One star quality, five star price
I generally dislike National Park lodging. Except for the obvious benefit of convenience, it is always overpriced. So, I know that going to any NPS lodging will likely be a disappointment for me. But, in some parks, there is no nearby alternative if you want to have a roof over your head. Since I knew I was doing part of this trip solo, I didn't pick the campground because I wasn't crazy about the idea of camping alone.
I liked the idea of this place when I booked it. Except for the price tag attached to this particularly rustic property. The Sol Doc "resort" is a great example of the rule of thumb that NPS lodging is bound to be an overpriced disappointment and why camping would be a better alternative.
The resort consists of a series of cabins, which, as of July, 2006, cost $160 per night and up. These tiny cabins have running water (not hot water, but water), electricity and bathrooms. The kitchen was a nice perk and a great way to avoid the overpriced restaurant by preparing our own meals.
There are no phones or tv's here, and that part was just fine for me. I have no problem with rustic, but rustic should not come with a 5 star price tag. There is no air conditioning, which makes sense, but a ceiling fan would have been welcome as it does get pretty hot during the day and daylight lasts until about 10 p.m., making it tough to sleep when it is actually hotter inside your cabin than outside.
The cabins are extremely thinly walled as well. We had a family of 5 staying in the two bed cabin next to ours. How they fit in there is beyond me, but it appeared that sleeping was not on their agenda. They were extremely loud and disruptive until pretty late at night. Since the main lodge and front desk shut down at 9 pm, there was little we could do about it. This could happen anywhere, especially a campground, but, generally, when you pay this much per night, there is something you can do about it.
Unique Quality: The room rate does come with access to the hot springs and swimming pool, but that alone is not enough of a reason to stay here. We were given the cabin closest to the lodge. Since there was no parking space assisgned to our cabin, we had to park at the back of the lot, quite a distance away, as all the spaces were filled by people coming to visit the hot springs during the day.
I'm not saying this place was terrible. The staff was extremely friendly and the restaurant had pretty good food (see restaurant tips for more information). The "resort" was simply overpriced. The campground a half mile away would be a great alternative as would any of the Olympic campgrounds. Personally, I would choose one of those options if I returned to this park.
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Sol Duc Falls
Sol Duc Falls
Sol Duc Falls
Sol Duc Gorge
