Resort At Squaw Creek

Can I give a zillion stars? OK, I have a legitimate story worth reading.
I’m not a super rich person by ANY stretch, so ANY time spent here is a real treat. First off, I’ve had several massages by Norma Jean… her massages were SO amazing, that I simply cannot go anywhere else! And I live in the Bay! I am 100% certain I have not had a better massage in my life. Worth every penny.
Now the story of my raving review: I had a wonderful day at the spa… relaxed at the sanctuary, in the sauna, outdoor hot tubs. I was so relaxed and preoccupied with the luxurious soaps, lotions and scents, that I completely forgot I left my favorite hair clip in the pocket of the bathrobe. I know, I’m writing a review over a hair clip? YES, and why? I’ve had that hair clip for 10 years and has sentimental value tied to the day I purchased it, but lets be honest… to anyone else, it’s a darn hair clip. I didn’t realize it was missing until that night and I was CERTAIN my favorite hair clip was gone. My bathrobe mixed with potentially hundreds of other dirty bathrobes and towels? But, on my way out from Tahoe, I did decide to stop back at the spa, just to see if there was ANY chance it might have surfaced and, plead a case to the front desk staff or housekeeping to keep their eyes peeled for a lousy hair clip. Vanessa and Nicolas cheerfully greeted me and sat there with smiles on their faces while I explained my situation… preparing to have these people to soon start looking at me like a big idiot… I was asking them to keep their eyes open, even while catering to all of these very well off people who are paying good money for a spa services, for my silly hair accessory. Still with smiles, they pulled my hair clip from the counter, asking me if it was the one. Nicolas had found it the night before, and set it to the side.
You know, with all of the people who come in and out of this hotel and spa, most likely losing items along the way, they treat every person with high class and respect… they even treat a seemingly meaningless item, worth keeping, just in case. I was certain the high churn rate here and probably dozens of lost hair clips, that it most likely ended up in the garbage.
Vanessa and Nicolas, in my opinion, went above and beyond. They treated me like a person, AND they treat meaningless items as though they were priceless. You can’t train employees to care like that. I am hoping this review makes it to their management and they get properly acknowledged. And like I said about Norma Jean? Be prepared for the massage of your life.
To anyone debating staying at this hotel or question the quality of personnel here? They are a 5-​star hotel for good reason. EVERY experience here has been top notch. Best hotel in Tahoe by FAR.

Overall this has been a disappointing hotel experience. But let me start with the positive.
Location: The location is excellent in its proximity to Squaw Valley. The bus leaves every 30 minutes and is very convenient.
Swimming Pool: Even in the winter, the swimming pool and sauna are phenomenal. It’s nice and hot and a welcome retreat after a day of skiing.
Sweet Potatoes Deli: This is a quick and dirty place to eat that is open late. The people are friendly and food is pretty good. It saved us a few nights when everything else was closed.
Affordable: the hotel is reasonably affordable for its location.
Great for Kids: We saw a lot of families around and the kids look like they were having a great time.
But unfortunately, the bad outweighs the good.
Wrong Room: We explicitly asked for a single king bed in the reservation and they gave us two double beds. When we asked to move, the manager — Danielle — said they were sold out. But when we spoke to another manager, they said they were about 95% full and had 10 – 15 rooms left. Danielle flat out lied to us.
Broken Bed: When we arrived, one of the beds was broken. We called down and the manager acted like she didn’t even beleive us. An hour later, the engineers fixed it — at 11pm. I wonder why the maids didn’t catch it to spare us the frustration. Not only that but the beds were small. My fiancée and I had to take a bed each.
Broken Toilet: The toilet ran all night long. They came in and fixed it twice, but it never was truly fixed.
Thin Walls: We could hear everything that was being said next door and across the hall. We could hear the kids jumping up and down on the beds. We could hear them ordering pizza. We could hear them getting their pizzas delivered. All was crystal clear to our chagrin.
No Blankets: We asked for a blanket because it was cold in our room. They said that all of the blankets were dirty. Then they promised to «move heaven and earth» to get us a blanket. Of course, nothing of arrived.
The Manager: The manager, Danielle was unsympathetic about all of this. She eventually gave is a whopping $ 50 credit, but it was like pulling teeth. The entire time she remained skeptical on our issues. That’s no way to deal with a frustrated guest.

Favorite place in Tahoe. Best ski runs for Noth beginners and advanced alike — they had the Olympics here back in the day so it has to be pretty good.
The resort has a great lift right next to it which leads you to the rest of the mountain.
Plenty of good food and a nice spa and fitness center. Pool and hottub heated. Excellent conference facilities.
Rivals Northstar.

After a long day of bumpin at squaw me and wife headed to the resort at squaw creek, place was great sandys pub awsrome the guest service staff was really helpful valet guys took good care of us overall great experience

We ended up staying here for my husband and I’s anniversary with another couple. Upon initial impression the resort is incredible. Amenities upon amenities, beautiful, breathtaking views and our fireplace suite was spacious enough for two couples! However, I feel as if their attention to detail was way below standard for the price you pay.
–our room had several obvious indicators that it wasnt properly cleaned from the previous guests. I found personal belongings throughout (hair pins in the shower, wrappers in the couch) and our floors werent vacuumed as there were crumbs throughout the carpet. My bathroom was also out of shampoo the entire stay though I continuously asked for it to be replenished.
–the bathrooms in the lobby didnt have a changing table. This didnt personally affect me however I can see how this can be an inconvenience for a family.
–we had specified that we would have 4 people in the room. So the pull out sofa was obviously going to be in use. When we were ready to settle in there were no extra pillows or blankets for them. Calling down to the front desk seemed easy enough. But the 45 minute wait seemed a bit much. As well that each blanket they brought had a hole inside of them.
–we were snowboarding one of the days during our stay and we were excited to find out they had a shuttle running every half hour! However when asking one of the valet young men where they would be picking up they pointed us in the wrong direction. We waited for 30 minutes before we realized their mistake. This would seem to be a pretty well used service so you would assume all the staff would know this basic information.
Overall the stay was pleasant. Luckily we had booked during one of their specials seeing as I couldnt imagine paying full price for each night. Its a beautiful resort. But the only improvement I could see is just their attention to detail. Seeing as guests already pay so much for their «extras» I would assume that the basics would be flawless.

We’ve stayed here many times and just recently came back again for a brief sledding day with the kids. The Resort continues to impress me with the sweeping valley views, great restaurant options, full service resort for kids /​parents and the polite kind staff. We also witnessed the host/​manager at Sandy’s Pub step up and wait on a few tables, ours included.

Last year we enjoyed our stay so much we decided to make it annual tradition to come Thanksgiving weekend and so we came back again this year. We love the Resort at Squaw Creek and the price is reasonable, especially with the Groupon deal. But, this time has been way more hit and miss than last year’s smooth ride. First off, we checked in after 5, when check in is to begin at 4. We got to our room and found that the shower heads were uninstalled and the sink stopper was too. We got a knock on our door immediately that they needed to fix our bathroom phone. But, we had just gotten there and I wanted to settle in after the long drive with all the traffic from the Bay Area. So, I just said «No thanks.» I can only imagine someone needing a phone in the bathroom if they were elderly or disabled and might need help. I’m certainly not calling room service while on the toilet. Ewww. Then, the first night of our stay we wanted to watch the Warriors game on tv in our room. They are on a winning streak and I love sports. But, alas the game was not on in our room. So, we went down to $andy’s Pub to watch it. The second night of our stay, when we just got back from dinner and I really had to pee, our room keys randomly stopped working and I had to wait 20 minutes to get new ones. They pretty much blamed it on us and said we must’ve put them by a magnet. Other people were complaining of the same problem when I checked in, so I think it might be their problem. After last year’s wonderful experience and this year’s mediocre experience, I am hesitant to keep up our annual tradition. But, I’ll probably give them another shot next year.

Squaw Valley is the best resort to stay in near Lake Tahoe! I’ve stayed here more than 4 times and every time the experience has been better than any other hotel or resort I’ve stayed in! Though it can be expensive, spend some time and search online for a coupon or something to make it easier on your wallet. I stayed during Thanksgiving break for 2 nights and I am satisfied! Very good very cool very swag. I LIKE IT!!!

Lake Tahoe has a ton of resorts to stay at to accomadate you during your travels, but look no further than here!
My boyfriend and I stayed here last year and absolutely loved it! We stayed in the basic one bedroom king bed room and it was more than enough space. We had a nice view looking over the resort and the staff, from valet parking, to front desk, was so accommodating!
We enjoyed our stay in the beautiful Lake Tahoe, and especially loved that this resort had so much to offer, we only left once and that was to gamble (about a 35 minute drive).
We bought our stay off of Groupon, but loved it so much, we have booked our stay to come back again for this December.
We have made slight changes to our reservation this time around, like upgrading our room to the fireplace suite in hopes for cooler weather to use it, but loved the resort and are very much so looking forward to coming back again!
I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone, and sure hope it is just as amazing this time as it was our friend time around!

Awesome resort with even better staff! Specific shout outs to these fine ladies at the front desk Sarah Sullivan, Sarah McCrink, and Courtney McKay! These ladies deserve promotions and raises! Beautiful resort with plenty to do!

Used to be pretty good. Not so such anymore.
I’ve stayed here on three occasions. Unfortunately, it seems to be going downhill.
Check-​in
–The person behind the desk tells us that management is taking all of the personality/​fun out of the place. Nice start.
–Downgraded us from a king to a queen room (same price), but told us they instead got us a great room with a ‘valley view’. Um, we had already reserved a valley view room … five months ago.
The Room
–Mostly OK, but a big hole is the sheets.
The Stay
–I could nitpick, but really the main issue was that most of the staff just didn’t seem to care about the guests.
Checkout
–Three calls back and forth with the front desk to «negotiate» a late checkout (our conference hosted at the hotel was ending later than the standard checkout time). Management finally countered our 30 minutes with 15 minutes. Wow… thanks.
–Upon checkout, the rep at the front desk asked how our stay was. We said not great. Received a lame «sorry» and handed the bill. Did’t even ask what wasn’t to our satisfaction.
All this is made worse by the fact that the hotel is actually on the nicer side, priced accordingly … but not performing as such.

GOLF REVIEW ONLY: Everyone will tell you that this is a tough course, and it is. The first three holes are in the hills, but then it opens up to a form of island golf among the marshes. And there’s plenty of it: Long grass, reeds, and water everywhere – to say nothing of the wind that can roll through the valley. Usually play the blue tees at your local track? Play the 6000-​yard whites here. You’ll need the extra time to look for your ball (not that you’ll ever find it). But you have to love the beauty of the place; there are dramatic views on every hole.
They’ll tell you to more or less keep your driver in your bag. When I played it my drive happened to be on, and I somehow kept it on the fairway (if you hit over 260 with your driver, you can often find yourself running out of landing area). We also encountered some very wet fairways and greens that had a tendency to grab your club – an anomaly during the CA drought. In the end, we enjoyed the course. But we did it through clenched teeth, and my group went through more than a couple of sleeves of Titleists.
Downers: the grubbiest, ugliest hitting cage anywhere (except Coyote Moon). Filthy balls that were so worn down they were black instead of white, not to mention rusty fences dividing the worn mats. They had a beverage cart parked about the 6^th hole, but then they disappeared and there is no drinking water provided on any of the holes. When we played, it was very warm, and you are fully exposed to the elements the entire time. By the end, we were seriously parched. So prepare wisely, because this resort could care less if you run out of water – or more hellishly, beer.

My husband and I spent three nights here over the Labor Day weekend. We both absolutely loved the resort and our stay.
We stayed in a one bedroom suite that was very comfortable and had everything we needed and more for our stay. I loved the setup of the suite because it was possible for one person to be up without waking someone still sleeping. The bed was very comfortable and surrounding noise was very limited so I was able to get the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. The kitchen included everything for those that would like to cook. There was a small refrigerator, cooktop, small dishwasher (why didn’t my college dorm have one of these!?) coffee maker, and pots and pans. I was really impressed with the kitchen setup. I found it nice to be able to make coffee in the morning and grab my usual quick breakfast.
The actual resort is beautiful and has everything a person would need so you don’t have to leave. There are several restaurants, a few shops, spa, pool, games, a golf course, and fitness area. If that isn’t enough they also offer a free shuttle over to Squaw Valley. We appreciated the convenience of the shuttle even though we had a rental car.
There were only two small negatives I saw about the resort. The self parking felt like a bit of a hike at times. It wasn’t that big of a deal in the end, but we were a little taken aback at first. They do offer valet so it doesn’t have to be an issue. The second would be the restaurant where the breakfast buffet is served had pretty bad service. It took forever for someone to greet us and I finally had to track someone down for juice (it never came despite tracking someone down).
Overall our experience was very relaxing and just what we were looking for to start our Tahoe vacation. We’ll definitely be back again.

Simple poor place to be… use to be, years ago’, a nice place but lately…:
Poor service at the desk…
Poor service at restaurant-​Bar…
Poor service at the car valet…
Poor service at pool…
Don’t lose your money…

stayed at the resort at squaw creek for the wanderlust festival because it was the only hotel close enough to the festival that offered 3 nights stay instead of 4 nights. wanderlust had room blocked all surrounding resorts and only offered 4-​nights, boo.
let me just start by saying the services at the resort is phenomenal, including a car door unlocking service. i kid you not. on the last day of the festival i was feeling unusually ambitious and decided to wake up early to attend a 8 am class. since it was day of check out, i had loaded my luggage, purse, mat, and CAR KEYS yes, car keys, into my trunk. next thing you know, i was locked out.
my first natural instinct was to use Unilocal to find emergency tow /​car unlock services. got quoted $ 160 to have the tow truck come out to unlock my rental car… and it was going to take 30 minutes. so i decided to phone the resort from the parking lot:
me: hi, i am locked out of my rental car and i was wondering if there is a local business you can recommend?
guy #1: hold on, let me transfer you to guest services.
me: hi, i’m locked out of my rental car and i was wondering if there is anything you can do to help? i’m in the self park lot in front of a red car.
guy #2: hold on, i’ll be there in 5 minutes in a golf cart.
10 minutes later, my doors were unlocked. and i made it to my 8am class! yes, the resort had a car unlock kit for idiotic mindful-​less situation like mine. goes to show i’m not the first guest that’s ever locked themselves out!
with that said, i was highly impressed by the services offered.
other things i loved about the resort:
1) scenery: absolutely gorgeous golf course. the pool /​spa area is also amazing, it was just picturesque all day every day.
2) service: great services all around from the squaw creek team. from lobby to valet, everyone’s super friendly and nice.
3) rooms: clean, comfy, sizable enough. there’s also a mini fridge in each room!
4) toiletries: love the permanently mounted shampoo /​conditioner /​bath gel in each room! my long hair requires a lot of products and squaw creek did my hair good!
what could be improved:
1) rates: it was $ 1200+ for 3 days, it’s extremely pricey, but you do get what you pay for.
2) parking: self parking is kind of a hike to the resort…
3) hotel layout: i wished that the guest tower /​rooms were closer to the parking lot. i always feel like it takes forever just to walk to our rooms!
4) towels: our hotel towels were definitely showing signs of wear. they are in no way dirty, but the edges were fraying, and i wished they were of higher quality and condition.
other than that, highly recommend for any lake tahoe visits :)

The view and location are really beautiful, even in the summer. The room was fine, just a couple glitches that management needs to consider. Parking, if you are older, perhaps don’t want anyone in your vehicle and don’t want to valet (which is your only option) be ready to park your car down a hill and thru the woods. Literally, it’s a hike. They even park the valet cars closer to the hotel? It would be great if they had hotel staff follow you down with a golf cart if needed. Not that the hike was hard for us, just thinking of older people or those with children.
Another issue we had was with house keeping, they came in my room when the do not disturb sign was on the door. This bothers me to no end. Do not disturb means just that. I did tell the front desk and got a lukewarm apology. She said there must have been a language issue? Hmm, aren’t do not disturb signs universal?

Super great!!! Super spectaular!!! Super location. This is an incredible place to stay!!! Beautiful, gorgeous, and very serene. We had a visit with some family friends, and then my parents and I had the chance to go to Breakfast the following day, a amazing buffet.
I also remember how extremely clean the restrooms where, I hope it’s still like that.

This is a very nice resort on Squaw Valley!
I came for a conference and it was my first time in Lake Tahoe.
The lobby is gorgeous. As soon as you get in, you get a spectacular view of the mountains through their floor to ceiling windows.
From the Front Desk, you have to walk out to the other tower where the guestrooms are. On the way, there’s a deli and a few shops.
My room was nice and comfortable with a nice view. There was a shower cap and make up remover towelette in the bathroom which I appreciated. If you decline housekeeping services, you can get a $ 5 resort credit to be used in their shops/​food outlets.
The meeting rooms were conveniently located on the same area in two different floors. Their banquet food is definitely one of the most creative I’ve seen.
There’s definitely lots to do inside the resort: they have an ice rink (n/​a when I went as it was too warm), a spa, chess tables in the lobby, bicycles for rent, walking trails…
They also have a free shuttle to the Village for shops and restaurants, and are near the Shirley Canyon hiking trail and the tram to High Camp.
Valet and self park available. If you want to explore the area, I’d definitely suggest renting a car though as even the walk to the street seemed a bit far.

Time for an update review. This is the official hotel for our family whenever we go ski in Tahoe. We are specially attached Squaw Valley since this is where I (and my siblings, nieces and kids) learned how to ski back in the early 90s.
Hotel is located right at the entrance road to Squaw Valley. You can ski in and out from the hotel (you have to be able to ski blue runs in order to take the advantage of this). The run takes you back to the Hotel is called Squaw Creek, if you are not sure whether you can ski back to the hotel, just try to ski Shirley lake at the upper mountain, if you can ski that run (or ski down Mountain Run), then you should have no problem ski Squaw creek.
If you are a beginner, you can just take the hotel shuttle to the base camp, a 10 minute ride, and shuttle is about every 15 to 30 min depends on how busy it is. After you done with skiing for the day, there is a ski Valet (again depends on how busy they are) located right around the life area where you can drop off your skis and head back to your room without carrying them. During not so busy times, you can drop your skis next to the sports shop, about a 3min walk from the lift.
Rooms are very nice and clean. Nice bathrooms and comfy beds. In fact, as of now (Mar 2015), the hotel is upgrading/​remodeling the rooms with new furniture and other amenities.
Staff are super friendly, willing to help you in every way they can. If you valet your car with them, you can always call before you head out and your car will be waiting for you by the time you reach to the hotel entrance.
There are couple restaurants/​deli located inside the hotel. Sweet potato is a small deli offers some simple breakfast items, pizzas and sandwiches. Sandy’s pub is greta place to hang after a day of skiing and the food is pretty good. If you want somewhat high class dinning, then try the six peak grill. There is also a breakfast buffet which i find a bit overpriced with limited items
There is also a ice rink, fitness center, nice pool and theree Jacuzzi. Fitness center is great, they also have a sauna and steam room there. Ice rink is a great place for the kids and after a day of skiing, you have to go stay in the Jacuzzi, so relaxing.
I think this pretty much covers it. Other things to know:
wifi is free (your daily resort fee covers it).
Shuttle bus runs till pretty late at night, take you to and back from the village at Squaw, should you want to eat there
Overall a great resort to stay at when ski in Squaw. We also come here during summer, play a round of golf or hike the Shirley lake trail. Highly recommended!

We just finished up an awesome 4-​night stay at this resort, where we were able to try several restaurants and amenities. Overall, the place was beautiful, and had breathtaking views of the mountains, and convenient gear rental /​shuttle service.
*RESTAURANTS*
I’ve written reviews for each of the restaurants on their respective pages, but a quick summary is as follows:
Sandy’s Pub — Great for a late night bite. Apps are large and good for sharing!
Cascades — Good service, good selection, and worth it if you have the breakfast package. Otherwise, pretty pricey for what you get. (We only ate here at breakfast.)
Six Peaks Grill — Splurge on a nice dinner here, and get the beets and goat cheese! Pricey, but worthwhile, and pretty good bottles of wine are available for a reasonable price.
*ROOM*
I was impressed. Our room was a small suite with a mini-​kitchen, a table, sofa area (with fireplace) and a separate large room and bathroom. The storage was great, and would’ve easily held more than just what the two of us had for 5 days. The view from the bay window in the couch area was amazing, facing the mountains with a beautiful sunset each night. There’s nothing like cozy’ing up by the fire and seeing snow outside!
The only thing that stuck out as strange to me was the way they locked up the soap/​conditioner/​shampoo in the shower. I didn’t really think about it, until I decided to take advantage of the spacious tub one evening. While a bath bar was available, I couldn’t wash my hair in the tub… and getting up to get in the shower sort of defeated the purpose. It would be nice to have either another holder near the tub or small bottles that could be moved from shower to tub.
*SPA*
We were lucky enough to have a resort credit that allowed us each access to the spa, and an hour long massage. The masseuse I had was relaxing and wonderful, and she did a great job with my Swedish massage. I enjoyed the steam room and hot tub after, taking full advantage of all of the available amenities!
For the record, I believe you can enjoy the steam room and sauna (which are located near the fitness center) regardless of whether you have any spa appointments booked. The hot tubs are outdoor, next to the pool, and are available to anyone.
*SKI*
Renting equipment from the resort is reasonable and incredibly convenient. I needed skis and ski boots, and my total was about $ 45 for everything. Lift tickets (if purchased in advance) are around $ 90/​ea. We picked up the equipment and made our way around the corner to the complimentary shuttle that runs over to the village, where the gondolas take you to the ski area.
While you can ski next to the resort, there are no green paths available, which meant that I wouldn’t be headed that way… (I’m more of a faller than a skiier at this point.) At the end of the day, my boyfriend was able to take a lift that let him ski down right next to our room, and I met him there after taking the shuttle back from the village. (Shuttle runs every 30 mins.)
*OTHER*
The main building has chess, checkers and a few other games available to play, if you find yourself so inclined. We spent several evenings at the chess board, enjoying one another’s company. There is a large fireplace and several cozy spots to sit and chat or to enjoy a drink. The concierge was helpful in finding us hikes and activities to fill our time during the unusually warm January weekend. Dog sledding was unfortunately canceled due to weather, which was too bad, as we were really looking forward to that… but they notified us well ahead of time, and there were lots of other fun things to do in the area. (If you take the shuttle to the village, be aware that the last one runs at 10:45PM, and that it comes around every 30 minutes.)
All in all, I’d recommend staying at Squaw Creek, and checking out all of the great amenities! It was a wonderful trip, and we look forward to visiting the area again when there’s a bit more snow.