Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort

My mother and I went just for the day to the hot springs. The facility is in a very picturesque area, great views all around the hot springs. The springs themselves are very dirty. The actual change room/shower area looked unkept and there was all sorts of gross-ness floating in the springs - hair, a bandaid, some random pieces of fabric… we didn’t stay in for very long.

I'm wavering between 3 and 4 stars for this property. On one hand we were delighted to arrive at 5pm and find there was accomodation available. On the other, it was frustrating as our UK cell phones do not work for calls or text in the USA, only for data and there was no website we could check accommodation on. We'd already been to The Historic Lake Crescent Lodge to seek accommodation. They didn't have any availability but assumed they could tell us about availability elsewhere in Olympic National Park. Apparently not as they are not all connected by computer. Did I stray back into 1993 or is it really 2023? However, back to 5pm on an August day in 2023.... We were delighted when the friendly and helpful lady on reception found us a cabin and spent some time sorting out the check in. It was an 'ADA/Disabled friendly' cabin (we didn't require that aspect) which took a long time for her to change it into our names to be rented, the previous renters having cancelled their booking an hour or so before. The cabin was basic and rustic but had nice views. The lighting wasn't great but we were only there for one night so it was fine. It was all a little battered and seemed in need of renovation. One downside was the entrance was via a ramp that went from the road at the front around the side and along the back where the cabin door was. Why not just build the cabin so the door is by the car parking? The outdoor seating, a picnic bench, was just by the door beyond the ramp's handrail but to get to it you had to carry all your picnic items around the four sides of the cabin from the door, down the ramp and back around the hut. The picnic bench proved to be unusable as there was a sewer vent between our cabin and the neighbouring one (also an ADA cabin) and the odour was too unpleasant to sit outside. Plus that attracted extreme numbers of flies too. We were actually confused as to why the cabin was ADA/Disabled friendly as we have a few friends who are wheelchair users and none could have stayed in this cabin as the shower was in the bath tub so there no way for a wheelchair user to wash. The cabin included access to the hot springs when they were operating which was great as we did that for the last evening session (6pm-7.30pm) and the first one in the morning (8am-9.30am). The session are every two hours with a half hour gap in between so that everyone has to leave and give others a chance to use the hot springs. They are man made and there are tree pools. One hot, one very hot and and a regular swimming pool. The swimming pool was closed while we were there but we enjoyed the (not so hot) spring a lot. The views were beautiful of the surrounding mountains, Also some lovely flowers around the pool area and nice changing rooms. The lockers were a little odd as they had no way of actually locking them. In the end we brought our possessions pool side as we didn't want to leave passports, phones, cards and money in an unlocked locker. There is an onsit

It is about an hour out of Port Angeles which means it is close enough to grab supply’s and anything else you forgot to bring. The price for our stay was $310 a night and there is the $30 park entry fee as you drive up the road. The entry fee is good for seven days throughout the Olympic Park and if you will be around for longer it doesn’t seem that bad. Stayed two nights over Easter weekend in a cabin without the kitchenette. The cabin was 122 and it was clean and looked nice enough. The pillows were sad and the mattress was bad. It is a very quaint experience with little extra charm. There is no cell coverage and no WiFi. Also there is no TV to entertain yourself in the quiet hours of the night. With the windows closed the room is very silent. This is a perfect retreat to disconnect and leave the world behind. Side note, if staying in the cabins the bags of ice are free at the lodge. Don’t know if there is a limit but the normal price is $5. The grounds are beautiful and deer roam morning/night. There are plenty of trails to explore and the trail along the river is wonderful. The rustic feel of the place is clearly part of its ongoing appeal. The lodge has dining as well as a small store. They serve breakfast, lunch & dinner. We tried dinner and it was poor at best. We ordered the pan seared salmon and the steak frites. The salmon was over cooked and hard. The steak was just a cheap piece of meat cut up with yellow mayonnaise on it…you could call it bolognese sauce but I it didn’t look it or taste like it. I wouldn’t recommend the dinner. Breakfast on the other hand was simple but good. The fruit is fresh, the pancakes are from scratch and the eggs are good. Lavender lemonade was especially nice addition to their meals.Note though, for both meals when we ordered sides or extras we had to remind them that we still wanted those when they didn’t arrive. The hot springs are through the lodge. The locker rooms are nice but the lockers have no locks and I don’t see how you could bring your own to secure them. Best to manage your possessions pool side. The pools are nice and the water is drained everyday according to the front desk. If you want the best experience in the pools, then go to an early session. Overall it is an experience, not one I would repeat but that is just my opinion. If you choose to go anyway then I am positive you will enjoy the views and all the wonders nature offers in this remote location.

On a rainy day in the Olympic National Park, we decided to fortify ourselves with a hot lunch before a hike, and soak in the pools afterwards. The restaurant was really not worth the visit. Uninspired menu, tasteless food, server slow and uninterested in anything resembling efficiency. Overpriced too. The springs themselves were a bargain (should have brought our own towels), and clean and well kept. People were friendly and courteous, and the pools were remarkably clean. Lovely sitting in hot water with soft rain falling. We didn't stay in the cabins (there wasn't any availability) and they looked run down. Disappointed in the NPS awarding the concession to Aramark. Be aware that there is no cell service. Go for the springs, skip the restaurant and cabins. Stay and eat elsewhere.

I booked this resort a long time before we visited, as the date got closer I started reading terrible reviews and got pretty worried that I had made a mistake. Not True! This place is wonderful. First the location is truly amazing. We traveled to the rainforest and beaches easily. We hiked to Sol Duc waterfall (must do)! On your 12 mile drive in on the right there will be a sign that says Salmon crossing, stop and go look. It is a small beautiful waterfall that we almost missed. So here are a few details that people complained about. Parking and checkin: so parking is first come first serve and people who are there for the day take a lot of parking. We didn’t have issues with this, there was always some parking and then when it cleared out we parked closer to our cabin. The check in line, yes you must check in with the people wanting passes to the pool. Not a big deal the only time it is super busy is on the hour so if you happen to be there exactly on the hour you may have to wait a few extra min to checkin. One check and you are good to go for the entire time. They give you a bracelet for the hotsprings for the entire time there. The place is rustic but that is the charm. It is in the middle of the wilderness and so very peaceful. We loved it and will go back. We visited July 2,3, and had no issues. Don’t let other reviews cause worry. The hotsprings were perfect and comfortable, not too many people that it couldn’t be enjoyed, we usually soaked after a long day out and about.

First, the positive: this is a great location for reaching lots of great places on the northern and northwestern parts of the Olympic peninsula, and the resort is of historical interest so we'd wanted to stay here for quite some time. That said, we found (consistent with some prior reviews), that the customer service was really poor and the cost of staying at the resort was markedly overpriced because of that and because of the outdated nature of the cabin in which we stayed (kitchen appliances, bathroom and shower, old linoleum floors and musty carpet, and so forth). We expect more for what we paid. In fairness, staffing numbers seemed to be simply inadequate to handle both people checking in at 4 PM and people wishing to enter the pools at the same time. There were two people trying to handle two ques of people from the same small reception desk. Told we could check in at 4, when we got through the check-in line at 4:20 we were informed that our cabin wasn't ready. She had no estimate of when it might be ready (she was clearly worn down and just didn't seem to care after having to have said the same thing to others before us). We returned around six and had to join the end of the line again. This was a frustrating start to our stay. In sum, we're glad we had the experience, because we did finally experience this resort and we truly enjoyed a nearby walk through old-growth forest on an easy trail to Sol Duc falls, and a day-trip out to Cape Flattery and Shi Shi beach made logistically much easier because we started and ended the day from the resort. But within the ONP, our future visits will not be here. The Quinault Lodge, the Kalaloch resort and the Lake Crescent lodge have all provided markedly better lodging experiences for us.

Believe the negative reviews. We went with an open mind knowing everyone’s expecting of places and events are different. The cabin itself is actually pretty ok if the price was about $100 less a night. Way way over priced. Beds and linens were nice and the room was clean and seems freshly updated. Toiletries provided but poor quality annd the towels anre far from plush. Our room came with a Keurig coffee maker and about six coffee pods even tho when we called to ask were told there was nothing like that provided. We packed our own and didn’t need it. Beds, table, small table and a small loveseat. No refer or microwave. Picnic bench in the grass in front of the unit and small wooden swing bench on the porch. The room was good just too expensive and bad communication on what was provided. So the pools…so so disappointing. The check in is unorganized and kind of dismissive when we asked any questions about hours etc of the pools. So many people are allowed in at one time it’s ridiculous. I think we were in shock when we walked in and saw so many people in all of the pools. Yes it was a holiday weekend but the problem is there are no hours at all for guests actually staying at the resort and apparently they sell as many day passes as people show up. No designated hours for overnight guests, no reserved parking resort guests, not even in front of the rented cabins. Any day use cars can park wherever they want. No management of the facilities at all that we could see other than making sure everyone paid. It was frustrating and infuriating that we paid so much money to basically fend for ourselves for checking and parking and anything else that came up. They didn’t seem to care one bit that it was a challenge to even find parking to get to our cabin or find a seat in the over filled pools. It was crazy busy full and seems like it would be a health code voilation to have so many people in the pools at one time. The sulfur smell is very very strong(not their fault just a fact) and the pools themselves don’t really seem made for comfortable relaxing once you do find a couple of inches to squeeze in and sit. The pool grounds are man made cement and even tho surrounded by trees and greenery it’s not relaxing or restful. Kids treating the small hot springs pools like swimming pools rather than relaxing pools even tho there is a big (be it cold) actual swimming pool at one end that could be used for play. And it was loud! So loud. Not the sort of a**osphere we are looking for when wanting the health benefits of mineral spring water and the forest. Also they don’t really advertise that an additional National parks fee of $30.00 has to be paid to even get in to the place. We knew and bought the year pass which is the same price in advance on the National Parks page as the seven day pass at the gate. Which doesn’t seemed to be monitored in any way at the resort. I am sure a lot of people don’t know this and are shocked and upset when they pull up and have to pa

Visited the hot spring lodge over the course of several days, each time the restrooms were dirty and constantly out of toilet paper. There were globs of wet toilet paper on the restroom floors. Soap dispensers were constantly empty, the showers had a sign apologizing in advance for the possibility of a cold shower due to water heater issues. The restroom floors had tangles of hair laying around in the puddles of standing water. We wanted to go into the pools but after experiencing how poorly they maintained the restrooms we opted not to risk it. This place was gross!

I was quite offended at the price of the room for what we got. We stayed in a duplex room with a kitchen. It smelled like mold and was disgusting. You can tell whoever cleaned it, was 'checking off the boxes' and did not do anything that wasn't on the list. The walls had squished bugs stuck to them, the baseboards were filthy. It was gross. The sheets on one of the beds had stains on them. We are a family of three and asked if we could get another chair for the kitchen table so we could all sit and play games and were told that the maintenance personnel was off and she would try and get a hold of someone. No one ever got back to me. It's so strange that the entire place is run by teenagers and it's obvious there's zero accountability. We stayed for 5 nights and our room was never cleaned, and trash was never emptied. It's laughable that it's called a 'resort'. The problem is, if you're hiking and want to be near all of the hikes to avoid hours of driving, they've got you. There aren't any other places to stay except Lake Crescent. We went to Lake Crescent for lunch and it was gorgeous - I wish we would have stayed there.