Sara Brazeau

Review of Cedarbrook Lodge

What NOT to do when planning a Cedarbrook Lodge ge...

What NOT to do when planning a Cedarbrook Lodge getaway:

1) Do NOT search Cedarbrook Lodge on Google and click on the first site that you see. This is NOT the official website and they will charge you $60 extra dollars that you will not see until after you have entered your card number and paid. Make sure that you have the LEGIT hotel website.

2) If you make the above mistake, do NOT call the front desk to ask to reschedule your reservation because of the unexpected snowstorm. She will give you the old because you booked with a third party we cannot cancel your reservation. You will tell her that you did not book with a third party but went directly to their website. She will tell you that the site where you booked is not their own but that they pay Google more money than we do so their website is first. She will also say that they do a great job making it look like our website.
She will tell you that you can call the other reservation company to see if they will let you cancel your reservation and then they will call the lodge to give them permission to cancel the reservation. Huh?

3) If you make the above two mistakes do NOT bother calling the third party reservation company because your call will be answered by a call center overseas and you will be unable to understand what she is saying due to the poor quality connection, the insane echo in the room, the motorcycles driving by on the street, and a lady yelling in the background. You will wait on hold listening to synth music for 30 minutes only to learn that the Cedarbrook Lodge was too busy checking in customers to take her call and, I believe, something about calling back in 30 minutes. Huh.

4) If you are hell-bent on making it to Cedarbrook Lodge in the snow, do NOT sacrifice life and limb to make your 5pm dinner reservation. You will call the Copperleaf Restaurant en route when you realize that digging your car out of a foot of snow, shoveling the driveway, sanding said driveway when just shoveling it is not enough, and then trying several times to successfully emerge has you behind in your schedule. The man who answers tells you he cannot push back your reservation. They won t let him because we have high turnover. Huh? So once you get to the highway you drive at insane speeds and miraculously make it just in time. Do NOT expect free parking. You will pay $20 to park your car and you will have to look for a parking spot not blocked with snow.

5) If you make all of the above mistakes, and are desperate to check in quickly to change and make it to your 5pm dinner reservation, do NOT think you can check in quickly. You will wait for eons. The line you are in will stretch the length of the lobby. Another woman at the front desk is looking very busy with paperwork until a group of flight attendants walk in and go around the line to the side of the check-in desk. Then she stops looking very busy with paperwork and immediately checks in the group of flight attendants. By the time we are helped two separate groups of flight attendants have come and gone. If you want fast service here- wear all black and skip the line by wheeling your little black carry-on to the side of the desk. But even IF it is faster service, do not expect it to be FRIENDLIER service. These two ladies are the least hospitable of hospitality staff.

6) Once you finally make it to the restaurant, with an outstanding Host do NOT expect things to improve. It is Valentine s Day so you will be handed a set 5 course menu at $145/each with wine pairings. Naturally, this was not on the fake website. You will be told that they have open seating and the regular menu in the bar. You wonder why they this open bar seating was not mentioned when you asked to push back your dinner reservation. You settle in the bar and order drinks and a meat and cheese plate. This appetizer never appears and you will be told several times that it will be out in a few minutes. When it comes out right before your dinner you are told it will not be on the bill. But naturally it is still on the bill. Huh.