Pine Hills Lodge

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place! I have been coming here for years and its like coming home for some reason. The drive here is long and the roads are twisty but the rewards is HUGE. This place is a wonderful rustic lodge in the apple country of Julian. Its quiet, the air is clean and feeling of modern convince is out the window!
I see some people complaining its old and things aren’t the best well… people need to get over the fact that its NOT the ritz carlton. Its an old antique venue with no amenities to speak of (other than WiFi). But thats what makes it great!
Rustic is not modern, convenient of in perfect working order. And If you start ripping out what makes the venue a historic building it destroyed the history. Give this place a chance. Don’t come here expecting 5 star service. Come here expecting good people, great food and an honest way of live with a trip into a time when life was simple.

There is so much to be said… both good and bad! My husband and I got married here last June. We loved the mountain scenery and rustic setting. The main lodge is charming and inviting. I appreciated the opportunity to add our own decorations and flexibility of bringing in our own caterers/​vendors, etc. Hanna was helpful and accommodating and the bartender the night of our event was great! The food at our wedding was also fairly tasty.
So that was the good… and then there was the disappointment. Our wedding guests booked every room available for the entire weekend, they were all SO dirty. Every last room had stained carpets, moldy shower curtains, no light in the shower, dusty window sills, fur balls the size of tennis balls under the beds… it was nasty. The rooms were not exactly cheap either at $ 200/​night. Hanna was helpful, but it took a lot of reminding and cueing to get her to return phone calls, jog her memory of promises she had made and follow through with things we had discussed. There is no food service on the weekends and no restaurants nearby to grab something quick… so I brought breakfast/​lunch food to feed 45 people Saturday morning. I was allowed to store it in the walk-​in (which was nice), but Hanna was rather annoyed when I had to wake her up at 8am to set the food out and she made an appearance in her bathrobe! The night of my wedding she left and had some other girl (whom I had never spoken to) ‘in charge’ for the night. She asked me about 30 minutes before the end of my reception to go around and get a head count as to how many people would be eating brunch on Sunday — my answer was, no! And brunch… was GROSS! The cleaning crew was trying to push us out of the room (kept asking to come in and clean, just grab the trash, etc) at 10am, check-​out was noon! Because they had another party coming… why is this now my problem after I just rented out your ENTIRE facility for a whole weekend and hosted a wedding with 100 guests!?!
Overall, we had a very nice wedding. I loved having our friends and family together for a weekend, in one place. I would not recommend staying in the rooms, there are much nicer places in town and the drive or a cab would be worth it! Seems like it used to be a pretty epic spot and has since gone down hill and has passed its prime. The rooms need a facelift, the buildings need some paint, the pool needs to be fixed or filled in, etc. we had a nice time and it was a weekend for the books, I just don’t think the lodging is worth the money.

I gave it stars for Hanna and the bartender both were awesome. I have been coming here for over 25 years I have not stayed here since 2007 and I think they really have not kept up the place which is really sad. It has so much charm and history but it needs an investment of money plain and simple it is pretty close to camping without camping.

I am reviewing the Sunday brunch. It was awful. But by the time we had driven all the way there, we were kind of invested in this place. Sunday brunch consists of about 5 things set out on warming serving platters. The food was cold. There was no more pancakes and they did not refill. My brunch consisted of cold eggs, cold sausage and really cold hash browns. Mhmmm. The coffee tastes like dirt. 2 brunches and 1 cup of coffee… $ 35 plus tip. Spare yourself.

We have been coming to the Pine Hills Lodge for their Thanksgiving for several years. The setting is beautiful, the weather is usually cool and crisp (puts us in the holiday spirit more than 80+ degrees in Poway!), we always enjoy the excellent food, and we don’t have to wash a single dish! There are just a few drawbacks – they have a check-​in process that is not ideal, logistically speaking (the waiting crowd impedes the progress of diners from the buffet to their table, etc).
The service is generally friendly and accommodating. We were a large party: six adults, three kids, and an 18-​month-​old. Our server was wonderful – very attentive and understanding of our requests.
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy myself this year because of an encounter we had with the person who checked us in.
My 5 year old son has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and part of that developmental disorder is problems with sensory processing. Specifically, my son is incredibly hypersensitive to texture, particularly of food. What this means is that there are a limited number of foods he can and will eat without gagging/​vomiting, none of which are on a traditional Thanksgiving menu. We have been working with an occupational therapist for two years and he has made some gains, but it is slow progress and very challenging for him, which makes it extremely challenging for me and my husband, as well.
Because of those issues, we did what we usually do when it’s time to participate in a food-​related social event: we packed a brown paper bag dinner for him with foods that he can tolerate (a peanut butter sandwich, some crackers, a pouch of baby food, a ginger cookie). When we arrived at Pine Hills Lodge, we explained to the gentleman checking us in and collecting payment that a child in our party eats a medically necessary diet that we brought from home and would not be eating any food from the buffet. With 9 other diners in our party, we didn’t think there would be any problem at all.
There was a problem. Eventually, we were in fact seated and served, but initially we were treated sarcastically and disrespectfully by the check-​in person, who literally – physically – sneered at us and rolled his eyes when we explained our situation. It was just plain rude, and really shocked me that someone in a customer service position would be so aggressive with a guest.
It was also very hurtful, just simply unkind, particularly on a day that is supposed to be about being grateful for the good things in your life. I don’t know what the host thought – that we were planning to swindle them by sneaking food to our son from our plates, that we were pathetic helicopter parents whose picky eater would be better served with some tough love, whatever it was – but the fact is that it took my son about a year to learn how to eat a peanut butter sandwich without gagging, choking, or throwing up. I would give nearly anything for my child to be able to eat a normal diet. I would have paid double, triple, ten times the price of the dinner if I could have watched him eat some turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a green bean. In lieu of that, we just wanted to have a nice time together as a family, in a lovely setting, enjoying a meal. Instead, I felt embarrassed and ashamed.
How disappointing that anyone was made to feel that way on Thanksgiving, especially over the 25 lousy bucks a child’s buffet dinner costs. :(
PS. Go or don’t go to Pine Hills Lodge, but maybe try to remember you have no idea what’s going on for people behind closed doors, or what kind of challenges families face, or what might be causing a child’s temper tantrum or loud talking or picky eating When you are tempted to pass judgment on others, maybe make someone’s day a little easier and instead just say a silent prayer of thanks for the healthy kids in your life.

Very disappointed! Looks nothing like the pictures! I don’t mind rustic but it should be clean! They don’t even vacuum and most of us look around the corners! They have a very nice fireplace in the room but there was leftover wood and ashes in the fireplace. And no wood for us to burn and no matches nothing at all to light it! So I’m in the bathroom and needed to take a shower… And I look up at the ceiling and there are spiderwebs! And a dead spider leg! yes a leg! left with blood on the window sill and the cold wind blew the drape and there I saw that! We have dinner tonight at 4 PM so I ‘ll let you know how that is… I’m hopeful it will be good but I was also hopeful about the room going by the pictures they show. Ok… Dinner time. It absolutely looks NOTHING like their pictures. You have to remember they put on a buffet every weekend! The food did not taste bad but nothing was beautifully placed and for $ 40 a head I really expected more:(
I also notice the man putting the food out — was not wearing gloves to keep it sanitary! He used his bare hands– wiped his nose and then put his full on hands into the salad to toss it!
I am pretty picky so I’m noticing broken streams of lights, the food just sloppily put out, table runners gone, table skirts falling apart. I’m was not expecting the four seasons! But for the amount of money we spent for this weekend it just is not up to par. I work very hard for my money and I really do have high expectations on most things so I am writing this in hopes that they read it and bring it back up to par. all I wish Is they grow from this!
These pictures are what I took and they look nothing like their professional site online! And what I didn’t say! The guy putting the food out was touching his runny nose and then touching the salad and rolls with his hands! He was not wearing gloves!

Where do I start? From beginning to end Hanna and the entire staff were awesome. We had our wedding here in February this year and it was everything We thought it would be and more. Hanna was great and helped with every question and need we had.
The staff the night of the wedding were so great. Not only were they very polite and kind, they were on top of everything. The chef was so nice and the food was amazing. We went with the BBQ menu and everyone loved it. We also had brunch there the next morning and it was delicious. They really do a great job and really go above and beyond to make you feel taken care of.
And not to mention it was absolutely beautiful!!! Thank you so much to Pine Hills Lodge!

I would have loved to experiance the place myself, but when I called to book a room no one answered so I left a message. When I didnt hear from them 24 hours later I called again and no one answered. Still seveeral days later no one has returned me call so I booked another hotel.

I loved everything about our wedding at Pine Hills Lodge! I began to worry when I would read other people’s reviews but when the day arrived everything went super smooth and it was beautiful! Hanna is such a Doll to deal with! Our wedding party and we stayed in the cabins at Pine Hills Lodge the Friday night before. We had our rehearsal dinner there and since it was Halloween Hanna had decorated and had her and her staff dress in costumes to match our costume Halloween themed rehearsal dinner. We catered from BBQ in town, which was the best BBQ I have ever had. I will get the name of the place from my mother in law and update this. Hanna had a great rockabilly band play there the night before. We invited friend up to hang out after rehearsal, it was such a good time! On my wedding day and leading up to my wedding Hanna really helped me out bc I didn’t have a wedding planner. She was there the day of to help with the vendors so I didn’t have to answer any questions. Everything ran so smoothly. I know some people complain about the cabins/​room but the cabins are exactly that… cabins! Some people complain they are outdated, but you aren’t staying at a Hilton, you are staying in the beautiful mountains with wild turkeys and deer out your window. You definitely get the rustic feel. The lodge rooms are smaller than the cabins, I would suggest putting the people who will be partying the latest in those rooms because it is above the reception area. I would also suggest having elderly family stay in town because the cabin feel doesn’t fit everyone. There is a campsite across the way if any of your guests are willing to rough it for your wedding! The day of our wedding it dropped about 20 degrees, it was pretty chilly and windy but SUPER gorgeous for photos. Our ceremony was originally an outdoor wedding, but we set up inside the red little barn room instead and it couldn’t have been more perfect. I would suggest if you plan on having it inside there that you do it earlier for natural lighting to come in the windows because the lighting in there isn’t to strong. We also brought candles to burn in here prior to ceremony because we had remembered the room smelt as if it had been closed up for a little while when we had originally checked out venue. Not a bad smell, i am just particular with smells and wanted to have a beautiful fall candle smell just in case. THE FOOD WAS AMAZING!!! WOW!!! The chef really knows what he is doing! He makes the breakfast Sundays and that was delicious as well. EVERYONE loved the food at the wedding. We had filet of top sirloin, orange glazed salmon, blue cheese salad (my favorite!), garlic mashed potatoes (very garlicky but I love garlic!) and seasonal veggies. Everything was cooked perfect! For cake we had a delicious 3-​tier cake from Candy Apple Pastries! Along with an assortment of other delicious goodies! Apple pie, macaroons, candied apples and Carmel apple cupcakes! Chef Charles is very good at what he does. He specialized our wedding cake to taste like snicker-​doodle on the bottom layer, a Neapolitan in the middle, and a vanilla with vanilla custard gluten free top for my husband who has celiac. It not only tasted delicious but looked gorgeous as well! People told us it was the best cake they have ever had at a wedding and I agree! I had a huge slice that night after I shoved some in my husbands face! We were eating left over apple pie the next morning and mmmmmmmm it was good! We had an amazing band; The Red Muffs play there as well. It was their second time playing and they did phenomenal! Best wedding band I have ever heard! Drew at
also insured everything ran smoothly the day of the wedding and made sure everything got done in a timely fashion. His girlfriend Genna was the DJ and she is such a sweetheart and really easy to work with. I gave her more than enough music and she did everything in her power to play it all. They both really know what they are doing and help those brides out that don’t know what they are doing. All these vendors really made it easy on me and cheaper than hiring a wedding planner! I wouldn’t change a thing! One other plus to Pine Hills Lodge is that the wedding doesn’t have to stop at 10 like most venues, they will serve alcohol till 1:30/2 am, our guests really enjoyed that :)
If you are looking for a more affordable, semi get away venue to have your wedding, this is the place! Not to mention the pictures you get here are to die for! I could go on and on!!!

Had to DJ a friend’s wedding there last night and noticed I was missing a small item for my microphone. I asked this really nice lady (Hanna) who just happens to be the Owner/​Manager of the place to see if she had one. At first no luck but she came back about 10 mins later with the exact part I needed! She definetly was a life saver! The Staff and everyone there were AWESOME!!! So appreciated your place & hospitality! Thank You
Arthur «DJ Van» Johnson

My wedding has officially ended and I wanted to get a review up before the memories faded a bit J Luckily, because the venue at Pine Hills Lodge was so amazing I know they won’t fade by much. My wedding was perfect. When my fiancé and I decided to pick a place that was about a 2 + hour drive from where we lived we were hesitant because we worried about our guests having to make the trek as well. I know it’s supposed to be all about us but come on… everyone knows a wedding is also all about the guests J I was worried that after the wedding everyone would talk about how far of a drive it was through windy roads… but instead everyone is talking about how magical it was in such a beautiful location. Our wedding was 9÷27÷14 and the weather was perfect. It did get a little windy the day of the wedding but by 6 pm the wind had died down and we ate dinner inside the lodge. It was sunny and about 70 degrees with some wind but it was beautiful. Some to the leaves had begun to change so it felt just like fall. The property is filled with beautiful trees and décor and the pub and lodge give it that old, rustic, warm feeling that we wanted on our day. The cabins on the property are perfect for making it a weekend event with family and friends because everyone can stay on the site. We brought chairs and horseshoes and set up a little hang out area where we could eat lunch and stuff– it was like we were all camping together and it was really fun. The cabins are definitely old fashioned and there is nothing fancy about them which is why I say it felt like camping. They could be spruced up a bit and it would really add to the experience of staying the night. BUT they had character and offered a bed to sleep in.
Hanna, the owner, was great! She got back to my emails within a day or even faster. I think I might have emailed her 900 times and she never made me feel like I was being a needy, annoying bride! She was very helpful and had things running smoothly the day of the wedding. She also was so nice about letting us set up early and getting time to do everything beforehand as much as we could. She also helped make arrangements for our rehearsal dinner food which was a taco guy– the food was absolutely amazing! It was street tacos with beans and rice and soooo delicious!
I was really worried about the food for the wedding because they don’t have the option to taste it beforehand. We went with the BBQ option and everyone kept saying how great it was– and it was! The meat was really great quality and the sauce was delicious. The grilled veggies weren’t soggy and had great flavor. The bar tender was great– we had a signature drink which was sweet tea vodka with lemonade and he made it perfectly– EVERYONE commented on how it was so delicious– I think we might have run out because it was in such high demand. My feeling leaving the venue is that it was worth every penny and mile to get there… it felt magical. It felt like you were the only one on top of the hill with all of your loved ones gathered together to celebrate love. If I were to do it over again I would still choose Pine Hills Lodge to have my wedding-​in a heartbeat.

Just tried to check availability for next M-​Th and the representative says, «oh, we’re not open during the week». I informed her that their web site lists mid week pricing and does not state open week ends only. She said, «oh we don’t want people to know we aren’t open during the week». Promptly hanging up, just wanted to say, we would never stay at a place falsely representing themselves.

Came here to do work for a wedding a few weeks ago and honestly if I was the bride I would of been extremely disappointed the cabins were falling apart, run down FILTHY And covered in spider webs and spiders.
I was trying to do airbrush makeup and the lack of outlets are silly. For sure not easy on the beauty team trying to work on the bridal party.
The bathroom door wouldn’t stay shut so they had to put a stick in the door to keep it closed so she could steam her veil. If you like secluded desert type locations with lots of trees this is the place for you.
The walk ways down to the cabins are extremely dangerous! There is no way a grandma would be able to make it into the rooms. People in there 20s were almost falling and breaking there necks .
I would never stay here and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

My husband and I are expecting our first baby in December and I booked a room here for the night of November 2^nd for a little Babymoon. Somehow the owners find it okay to suddenly cancel a reservation on their guests AFTER finding someone who may be willing to stay more nights or spend more money at their resort… horrible way to run a business.
We live in San Diego and have visited the PIne Hills Lodge before and it seemed like a perfect place to spend a night to celebrate one of our last weekends away before welcoming our little girl. I received a confirmation of our reservation via email a few days back after speaking to a woman on the phone. She said generally they require two nights for the Pine Cone 1 room but she would allow me to book it for one night. She mentioned nothing of a wedding that weekend. Then yesterday, the woman who took my reservation called me back and left a voice message saying that my reservation was being cancelled because there was another guest who was part of a wedding who needed to stay in Pine Cone 1. WOW! How do you run a hospitality business when your confirmaton means nothing to your guests? I couldn’t believe the rudeness of this entire experience.
Now my husband and I are shuffling around trying to figure out where to go on our Babymoon given the sudden cancellation of our reservation at the Pine Hills Lodge.
Advice for any potential future guests staying here… you should probably have a Plan B for another place to stay in the event that the owner finds someone they would rather have take over your reservation.

My husband and I attended a wedding here in May and it was very beautiful. The ceremony was outside in the forest near the lodge. Yes it was a little hard walking in heels in the dirt, and yes there were some bugs and yes we were in the sun and got a little sunburned, but it didn’t matter, it was gorgeous. The sun peeked through the trees giving a beautiful effect that looks great in the pictures. The wedding was relatively small, less than 100 for sure. The groom wore a very nice brown suit which was very appropriate for the setting.
Inside, we enjoyed cocktail hour with an open beer/​wine bar. The bride and groom bought a photo booth package which was super fun! The bartenders weren’t the friendliest gentlemen, but whatever, they served us alcohol, so oh well… haha After cocktail hour, we went into the larger dining room area. It was really really pretty. The bride and her sister had decorated it with little vases with exotic flowers all over. It really fit the rustic feel. To be honest, I can’t even remember what we ate but I think it was buffet style. I don’t remember being disappointed, so I’m sure it was good. And for the cake, they had both a traditional wedding cake and apple pie! I had both ;)
After dinner, there was dancing with a DJ on the dance floor, which was big enough for everyone to fit who wanted to dance. We dance. It was fun :) Overall the entire wedding was just perfect and absolutely beautiful. It was a little difficult driving there because of the windy road, but it was worth it overall. If you are considering having your wedding here, I would tell you that you must have a smallish wedding and probably bring your own decorations.

UPDATE!
After receiving some unnecessary feedback on my review from someone representing pine lodge, accusing me of «jumping on a band wagon» with some women whom I don’t even know, I am rebuking my 3 stars and giving one. I was being generous, but not anymore. Instead of offering apologies, I was given yet more, bad customer service. don’t give people like this your business.

We loved Pine Hills Lodge. We got married there on September 30, 2012 in an outdoor ceremony. We fell in love with their rustic 100 year lodge and outdoor ceremony options. We got married behind one of the cabins under a huge golden oak tree. It was perfect and our dream wedding.
Hanna made everything so smooth and worry free. She let us meet with her twice to verify our decorations, menu and venue areas. There was a wedding a day before us, so we could only decorate our reception area before the ceremony, (but that’s what you have awesome friends and family for). They provided a room for us to get ready in as well.
We had our reception in their lodge dinning room. We had the try-​citrus glaze salmon and red wine cream sauce on filet sirloin. My friends and family still tell us how amazing their food was at the reception.
Top it off with plenty of room for an awesome dance, and Julian pie instead of cake, and it was our dream come true!

Don’t stay here. The North Dump, I mean North Star room was close to 500 bucks for a weekend. We figured it would be nice for that price. Big mistake. Rustic can be nice. This was a dump. The shower has no light. The sink did not drain. The doors have cracks big enough for crickets and spiders to come right through. The floors were dirty. There were spider webs when we walked in. They have no one on site after about 8 pm. No fresh towels. No TV. No amenities. I know this is a lodge, but its run down to say the least. Did I mention they don’t have food and the bar was only open because of the wedding. You can try to save on costs and then you can just let a place go. They have chosen the latter. Not recommended!!!
Also, we decided to stay here because they say they have a pool. They do, but you cant use it. They don’t want to meet CA laws, so you cant go in it and it looks like crap too. I think the economy is really doing a number on this place.
Do yourself a favor and stay in town at the Julian lodge.

*This review is for Thanksgiving buffet only*
Last year we (BF, BF’s Mom, BF’s Mom’s Husband) went here for the Thanksgiving Day Brunch. If I remember right, it was $ 50 per person and you DO have to make a reservation. There are 2 – 3 times and a couple days to choose from.
It was a relatively short drive from Rancho Santa Fe to Julian, and there were cute, country-​things to look at on the way out there. When we got out of the car, the air was nice and crisp, and the lodge is surrounded by forest… it really FELT like a Fall holiday, the only thing I truly miss about the NW. It’s tough sometimes to get in the holiday spirit when it’s 70 degrees and sunny (see Disney Land on Christmas… people are sweating!)
The food was very good and it didn’t have the cheap feel that buffet’s usually reek of. LOVED the carrot soup, the turkey was done to perfection, and all of the other traditional Thanksgiving sides we delish! Highly recommended!
Helpful Tip: Don’t show up here with children (unless they are saints), it will just ruin the experience for other diners. Also, dress nice and conservatively :)
**BEST PART: NOT HAVING TO CLEAN UP WHEN YOU ARE SLIPPING INTO A TRYPTOPHAN INDUCED COMA***
(What’s tryptophan? See this site: hhttp://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question519.htm)
We’re going this year too — maybe we’ll see you there!

THANKSGIVING AT THE PINE LODGE
I freaking love this place!
For the past 5 yrs we’ve made the trek from Carlsbad to Julian for a traditional «Norman Rockwell» Thanksgiving. Five minutes outside the town of Julian, tucked in the woods sits the AWESOMENESS that is the PINE LODGE!!!
When you first walk into the lodge the smells of a traditional Thanksgiving feast smack you directly in the face! Yes, a fragrant Turkey NINJA will smack you directly in your dome, get ready for it!
Turkey, cinnamon, browned butter, garlic, all spice, stuffing, and pumpkin pie transport you somewhere magical… yes, you guessed it, downtown Holiday-​town folks!
The whole setting is rustic and just freaking perfect! From the black & white photographs on the walls (I liked the John Wayne photos), Bing Crosby playing in the background, fireplaces crackling, amazing views of the changing seasons outside, a buffet filled w/​all the traditional Thanksgiving goodies, and a little bar where you can post up and watch the game… this place has it all! Actually, they even have a horse drawn carriage for all you «romantic» Unilocalers.
Just hope Kramer did NOT feed the horse… you know «Beef o’ reno, I’m so keen o’ — on Beef ‘o Reno — what a delicious cuisine o’ — Fit for king and queen o’ -
Yeah, eat up — I’ve got 34 more cans. «
You need to make reservations to chow here for Turkey-​Fest 2010. They have (3) different servings from early morning to afternoon and they are all packed. Arrive, check-​in and enjoy what I consider the «kick-​off» to my Family’s Christmas season: O)
***please no flash photography***
The food is excellent. NOTE-​When they begin serving the line forms fast!!! If you find yourself at the end, like a D-​bag, just go get a drink and relax. They have TONS of excellent food which they always keep filled… don’t worry they never run outta awesome Turkey day goodness.
After the initial onslaught of pilgrims you will have the ENTIRE buffet to yourself (well, I’ll be there too so be cool buddy)!!! I NEVER leave hungry (actually, I’m so stuffed I need help driving my car). Anyway, the point is I’m NOT waiting in line on a special day like the «Anniversary of wild Revolutionary Turkeys defeating the British in Boston»…
you know, I have no idea what Thanksgiving is even about anymore besides stuffing myself, NFL football and shopping.
The food. it’s absolutely perfect and yes the have a «special table» dedicated to desserts so have an extra slice of pecan pie u little piggy: O)
Happy Holidays!!!
I give this place 10 «NO KENNY, that is MY POT PIE!!!» outta 10!!!