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Santa's Lodge – reviews, photos

91 W. Christmas Blvd., Santa Claus, IN 47579
Hotel amenities
Santa's Lodge
Ranked #1 of 1 hotels in Santa Claus
3.0 of 5 stars 126 Reviews
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126 reviews from our community

What travellers say about this hotel
  • Holiday world(17)
  • Parking lot(3)
  • Indoor pool(3)
  • Family suite(3)
  • Extra pillow(3)
Traveller rating
    17
    19
    29
    18
    43
Only show reviews for Family (85) | Couples (9) | Business (2)
Date Rating
Bay City, Michigan
Top Contributor
665 reviews 665 reviews
Reviews in 213 cities Reviews in 213 cities
1,327 helpful votes 1,327 helpful votes
“Could be an awesome place, needs updating for sure....”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 3 January 2012
4
people found this review helpful

We recently spent one night at Santa's Lodge, located in Santa Claus, Indiana. We were passing through the area, and it was quite late, so decided to stay at a place with such a cute name, in a town that has such an interesting name. And of course, it was Christmas time.

We stayed the night after Christmas, and it was very quiet. I'd say there was only about 7 cars in the parking lot. This is a large motel, but is a mom and pop place, as pointed out by the desk staff when checking in. This was repeated a few times during visits to the desk and upon check out. Not sure why they felt they had to keep reiterating the information!

We had a double queen room. The beds were not comfortable, very hard. Pillows OK. TV reception was good, though the channels were limited. The furniture in the room needs replacing, as it is pretty battered. This was disappointing, since the outside of the lodge looks very nice. The room size was generous, in my honest opinion. The bathroom was again average, needs updating. Shower pressure was fair; towels decent. Hair dryer. Sink outside of bathroom.

The public areas of the motel are very nice. There is a nice indoor pool, a bit on the small side and I can only imagine how crowded it would be during a special period such as Christmas pre-holiday weekends, and in the summer. The outdoor poo looksl nice also, and there is a small playground and picnic area, that looks well kept. There is also a pond on the property, and I am assuming it is owned by the lodge, since a deck overlooks it.

Christmas decorations fill the lobby and gathering area (there were only two tables in this area when we were there), where a very small breakfast is served-packaged Danish, muffins and small cartons of orange juice and milk. Coffee also available. We enjoyed the decorations and took lots of pictures. Some appear to be antique decorations. There are two large Santa Claus' outside, welcoming you to the lodge.

The room and public areas were very clean.

The staff was very friendly and helpful, and were also very chatty. I enjoyed talking to both ladies at the front desk a number of times.

St. Nick's Restaurant is not open for breakfast; I find that strange. Maybe it is a seasonal restaurant for breakfast, I did not ask. There is a large room in the downstairs area for larger gatherings such as conference, business meetings, receptions etc.

We paid $69.99, plus tax. Since it is the only accommodation in Santa Claus proper, we wanted to experience a stay here. Though I only give it a 3 rating, I would recommend it.

  • Stayed December 2011, travelled with family
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Indiana
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
“Ok for the kiddos”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 29 December 2011
2
people found this review helpful

We purchased a vacation weekend through Groupon, which sounded magical with a stay at Santa's Lodge (including breakfast with Santa), visit to Santa's Candy Castle and tour through lighted campground. While we called shortly after another friend of ours did to reserve the rooms, they were able to get a family suite for the same price that we paid for a standard room, which was very small. We had heard that a family that went the weekend before had a bad dinner, but our dinner and breakfast wasn't bad - we didn't get to eat in the restaurant (I'm assuming because of the large # of people who purchased the Groupon package) but it was a traditional Christmas meal that wasn't bad, and buffet breakfast was the same. The pool was packed with kids, and there was a hot tub, and the hotel is decorated with Christmas stuff, but we were not overly impressed. Santa excited the kids! Rooms need updated and bathroom should have been cleaned better, took awhile to check in, but staff all seemed courteous.

  • Stayed December 2011, travelled with family
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Salvisa, Kentucky, United States
1 review
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
“Rude”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 19 December 2011
2
people found this review helpful

We had a Family Suite and it wasn't too bad. Santa and Mrs. Claus were very nice.
However, the staff was rude and lied to us! We bought a groupon. That included 4 people. I called and was told it would be $21 to to include my 5 year old son in all the activities my other 2 children would be doing. That sounded fair so I agreed. However, when we got there that wasn't the case at all. He wasn't included and when I talked to the hotel they told me the $21 extra was just for him to eat....Really for a 5 year old to eat two buffet meals (that he barely ate). Then we had to pay extra on top of the $21 to let him be included in the other activities. There was no gifts from Santa!!!!!! After we checked in a lady said go around the corner and get a mug.....a plan white mug that says santas lodge..????? Really??? What is a kid going to do with a mug? It could have at least been a Christmas mug...or even an ornament. Heck I would have been happier with a coloring book!!!!! Candy Castle would have been cute if the staff had been nice and happy and had Christmas Spirit. (The Santa there was also nice.) The others (mainly the manager) were grumpy and hateful.

The lights were nice and other then being lied to we enjoyed seeing the other things around the little town.

  • Stayed December 2011, travelled with family
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Service
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Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
“Not bad”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 December 2011

My dad, my brother and I spent the night at this hotel so we could have two days available at Holiday World. We were here because I was part of an annual roller coaster enthusiast event called HoliWood Nights, which were for card carrying coaster enthusiasts only. When we chose a hotel, we chose the one that was the closest to the park.

It's probably the most decked out hotel I've ever spent the night at! The lobby was filled with Christmas and Santa themed decorations, ornaments, and other things of the like. I thought this was pretty interesting and it would have been hard to not take a bunch of photos of it if I wasn't exhausted when I arrived there, and had to rush when I left the next morning!

The rooms were pretty sizable and provided good air conditioning through the night. There are two beds and a television. The bathroom was clean and had two towels and wash towels hanging ready to be used. What I especially liked about our room was the fact that the sink was located outside of the bathroom across from the bathroom door. The beds themselves were comfortable to sleep on and were queen sized.

Unfortunately due to some complications with our budget limits that involved trying not to spend money on another room, and the fact that the hotel didn't have roll-in beds, I had to share a bed with my dad while my brother slept on his own bed. Not a great experience when you wake up on the edge of the bed with a cramp in your left leg because of how you've been trying desperately the night before not to roll off and onto the floor.

This was just a bad experience, and probably the only one. Not really the hotel's fault, but I felt it needed to be told. Other than this, we all liked the hotel.

Room Tip: I don't remember if the hotel did or did not have roll-in beds available, and even if they did...
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  • Stayed June 2011, travelled with family
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Cincinnati, OH
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
“We had a great time!!!”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 9 December 2011
1
person found this review helpful

We do an annual Sister's trip--and like Christmas themes. We chose Santa's Lodge, driving distance was not too far for us and good shopping. Our rates were not bad--our rooms were very clean, fresh and beds comfortable!! Wireless connects worked great!! We didn't attend Breakfast or dinner with Santa but we did have dinner at the restaurant and found the found to be good. Staff was very cordial--we weren't stressed with little kids--maybe that's why our visit was great!!!

Room Tip: Room back by the B entrance were nice and quiet!
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  • Stayed December 2011, travelled with family
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Additional Information about Santa's Lodge

  • Santas Hotel Santa Claus
  • Lodge Santas
  • Santas Santa Claus
Address: 91 W. Christmas Blvd., Santa Claus, IN 47579
Price range (per night):* INR4,418 - 16,720

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