Royal Valhalla Lodge

I’ve only stayed at the Royal Valhalla in Lake Tahoe twice. Like the other Unilocal reviews say the website is misleading. The rooms do not look like the ones you see online at all. 1^st time we stayed in a two bedroom unit, 2^nd time it was just my husband and I. Views are great though (right across the street from the beach). We had a room with a full kitchen along with utensils, etc and prices were reasonable. Down side is that the hotel needs a major upgrade/​renovation. The carpet is a dark green color and is really dirty. The hallways and rooms have a weird almost dusty/​moldy smell to them. Elevators sound like they would get stuck or break any time you’re riding in it. Their continental breakfast is okay.

Closed! Looks totally cleaned out of furniture. I believe it was up for sale, either seller or buyer decided not to run it, maybe something better is on the horizon for this premier lakefront property ;)

In reality, the only thing this place has going for it is the view of the lake.
We stayed there this last weekend for a family birthday, this is the last time. We had a 2 bedroom room for $ 150/​night.
The TV in the lobby has been that way since the last time I was here in 2007. With all the «holes» in the screen. When we checked in we were given a room with «partial view of the lake», we were in the building with the breakfast room (didn’t even think about trying it) all the way in the back. We got into the room only to find the balcony blocked off with 2×4’s and a sign stating that the balcony’s were under construction. We called down to the desk, she said it’s ok to go out there anyway. The 2×4’s were screwed into the wall, so there was no way of going out there. She eventually gave us another room across the hall. This time on the street side all the way in the back. Our partial view of the lake turned into a view of the trees.
Everything is really dirty in the rooms, and they don’t smell that great either. Cobwebs on the ceiling, mold or something around the heater, there was a cable dangling in front of the door to the balcony, the TV kinda worked, oh, and the bed… yeah I didn’t go under the covers. The 2^nd day we returned to our room to see the beds made, some slight vaccuming, and the piece of paper I left on the floor the night before still there. They took all the towels and didn’t replace them, so we called down to the desk and was told that we needed to come get some. He originally gave us a small hand towel and a larger towel, mentioned to him that there is two guys in the room and this isn’t gonna work, he finally gave us another towel.
How can you run a hotel/​motel with a lack of towels?
The management; Trigild, Inc really needs to spend a couple thousand dollars and buy some new linens and towels. The hallways are scary, the elevators are almost broken with their permits expiring on 8÷4÷2011 I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re no longer working shortly.
As the others have stated, this place needs to be torn down and rebuilt. It has such amazing potential with the location it has.
We only went to the beach one morning, so it doesn’t really mean much to have beach access. Really think about spending the extra $ 30-​$ 50 and stay at a newer place and come down and park at the beach to enjoy the view or spend the $ 5 to go on it.

The hotel given was worst ever i have seen. I asked for something moderatly/​optimumly good but i got the bad. There was nothing good in it, and it spoiled my vacation mood, and Infact it spoiled my reputation with my friends with whom i went.
The hotel description: Worst rooms and corridors with minimal cleanup and dust on floors, as well as stinking smell all around.

You get what you pay for, and in this case I paid for it through Priceline.
I swear I reviewed this place when I visited it last year, but I guess I reviewed it only on priceline and not through here.
The rooms:
The rooms are very old and need some TLC. Everything looks old and needs a new coat of paint. The sheets we got were all stained and after going to housekeeping to get other sheets, they were all stained and yellowed with age as well. I really didn’t mind it, but you can’t help but wonder if the stains were part of someones bloody nose or time of the month.
The location:
Awesome location. it really is on the lake and we had a gorgeous view of the lake. Just look out at the lake and not at the room. We came here on to visit the ski resorts in the Tahoe area. It is a short walk to the casinos and state line.
The service:
The girl working the front desk was really nice. She went through piles of «clean» sheets to try to find us a set that was stained the least. The poor cleaning ladies aren’t given much to work with but they do clean what they can and make the beds.
Overall impressions:
Yes, this place is a DUMP. If you want a lakefront location it’s an awesome spot. If it got a huge revamp, they could easily charge much more money.

My brother was unfortunate enough to have booked our stay at this hotel. The room wasn’t worth the $ 105 we paid. As you walk in the room, it smelled horrible, like the stench of several dead rats that have rotted for some time. The sheets and pillowcases were clean, supposedly, but looked really dirty and had stains. My room didn’t have towels so when I called, a very rude front desk clerk by the name of Karen said «you’re gonna have to go get the towels because we don’t have a runner». It would have been fine with me to get it myself if I wanted «extra» towels, but I felt my room should’ve had towels to begin with. The front desk was in another building, so that meant I’d have to either drive there or walk in the snow. Karen rudely responded «I’ll bring it there once the other guy comes back from his break and I don’t know when that will be!» She never came.
Not wanting to cause a scene, I decided not to complain for that horrible experience, yet I felt everyone else who uses Unilocal should be warned. Stay away from this place if heading to Tahoe!
On a positive note, a very friendly desk clerk named IAN made up for the other rude clerk! But unfortunately, IAN isn’t gonna help me and my other family members want to stay here again. Royal Valhalla just lost three sets of families!

Originally I was going to bag on all the hipsters who were crying one starred tears on this place… but the webpage image def. doesn’t look like the actual hotel.
This place is firmly a 3 for me, but I had a great time. Its hard to complain with good company and fun times.
It was inexpensive, clean, simple, the staff had character and the view of the lake from my room was GORGEOUS. Perfect for stumbling back from the casino nights and boarding days.
One of the staffers also check my radial sizes for me while I was shopping for snow chains to supplement the ones that broke on the way up.
I would def stay here again for snow boarding day trips or just to be in walking distance of the casinos and the lake.
My one complaint is that they didn’t have tools for me to borrow.
P. S. if your expecting something fancy for $ 145 bucks for 3 people I suggest another country or go gamble and get some free points at Harvey’s.

Pictures can say a thousand words right? well the pictures for this place said FALSE ADVERTISEMENT in 1000 different ways!!!
I would give this place a 0 if I could. I paid $ 100 for a room that was dark and gloomy, had 1920’s antique dressers, a tv that was from the 80s, a bed with sheets that was dirty, smelled like cigarettes, and didn’t have a roll of toilet paper. WHO DOESN’T PROVIDE TOILET PAPER!!!
And that additional room… i don’t know what they were thinking. it looks like a prison cell!
windows… they had one 6 inch by 12 inch window. I really did feel like I was in a jail cell!!!
STAFF SUCKED!
I hope this place closes down.
AVOID at ALLLLLLLLLL costs!!!
Cheers!

So, on the way home from Lake Tahoe, my boyfriend mentioned that we should write a bad review for the Royal Valhalla on Unilocal.He then corrected himself and said we should write an «honest» review, and I pointed out that there really wasn’t any difference, if you catch my drift.
The outside of this place looks like an old apartment building that you might have seen on tv if the Brady brunch went to a ghetto area. The parking is «wherever you want,» in tight covered spaces or in a wreck of cars really parked WHEREVER they wanted. There were a lot of doors from the parking area that were unlocked for what seemed like all night, and the hallways once you were inside looked like the ones from a creepy murder movie that are old, grimey, and you have to keep looking behind your shoulder in case some creep is following you (from an unlocked door, I guess).
The inside of the room was smelly, just like the lobby. We had a two bedroom, one for my boyfriend and I and one for his brother and his brother’s girlfriend. I don’t know what their bed looked like, but ours had stains not only on the sheets but on the pillowcases too. It was gross. I literally slept in sweatpants and a sweatshirt (with the hood on) to make sure I didn’t catch anything and to shield me from any possible bed bugs.
We called for towels and toilet paper, because for some reason the two bedroom only had two towels and just the roll of toilet paper that was on the holder. With the four of us there, that was gone quickly, and it took us two calls for them to actually bring some towels and toilet paper.
The ceiling had one of those brown stains on it, which was pretty gross. We went to a wedding, and when we came back, the housekeeping job sucked. It seemed like her job was to make the bed and then throw everything on top of the made-​up bed.
I guess this is what happens when you let the boys book the room. ;) Just kidding, but someone did mention to leave it to the girls next time. Apparently, the boyfriends weren’t the only ones fooled by the pictures on the website (other reviews mention the pics too). I was going to give this place two stars just to be nice, but I felt it deserved Unilocal’s «Eek, Methinks not.» more than a two-​star «Meh. I’ve experiencecd better.»

Great view of the lake from the pool…
However, the place is garbage… But It is like having good garbage if the makes sense.
The bed was fine… The shower worked… The tv worked…
The rug had tears… The small couch has tears…
I don’t know if I would stay there again.
We had no issues but I can see how some people might get annoyed…

WORST EXPERIENCE. .. please read!
We had our wedding at the Royal Valhalla this past Saturday, August 21^st, 2010 and from start to finish, our experience was terrible, downright awful!
1 — we met with Taneka «the wedding coordinator» about 8 months ago and were told that in order to rent the grassy lawn for our reception, we needed to book and pay for 10 rooms.
No problem. We wanted to pay upfront right then and there and she said no.
Instead of having each room in our name (and then we’d give them to our guests because we wanted to pay for some of our family) Taneka asked that I fax her the list of 10 people. I did that immediately and that is when the crap began!
We went back and forth with her for MONTHS, even the day of the wedding because they constantly mixed up the 10 rooms we paid for. She would add other guests (like co-​workers we weren’t paying for) into the list of 10!
Honestly, they had a different list of 10 and a different price EACH time we spoke with them and none of the other employees could help, only Taneka.
The day before the wedding, I was called down because my guest was told there was no room for her. It was listed under someone else who wasn’t even staying there till Saturday.
Then Saturday night, I was called down twice because 2 of my guests who were on our list of 10 (who Taneka confirmed that DAY BEFORE) were told there was no room for them.
One friend had to pay his own way at another hotel while the other was given a back room (then an employee knocked on their door at 3am to give them a TV remote — that didn’t work — which they never asked for. WTF?
Then as we checked out on Sunday, each and every one of our guests were completely harassed by the front desk saying their were trying to find one of our guests who didn’t pay.
FIRST OFF, how inappropriate to discuss money with other guest!
SECONDLY, we PAID for him and he was left off our list!
So we went in on Monday to «settle the bill» and were told that only 8 of our guests checked in (YEAH, DUH, because you turned 2 away!!)
We rented a room for our guests to use a toilet and it was broken the whole time! When we asked the front desk 15 different times to fix it, the clerk named Ian said the maintenance man was 30 minutes away and was probably wasted by that time of night!
They charged several rooms to our card which we never said we’d pay for.
The rooms are crappy as shit.
This place is horrible, can I give 0 stars? There are SO many more details to this story but I won’t continue.. .horrible!!!

My story is a little different so here it goes…
The Men’s Ministry at my Church rents out the total hotel once a year for a weekend in late September. We have done this for some 5 years now. We put a huge tent up on the grass and really rock the place.
They always give us a great rate and do their best for the 125 guys who barge in on the place. And one must keep in mind that men are looking for a good rate so we never get any complaints and it’s always a fun time for all.
I have read the very poor reviews on this hotel and I can understand the feedback based on their context. The location is good but the digs are not top of the line.
I give this hotel 4 STARS because they always treat us right every year.

STAY AWAY!!! Do not get tricked by the website’s photos or get lured by the slightly cheaper price (as compared to other hotels in the area). We arrive, go to our room which is in a small building, far from the main lobby and in a dark secluded area. First reaction: this is like MOTEL 6 or WORSE! Imagine going to camp as a kid and getting assigned to a grungy room. It was like that. Dirty furniture, old accordian lampshades (with at LEAST 10 dead bugs on it), a broken clock, and non-​working lightswitch.
We immediately call 0, complain, get offered a different room w/​a kitchen, but no double bed, and then get a call later that the GM upgraded us to a suite. The suite was nice, but the bedframe was dusty, there was a grocery list on the bathroom floor, and the sheets were not completely white. Supposedly, this suite goes for $ 300/​night, but I would NEVER pay that much for it.
Basically, there is no way in hell I would go back to this place. The only plus was that it is right next to the lake and within walking distances of the casinos. If they shut down and rebuild entirely, this place could have a lot of potential.

This was my first trip to Tahoe in 2 years, and all accommodations were taken care of, so all I had to do was hop in the car. We arrived around 11pm at night, so we got stuck in Building D… all the way in the back.
The building looked like an old apartment building converted into the lodge. The setup of our room was a bit odd. We opened the door to find a bed in what looked like it could have been the living room. Then you walk into the hallway which was more like a huge closet. And then you find another room which had a queen sized bed. There was a small kitchen with a microwave, small sink and small stove.
The kitchen came in very handy on our second night. The boys whipped up dinner on a tiny 2 burner stove… steak, potatoes and corn on the cob. Not too shabby since we had to buy all the ingredients and cook with very few utensils.
The walls were very thin and the floors were super creaky. The first night, I woke up to the drunk boys coming back from the casino. Then an hour after that, our noisy neighbor came back and decided to have a conversation which I could almost completely hear. Definitely bring ear plugs if you’re a light sleeper!
The location is very good. Its right by the lake and walking distance from the casinos. And its within minutes from Heavenly. They also have a heated pool and hot tub. If I didn’t already have a cold, I might’ve considered using it.
Overall, its not a bad place to stay. Most of the lodges in the area looked about the same as this place. If you’re looking for more modern accommodations, then you’re better off staying at the casinos.

As much as I hate seeing this place only have a 2.5 rating, I firmly believe its more of a 3 – 3.5. And to be realistic, cmon people, you pay $ 90 a night for a spot in South Lake Tahoe which is walking distance to the casino strip. After 5 shots of alcohol, its almost a breeze just stumbling back home any day.
The staff is friendly like our girl Karen who was really cool and tried to make the best of our stay. There were a few downfalls, and yes that would include the decieving webpage which probably reflects only the lake front units. Our party of 4 stayed in the back (slight advantage in distance to the casinos) where the walls were pretty thin, but we had 2 beds in separate bedrooms. The floorplan is a bit strange as it has an unusually large bathroom, a small walk in closet, a small well equipped kitchen, and both bedrooms facing the walkway.
It’s an old place, but it does the job. I had an overall good stay here, and we even managed to cook up quite a dinner meal on our last night here. I’m sure during the summer, having a view of the lake would have been amazing. Something to consider next season.

I can’t believe people would opt to come here after the initial stay.
It’s not AWFUL. The price is moderate, slightly cheaper than the casinos. They DO offer a continental breakfast — which consists of non sugary cereal, mini bagels, mini muffins, juice, milk, coffee, hot chocolate. They ARE right by the water and minutes (walking) to the casinos.
The room itself almost has an apartment feel to it. There is actually a separate bedroom. The «main room» also has a bed, TV, closet, and small table. The rooms come with a balcony — but we came during winter, so it was full of snow. It has popcorn ceilings and tacky wall paper.
Like I said — it’s not AWFUL. But its like a one-​man show.
We arrived in the evening after a day of boarding. One of us goes to check in. A nice lady greets her and we get our key to the room. Later on, we call housekeeping for extra towels. Same lady arrives at the door with extra towels… So if you are here, who’s watching the front?
The next morning, the boyfriend goes to get some continental breakfast and, again, the SAME lady is setting up breakfast! During our whole stay, I thought it was weird that I didn’t see ANY staff members. So if she is handling this whole inn by herself, I give her an extra star! (would have been 1)

We arrived in the late afternoon around 4:30 PM to an overflowing lobby full of disgruntled yet-​to-​be guests. Apparently none of the rooms were ready as the cleaning crew was operating short staffed. Add to the situation no public restrooms and you might understand while some folks especially those with small children were less than happy.
After waiting 30 minutes or so we were told we could check into our room that may or may not be clean. We went upstairs and arrived right as the cleaning lady was using an overabundance of fragrance spray. We quickly opened the doors and windows guessing from the stacked ash trays in the corner that this was not a non-​smoking room as previously promised by the lobby staff.
On a different note, here’s a helpful tip: bring ear plugs. The floors are paper thin and I think there was a party in the room above us. Either that or a large family with genetically small bladders.
Our cleaning lady («Bertha» according to the card on the nightstand) was nice enough to leave a suggestion form. However, sadly it had already been filled out. Four months ago. By another dissatisfied customer. Perhaps the Royal Valhalla does not in fact appreciate comments.
Hopefully more people read this review than the hotel staff manages to do with their own comment cards. This along with the fact the clock was still an hour off from daylight savings time leads me to believe these rooms do not see a lot of use. My guess would be lack of repeat customers.

Ok so I’ve stayed in roughly 19 584 345 different hotels in the South Lake Tahoe area. This was by far the worst.
The room was shockingly run down. Stained carpets, lamps that didn’t work, and the shower broke. The website makes this place look really nice. It’s not. People working there were friendly enough though.
The lakeside location is nice for the summer right across from the lake, but could be a pain in the winter if you’re walking to the Gondola in ski boots.
There really isn’t anything that could make me want to stay here again.

Oh, the Royal Valhalla… Don’t be fooled by the website. Yes, it is right on the lake and provides access to a private beach, which is the only positive thing about this hole-​in-​the-​wall hotel.
I stayed there for two nights this past weekend. I shared a room with my cousin while my aunts got the «suite» with a «deck.»
Some lowlights:
— The deck was unusable due to «construction» which consisted of a 2×4 blocking the door.
— No A/​C.
–Thin, stained sheets and pillow cases. My bed actually had an old bloodstain on it… right near the head of the bed! If you’re not going to bleach and/​or throw away sheets with stains on them, at least have the decency to put the stains somewhere away from my head. k? thx.
–We had no towels in the afternoon on day 2 because the laundry guys were behind in their work. Lame. Took them 3 hours to get us new towels.
–The continental breakfast consisted entirely of beige food: toast, bagels, cheerios, donuts. Not one ounce of protein or fruit in sight.
They should really just tear the whole thing down. I think it might actually be nicer as a campground than as a hotel! I can’t even say it was worth the cheap price, since we could have spent just a few dollars more and stayed at the Marriott up the road…

1 star for the lake view — which we were fortunate to have
1 star for the fireplace and free hot chocolate in the lobby
Had I read the reviews below before we went, we probably would have been a bit less disappointed (or stayed elsewhere). We went to SLT for a wedding over Memorial Day weekend and this place was recommended due to it’s proximity to the lake, where the wedding was being held, and the group rate we were being offered (which was only $ 20 less than the Embassy Suites up the road would have charged us for MUCH nicer rooms).
When we checked in we were told that our room was on the top floor, but it ended up being on the first floor. We asked if there was anything higher up and were told that they were booked and this was the only room left (not the only time they used that excuse, but I’ll get to that). We got to our room, and the light bulb in the entry was out. In addition to that, the trash can still had a maxi-​pad in it from the previous guest. To be fair they did come and take care of these things, but we really shouldn’t have come across those problems to begin with either. The water didn’t drain in the shower either, which we didn’t bother to ask them to come and take care of since we were only staying one night.
The continental breakfast was pretty skimpy and offered a choice of two cereals: Raisin Bran and Frosted Flakes, oatmeal, and a few bread items (bagels and toast). My husband and daughter both got a doughnut and they were quite nice, really soft, so we either got lucky, or the previous reviewer that commented about the doughnuts were stale hit a bad day.
We planned to stay the day after the wedding at their private beach, with the rest of the wedding guests, before heading home in the afternoon. When I called to request a later check out time, I was told that they could not accommodate our request because they were full and needed to get the rooms cleaned for the next guests. When I pressed them for just one additional hour, they told me they could do that but they would have to charge me an additional $ 20. I declined. It was Memorial Day weekend, and they could have truly been completely booked. However, the parking lot did not have very many cars in it and more than half of the car ports were empty the entire time we were there, so I find it a bit hard to believe that a later check out was completely out of the question.
Lastly, when we checked in, I inquired about getting a pass to their private beach and was told that we wouldn’t need it b/​c they wouldn’t be monitoring the gate until next weekend. However, it turns out she was wrong about this (probably had her dates mixed up due to the funny way Mem. Day weekend fell this year). After we checked out, I asked the front desk if they could still give us a pass to the beach and the lady rudely told me they could not but she would anyway. It was a bit of a back-​handed favor and seemed to me like she was trying to make some silly point that somewhat undermined the «favor» she did by giving us a pass — which I also find ridiculous as we were paying guests the previous night.
Long story short, if you go here to be close to the lake and you get a room with a view, you will be reasonably happy for the price. Just don’t expect friendly service or quality accommodations. Your room rate pays for the view and that’s pretty much all.