Blackwater Falls State Park Lodge

Such a gem! I spent one night at the lodge and thoroughly enjoyed my stay. It's an older place, but it's been recently renovated and well cared for, with a lot of warmth and charm. My room was basic, but spotless and quiet. Bed was super comfortable. Staff was efficient and welcoming. Service in the restaurant was good, food was decent, and the views were great. Pricing for a Friday night in late March was very reasonable. They have a small but nice indoor pool, hot tub, and gym, as well as a game room and conference facilities. The location is convenient to the trails and mountain overlooks and a short drive from the namesake (and absolutely beautiful!) waterfalls themselves and the town of Davis. Overall, a refreshing visit! Would absolutely recommend.

This is an excellent getaway for a family with kids. I read through a lot of reviews and I see no one has commented on some of the wonderful amenities and community spaces that are available and in full swing post the major renovations. I had never been to the area and ended up here as a guest for a destination wedding. My kids were not very excited for this trip - they are 20 y.o. girl, 2 15 y.o. boys and an 8 y.o. boy. But we had so much fun we booked an extra night and everyone wants to go back for our winter vacation. There is so much to do in this park for families. The hikes are great with lots of options from gentle to more rugged. The overlooks are accessible and stunning. Sunsets are to die for. As for the lodge, it has so many large community spaces on the first floor. Yes, the actual rooms are small so I’d say if you like to spend a lot of your room choose a different hotel. But the communal areas are huge, with fireplaces, long wooden tables, tons of couches, outdoor seating, lots of places to do a work meeting on your laptop, read a book, play a card game or a puzzle. If you’re a family that needs to spread out during the day you will be pleased. My kids spent so much time in the arcade (billiards, shuffleboard, basketball, car racing, golf, claw machine and a few others), playing ping pong (paddles complimentary at front desk), and swimming in the pool and hot tub which were very clean and perfect temperature with nice views through the all glass walls. There was plenty of free coffee and tea any hour of the day or night and the restaurant had decent options to satisfy everyone in the family. The food was mostly high quality with a few items that was hit or miss but when we called it to the wait staff’s attention they fixed it immediately. They do seem a little unorganized at the Smokehouse with a breakdown in communication among the staff, but they were friendly and we would eat their again. The breakfast was really subpar though and I don’t recommend it. It wasn’t even as good as the average complimentary breakfast I am used to at a holiday inn and was overpriced for the quality and options. The waffles were inedible for me and my kids - tasted like they dumped big solid chunks of sugar in the batter! The gift shop was small and cute but they don’t really have toiletries or hygiene items if you forget something so make sure you bring what you need. The hike to Elakala right beside the hotel parking lot is memorable and not to be missed - it’s just a five minute walk and can be done with kids of any age. The pool hours are good (10-10) and the arcade as well (10-11). One thing I liked is that the hotel rooms have windows that you can actually open if you want a fresh breeze or like to hear the activity outside. Bathroom doors are strange barn style with large gaps. You can actually see easily through the gap to the room door so if it’s open you could see into the hallway which was very odd and could be a little awkward if staying w

May 2024 - We stayed 4 days, 3 nights in a Standard Lodge room with 2 double beds. The view we had from the room was of the overlook, which was beautiful. The rooms have a small keurig coffee machine with complimentary coffee pods, sugar & sweetener packets and stir sticks, creamer pods, and two bottles of water. I had brought my own coffee pods, so I could enjoy my morning coffee experience. The standard rooms do not have refrigerators. I understand the suites have them. We made due with a medium sized cooler that we refilled with zip lock bags of ice (the ice machine was located just a few doors down from our room on the 2nd floor). If you don’t have a lot of refrigeration needs, this could work for you. Each bed had three pillows and the bed was very comfortable. These rooms have been renovated in the last couple of years and are very nicely done. TV, dresser drawers, bedside table with lamp & electrical outlets, luggage stand and closet with a safe if you want to store valuables. The bathroom has a hairdryer along with hand soap bars, bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and hand lotion. Ample towels available, and we had our room refreshed with everything during our stay. Nobody came into our room to straighten or refill during our entire stay, but left a large bag of towels and extra supplies outside our door when we left the “service please” tag in the door. We set our trash and used towels outside the door in one of the extra bags and it was picked up within 10 minutes. I have not had that experience with hotels, but appreciate that no one was in our room while we were gone. Maybe this is the way they do it here. Either way, we had what we needed to enjoy our stay. The water pressure in the shower is weak, but the water is HOT, so that was okay with me. The only issue with our bathroom was the pocket door wouldn’t stay shut. We wedged a washcloth between the door and the ceiling and it stayed shut fine…not a big issue. The staff were friendly and helpful. There is a vending/coffee area off of the lobby where they have brewed coffee and a large keurig with pods and all the trimmings. Lobby lounge with fireplace and ample seating to enjoy the scenery. There is a dining room that served breakfast, lunch and dinner (although I think they were closed some during the afternoon between lunch and dinner). We had dinner in the lodge dining room one night and it was very good. We went in to Davis for dinner twice; once as Sirianni’s Cafe for subs, and once to Milo’s which has excellent food, but a limited food menu. We didn’t use the pool or hot tub or rec room, but they are available. We spent much of our time outside on the trails. You must take the Elakala Falls Trail to see those falls. It’s right next to the Lodge parking area and only a short distance to the bridge overtop the falls. The trails connect througout the park and I encourage you to do as many as you can, especially the Blackwater Falls. If you have tro