We stayed here for two nights on our driving trek from New York to Alaska. This place used to be Renfro's Lakeside Retreat and we booked it in January with the Renfros. However, they sold it to another family in the spring. We booked this place because of the top reviews on this Web site (see "Renfro's Lakeside Retreat"). The place consists of cottages near a lake. We were quite disappointed. The place was a few miles north of Seward.
We telephoned the (new) owner that we'd be arriving late the first night. It then took us almost 40 minutes to locate our assigned cottage in the dark. The owner said on the phone there would be a map on the door of the office but when we got there and found the office closed (we knew it would be closed), the map was on the inside. I had to memorize the map. With the memorized map in my mind, I attempted to locate the cottage (#5) but was unable to do so. So I returned to the office door and tried a second time memorizing it. Fortunately I found it the second time around but it was very harrying to do so in the pitch dark. In the process of finding the cabin I had to drive over railroad tracks. The owner should have posted the map on the outside so that I could have taken it with me as I drove to the cottage. Walking around in the dark after I parked turned out to be very dangerous due to the presence of bears in the area. The following morning I discussed with the owner the situation vis-a-vis the number “5,” and while she was correct that the number “5” was on the back side of the cottage facing the raod it was not prominently displayed.
More importantly, I mentioned that next morning that the top lock latch was not aligned with the hole so we were unable to lock the door with the top lock latch. Nothing was done about it that day (the owner had a whole day to deal with it) and we slept a second night without being able to lock the top lock. We come from New York, where one expects locks to work. We are used to locking our doors at night.
The cabin had two floors. There was a bunkbed on the first floor, kitchen area with table, and bathroom; the second floor had just a bed. On the second floor there was no dresser or anything of any sort -- not even a shelf -- in addition to the bed. Where was a person supposed to place personal items when getting undressed?
On both mornings there was a problem about taking showers. The first morning there was hot water at first but it soon turned all cold and only one of us was able to shower. The second morning there was no hot water to shower so none of us did. I mentioned this to the owner when we checked out the second morning but she was there all by herself (her husband was out of town) -- no additional help -- and frazzled from telephone calls constantly coming in. Her response did not evince any sympathy, in my opinion. I really thought a more sympathetic response was called for. At a minimum, a place to stay should have hot water unless the lack of it is clearly related to guests in advance. The cabins were not advertised as wilderness cabins so there should have been hot water. We spent two months on the road, driving from New York to Alaska and back. We did stay at other non-hotel/motels, i.e., cabins and bead & breakfasts, in Alaska, and this one was the only one I had to complain about. (Complained about one hotel and they gave us partial credit.) We were very disappointed due to the above matters.
I didn't even mention to the owner at the time but in front of the cabin (facing the lake) was metal junk.
We were charged $145 a night and I wrote to the owners when we came back home, asking for some money back but I never got a response. If a guest complains about things which rally ruin a stay at a lodging accomodation, the least the owner can do to rectify it (if it can't be fixed before the guest leaves) is to return some of the money back. It doesn't have to be the whole amount -- just something to show you empathize with the disappointed guest.
I know this is Alaska and some things are rugged but there should be minimal comforts like warm showers if the cabin is a furnished one (and not an empty wilderness cabin). Just as a comparison, I note that we stayed in a village north of the Arctic Circle called Wiseman, population 18, but the cabin was comfortable and the shower worked and the locks worked, even as the cabin was powered on a generator.
I would recommend that you not stay at this establishment.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
14 April 2008
Kenai Lake Resort is located 20 miles north of Seward, Alaska in between Chugach National Forrest and Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The cabins are located on the pristine Kenai Lake, because of the close proximity of the national parks the view here will never change.
We are a family owned business we handle the reservations, the house keeping, grounds maintenance, and cabin maintenance, this is a lot of work but we get to know our guest on a personal level which adds to everyones experience. We take all of our guests suggestions very seriously and when time and money permit we will try to implement the ideas, these things don't happen over night, but we are in it for the long haul and hope to build something truly unforgettable.
The lakeside cabins are log cabins that are fully outfitted and furnished with a bathroom, kitchenette, a queen size bed on the half loft, a futon bunk downstairs, all the linens, and everything you would need to cook a meal either in the kitchen or on the grill. Hardly an empty cabin in the woods, but there is a real sense of being in the wilderness which 99.9% of our guests love.
To address a couple of the guests concerns from the "awful time" review, for our guests who arrive late we now leave an envelope with the keys and a copy of the map so they can have the map in hand when locating their cabin. As for the dead bolt that was not aligned; my wife is capable of a lot of the required maintenance for the cabins but re-setting a door and lock is not one of them, please except our apologies. The door handle lock was in working order so there was some security available. However, hot water is something she could fix but if you wait until you leave to say something there is little that can be done for your stay. Last year was our first year and our planned helped canceled last minute so we were on our own, this year we will have two teams of workers to help so we will be able to meet the needs of all our guests.
As for the bears...we will never be able to guarantee that they will not wander through once in while. Afterall...would it be the true Alaskan experience if we did?
In closing, what Kenai Lake Resort has to offer is cabins that could double as a suite in many four star hotels, ours come with a view that any hotel would be proud to call their own. We are not a part of a large hotel chain, we do not have a huge staff, but we do have a passion for this place and we hope to meet everyones demands, even the ones that don't seem can be satisfied, and possibly see our guests leave with the same passion we have for this wonderful place we call "heaven on earth".
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
