Spacious Cabin w/ Deck: 3 Mi to Donner Lake

Reviews

• Amazing lake view

  5/5

  The lake view and dock on the lake did not disappoint. The cabin is super rustic, which we really enjoyed.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Nature Up Close and Personal

  4/5

  This property is located just off 80, and very easy to find. Close to Donner State Memorial Park and Donner Lake. About a 45 minute drive to Reno, and 1hr 15 min to South Lake. Our family typically stays in south lake, we wanted to try something different this year. This home was large enough for our family of 5. The rooms were well stocked with extra blankets pillows and sheets. It did get quite hot during the days and didn’t cool off very quickly in the evenings, some fans would be a great bonus maybe? The beds were very comfortable, especially in the primary room upstairs. The beds are adjustable and even had a nice massage feature. Plus the primary on suite had an amazing bathtub. I defiantly took advantage of that tub! The kitchen was well stocked with dishes, however we were disappointment to find not one single spice, not even salt and pepper. It was a minor inconvenience that was solved easily by a trip to the store, which was in a very close and easy to find location. Both Safeway and Save Mart were within 2-3 miles of the home. Both offered plenty of food options. We did have a bit of an issue with the bear box being broken. The owner was very apologetic, and suggested we put our trash in his green waist bin under the deck in a locked area. We went to the grocery store only to find while we were gone, bears had come and ripped open the under deck area, where the owner has asked us to put the trash in. As we were cleaning it up, my youngest son yells “Bear” we all giggle, thinking he was joking but he wasn’t!! It was a bear cub, and following very close behind was another bear cub, and Mama Bear. We we able to watch from a safe distance on the second story balcony. It was a very neat, but too close for comfort experience. We let the owner know and he did credit us a A fair amount to run the trash to the dump. We had a pickup truck so it was no big deal. My hubby was also able to stop by the local Ace Hard-wear and grab some screws to fix the damage the bears had caused under the deck. Again, minor Inconvenience. We really enjoyed this property but in the end, we agree South Lake is just more home to us.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Fabulous house-Tahoe Donner Amenities Are Overpriced and Not Easily Used

  5/5

  House itself is lovely, nicely appointed with good kitchen items, TVs, and bedding, and the space works nicely and is comfortable. The house is situated with the forest behind the deck and makes for pleasant late summer evenings. And the owners are responsive and easy to work with. I give the house five stars.BUT DON'T BOOK THIS PROPERTY IF YOUR GOAL IS TO HAVE YOUR FAMILY SIT AROUND THE TAHOE DONNER POOLS. The "Tahoe Donner amenities" include the pool, the gym, tennis courts, and a private beach. But the price is $16/day PER PERSON, or $64/day for a family of two adults and two kids over 7. And, for that price, you don't even get towels at the beach and at one of the two pools. They will gladly sell you an overpriced towel ($13) or a cheap beach umbrella ($14). But the worst is that advance reservations are needed and they are impossible to come by unless you reserve (and pay) ahead before you know if that is what you want to do that day or if the weather will be good for what you want to do. Plus, to add insult to injury, the pool can only be reserved for a two hour slot. No just jumping into a pool at the last minute. In a seven day stay, we could only obtain one late afternoon two hour slot for a reservation. Tahoe Donner has the same two pools as it had when there were only one third of the houses there today. No wonder the pools are overused. Various of the employees said that so many short term renters are very mad at their effective inability to use the pools which is what made them decided to rent at Tahoe Donner in the first place. Plus VRBO does not disclose the hefty additional charges to use the facilities or that advance reservations are needed. They also said bad things about the homeowner's association not really caring about the short term renters and their knowing that they are milking those renters for all they can get away with.BUT THIS HOUSE IS TERRIFIC IF YOU DO NOT PLAN ON USING THE TAHOE DONNER "AMENITIES". It would make a terrific place for a large family to stay during ski season or if you just want to swim at the local Truckee beach at the west end of Lake Donner, which is quite beautiful and set in a very pleasant park-like and beach setting or are coming for tennis or golf, etc. and don't really care that pool access is almost a fraud. I loved my stay at this house but was left with a really bad feeling for the whole Tahoe Donner racket, which is what it is.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Five star house. But Tahoe Donner amenties are overpriced, and illusory

  5/5

  House itself is lovely, nicely appointed with good kitchen items, TVs, and bedding, and the space works nicely and is comfortable. The house is situated with the forest behind the deck and makes for pleasant late summer evenings. And the owners are responsive and easy to work with. I give the house five stars. BUT DON'T BOOK THIS PROPERTY IF YOUR GOAL IS TO HAVE YOUR FAMILY SIT AROUND THE TAHOE DONNER POOLS. The "Tahoe Donner amenities" include the pool, the gym, tennis courts, and a private beach. But the price is $16/day PER PERSON, or $64/day for a family of two adults and two kids over 7. And, for that price, you don't even get towels at the beach and at one of the two pools. They will gladly sell you an overpriced towel ($13) or a cheap beach umbrella ($14). But the worst is that advance reservations are needed and they are impossible to come by unless you reserve (and pay) ahead before you know if that is what you want to do that day or if the weather will be good for what you want to do. Plus, to add insult to injury, the pool can only be reserved for a two hour slot. No just jumping into a pool at the last minute. In a seven day stay, we could only obtain one late afternoon two hour slot for a reservation. Tahoe Donner has the same two pools as it had when there were only one third of the houses there today. No wonder the pools are overused. Various of the employees said that so many short term renters (like through VRBO) are very mad at their effective inability to use the pools which is what made them decided to rent at Tahoe Donner in the first place. Plus VRBO and Air BNB do not disclose the hefty additional charges to use the facilities or that advance reservations are needed. They also said kind of bad things about the homeowner's association not really caring about the short term renters and their knowing that they are milking those renters for all they can get away with. BUT THIS HOUSE IS TERRIFIC IF YOU DO NOT PLAN ON USING THE TAHOE DONNER "AMENITIES". It would make a terrific place for a large family to stay during ski season or if you just want to swim at the local Truckee beach at the west end of Lake Donner, which is quite beautiful and set in a very pleasant park-like and beach setting or are coming for tennis or golf, etc. and don't really care that pool access is almost a fraud. I loved my stay at this house but was left with a really bad feeling for the whole Tahoe Donner racket, which is what it is.