We booked 3 nights at the Westlake Waterfront Inn sight unseen, in order to visit Smith Mountain Lake as a potential retirement location. We ended up adding an extra night to our stay!
The Westlake is run by a very friendly couple and their adult daughter. They do have 2 dogs and 2 cats. One dog is a golden retriever, the other is a laid-back rottweiler. They do not pester the guests unless the guests approach the dogs. They are usually quite busy catching small fish (the golden) or moving rocks in the water (the rottweiler). The cats are tame, but prefer to be petted and not picked up.
The Inn is beautiful. Every room has a front and back door, with a water view from each. There IS a tub in every room. The beds are comfortable and the rooms are quiet (at least ours was, and one night of our stay was a full house). There are loaves of bread to feed the carp, and chairs outside of every room for sitting on the covered balcony.
Rooms have microwaves and good sized mini-fridges. The coffeemaker only has regular coffee, so bring a decaf if you want.
We rented a pontoon boat right across the street and the boat was beautiful. The marina staff is friendly and helpful. There are also two dogs at the marina. Smith Mountain Lake seems quite dog friendly!
There was a LOT of boat traffic on the lake on Saturday and the first half of Sunday. Weekdays in the summer are much nicer for boating and fishing.
Pick up a free map in the lobby...they are invaluable if you are cruising the lake. It was our first trip here, but definitely not our last. It took us over 7 hours to drive here, and I'll probably cry the entire way home. If I could just stay and stay, I would.
This is a not a Sheraton or Hyatt. There is no room service, gift shop, or coffee shop. However, there's a nice strip mall not far away with a Kroger's, CVS, and Wendy's. You won't starve.
- Westlake Waterfront Hotel
