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Granlibakken Resort
Rating Details »
Categories: Ski Resorts, Hotels, Venues & Event Spaces
725 Granlibakken RdTahoe City, CA 96145
(530) 581-3122
- Price Range:
-
$$$
23 reviews for Granlibakken Resort
FANTASTIC! Just spent 2 nights at this resort and greatly enjoyed it. The location is perfect, being close to the center of Tahoe City and the lake and within a short drive of most ski resorts.
The sledding at $5 per person if you are staying can't be beat.
The included breakfast buffet is always high-quality for a buffet. I've never seen eggs replaced so often and they were quality omelettes, not the standard runny scrambler.
Definitely a great location for a family with little ones, my almost four year-old loved the room, the breakfast and the sledding hill.
Service was great with constant smiles and since we were going at a time of year that reservations were sparse, they offered us their buy one night get one free several days before it was supposed to be offered.
The only complaint...the bed was not very comfy and seems to have been there for some time. That said, we WILL go back, and perhaps in the summer to what were beautiful grounds.
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Two cars of "kids" a little too old to go sledding headed out to Granlibakkan with trunks full of sleds and the promise of $4 sledding. Unfortunately, when we got there, the sledding hill was packed and actually $9... We all debated whether to pay the $9 each or make our own sledding hill and decided to go for an adventure on our own as $9 was a lot to pay for the last hour of sledding (they closed at 4:30 PM). Before we took off, we found a little baby hill and took a few initial sled rides. That was until the attendant asked us to please stop... after all, she was still hoping we'd pay over $1 per run each.
On the positive side, the tiny ski slope seems perfect for a child's first day of skiing. It's less than $25 for the day and a good practice area.
$9 sledding is too rich for my blood though and we found our own, albeit slightly dangerous, sledding area... and we paid nothing and survived too!
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We went there last week . It was great . The beds sucked so they get 4 instead of 5 stars .
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Nice family friendly place to take the kids for sledding- a deal at $9 per person, all day long. Family friendly I say because I paid and left all my sledding passes on the counter, came back 15 minutes later and they were still there waiting for me. :) My kids did not take lessons here but the rates seemed very, very reasonable. The staff was super friendly and smiles all around. (Unlike that other place...ahem, Homewood!)
I must stress that this is a family & kid oriented place because my siblings took one run down these slopes and headed on down to Homewood. All day lift ticket for Granlibakken is only $21.
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We held our annual Systems Engineer training camp here - a week of technical training. I've never been to the Tahoe area before. This is the off-season for Tahoe. The summer and winter months are their tourist seasons.
But I loved it with no crowds and a slower pace of life. My room was very comfortable - with a bit of a rustic feel. I had a Murphy double bed that folded up into the wall. I've never slept in one of these before and it was very comfortable. My room included a fireplace, couch, small table with chairs, a bar counter with three bar stools, a very small wall mounted analog style TV with a VHS player mounted beneath it and a very small DVD player sitting on a chair under the TV. My room also contained a small kitchen, complete with refrigerator, oven, coffee maker, microwave, and all the accouterments: pots, pans, dishes, utensils, etc. My bathroom was very small but clean.
I also had a balcony to hang out on - I was on the second floor in the "Bearpaw" building.
We ate breakfast each day down in the Lodge dining room. Breakfasts were decent. The highlight was their bacon - awesome bacon! We also ate lunch and dinner here most evenings - I had no problem with the food - some of my colleagues did not like it - spoiled brats! :-)
Each night there was a cash bar in the "Cedar House" room. This room is rustic with wood paneling and a large fireplace with a nice fire going, and candles lit on the mantle and all around the room. Had a number of drinks during the week at the bar here: Fat Tire beer, Vodka martinis, and a couple Bloody Mary's.
We were warned against leaving food in our cars due to Bears being around. We never saw any on the Granlibakken property. I was disappointed by that.
The stars here are amazing! There is no light pollution here to dilute your view of the night sky. I spent some time out walking the property and gazing at the stars. I even got to see two different meteor fragments zip across the sky and burn out!
The staff were friendly and helpful! I really like this place and can't wait to visit again!!
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Stayed in a hotel-style room which was just ok. Clean and comfortable bed, however this place is a crap shoot because the walls to the adjoining room (which all the hotel rooms seem to have) are paper thin. We happened to have some overgrown frat boys next to us who kept us up until 2 am. Even if your neighbors are more mellow, both rooms share a door to the entry hallway, so regardless, you will be woken up every time your neighbors come and go. I think these rooms would work much better for families and people traveling in groups. Otherwise, you're probably better off staying in one of the apartments.
Breakfast buffet was decent with lots of choices, and the pool/sauna was nice. Friendly staff, but unwilling to give a late check out, even on a Sunday.
Cozy. Historic. Diamond in the rough.
Really close to Lake Tahoe, secluded and hidden away amongst all the Jeffrey pines. Granlibakken is a good winter getaway for family, skiers and nerd tourism. My lab came here for our bi-annual winter retreat with UC Berkeley. Granlibakken is a good spot for conferences due to their largely discounted group rates.
The ski rental here is affordable. $33 for boots and snowboard/ski. If you are going up to to ski, rent your equipment here. Besides skiing, Granlibakken has other family fun. After a long day of alpine sports, relax your muscles in either the sauna or their hot tub. Hours of operation is from 4pm to 10pm.
I love their international staff. The kitchen staff were mostly from Mexico, including the breakfast & lunch chef. The food is adequate, far from gourmet. The vegetarian options are not the best but I definitely got the nutrition needed. The dinner chef, Pierce is great! He personally made me habanero hot sauce to mask the blandness of the vegetables.
The building is very cozy. The woody interior and soothing indirect lighting helps me relax. I love the fireside chatting and playing Flux with my nerdy friends.
The lodging at the cabin is spacious and well-equiped. From numerous utensils, rack of spices, plenty of cups/bowl/plates. The rooms also have trivia games.
If you come here, make sure you take a walk up to the executive lodge and say hello to the Viking statue. if you are a nature person, get up early before the sun completely comes out, you will see the most amazing clouds glowing orange and purple.
Bottom line: great place to have a conference.
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The rooms were kind of ghetto, but again, this is California so you get what you pay for.
The food was mediocre in quality, again California just fails to shine sometimes so it is what it is.
The burger did not include french fries, a mystery as to why it was $10 and a side of french fries cost $8. The quality of both was a level below Carl's Jr. Again, I had to keep reminding myself that this was only California.
The ice cream for the two boys was a scoop of vanilla in each cup and it was $6. My burger and fries, the wife's chicken dinner, an order of chicken nuggets for a 3 year-old and a slider burger for a 7 year-old with two tiny bowls of ice cream and no booze came to $80.
No wonder people are abandoning the Golden State in droves.
We had our annual engineer's training "camp" here. It's a pretty nice facility. Here are a few pros and cons I've observed about this place:
Pro: It's fairly isolated near peaceful Lake Tahoe.
Con: It's in the middle of freaking nowhere, an hour from the closest airport (Reno) and danged hard to find at 1130 at night, cause it's DARK out there!
Pro: The natural atmosphere doesn't interfere with the local wildlife.
Con: There are bears all over the place who will practically eat your car if you leave any food in it. Supposedly friendly, but who wants to find out?!?
Pro: Self contained facility with dining, bar, limited entertainment options.
Con: So far away from any other venue, you don't HAVE any other options!
Pro: Plenty of rooms to accommodate large groups.
Con: The rooms are about the size of an average broom closet. I didn't have enough room to change my mind in my room! Rooms are also quite dated (they say "rustic") with old tube type TV's, tiny bathrooms and spotty HVAC.
Bottom line, most people come here to ski and then have a hot buttered rum (easy on the butter) and then crash to do it all over the next day. This place is perfect for that. For more professional organizations, well, I'll leave that up to the bears...
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Super Nice Sledding Hill.
$9 person/all day. Pretty Good Deal and we have visited a few places in and around town.
We were really glad we stopped here.
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Granlibakken is the best.
First came across this resort because of Tahoe Christian conferences- Yeah I know... karma boy who immerses in yoga also believes in jesus (go figure...)
why it's GREAT
1- On site reservations. 877-552-6301 gets you a person on site that manages your info
2- awesome breakfast. One time we rolled in late and they whipped up a breakfast. They have a great spread from 7am to 9 or 10am.
3- Tennis in the summer. 6 courts and a place to BBQ
4- Hiking traiils down to the river
5- great ski packages that include Squaw, Northstar that brings down the room price below $120 during a peak season Sat night
This place will be ruined when it turns into a Ritz / Four / St Regis.
Oops I forgot #6 Benney the Brown Bear who's black. he used to be a baby bear and he eats trash. He figured out the latching mechanism and he eats. I've seen him 3x and need a pic with him. Hope I don't get eaten by the hot tubs with a view of the hill he comes from.
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My favorite accomodations when I go skiing are actually individual cottages for the privacy, coziness, and convenience that a house provides, but if you don't want to spend the $$$ on a house or it's a last-minute thing, Granlibakken is a great alternative to staying in loud, overcrowded resort hotels or crappy little motels along the side of the road.
I don't know if it actually is, but Granlibakken really feels like it's a family-owned establishment. Kinda like if your rich aunt Penelope had a ginormous ski lodge where she lets you stay. There is a cozy living room, complete with huge fireplace, board games, and books, as well as a comfy dining room with surprisingly excellent food. The filet mignon with a wine reduction was actually one of the best I've had in years!
The front desk offers discount tickets to most of the resorts, and convenient shuttles right out front leave at humane hours to bring you to and fro. Granlibakken also has its own shuttle to take you to Tahoe City when you want to get your serious drank on and/or woo your prospective soulmate.
The accomodations are simple, but clean. If you can swing it, the suites are definitely a bit more comfortable and have a kitchenette for in-suite dining and relaxing.
The scrumptious breakfast buffet is included in your daily rate, and has EVERYTHING and lots of it. 3-4 different kinds of meats, pancakes, waffles, cereals, yogurt, toast, milk, juice, coffee, 2-3 different kinds of eggs, fruits, etc. etc. etc. There's nothing more annoying than hitting a buffet and only seeing greasy remnants of the "good stuff," and at Granlibakken, that never happens. I don't think I ever even saw them run low on anything!
Great atmosphere, great filet in a wine reduction (worth a star unto itself), really nice people, comfy rooms, great buffet, and convenient access to the North Shore slopes where the better snow is.
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Every year in the fall, Berkeley Neuroscience geeks take over Granlibakken for a weekend of nerdspeak and debauchery like you've never seen. I, quite honestly, can't believe we're allowed to come back year after year! (I guess we keep them afloat during the offseason.) The staff is always nice and helpful, the accommodations are clean and homey. The food, while very heavy, has at least always included a large variety at every meal. I always leave craving the healthiest health food possible. I have no idea what the normal rates of this place are but I know that it costs us less than $300 for lodging, use of conference rooms and equipment, and all food. Pretty good deal!
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Only reason we came here was to snowshoe. They don't charge for us to snowshoe. We rented snowshoes from Tahoe Eco Sports.
I was a nice warm winter day 3/10/07 and we had a Winter Trail Access map that they gave us. Even though we had the map we got lost. It's not the best map and trails are kinda hard to follow.
We did have some views of Lake Tahoe which was nice after climbing a bit.
They do have tubing that all ages can do, looks like fun..must try one day. It's a saucer that you sit on and go down the hill in. They charge a day use fee to use the hill--I didn't find out how much. Bunny slope and beginner slope is what I saw. They provide ski equipment & saucer rentals for the whole family. Ph: 530-581-7533 for details.
Hot tub and heated swimming pool near the parking lot. They have a like shack for food that closes early like 3pm and hot drinks available until 5pm or so.
Recommended. website: http://www.granlibakke...
some pics above.
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So we made plans for Valentine's day at the Granlibakken.. Our thoughts were I am not a skier and thought it would be fun to learn here.. It was really great for a first time ski experience.. Now the hotel left something to be desired!!! It was like a college dorm and the parking was horrible. They may want to think about having reserved parking spots.. We also had the dinner that came with the Valentine's special and that was really good!!! Fillet with Crab legs and veggies and a bottle of wine.. I would say that and the Ski hill were the highlights.. I would also recommend that if there is a special like Valentine's or Christmas's etc if there is a dining special included with the package and there will be no dinner served the nights they have these packages the people booking the rooms should let the guests know about this so they make other plans for dining before they come. We met a couple that did not know this and they were turned away for dinner on Valentine's (bummer) so we invited them to dine with us so they did not have to go and search for a place to eat at 8 pm. So knowing these things we will not stay at the hotel again, but would come and ski again...
Forgot to mention the snack shack out by the ski hill was really good.. The beef soft tacos were great..
I'm on a review-writing rampage it seems. We stayed here after calling around all over Tahoe for a place for NYE/weekend. Hubby had stayed here a few years ago and remembered it as being reasonable and well-placed for his snowboarding needs (between Squaw Valley and Homewood).
Overall, we enjoyed it. Very family friendly for those with young-uns. The breakfast was awesome and included in the price. Luxurious it ain't, but it's clean and well-managed. They also keep the sidewalks clean and the roads free of snow, which is good if you are elderly, or a kid, or pregnant. Or just really clumsy and awkward in snow and ice situations.
We didn't try the pool or spa this time, but it looked like fun. There's also a bunny slope that offers ski/snowboarding lessons on site. Can't beat that...Again, great for families.
The beds are a little soft for my taste. That's my only complaint really. Oh, and some unruly kid in our lodge probably nailed our truck with a snowball, resulting in some windshield damage we noticed the last day (we'd seen the kid lurking around with what looked to be a 10 lb snowball the night before). That's the problem with kids who haven't seen snow their entire lives.
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Aunt Julia & I visited mid-august, full moon weekend and had a great time for our Sat and Sun nite stay. Used the 2 flight walkup to our studio as exercise for the weekend. Quiet, serene - the resort is primarily used for large conference groups. So, while the conferees were working, we were lazing around, visiting the sights nearby, and taking in the sweet smelling air. Although quite warm that weekend - we had to use a fan in our room --, it didn't detract from the beauty and quiet, which was what we were after on this visit. We missed the heavy traffic, since we arrived sat and left monday. That helped keep the relaxed feeling going as we returned to metropolis.
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Great hot tub! The beds were ok, the pillows were flimsy. Not glamorous, but a decent place to crash. The suites looked pretty uh sweet. Awesome location!
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This is family friendly for sure! A lodge to get warm and buy coco and you can buy a ticket to ride the lift up and slide down! No hiking necessary. Have grandparents with you? This is a good spot it is like the Disney of sledding. I would still recommend renting ski poles for the older folks or anyone with bad knees to use when walking on snow. There are free places to sled- but they do not have bathrooms, groomed base area, a lodge and a million other things that Granlibakken has.
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Very small ski/snowboard resort located right at the NW tip of Lake Tahoe. A total beginner's hill where you don't have to break the bank -- it was $14 for about a 1/2 day. Great for small kids.
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I stayed here during the summer for a wedding. The cozy lodge is a great place for family. They have a small pool and gym and a ski lift. If you are looking for a 3 bdrm cabin this place is great.
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really comfy place to stay, the rooms are really nice and you get wireless too. they have deals such that you can get ski tix from a number of places included in your package, we skied alpine with that deal. way affordable.
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We love this place. The accomodations are clean, cozy and tasteful. The hot breakfast is wonderful (must try the quiche!) and the service is terrific. Location also works out very well, as it is close to lots of ski resorts for serious sporty skiing. Or, for fun skiing with beginners or small kids, the Olympic Hill is perfect. The Granlibakken Resort grounds are also large enough to walk or hike around for a couple of hours.
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