is about 10 minutes to get to the other end. Because it was September, the town was not crowded except on weekends. So that part was soooo nice. I am used to Lake Tahoe and this is a much smaller lake and town. I do recommend this resort and would certainly stay here again. If you haven't been to Big Bear Lake, I recommend that you watch some YouTube videos about what to do in Big Bear. There are many with great ideas you will find. My pictures of deferred maintenance are why I did not give Lagonita a 5 rating.

Great place... Staff is polite... Will definitely be back