Review of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa: Pros & Cons

June 18th, 2007 · 6 Comments

Pro: Free (for me)

Con: Forced to purchase Carlos Mencia tickets in order for room to be free

Pro: Hot tubs on deck!!! (I can’t stress enough how very pro this is)

Con: $300/night for hot tubs on deck room for people who haven’t won raffle prize

Pro: Beautiful drive up through wine country

Con: Long winding drive up through Bay Area and wine country traffic

Pro: Apartment-sized Vista Moon room with kitchen, living room and fireplace

Con: Motel-like appearance

Pro: Beautiful lake views

Con: Distasteful mullet views

Pro: They let you take bottles of wine back to your room from the restaurant

Con: Denny’s style (and quality) food

Pro: Lots of activities for adults and kids alike, including putt-putt, tennis, jet skiing and speaking with a drawl

Con: Assholes like this (notice that not only is this guy parked on the grass, but he also ran over the orange cones)

Pro: Two sizeable pools

Con: Pool mostly overrun with children

Pro: Discount Starcard entitles holder to plethora of discounts

Con: Can’t use it for shit during “concert weekends” of which there are many

Pro: Hot sunny weather while SF is steeped in fog

Con: Concert headliners whose careers are mostly steeped in the fog of yesteryear

Pro: Getting stoned at the Dancing Springs Spa (Oh my god, Kathryn is the BEST hot stone massage therapist I’ve ever encountered)

Con: Spa apparently decorated by disgruntled high school gym teacher

Overall though, it was a very delightful weekend. Konocti isn’t the type of place I’d pay to stay, but it was a nice reprieve. I think Travel Boyfriend said it best as we were checking out, “At the very least, it kept my mind off of my impending colonoscopy.” Indeed.

Travel Betty Basics

Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa
3.5 hour drive from San Francisco (they claim 2.5, but don’t buy it)
Rooms from $89-$599

Here’s a good article from SFGate.com about Clear Lake, including where to fish and other places to stay.

Tags: California · Lodging · Northern California · USA

6 responses so far ↓

1 Izz // Jun 21, 2007 at 2:15 am

It looks like a nice and laid back place to me. A nice hideaway. Hope you had fun there.
2 Travel Betty // Jun 22, 2007 at 10:10 am

Hi Izz,

Thanks for stopping by!

We definitely had fun and you’re right that it’s laid back. I just didn’t think it was a good value for the money. For $300 per night, I expected more than cinder block walls.

For readers interested in vacationing in Clearlake, there are plenty of private rentals listed on vrbo.com
3 Gina // Aug 9, 2007 at 4:10 pm

Absolutely worst “getaway” weekend of my life there. By the way, that guy parks like that every day.

Slipped and fell in lobby while 5 security staff watched no response, no offer of assistance. Waitress stepped on katsup packet and sprayed katsup ALL OVER my clothes in the cafe. One of our guests was attacked and beaten in the resort parking lot by a local known to Konocti staff. So 2 rooms, 2 nights @ $300 a night plus tax and their idea of a comp was 1/2 of 1 room for 1 night. Too many locals.
4 Travel Betty // Aug 9, 2007 at 5:55 pm

Yikes, Gina! That doesn’t sound like much of a getaway at all.

Too funny about the Hummer driver though. What’s his deal?
5 Mimi // Jul 29, 2009 at 7:45 pm

I came online trying to find a place to write about how awful this place is…..the thing is I was just there and the same pompous ass Hummer was parked out front….WTF
6 Travel Betty // Jul 30, 2009 at 9:48 am

Ha! Must be the owner or manager or something. Ack.