Tucker Peak Lodge

Very sad that this place charges full price for cancellation knowing they rented the room. I mistakenly booked the wrong place after noticing i cancelled within the hour. I tried calling went straight into Voicemail and sent an email nothing. I’m very dissapinted spent over $ 200 for nothing.

There were pros and cons in this lodge. First off, it’s absolutely beautiful. The view is absolutely incredible and I was breath taken each time I went outside. Especially at night, the sky is SO clear. The sky is completely freckled in stars and all you hear is nature. It’s very relaxing and comforting. There is a very large patio to hang out on also.
When you walk inside, it’s very lodge like. The walls are wooden panels and the ceilings are very high. Like a church. There’s a cute common area. Couches, shuffle board table, board games, big screen TV. There’s also a fire place in the middle of the common area, I would have loved if it was on, however, we didn’t know if we were aloud to make a fire.
Our room was one of the smaller rooms, that’s all they had available because we called the day of to book a room. It had 2 queen size beds, a larger mini fridge, an electric fire place in between the beds, a dresser with a small flat screen TV, and a recliner. I liked it, I’m not particularly picky. We slept like babies!
I hate to say cons because we really did enjoy our stay. However, I think there are a few things that could be worked on.
The first one I wouldn’t exactly call it a con. Jim, the inn keeper, was very very nice. He gave us A LOT of advise, and told us great places to eat. He was definitely right. He told us where to get the best pie and ect. I’m so thankful for that. He also told us about the animals around the lodge. However, he was definitely chatty. (Which isn’t exactly a bad thing) We were just looking for a nice relaxing place to be alone and away from everything, and figured a lodge in Julian would be great. If you’re okay with listening to stories for hours, then this place is fine. Like I said, Jim is very nice, I think he’s just very passionate about all of his hobbies and ect. that he just wants to share everything. We didn’t want to ignore him either, so we listened and talked, for a long time, each chat session. Please don’t take this the wrong way, we still enjoyed him.
A definite con would probably be the bath area. It was downstairs (not in our room upstairs), which we knew and didn’t have a problem with. However, the floor was pretty dirty. The shampoos were used and refilled, and w didn’t shower the 2 nights and 2 days we were there. :(I couldn’t find towels and didn’t know if they came with everything. :(
Also, the hand towel in the bathroom was a bit smelly.
And just a tip for whoever stays at this lodge, I PROMISE it’s not a bad place! It’s very relaxing once you’re able to get into your room alone. If you want to bring snacks, bring them, you can use the microwave in the kitchen. However, they don’t provide food. They do have coffee and oatmeal for you in the morning.
I enjoyed my stay so very much and I’m sure we will be returning! Thank you tucker peak lodge and Jim.

We stayed here on1/​9/​16. Had a great time. Everyone very friendly and helpful. Dog friendly place. We had a small emergency and the Inn keeper even helped so we could get to the ER. We’ll be back without a doubt. Thank you for a great birthday weekend.

When you stay in Julian, there aren’t many choices, but we definitely chose poorly. The caretaker was nice enough but the place is really old and not well kept. We only stayed 2 nights, thank goodness. We barely slept.
Pros
New TV with satellite cable
New Keurig with a good variety of coffee pods
Oatmeal packets with bowls and spoons provided
Large mini fridge provided
Small glass table w 2 chairs was convenient
New carpeting in room
Electric blanket with dual-​sided controls was a nice touch
Room had a comfy queen bed and 2 twins
Beautiful views from the deck
Pool table in common room
Very nice man running the place (very chatty though if you’re in a hurry)
Cons
OLD — desperately needs remodeling
No seating in the room — a sofa would’ve been nice
Jetted tub jets looked old and gross, maybe even rusty
In-​wall heater/​AC is super loud and makes the air more dry which killed our sinuses
Heater couldn’t heat the bathroom
Small hot water heater couldn’t accommodate 2 short showers
Tiles were a poor choice for the bathroom floor — so cold!
Housekeeper is AWFUL — there were shirt tags on the unvacuumed floor and the place was really dusty.
Bedding is incredibly old — it smelled clean but looked grimy
Cheap flat pillows
Dismal décor left over from the 80s
No plugs close to nightstand for phones
The half-​empty toiletries were from other hotels and likely refilled — super watery cheap stuff
«Cottage» is really just a large room over the garage — the door isn’t very secure and lets alot of cold air in. Window screens were torn.
Small fireplace had a couple tools, long match sticks, and 2 small pieces of wood — without paper or firelogs there’s no way a fire would get going and given the amount of soot on the face of the fireplace, it would be smoked up the room anyway
Parking is tight and although we appreciated the fact that they are pet friendly there really isn’t a good place to walk pets and they didn’t have water bowls, beds, etc.
I spoke with the housekeeper to request more conditioner and she snapped at me that they were out. I think I disturbed her while she was trying to watch TV in the common room with her kids.
This place isn’t professionally run. When you call you just get a multi-​property reservation manager or his voicemail. It’s not until you get to the property that you can see the phone number on the door — and this is by design. There’s no phone in the room so we had to give our cell at check-​in; they called us at 7pm New Years Eve to sell us firelogs for $ 6 each
One night would’ve been OK but I wouldn’t recommend more.

Uh… no

We decided on this place as it was better rates and just a few minute drive in to downtown Julian. We had a great room that had three beds to help accommodate the kids which was the Mountain View Room. The room was very spacious and nice, and the views were wonderful. Jim was great and helped inform us of places to eat and answer questions.

Love it… Jim, the inn keeper, was very friendly and talkative… Had a great room with a fireplace… Scenery was fantastic… Loved seeing and hearing the woodpeckers hammering away on the trees and listening to the bullfrogs sing us to sleep… Definitely will return…

driving down from los angeles there was a lot of traffic and called in that I will be late as 10pm. They were very accommodating and the Inn Keeper was kind to wait for us and in advance heat up our room.
The lodge was difficult to find at night, even with navigation. I highly recommend to get there before sun down.
We stayed at the Serenity room, which was spacious with a vaulted ceiling and well decorated room. Bed was clean and comfortable. The electric blanket was definitely a plus.
In the morning, Jim, the Inn Keeper gave us a tour of the lodge with a fresh brewed coffee. The morning view out on the balcony was refreshingly breathtaking.
All in all, I am thankful to Jim for being a great host.
Definitely, planning another trip here but to stay more than 1 night and take one of the scenic hikes that Jim recommended.

This is a very special place. The room was beautifully decorated, roomy and clean. The rates are reasonable. The view is spectacular A very romantic hideaway to bring wife or girlfriend. I brought my girlfriend here and ended up proposing We had a great time the town of Julian is only 5 minutes away with its quaint stores and apple pies. And yes she accepted my proposal. We may come here on our wedding anniversary — Will

My husband and I recently stayed at Tucker Peak Lodge, and had a wonderful experience! We stayed there on Super Bowl Sunday. Jim, the grounds keeper, invited us down to the main room to watch the game on the big-​screen TV while he started a fire. After the game, we played a few rounds of billiards, and had a great time.
Unfortunately, the lodge doesn’t have Internet – yet (Jim explained that they’re currently working on getting it set up). I had homework to do online, so he recommended we go down to the Julian library (about a 5-​minute drive away) and use the Internet there, which worked great.
To be honest, I didn’t even mind about the Internet! During the day, we enjoyed the beautiful view, and visited Julian – which is awesome, by the way. At night, we sat by a warm fire, watched TV, and played billiards. It was a perfect getaway!
Overall, our stay was lovely. The view is gorgeous, the rooms are well-​kept, and Jim was great. He definitely makes his guests feel welcome, and has lots of cool stories; he’s such a lovely guy!
Tucker Peak Lodge was quaint, relaxing, and welcoming. I will definitely be staying here again if I’m in the area!

We made a spontaneous trip to Julian last week. We had never been there before, but went online and found this cozy lodge and made a reservation. Jim, the inn keeper, met us at the lodge and was very friendly and helpful.
The accomodations were lovely. We had a large room with vaulted ceilings. The décor was country, with a fireplace and jazucci bathtub. The hot water in the bathtub was luke warm, so we did have to wait awhile to fill the tub.
We went to Julian for an Italian dinner (Romano’s) and it was delicious!
We went back to the lodge at night, and the night sky was stunning with what it seemed like thousands of visible stars — it was quite a remarkable sight for a group from the city!
Our room was comfortable and the scenery the next morning was lovely. Jim took our photo on the deck.
All the people we met in Julian were really, really friendly. We had a wonderful spontaneous get-​away.

We (4) stayed at Tucker Peak Lodge for one night. This was a spontaneous stay. We had no intentions to spend the night in Julian. Jim, the inn keeper, was immediately welcoming, and made you feel at home. Secondly, the ambiance, and rustic feel of the lodge blend in perfectly with the surrounding environment. The prodigious view from the balcony allows you to see miles, and miles out. We will be staying again.

We stumbled upon this little beautiful country town, Julian, and needed a place to stay, we found Tucker’s Peak Lodge on Unilocal.Jim, the grounds keeper greeted us and made sure that we were well taken care of. He made our stay even more relaxing than what it was already starting to feel. Jim was knowledgeable of the area and provided us with valuable information on dining and sight seeing, this saved us so much time.
The view from the balcony of the country side during the day and the amazing stars at night was alone, worth the stay.
Upon our departure in the morning Jim had a pot of coffee ready for us to enjoy.
This an all around great place to stay and relax.

The hotel manager might come off as a little bit of a strange guy, but as you get to know him, he’s the nicest guy that you’ll ever meet.
If you get your bookings right, you’ll get the tv and the pool table all to yourself, it has a really, really, really nice view of all of the stars that you can see at night! Super beautiful.
I loved my stay here, and I hope you do too.

If only I could rate a zero! I travel 80% of my time for both work and pleasure, (I am in the travel industry). I have never experienced an inn or hotel so filthy! This was to be where we spent Christmas.
1. We were told check in was at 4 PM. We arrived at 4:05 to find the place empty. The inn keeper informed us that he was on his way. He finally showed up at 5:15! it was freezing out that night. Not pleasant after traveling all day to get there.
2. The check in process was simple enough with a signing of a book in the old, dilapidated ‘lounge area’. I would not sit on one piece of furniture if you paid me.
3. Once checked in, we were informed that the beds were not made and he would escort us up to the room with clean linens. They may have been clean, but once he threw them on the dirty carpet, they were not. I grabbed the sheets and began to make my own bed.
4. I thought that the ‘sheer’ curtains were black, but when I looked closer it was dirt!
5. It was freezing and windy that evening, so he showed us where/​how to turn on the heater. We did that and the dust went flying around the room that I started to cough.
6. If you go in the summer, before you turn on a ceiling fan, take a good look, ours had what looked like inches of dust on them.
7. The bath room. Thank goodness I carry clorox wipes. Seems like it was cleaned with a rag and nothing more.
8. The tub was an old, rusted jacuzzi that had (another guest or the inn keepers) cigarette smoke coming through the jets.
9. There were some very old towels, circa 1962 that had a really funky odor. Needless to say, we all decided to shower.
10. I was afraid that there might be an ‘insect’ issue going on. If I had my own vehicle, I would not have spent 5 minutes there. But I was stuck. I made sure all of my luggage was sealed tight and slept in my hat, coat, gloves, shoes, socks and clothing. It is a good thing I took those precautions. My friend was in the bed next to me and I had to get her out of the bed when I saw a bug crawling on her sheets! It was horrible.
They made us pay in advance for 3 days and also charged us, (cash) for firewood! It was not cheap either. Don’t let the outside of the building fool you. Very poorly run, very run down, very dirty, not sanitary and very scary. We left the next morning, packed all of our belongings, sealing each bag and until we arrived home to dry clean and launder. This experience is my worst EVER in 40 years of traveling.

My boyfriend and I stayed here last week for a night with our dog. It was so beautiful and relaxing, Jim the inn keeper was so sweet and accommodating. I highly recommend this place, for a quiet relaxing stay with beautiful views!

Beautiful, highly recommend, Perfect place to stay.
I don’t even know where to start I absolutely love this place! Being only a short drive from our home in east county it was the perfect escape for my husband and I. Julian is such a beautiful small and quiet town and this lodge made our weekend trip even more perfect. Jim was so nice. Our room even had jetted tubs which made my stay even more relaxing! The views were amazingly beautiful, and the Lodge was very clean and cozy. I loved the porch and rocking chairs as well. Such a peaceful place. It was the the perfect romantic get away that this mom needed and I honestly cant wait to come back again.

I dont want to start writing 1,2,3,4 as the other reviews, BUT I agree with all of them. I feel they were very deceptive in the quality of the room and the price.
I waited for the INN KEEPER for my key, that was it, Didn’t tell me where anything was. Every question I asked I got a vague answer. What breakfast? The coffee pot in the room didn’t even work. Now I know why they ask you for money up front. I would NEVER stay there again

Easy access, cozy rooms, the view is amazing, and the staff were friendly.
Great place to relax .
I will be back many ttimes a month… Love this place.
Take a quick trip to the waterfalls!

I am writing this review after sending a detailed constructive email to the owners of Tucker Peak Lodge. After waiting a week and no response, I’ve decided to recap my experience of Tucker Peak here.
My boyfriend and I decided it would be fun to spend a weekend in Julian. We looked around on various sites, reading the best and the worst of various places on several websites. It seemed every place had some good and some bad reviews, so we hoped for the good and picked Tucker Peak. We made a big mistake…
Issue 1– We were told to check in at their store in town. This store– which was basically an accumulation of junk– should have been our first warning. You must pay by cash or check only in advance to stay at Tucker Peak. So we paid, and then were told we had to wait for the innkeeper to receive the key. The cashier continually called the innkeeper, but said cellphone service must be down. We waited about 45 minutes, until the cashier (who presumably had finally talked to the innkeeper) gave us the go-​ahead to head up to lodge and that our key would be under the door. Weird, right? Why were we waiting in the first place?
Issue 2– We pull up to what was once a single family home with a long hilly driveway that is the Tucker Peak Lodge. No parking spaces. It seemed like you had to find a space on the side of the road and hope you weren’t in the way. Cool. We walk up to the house to see a very disheveled lady (whom we later learned was the innkeeper) running around. We told her we were checking in, to which she immediately began speaking poorly of the family who had checked in before us and well as the couple who had stayed in our room before. She asked us not to turn on the window combination ac/​heater as it would become very hot later that night. She kept talking and talking and talking… nothing about being welcome but more so about how annoying the people are who stay at Tucker Peak as well as good riddance that Tucker, the namesake, was not at the lodge. Very odd.
So we enter the room, which originally seems nice. The room is big with high vaulted ceilings, a jacuzzi tub, tv, fireplace, shower, double sinks, bathroom with full door (not half in our room as others had described). Yes, there were lots of odd country knick knacks, but the room itself seemed quaint and nice… We decided we would begin our vacation with the hot tub. This is where our adventure really began…
Issue 3– No hot water. The water warmed up briefly but was never hot/​was unable to fill the tub ¹⁄₃. We were hoping for a nice soak in the tub, but that never happened. A few hours later, still no hot water. The next morning, no hot water. In sum, no warm/​hot water all weekend.
Issue 4– No heat. So if there is no hot water, you would think there would be heat. Nope. You might be paying $ 200 a night to stay here, but no hot water or heat for you.
Issue 5– Loud. The pool table. Our room was next to the former living room which now holds the tv and pool table. This meant games until after midnight and beginning around 7:30am the next day. People talking, yelling, etc. To make matter worse, since this is a converted house, the door connecting our room to the «living room» was attempted to be opened at various times from 8pm to midnight from curious guests wondering where this door led too.
Issue 6– Breakfast. When one thinks B&B, one normally thinks breakfast, right? We were treated to the equivalent of a gas station breakfast. Pre-​packaged muffins, boxes of cereal, coffee, and tiny gas station-​style creamers. The kitchen, where breakfast was served, was freezing. Everyone sitting there was wearing their coats. No heat. Oh yeah, and as everyone shared, including the sole employee working, no hot water in their rooms either. We were told the hot water issue was due to frozen pipes. Frozen pipes would not allow the water to flow. Sorry Tucker Peak. Maybe check your propane?
Issue 7– Check out. Well there was no procedure for check out, so we called the Tucker Peak Lodge number to tell them we were checking out. The lovely innkeeper abruptly hung up on us, so we had to call her back in order to tell her she misunderstood and we were checking out/​not checking in. She asked about the hot water and we told her we didn’t have any the entire time. We tried to talk to her, but again, she hung up on us, saying, «if you come back, we will take care of you next time.» Well, we will not be coming back.
We tried to contact the owners about our experience, but we did not receive response. This was by far the worst run inn I have ever stayed. Customer service and management were beyond poor. I am assuming they have had a change in ownership, as I cannot possibly imagine how this place even received 2 star reviews. I guess Tucker Peak is not interested in repeat customers.
In sum, Terrible place. Unaccountable owners. Stay away.