Disappointed in Mineral

We stayed here one night (June, 2008) at the Mineral Lodge in Mineral, CA near the south entrance to Lassen National Park.

We had originally booked and paid for two nights but left after just one night because we were so disappointed in the accomodations and the demeanor of the manager/owner.

They have a 7 day cancellation policy* so we forfeited the second night's payment. I asked for a refund for the second night after checking in but of course was refused. The refusal came as an abrupt "No!" without even asking "why", my guess is he knew why!

Avoid this motel unless your car happens to break down at the door**. If you are coming from the south I'd recommend staying in Red Bluff. If coming into the north entrance to Lassen then Redding is your best bet.

**There are no services here so be sure to fill the gas tank elsewhere.

As you can see in the photos above and below the exterior of the lodge is in rough shape, badly in need of some maintenance. But, we soon found that this was just the beginning.

We booked this lodge in hopes of a quaint, rustic experience near Lassen National Park. The price was not cheap ($155.52 for two nights). Unfortunately, rustic turned into rundown, expensive and unpleasant.

The one redeeming part of our stay was the staff (one cleaning person/restaurant waitress) who was both friendly and helpful. She already wears a lot of hats but the management would be smart to put her at the front desk to greet guests as well. Her attitude would be a welcome change. The restaurant food was good, too.

Exterior grounds

The exterior grounds are in poor shape as well. The grass was not mowed very well and there's a lot of bare ground and weeds.

The concrete walks and steps are badly chipped, cracked, and built at odd angles. There was a dangerous (at least to 50 somethings) 9 inch step to "climb" into our room. No ADA compliance here!

This photo was taken from the parking lot. The restaurant and registation/general store are to the right. Our room was about in the middle and the junk pile (see below) was behind this building.

Rooms

Inside the very small room things were not much better. This picture shows a large patch of dirt and mold outside the shower.

The 1930 era rooms are small with very little sound proofing insulation between rooms. You can hear everything in the adjoining rooms. Fortunately each room shares only one wall with neighbors. The other wall is a breezeway between rooms.

The weather was mild during our stay but the room had no air conditioning and the lack of insulation probably means it could be very cold. Elevation here is around 5000' so cold weather can hit anytime.

Shower

Inside the shower. Notice the peeling paint. Our first room had a shower that was not working. The shower head was nearly detached and just dribbled water. We returned to registration desk and asked for a different room. The owner/manager*** reluctantly gave us another room, but could not conceal his suspicion that we were "trying to pull something".

***I'm guessing he was the owner since his picture is on display in the restaurant.

View out back

This was the view behind our building. You can just see the junk pile through the trees, and old truck. The house was undergoing extensive repair. The junk pile was construction debris of some kind.

The wood pile appeared to be firewood but neither of the rooms we were in had wood stoves or fireplaces.

Windows

This photo was taken from as far away from the windows and door as I could get in this small room.

The windows in front and in the bathroom had curtain rods but no curtains. The empty curtain rods gave the impression that something was missing. The inexpensive blinds were the only window covering.

Also, the window screens were bent which allowed flying insects to get in. This did not especially bother me but some people would be annoyed by the "bugs".