Granlibakken Tahoe

I attended a conference at this «resort.» I would like to start on a positive note. The outside of the resort is beautiful. However, do not market yourself as a resort when you clearly are not. Just because you have a spa onsite does not make you a resort. It’s like putting lipstick on a pig.
This is what we had to deal with at this «resort»…
1. Broken bathroom exhaust fan which made the room humid and we put in two calls to have it fixed.
2. Broken toilet-​clogged, had to call twice.
3. Broken shower faucet, it pulled away from the wall when you turned it on.
4. zero water pressure with periods of cold water shooting at you while showering.
5. Broken screen with spider webs and bugs in it.
5. Towel rack coming off the wall
6. Hooks coming off the wall.
7. No gym just a treadmill and elliptical in a small room that smelled like a dirty sweat sock
8. Went to the pool and there were broken pool chairs and the water was cloudy
9. Not enough towels or cups.
10. Mold on the bathroom ceiling.
11. Dirty towel left on my bathroom counter.
I maybe too pretentious but shit if you’re going to pay $ 1800 for 4 days I want a nice hotel. This was the place chosen by the organization putting on the conference.

Sure, the resort itself isn’t brand new, but it’s a beautiful area and a nice facility. They also offer a great ropes course, tennis, bike rentals – so much to do! Add that to fantastic food and many comfortable areas to sit in the main lodge, and this is a winning location for a conference.
Beyond that, the staff is outstanding! They are knowledgeable, kind, efficient, and generally wonderful people. I would recommend this place on that alone because they really are that great.

I love this place! It’s like staying with family! All of the staff is really friendly & helpful, especially Adam! The only complaint that I have, is that the breakfast buffet is sooooo good, that I found myself waking up at 5am thinking about it :)
My room was near a wedding party, but there was no noise. The entire property is very peaceful & pleasant!

(*Review for June, non-​peak season)
This resort is tucked away from the main roads and is a gem. We got a room in the back end of the resort near the Treetop Adventure Area so it was really quiet and peaceful. Noticed an outdoor wedding going in one of the larger buildings, so sound might be an issue if you’re in the middle of everything/​have noisy neighbors. Very quaint place with a lot of charm w/​updated rooms and buildings. Less than 5min drive into Tahoe city, and immediate access to the Tahoe Rim hiking/​biking trail. The only reason it’s not getting 5 stars is the lack of food/​drink on site during the time we stayed, although they do serve complementary breakfast. I’m assuming it’s not busy enough to keep the bar/​kitchen open during the summer, but there are plenty of tasty options in town.

We found this place on groupon and saw the mixed reviews about it. We liked it, but weren’t too impressed with it. We stayed two nights and were pleased with how quiet it was most of the time. We were a little bummed about the room, though. The set up was strange. You walk into the room through a hallway that divides the room in half. To the right was a door that opened up to the room with the bed, dresser, tv, desk and a small refrigerator stuffed in the corner behind the door with a microwave on top. There was a ceiling fan that was controlled by a knob behind the tv. The conduit that went from the knob to the fan was very visible as it went up the wall and across the ceiling. To the left of the hallway was a vanity mirror then a sink and mirror on the opposite side of the room. There was then a small room for the toilet and shower. There was also a huge open/​walk-​in closet on that side. It took up a considerable amount of space. I guess it makes sense if you are there for the winter and have a lot of snow gear you brought. I’m not sure. The set up though felt very segregated and took away from the area you would spend most of your time (the room with the bed).
The whole complex is pretty cool. It’s made up of several buildings spread out in a forested area and really nice to walk around.
I think they are in the middle of updating their rooms. I don’t know how far along they are or what they look like, but our room has definitely seen some years.
The provided breakfast buffet was very good. They had all kinds of fruit, toasts, bagels, eggs, cereal, pastries, and juices.
The staff for the most part was nice, though I think the from desk clerk was tired of dealing with… people.

They only get two stars for the bed to sleep in and ok food. The basics. I had a moldy shower liner and the tube faucet was loose from the wall. Parking is undesirable if they are filled to capacity. The unit we were in is in need of updating to say in the least. The conference rooms were in fair condition but once again extremely outdated. For as much as they charge, this place is equivalent to Motel6.

Best ski place for a family who wanna learn skiing. Awesome place kids never got bored. Very safe. We had the best Christmas vacation ever. The kids can go out and play without us having to worry about anything. The on site restaurant is very cozy and good is very good.

Recently stayed again in unit 53. Like that it has been remodeled and updated. The staff is great and the food is good. We enjoyed hiking around the resort and dinner in the Cedar House. This is a very relaxing resort at a good price.

I LOVED MY STAY HERE! First and for most I want to give a big olé shout out to Beta (I hope that’s how he spells his name) he was amazing and super helpful. He was more then accommodating and the help he gave us is greatly appreciated. So back to the resort. I enjoyed every inch of it from the sledding to our amazing room. My room was nice and clean and had such a relaxing view of the beautiful snow and trees. The complementary breakfast was super delicious and convenient. Thank you all very much and we will be back for sure.

I took a ski lesson here a few days ago. It was a group lesson but the other people did not show up so I lucked out and got a private lesson for the cost of a group one. :)
The ski area is really just one hill, but that is why it is less than half the price of Squaw Valley and other huge resorts in the area (from what I saw price wise online, anyway). I was learning how to ski for the very first time ever and didn’t need any black diamond runs anyway. One hill is really all I needed. Plus I was very happy with the instructor I got. If I were in the area again, I would go back and take another lesson here.

What an inexpensive way to have LOTS of fun while in Tahoe! My family and I enjoyed sledding. The walk uphill was a great way to burn calories from lunch time. When we left, my 3 year old went on and on about how much fun she had in the snow. She really didn’t want to leave!

Mixed views on this place. The price, location, and room was great. The restaurant food was really bad! The sledding hill is not supervised at all, and on our second trip down the hill a lady ran right into the back of my daughter taking her and her sled out. There is nobody at the top monitoring how many kids or people go down, and yet there 7 employees standing around at the bottom. After the crash nobody even came to help! Lots of tears, Advil, a little blood and an ice pack and home we went. Game Over.

I found out about Granlibakken on
. It truly is a great place to lean to ski — young and old. It’s the most inexpensive «mountain» to learn (private lessons were $ 85/​hr with an all day lift ticket included. Adult lift tickets were $ 35 and ski rentals were the cheapest anywhere). We’ve been there on three different occasions. Daniel and Sierra were both fantastic with our kids. By the 4 th day, our kids were skiing and riding the lifts by themselves. Food is decent (great hot chocolate and s’mores), and the sledding is awesome. I highly recommend this place to learn.

My partner and I stayed here over the New Year weekend and had a WONDERFUL stay! The food was delicious and the accommodations were excellent ! The hot tub was just what the «doctor» ordered and the Sauna was exceptional !! WE WILL RETURN :)

Loved staying at Granlibakken over New Years. This place feels like home over the holidays — the staff all seem like family and like they enjoy being there late/​early and taking care of us. The location is perfect for accessing the lake, Squaw and Alpine, and we even ventured 30 min away to the casinos in Incline Village. They have a huge hot tub thats open late after a long day of skiing and the breakfast every morning is delicious and has so much variety. They even threw a New Years party for free everyone staying there with tons of delicious food, a live DJ, kids room, and dancing! Would definitely recommend this place.

I like this property. Lots of space and accommodations to facilitate retreats in Tahoe. I was part of an effective communications and team building training program and it was a huge success. The summer outdoor area is superb.

This is our third stay here over winter break and we have consistently been very happy with our experience. The staff are hard working and pleasant.
We stayed in the executive lodge rooms which are spacious and comfortable (double room). We have stayed in a studio as well.
Breakfast is great as is the coffee (for this kind of place).
Love the international vibe over Christmas.

Staying here for a wedding this weekend. Room is small but decent. Bedding is totally gross ! Breakfast is amazing and free.

Room was fairly small — but we had the smallest possible room type, as it was the only thing left in the lodge. We arrived early to check in, and were told we’d receive a text when the room was ready (check in time is late… 4:00, I believe), but the text never came (although I was receiving other texts).
The front desk staff was helpful in making recommendations for local activities and dining, and very friendly overall. In fact, when we needed towels for the pool and they didn’t have any, they sent someone to the pool for us instead of making us wait for them — thought that was pretty nice.
We utilized the pool & spa, sauna, day spa, trails around the resort, and the treetop adventure park. All exceeded expectations. Oh, and breakfast… that REALLY exceeded expectations! Very, very good.
Not sure if we’ll come back next time or stay somewhere else just for the experience, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this resort to anyone who asked!

This review is for the sledding hill only.
We always have great fun sledding at Granlibakken. $ 15 gets you a sled and all day access to their well groomed sledding hill. You are allowed to make chains and ride down with as many people as you like, which gets really fun (and crazy).
This last time we went up with just our family of four on a Monday and we had the entire hill to ourselves. So much fun!
Very nice people who work here too. It’s not fancy, but it’s fun and the bathrooms are clean. :)