Name: Highly Recommend
Item: Grand Cascades Lodge
Rating: 5
Author: Lisa M

14 - 19 of 2,542 reviews

Skalish

Silver Spring, Maryland

912

Reviewed 23 July 2024 via mobile

NOT WORTH THE PRICE

Pros: the grounds are gorgeous. So many activities on site. Pools were gorgeous. Nice spa. Coffee shop had good coffee.

Activities we enjoyed, that were included in our stay: driving range (and they lend clubs and balls for free), 18 hole outdoor putting course (think mini golf without the obstacles- was beautiful and fun (clubs and balls included), and you can do it at night as well with light-up flags, archery on two different properties (all included, we tried on minerals property and also at the quarry- quarry was nicer). Fishing (catch and release)- fishing gear *not* included. Laser clay shooting- was SO FUN, but in the sun in the middle of the day and was a bit hot. Koi pond was nice.

Pools: the biosphere is gorgeous and so fun and cool, and the garden growing there and at the restaurant right outside it was beautiful. There’s a hot tub attached and that was also really nice, along with a sauna and steam room. And a water slide into the pool. And another outdoor pool right outside. Also very nice. The vista 180 pool was also beautiful and fun.

Cons: for a regular old plain 2 queen room that was built in the 90s or something, the price was INSANE. You’d think paying almost $800 a night would give you a nice room. The beds were hard as rocks. May as well have slept on the boxspring. The walls were rail thin, we could hear everything going on in the connecting room. Bathroom needs updating. AC was weird- it was either too hot or too cold. No ice machines on our level. We got an ice bucket with no bag- had to use a shopping bag for ice. Getting to the pool is weirdly complicated, especially with strollers/wheelchairs. There were too many hidden fees. The original price we found when booking was $579-something a night, and somehow with resort fees, convenience fees, credit card fees, upgrading from 1 king to 2 queens, and spa convenience fees, we paid almost $800 a night! NOT WORTH IT. We got a package that included $300 at the spa, but you were required to charge it to the room, which then required a convenience fee.

Overall, we had a nice time, but absolutely not worth the price. I would go back if it was significantly cheaper.

Room tip: Go off-season. Bring your kids.

Date of stay: July 2024

Ask Skalish about Grand Cascades Lodge

Thank Skalish

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dear Skalish,

Thank you for having recently stayed with us at Grand Cascades Lodge and sharing all of your feedback with me.

I'm very glad that you found lots of enjoyment from our awesome amenities, variety of activities as well as your time down at the Reflections!

Regarding your constructive feedback – we absolutely value it and I will personally ensure that it is received by our hotel operations team.

That said, I did want to let you know that we do not charge hidden fees for anything while here at Crystal Springs Resort. While you may not like that we charge different fees (which is completely understandable and something we respect), the guest is always aware that they exist upfront and we do fully disclose everything throughout multiple checkpoints.

The credit card convenience fee is listed on our website, included on all booking confirmation emails, expressed directly by our booking specialist's on recorded calls, signed off on by the guest upon registering at the front desk as well as posted on signs which sit directly on the front desk. On dining checks, this fee is also listed there as well as a friendly reminder to our guest's and patrons. Debit cards or by of course paying in cash completely avoids this fee altogether.

The resort fee is baked into the final quoted price you are given if booking over the phone with one of our agents and is also broken down along with all various taxes we are required to charge when using our online tool. The 10% spa fee is also included in any final quoted prices given as well. Please note, these extra fees are also mentioned on our website as well so there should never be any situation where a guest would not know what they are paying.

Regardless of this, we thank you again for visiting Crystal Springs Resort and hope to see you again at some point in the future!

Warm Regards,

Mike
Guest Experience

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29tangel

Wall Township, New Jersey

5832

Reviewed 22 July 2024

Slightly Better than Average

I booked this resort at the last minute and completely fell for the marketing. They advertise this place as a "luxury resort" full of the "finer things in life," and that's simply not true. The staff is super friendly, and the resort is well-maintained and clean, but they charge high-end prices and deliver a product that is slightly better than average. We stayed in a one-bedroom suite with a fireplace deck on the first floor. The room was huge, but the view was non-existent.

Room tip: The biosphere pool was full of little kids running around, the pool on the golf course side was much calmer.

Date of stay: July 2024

Ask 29tangel about Grand Cascades Lodge

1 Thank 29tangel

Dear 29tangel,

Thank you for having recently stayed with us here at Grand Cascades Lodge as well as for sharing your personal experience with me.

I am very sorry that you did not feel as though you received strong value during your brief time with us. That said, our guest rooms are all located in different areas of the hotel and as a result will have varying views. Nevertheless, we do apologize if the view from your specific room did not impress you. Countless rooms of ours do have stunningly breathtaking views of the mountains, our beautifully manicured landscaping as well as our golf courses.

If you have any other feedback to share with me, kindly email me directly at service@csresort.com so I can ensure everything is passed onto our hotel operations team. We always love hearing from our guest's on how we can improve our guest's hotel experience and of course do hope to see you again at some point in the future!

Kind Regards,

Mike
Guest Experience

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Greg P

Reviewed 13 July 2024

We will definitely be back.

The employees were excellent. A great Spa experience. The food was very good. The property was a "Taste of Heaven". My wife and I had a very relaxing time. Both the indoor and outdoor pools were great. The wine tour and the wine tasting that we attended was very informative. Susan Wagner the Wine Director really knows her stuff.

Date of stay: July 2024

Ask Greg P about Grand Cascades Lodge

Thank Greg P

Dear Greg,

Thanks so much for staying at Grand Cascades Lodge and sharing your experience with me.

I'm so glad you a wonderful all-around time and are already thinking about your next stay with us!

That said, I will gladly pass on your kind words to Susanne as well as the rest of our hotel operations team.

We hope to see you again very soon - CHEERS!!

Mike
Guest Experience

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nilajaw2016

New Rochelle, New York

Reviewed 11 July 2024

Slice of heaven on earth!

The rooms are huge, modern and clean. I’ve been here during the winter and summer and there is always something to do. I stayed at Grand Cascades and that allowed access to Minerals property which is also fabulous. My family and I have decided to make it an annual event because it is a one stop shop for family, fun, relaxation, fine dining, countless activities and so much more!!

Room tip: Take a minute to really look at the property map. There is so much to do and you can’t really see it by just walking on your own.

Date of stay: July 2024

Ask nilajaw2016 about Grand Cascades Lodge

Thank nilajaw2016

Dear nilajaw2016,

I'm so glad you continuously enjoy your time here at Grand Cascades Lodge as well as over at our sister hotel – there truly is so much to experience and explore while here at Crystal Springs Resort and it's so wonderful for us to hear how much you love to do while with us!

We look forward to seeing you again very soon!

Mike
Guest Experience

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EdinDC

Washington DC, District of Columbia

91134

Reviewed 4 June 2024 via mobile

Dissapointing at this price point.

We stayed at Crystal Springs Resort’s Grand Cascades Lodge for 3 nights for a wedding. Our one bedroom suite cost us close to $2,000 for the 3 nights. While the resort was pretty - especially the landscaping - the price is not justified by the service, ambience or amenities. The room’s soft products were recently refurbished and are attractive, but they never bothered to refurbish the room’s hard elements. Nice furnishings and carpets are paired with outdated tiles plumbing fixtures and finishes in the bathrooms and kitchens. The initial service from the bell-staff and front desk was pretty bad and bordered on incompetent. Bell staff never explained where I could find parking. The young man just said “drive forward and park in the lot on the left.” He failed to explain there was a parking garage I could have parked in. I called the front desk to ask about laundry service (I needed to get my suit pressed.) They told me they don’t offer any laundry service. When I asked if there was a dry cleaner nearby, the young man at the front desk didn’t know and suggested I look it up on Google. This was a common theme throughout our stay. Staff was incapable of answering the most basic about the resort. On Sunday morning we asked if we could get brunch anywhere on property….the people we asked weren’t sure. (They don’t) The rooms were large, but they fail to provide any drawers to put clothes away in. Closets weren’t large enough to store luggage anywhere. The shower’s water pressure was lackluster and no one thought to install hooks or towel bars within reach of the shower. Worst of all, the room’s thermostats have motion sensors in them, so when you leave your room the a/c goes off, so we’d regularly return to a room that was too hot. Worst of all it was not possible to keep the a/c running at night as the thermostat sensed no motion. I’d fall asleep for an hour, get too warm and then waved my arms around to get the a/c to come back on. Silliness. It is a beautiful place for a wedding….but next time we’ll stay elsewhere.

Date of stay: June 2024

Ask EdinDC about Grand Cascades Lodge

2 Thank EdinDC

Dear EdinDC,

Thank you for recently staying with us at Grand Cascades Lodge as well as for sharing your feedback with us.

I'm very sorry to learn about the shortcoming you described throughout your stay, but wanted to let you know that all of your feedback has been received by our hotel operations team.

That said, while we sincerely apologize for some of the service related issues you experienced, it's disheartening and harsh to refer to anyone as incompetent. We have an incredibly talented, dedicated and hardworking team that delivers exceptional service to our guest's every day of the year. Along with our fabulous amenities, award winning golf courses and spa's as well as a plethora of wonderful dining venues, we would not be rated as a 4-star AAA Diamond hotel if we didn't provide our guest's with the complete 4-Star package.

Regarding you room's thermostat, the reason why they operate on sensors is to do our part in protecting the environment – this is fairly standard in many hotels throughout the hospitality industry, but again we are sorry about the inconvenience this caused you.

Warm Regards,

Mike
Guest Experience

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