Idyllwild Inn

 

60

76

Brigette Z.

San Diego, CA

9/23/2009

We didn't know what to expect from our first Idyllwild weekend. The town was suggested to me by a friend who said it would be a nice and relaxing getaway from San Diego for a couple of days. Searching for places to stay on the Web, we finally decided on the Idyllwild Inn. From what we could tell online, it looked close to the center of town, within walking distance of everywhere, and rustic yet modern. We decided to stay two nights in one of the two "New Rustic Suites" which are located far away from the main road. The two employees with whom I corresponded via email about the cabin were extremely helpful in making this choice.

To get to Idyllwild, my friend suggested that we take the more scenic route through Anza rather than the other route through Hemet. Unfortunately, a brush fire the afternoon before closed Route 79, and the "detour" signs stopped before providing us with a real destination. Thankfully, we have a really good navigation system that continued us north using a dirt road ... everyone else turned around ... and then we ended up in Hemet anyway!

When we arrived at the Idyllwild Inn later than we expected, the clerk on this Sunday afternoon wasn't particularly friendly and definitely seemed distracted by the off-the-hook phone next to her. She gave us the quick "I'm on the phone" rush-thru, and then toned her hurry down when I told her we weren't totally clear on what she was telling us because this was our first visit. She then became slightly more patient and helpful in telling us where we were and where our cabin was.

Upon our arrival at the cabin, we were beyond pleased. Very north on the property, there was no street noise and it was surrounded by gorgeous pine trees that were home to bluebirds and gray squirrels. The front deck was a great place to enjoy the outdoors. Inside, everything was clean and new ... including the excellent Jacuzzi tub. There was also a nice kitchen with a little fridge, a four-burner gas stove, an oven, and a little sink ... unbelievably, they also had silverware, dishes, measuring cups, and pots/pans. It would have been perfect if we wanted to cook and stay a week!

We were also pleased to discover that we were very centrally located in town. We could walk to everything quite easily, especially the excellent coffee shop (Higher Grounds) next door.  We were also able to rent a movie from across the street for use with the DVD player and flat-screen TV in the cabin (we rented "Fighting" ... not going to recommend that movie though!).

The guy who checked us out of the cabin totally made up for the check-in woman ... he must have been the owner, because he told me all about the history of the new rustic cabins and he was very friendly and sincere. He's the reason that we're giving the Idyllwild Inn 5 stars instead of only 4!

Our two nights at the Idyllwild Inn were excellent, and the only disappointment is that we didn't stay longer. Next time, we will stay for several days and we might even consider one of their true rustic cabins if we want to rough it ... but we highly recommend the new rustic suites!

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0

6

Lisa H.

Long Beach, CA

8/13/2007

My husband and I stayed here for one night recently, and we found it to be a comfortable, welcoming place to stay in Idyllwild.  We had the Indian Theme Room - it wasn't terribly big, but it was clean and tastefully decorated.  The staff are friendly and helpful and the location is very convenient - right in the center of town.

The reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because there was no air conditioning.  Not a big deal for most of the year, I guess, but it was pretty hot the weekend we were there.  There was a ceiling fan, but it didn't help much.  The room temperature was about 82 degrees.  Still, it wasn't unbearable.

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