The Kern Lodge

I rated 1 because 0 isn’t available. Our room 115 had bed bugs. Definitely disappointed and disgusting experience all together. My kids and I stayed for a night. We woke up with bedbugs covering us. Bites and everything bagged. Still waiting for owner to file a claim with hotel and handle the problem in a timely manner.

After a very long and hot day of riding up to Kernville, just wanted to check into our rooms. Problem was that there were people still in the rooms we reserved. I was given another room, but had to giggle the key in the lock to open it. They need to get new door locks or get a new locksmith. I was able to use my buddies key to open my door. The manager was friendly and helpful despite the situations. The room was clean, but the lighting was dim. Air conditioner work great. Rustic wood interior, but modernized bathroom. The TV remote did not work well; as I had to use the TV side buttons to turn volume up and down, and also turn on and off. Sink stopper did not pop up 'n down, so do not manually close it or it will stay closed. No cups provided for water, ice or for the coffee maker. Wish the property had more lighting outside. Overall, slept well.

Reservation was cancelled by owner same day Receptionist was no help Manager was unavailable to talk to Owner was unavailable No notification, no call, no email Have not received a refund Do not book here, waste of time and money with no notification

We booked a specific room months in advance. On the day of our check in they had given it to someone else. The room we were given had dirty floors and not hot water. We checked in on Thursday 9/14 for a class reunion. We checked out on the 17th. We still did not have hot water. The manager on site left the evening of the 14th and didn't return the entire time we were there. I found a gentlemen on site that did some of the maintenance but he was not able to restart our water heater. There was at least one other room without hot water. We were told when we checked in that we would receive a discount because they had given our room away. That didn't happen. My wife and I have stayed at the lodge 4 or 5 times. The service has gotten steadily worse. We will not stay there again. My wife uses a cane and the location in not suitable for anyone with even a slight disability. The steps to the rooms are made of river stones and not flat stones. The steps might have been rustic in the 60's but are now dangerous. two of the maids were very helpful and seemed to care about their work but another smoked while she cleaned rooms.

This is clearly catering for meals only. It does NOT cater for hotel guests. I spent 3 nights here, the bar is not open at all during the day, it opens at 7pm when the restaurant is open. Guests staying overnight are totally ignored and breakfast is set the night before and I did not see any waiter/waitress at all in the mornings. Hotel guests are completely ignored and they are clearly only concentrating on their food, which is apparently of Michelin quality, but too expensive for me. Do not stay here if you want any attention. Rooms clean and no complaints about location, but I was totally ignored during my stay. Ordered continental breakfast on my final day, but it wasn’t ready so has to leave before eating it. Very disappointing.

I don't typically slam a business without attempting to sort it out directly with the business first. Hear me out. On March 12, 2023, I booked a room directly with The Kern Lodge for 2 nights in June 2023 because my husband and I were going rafting on the Lower Kern. On April 12th, I received an email from the rafting company stating they had to cancel our trip because of dangerously high water levels. I immediately contacted The Kern Lodge by email and canceled my June 6/7 reservation and provided an explanation for the cancellation. After not hearing anything from The Kern Lodge, I sent another email on 4/14 requesting they confirm receipt of my cancellation request. Crickets. In the following week, I made multiple calls to two phone numbers listed for the hotel. Neither was in service. I wrote a letter to the hotel requesting that my deposit of $94.20 be refunded, and that they NOT charge me for the remaining booking amount. Crickets. I submitted a claim with my credit card company and they reimbursed the deposit amount on 4/26. I continued to track my account and observed that The Kern Lodge charged my credit card the remaining amount of $222.60 on June 7, 2023, even though I cancelled (or attempted to cancel) my reservation on April 12. I had to send all my documentation to my credit card company (emails, letter, call logs) and got the remaining $222.60 refunded. LONG STORY short. A LOT of the reviews in the last year indicate that The Kern Lodge gas really gone downhill, and that no one is minding the store. No one at the front desk, no way to reach the hotel, and paid guests are left stranded. There does not appear to be any accountability. If you own this business, you need to get involved and get a new staff. AND KEEP TRACK OF YOUR CREDIT CARD CHARGES!!

I do NOT recommend! I am so disappointed and absolutely disgusted by this place. I stayed here about 6 or 7 years ago and had a decent experience. This time, after waiting almost 30 minutes for someone to come to the check-in desk, we finally flagged someone down for assistance. The office was wide open but no one around. We had 4 rooms booked for the weekend and 3 of the 4 hadn’t been cleaned. They handed over keys anyway and tried to pass off as if they were ready. We walked into our room to find a broken condom and trash on the floor, dirty towels and a dirty unmade bed. Our friends found both beds “made” but clearly not clean as you found ruffled sheets and hair when you lift the top layer. There were curtains missing, deadbolt wouldn’t latch, and dirty towels in the bathroom. We didn’t go any further. All of us went back to find the worker only to figure out they live full-time in a room next door. The manager/cleaning lady was smoking ***** (meth?!) in the truck parked in front of the room!!! We went to the brewery for dinner and a beer to relax while our room was “getting ready”. While there, the waitress explained our room had been occupied by full-time tenants and was recently raided by cops. We watched from the brewery as the women “prepared” our room but never went in with cleaning supplies, only new sheets. They never contacted us to say our room was ready (it’s 10:30pm at this point) and they have the key. On top of the disgusting rooms the registration desk suggested a significant “cash discount” for not using our credit card. The lady went so far as telling one of us to use the ATM next door and she pocketed the cash? We were fortunate to find one of the few AirBNBs available in town and didn’t go back. It’s 24 hours later and we have yet to be notified that our room as ready… and I even went back to the front desk. Unfortunately I found another family who has been sitting there for 30 minutes waiting for service. No idea if I’ll get my money back but it wasn’t worth being in filthy rooms. I am so embarrassed I recommended this place to my friends. Do not stay here unless you’re looking for filth and druggies!!

We rented a room thru *******. We got there at 5pm with an empty office. We sat around for 30 minutes waiting. Tried a bell at the desk and no one came. There was a sign outside that said (Be Back, Michelle, 760614-0934), except that phone # was no good. Decided to go grab a bite to eat. Came back around 6:30pm with the same empty office. Left and drove home a little after 7pm. ******* only provided a # in case of emergency...and that # did not work either. ******* says the business will not refund anything and we are just screwed! Wait what??? crazy huh, I have pictures documenting the empty office and all of my phone calls attempted to get a hold of somebody, so we could get keys to our room we paid for and that is now not being refunded. What a rip off.

Michelle is so friendly, she will help you anyway she can. Our car broke down and we couldn’t make abt calls but Michelle helped us figure it all out! The rooms are beautiful and very neat. I would gladly come back here!