Tanglewood Resort and Conference Center

Tanglewood is our favorite vacation spot and we come several times a year. However, this summer there have been numerous changes that are, to say the least, extremely disappointing. During the week, Barnacles is the only open food service for lunch and dinner. Before, that was never a problem, but now the menu has been reduced and the salad bar is no longer offered. And the breakfast buffet is now only served on weekends.
Dining room breakfast service is painfully slow. This morning, for example, we waited 45 minutes for our food. There were only 3 tables occupied in the dining room. The omelette was not fully cooked inside and I asked them to cook it more. It came back the same. I asked for a ‘to go’ box and cooked it in the microwave. It was delicious once it was fully cooked. But it was disappointing to pay $ 41.00 plus tip for our breakfast yet I had to wait to eat mine in the room. The server was very nice and the poor service was not his fault. We always looked forward to the breakfast buffet due to fast service and a variety of delicious foods. But alas, that is now only offered to the weekend guests. I get a slight feeling that week day guests are considered ‘second rate’. The main dining room offers a divine dining experience on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. We had the opportunity to eat there twice and the food was outstanding.
I understand the necessity of turning a profit but the solution won’t be found by raising prices while simultaneously removing amenities and lowering the quality of service.
During a 5 day stay we normally spend between $ 800.00 and $ 1200.00 for food and drinks. In the past we enjoyed the variety of outstanding foods offered. We are never hesitant to spend money for quality. But since we have a vehicle, we do not have to eat here. We sincerely hope Tanglewood makes appropriate chances and recaptures the quality and service they once had.

Stayed here over the weekend and I will say overall spend your money somewhere else!!! This is an older hotel on the lake that is it. The word resort should not be in it! I meet so many staff that were rude and out of control the carpet stunk and the facility’s are a flash back to the 80’s. One waitress in the pizza shop was cursing in front of my 10 year old about another couple sending back there food! Staff stood and watched me sweep up an ice spill. They did give me a broom and dust pan to do the sweeping!!! It was just not a gooood place!

This review is for the restaurant, The «formal» dining one. It’s awful. I won’t drag this out, but the only high point was our waiter who’s a local kid and was recruited to work tonight from the Barnacles pub/​restaurant downstairs. I cannot imagine staying n business when your food is this awful. Blackened Catfish was fried then pan seared with seasoning. It was so dried out it was like jerky. The crab cakes tasted like they were refried to heat them. Disgustingly greasy. The French onion soup was awesome — but I can get that in Barnacles downstairs, cheaper. I know this resort has taken a beating from weather and lake issues beyond their control, but operate on a «keep the lights on and customers happy» menu! Go to your basics and be great at it. We will understand and support you! We have a house in Tanglewood, but we won’t be back to the resort «fine dining» restaurant to eat. At least until we hear it’s been reformatted. Very sad.

I’ve been here for two different scientific retreats, and I would say it’s a decent venue for them. The resort is located right on the TX/​OK border, right next to Lake Texoma. There was plenty of parking out front, and the staff were very courteous.
The conference rooms themselves were spacious and clean. The projector in the main ballroom was really terrible though – there was something wrong with the brightness settings that made certain parts of presentation slides disappear. The wifi was also really spotty for most of the weekend.
There are several available activities on the premises. The resort itself has a couple of swimming pools, a hot tub, a basketball court, a sand volleyball court, and some pool tables. It is also located right next to Lake Texoma, where you can rent jet skis and boats to take out on the lake. There are also some nice nature trails nearby for hiking.
We were served meals buffet style. For lunch, there were salads, sandwiches and baked chicken and roast veggies. The chicken and veggies lacked all flavor whatsoever, and they were too slow in bringing out food for all the guests. We had Italian food (fettucine alfredo, lasagna, etc.) for dinner, and those dishes were much better seasoned. For brunch the next day, we were given fresh fruit, some pastries, scrambled eggs, bacon, turkey breast, and mashed potatoes with gravy, which were all pretty standard. Overall, the food was reminiscent of a college cafeteria.
The rooms were average. They were outdated and a little musty, but generally clean and spacious. The water pressure was great, and we didn’t have any problems with temperature control or bugs.
In general, Tanglewood is a reasonable place to host a scientific or business conference, especially since there aren’t a ton of options in the DFW area. However, I would definitely not come here for vacation.

Nice pools. Random billiards room. Nobody around. No room service. Nothing nearby but a random Italian restaurant, everything else is at least 40 minutes away. #Average Hoping the spa tomorrow is better.

We love Tanglewood. We have our boat at a nearby marina and this is our perfect place at the lake.

Barnacles is the name of the little bar here. Menu is very limited and the food absolutely bar friendly but that is about it. The quality is not terrible but is your standard bar fare with no frills. Lower your expectations and enjoy. Don’t think about wine… Staff nice and friendly. A plus to the otherwise resort hotel feel

Our family has a timeshare and we’ve traded for the Tanglewood villas a few times in the past. We go for the striper fishing, so the resort amenities (golf, fitness center) aren’t of much interest to us, and thanks to the full kitchen in the units we tend to cook all our meals and so haven’t tried the onsite restaurants.
At first glance everything is fantastic. It’s on the second look I see the wear and tear that comes from having troupes of families with free range sproggen in tow as the primary guest. Our front door bore signs of repeated kicks and scuffs. The tile in the halls and elevator was broken in many places, and for some reason our shoes stuck to the floors in the halls. The sleeper sofa in our unit sagged horribly on the left end thanks to the sofa part underneath the cushions being broken and sitting on the floor, and a light bulb was out over the tub.
Enough with the negatives. :)
The tub. OMG. Nothing better than coming in after a long day on the lake and relaxing in a hot jetted tub. Another feature we really appreciate are the totally separate vanities in the bathroom, and the private toilet room.
The kitchen has all you need, from a full size fridge, microwave, oven and cooktop. There’s also a dishwasher. Ours was a bit sketchy but it worked fine. Basic pots and pans, dishes and utensils are provided, along with dishwashing detergent, soaps, etc. No laundry detergent so bring your own. Oh yeah, there’s a stackable washer and dryer in the unit.
The bed was comfortable enough, if on the firm side.
Three swimming pools on site, along with a hot tub and plenty of poolside lounging and seating.
Wi-​fi is about useless. I brought my laptop to take care of business while on vacation, and access was quite hit or miss. We never got more than two bars and frequently couldn’t get on at all until the office reset their routers.
Cable comes in fine, with HBO and all the usual channels. Nice sized flatscreens in both the living room and bedroom.
Lake access is just a couple of minutes around the bend at Highport Marina. Tanglewood guests get free launch… or at least we did. The ramp is awesome, wide enough for four to launch at the same time, and the perfect angle.
There is a Brookshires about 5 minutes away for your grocery shopping needs.
Overall we had a pleasant stay as usual, and while I wish they’d put some money into the cosmetics it hasn’t gone to pot yet.

Friendly staff… Easy to reserve over the phone… Quick check in and check out.
We were here in May. It was clean and large. We weren’t in the main part of the hotel or the tower. Our room was in the towers near the swimming pool area where there are four floors. It was like an apartment. There was privacy and plenty of parking spaces.
We took the elevator to the fourth floor. Our room included a jacuzzi, fully equipped kitchen, laundry machine, huge closets, the main large bathroom, a guest bathroom, outdoor balcony sitting area, living and dining room. (Check out my photos of our room)
We had a great room, but I can see how depending on which area you are the view can be worse or better.
Just a small view of the Lake… def. not a place to see Lake Texoma.
It’s a bit far from the beach part of the lake, but you can drive to the nearby Marina… There is a restaurant there.
We had a great room for a great price through Groupon. But I’m not sure if I’ll come back because it’s not near the lake and a bit too south if you are coming from Oklahoma.

I should be respectful and give the pros first. The staff were very courteous and helpful. Now to the cons. The main hotel is in a serious need of a makeover. The carpets are very filthy, the rooms are musty and lacking proper lighting. We killed two fiddle backs (brown recluse) spiders in our room in two days. We were on the bottom floor and our ceiling was leaking. It wasn’t a new leak either, the ceiling had been patched up before. The reception on the tv looked like it was coming through on rabbit ears instead of HD and it stopped working completely on our last day there. We were here for a company conference, so any free hotel stay is a good one, but if you are a paying customer, look elsewhere.
Oh, don’t even get me started on the ridiculously out of place Egyptian décor!

This is a hard one. I come here every year for a girl’s weekend. It is perfect for our get away. I read some of the reviews, so I wouldn’t come with my husband for a romantic getaway. It is a great family retreat as well. It is clean and easy to get to from the metroplex. Although, it is dated. Hence, it is not a romantic getaway. We have never had any problems, I think this pricing is reasonable. I haven’t been to the spa or restaurant.

Hubby and I are @ barnacles grill and bar, and Jared was our server. The mixed drink was delicious (White Russian) and the sandwich (cranberry pecan chicken salad sandwich) was above par in every way. We visited on a Saturday around 4pm. It wasn’t loud at all; atmosphere was relaxed & fun. Delicious food, great drink, it doesn’t get any better. Give barnacles and Jared a try!

I’m one of the proud graduates of the Sherman High Class of 1968. Our Class Reunion was held here on May 3, 2014 in one of their larger conference rooms. The service was excellent as was the food (buffet). Overall it was a wonderful experience. In fact, of all the reunions we’ve had, I rate this one at the top and some of it had to do with the facility.
My wife and I stayed in the hotel. We found the room to be clean smelling, very quiet and comfortable. The bed was easy to fall fast asleep on.
In the morning, we went to the breakfast buffet which was a fantastic bargain for only $ 10 a person. The staff kept the wide variety and tasty buffet well stocked and clean. The friendly waitresses were fast with the water and coffee refills.
Those reasons are why I’m giving Tanglewood «five stars» on this visit.
Tanglewood was a favorite place of mine to go to when I was in High School. Didn’t see it again until we moved back to the Dallas area in 2001. Since then we’ve been up there as many times as possible, but oddly enough never spent the night there until now. We’re looking forward to staying there more often.
You don’t have to be a fan of golf, water sports, boating or fishing to enjoy Lake Texoma or Tanglewood Resort, in fact I’m not a fan of any of those things, but I am a huge fan of beautiful scenery and peaceful surroundings both of which are in abundance here.
So, if you live in the Dallas area it’s about a one hour drive from Plano up Highway 75 to a very scenic place I highly recommend.

I went there with family and the hotel is old the beds are uncomfortable. The hole place was very dated and they say lake view room. Well if you squint you eyes you can see the lake. We also went to tranquility spa. It was very pricey and the lady’s did not know how to do a manicure or pedicure the correct way. I have had several done and they did awful.

My fiancé and I went here for the weekend of his birthday. We got one of those Amazon Local deals but I upgraded to one of the Jacuzzi suites. Overall, the experience was meh.
Pros:
— The suite we stayed in was clean and large, there were plenty of towels and other amenities.
— Staff was relatively friendly
Cons:
–It is pretty obvious the resort is older. The hallways, doors, and rooms could use a fresh coat of paint, that’s for sure. There are marks all over the doors and baseboards and it gives you a negative impression upon entering the buildings. The management should put the $$ into doing this — it would make a world of difference!
–We had a rowdy group of people outside of our room (we happened to be on the second floor facing some sort of picnic area). Not sure if it was a family reunion or what was going on, but they were yelling and carrying on outside until 3 a.m. and we finally had to call the front desk. The lady who answered seemed a bit unsure as to what to do for us, but we were happily surprised that after about 10 minutes, we couldn’t hear them anymore (kind of a pro and a con I suppose!)
–There was no access to any sort of beach area (somewhere to simply put one’s toes in the water) on the resort grounds, and that was one of the main things we were looking forward to. We even asked the front desk and they told us that we would have to drive somewhere to find a spot. Luckily, we did: Lighthouse Resort and Marina. Kinda ridiculous we had to go to another resort (rather than the one we were paying to stay at) to access the beach… but oh well.
–Bed was pretty darn uncomfortable.
–TV reception was super fuzzy.
–No room service.
–The «walking trails» they boast about on their website are littered with trash and are very difficult to find in the first place. There was a sketchy looking guy (clearly not a guest and just loitering) in his car staring at us when we were by the trails so we ended up turning around… lol
As a sidenote, we ate at The Island (Restaurant/​bar by the marina) and the food selection and quality was really not that great. I would recommend either bringing your own food (as Pottsboro is a very small town and not really any other options for dining) or going to De Happy Cajun, which is about 10 mins away. Honestly, if we were to visit this area of Lake Texoma again, we’d probably stay at a cabin at the Lighthouse Resort. We would have at least had beach access and they do boat/​canoe/​kayak rentals there as well.

Name should be changed to Terriblewood and drop the Resort. Located with breath taking views of Lake Texoma — that is if you can see through the filthy windows — exterior dust/​dirt and interior finger prints, body oil, grease/​grime — not only from our room but also in the main dining room. Motel 6 rooms are more plush and kept up. Our room was painted recently as they spilled paint on the curtain and attempted to wipe it up only to spread it all over — yet it still hangs. Carpet (indoor/​outdoor type) with absolutely no padding. I have been traveling for work for over 23 years now — this is the first time I actually felt compelled to check for bed bugs — pulled the sheets back and lifted the mattress cover. Luckily none were found!
This one is a «BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, NEVER GOING BACK» kind of place.

I’ve been here twice now for meetings in the evening. Food is ok but just ok to be as expensive as it is.
The parking lot in back was barely lit — we parked there the 1^st time because my mother is handicapped and they thought it would be closer. Wrong, Steps but no ramp inside is not good.
The second time, the meeting was closer to the front and so we could park up there. But the signage to get out of the parking lot is non-​existent. How are people unfamiliar with the area supposed to get in and out without better directions and signs? I always vote to NOT go back. I don’t another out-​of-​the-​way or lost experience in the dark out in the middle of nowhere. Lost enough that my cell phone didn’t work, dark enough not to be able to see the road.

We went for Mothers Day weekend 2011. After we booked our room we told our son and his wife about it and they called 6 days later and booked the same special we did. When we checked in, they had a lake view room and we had a parking lot view.
The special was great (included a half day boat rental and $ 50 towards meals) but the food on-​site is overpriced and not good! The $ 12.95 breakfast buffet was not good at all (cold eggs, bacon and sausage had funny flavor). My $ 24 6oz fillet Mignon at dinner was way over charbroiled with no flavor. The $ 7 Pina Colada was watered down and when I told them and tried again, he added lime juice? At the look out tower bar I asked the female bartender how she felt about making me a White Russian, she said, «Let me smell my milk.» Ewwww.
In our bathroom, the only soap after a day at the pool? A quarter size bar of facial soap from the on-​site spa. My husband walked to the front desk to tell them and they said housekeeping would bring some more — they never came. We used the last Kleenex in the room on Friday night and when they made the room on Saturday they did not give us a new box. The sink was stopped up too.
We felt like the employees did not know what was going on. They were nice, especially Kay at the front desk but there didn’t seem to be a general knowledge of rules. The spa seemed more intent on following rules and making us mad before letting us change our previous reservation, they finally relented (24 hrs before our scheduled service) but not without my husband going in the spa to talk it out.
The boat rental was the best part of our stay – it’s kind of far from the resort but worth it. Very nice pontoon boat for 4 hours of lake fun. Can’t imagine why we would want to trade 2, 25 minute massages for it? Who gets undressed for a 25 minute massage?
I have to say the lodge was clean. Its aging but is pretty well taken care of. The pool chairs are nice, the pools were clean and the common areas are well kept. The pool area doesn’t open until 10am which is a shame for those of us who like to enjoy the morning, outdoors. The coffee was horrible! Either you can use the 4 cup in your room that was yucky tasting or there is a set-​up of coffee outside the restaurant to help yourself. It tastes bad too and the pool area is closed until 10, so there’s no where to go sit outside and enjoy it if it did taste good.
We would stay here again but we won’t eat on site and we would take our own coffee maker, coffee and soap. :) It’s very close to the Metroplex which makes for a quick trip. It is clean and the staff was nice.
Just a lot of details that make it not quite as good as the website made it sound. Wi-​Fi worked at pool but not in room.

We stayed here on our wedding night March 20^th. We had requested (and paid extra) for rose petals on the bed and a glass of champagne in the room. which I was quite excited about. However, when we got to our room, there were no rose petals or champagne. I was really disappointed so my husband called the front desk. After explaining the situation to person at the front desk, we received no apology or much of an answer to the problem at all, so we requested the missing service to just be taken off of our bill.
After we settled in we headed to the bar to get a bite and something to drink. The staff in the bars were snooty to us and we felt unwelcome but stayed and had a nice time together anyway.
The next morning we had very little water pressure in the shower and the hot water ran out in about 2 minutes.

This is a pretty nice property on the south shore (Texas-​side) of Lake Texoma. I was here for a 3-​day series of educator workshops in the early fall (October).
The rooms are adequate. They are clean and well-​kept. The beds are comfortable and linens are clean. The rooms are a little on the «dark» side as there is no broad lighting in the rooms. The lamps have low wattage bulbs and the entry light is a recessed light that shines straight down, but doesn’t illuminate very far. To amplify the darkness, all of the wall, except one, are painted a dark red /​burgundy color.
The conference facilities are very nice. The staff was very responsive to our needs and requests. The property is equipped with WiFi, which when I was there, worked very well.
The dining facilities are nice. They are clean and well staffed. The main dining hall faces out towards the lake and has a relaxed yet formal feel to it. The «Tower» is a lounge/​bar that sits 8-​stories above the main hotel. The lounge/​bar offers 360 degree views of the entire peninsula with 3-​sides facing out to the lake.
The property is starting to show some signs of age, but it does not show it’s true age. The property is over 50 years old, but doesn’t look it! It is in remarkable condition.
Overall, the facility is nice and clean and offers professional conference facilities with an outstanding staff.