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October 2023 by E Swartz
This place is in disrepair as a national park and the hot springs and campground are very poorly run. Inconsiderate campers looking to party. I’m not normally anti immigrant or different culture but this place almost makes me feel that way- the last few times we’ve camped here it’s always been Mexican groups keeping everyone up all night partying not observing quiet hours, folks from all over with zero idea of etiquette for camping or the hot springs- this time there was a middle eastern woman blowing her nose into the hot springs. Everyone just looked at each other and cleared out. Folks don’t shower before getting in- clearly wearing their underwear. It’s disgusting. Don’t get me started on the campsite reservation issues. I guess because some meth heads decided to vandalize the payment receptacles at the campground - they just completely abandoned any system that makes sense? It’s chaotic- you’re supposed to now go to the hot springs lodge to reserve a site but by the time you get back to the campground someone else- usually someone from another culture- has moved into the site. then you have to go back to the lodge to tell them and they will literally do nothing. It’s just insane. No campground host is to be seen- no one enforcing quiet hours, no envelops for reserving sites. Broken stuff… it’s bad.
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October 2023 by Lisa G.
I was concerned based on the reviews that I had read. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a pretty basic cabin (heat didn't work real well). It was a rustic cabin so if you are thinking a fancy resort it is not. Our room was clean. The hot springs were very busy but there was room for everyone. The pools are not labeled real well so we were not sure what each of the pools were. You only get to be in the pool for 1.5 hours and then everyone has to leave. If you stay in the cabins you can go to any or all of the sessions. If you go don't expect that you will be at some fancy resort.
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October 2023 by Yuli L.
We came for some hot spring soaking while the leaves were turning colors in the Pacific Northwest. It's always a mystery to me as to why more people do not enjoy hot springs, and why don't we have more facilities in the NW, but that's a conversation for another day. Prior to our visit, I was a bit concerned about the EV charging as I now own an EV. I can tell you now that there's no problem with it, as there are plenty of fast charging stations along I-5. Sol Doc also has two of its own free, level 2 chargers. In fact, we quickly realized EV charging was the least of our concerns. The things we were not prepared for were: food, wardrobe, and cell reception. We stayed at the Sol Doc Hot Springs Resort, which is inside of Olympic National Park, and a bit far from civilization. So that means either you have to drive 30 minutes to a nearby town for food, eat at the onsite restaurant, or bring your own food to cook. The onsite restaurant is small but mighty. The servers were friendly and the food was surprisingly decent. However, we quickly realized the cost was adding up, and we didn't need to eat a huge portion for every meal. That's the moment we wished we brought some bread and fresh fruit for breakfast or snacks. Also, it could be a competition to get seated as there are more visitors than tables; we had to wait a bit for our food at times.The hot spring pools were nice. There was some debris in the pool but that's what happens when it's situated in a natural setting, and it didn't bother me. They were open during different time slots throughout the day so we have to plan accordingly. There are 4 pools including 3 circular pools for hot springs soaking, and 1 big square pool for swimming. I personally like the big circle pool as it's the perfect temperature for me. If you want slightly hotter/colder temperatures, there are two other pools for your liking. There are also onsite showers that are very convenient for visitors as well. We saw some seasoned visitors come with iced beverages and bath robes, and I thought that was just brilliant (especially if you are staying in the cabins). That way you can walk back to your room leisurely without trying to wash, dry and squeeze yourself back into your clothes while your skin is still hot and wet. The last thing and the most bothersome thing was the lack of wifi and cell reception. You will get NO reception there, which we were not aware of. Normally I don't really care about it, as I am an internet hermit myself. However... when my mom couldn't find me that night and left 11 messages, it created chaos and needlessly to say things can escalate quickly! Also the inability to access Google Maps was a bit scary. It's a great place to force people to return to nature (and live like we did pre-1999). In the good old times, we simply lived our lives without the (interruption of) internet and social media. I just wish we knew about it before coming so we could inform our families and download the maps beforehand. Another puzzling thing was the temperature of the cabin. Our cabin was so hot, it reminded us of the Turkish hammam. For a while we thought we were dying in the desert, it's THAT hot. Since you can't adjust the temperature (the switch was a decoration apparently), we ended up opening the window the entire night. The room was clean when we were there, so no complain about that.Overall, I did enjoy the stay at Sol Duc. If I am to return, however, I will know what to bring and what to expect which will make my experience much better. Overall, I would recommend Sol Doc to anyone who loves nature and hot springs.
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October 2023 by Maria L.
The hot springs themselves were nice. We went there twice. First in the evening session and then in the first morning session. The price is pretty fair and offer reduced pricing for children and military. The facility is well kept. Do NOT dine there. Just DONT! We ate here for dinner and the burgers were decent. Fries not so much. The tiramisu tasted fine but looked like they dropped it a few times then scoop it up and put in a sundae glass. Note to chef, manager...that's NOT how you serve tiramisu. The service we got in the morning was so bad. They don't know how to greet guests, no wait-list. No coffee for breakfast but offered to make us Americanos which turned out to be room temperature. So I ordered the a mimosa , big mistake because it tasted like Welch's grape juice. Gross. I cannot say anything about the breakfast since we left after watching a table of 4 who were sat 10 minutes after we placed our order come out woth
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September 2023 by Kim R.
Our experience was only with the resort restaurant, as we walked in for breakfast and dinner while staying at the campground. The restaurant is small, as is the menu, pricing I found a bit high. Dinner service was friendly, fast, and attentive. We ordered the elk burger (which my husband enjoyed a lot) and the fish & chips with side salad (both fabulous). Breakfast wasn't nearly as good an experience. While the food was good, the service we received was appalling. I had to remind our server of the coffee I'd ordered, and then flag her down later to request a refill. We were never checked in on again after our food arrived, and actually ended up waiting at least 10-15 minutes once finished until we were able to get the servers attention and our check. And they were not overly busy, so it was just this particular server I assume as the other server was at her tables constantly. Good food, hit or miss service.
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August 2023 by Ellen D.
I enjoyed my time here but it was not an experience I'd recommend over doing other things in the park. If you've been to a nice hot springs or spa before, I recommend skipping the experience.The changing rooms could have been cleaner and lockers didn't have locks (so we took our valuables with us).Place was crowded and didn't really allow for much relaxation. Definitely overhyped and not worth the time when in such a beautiful natural setting.
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August 2023 by Kristina Rumer
It was a great camping spot, close to the river and resort. The hot springs does stink and is dirty but worth the visit. The resort also has a restaurant but the menu is very small, I wish they had more options I think it would bring in more business. They have a place with showers and restrooms so you can change easy. The water definitely felt good on the skin and was hot. It's definitely a must visit at least once. The campground has picnic tables, bathrooms, fresh water, and garbage can. Some of the spots you have to walk down and can't drive your vehicle to the spot.
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August 2023 by Josh Chae
We have been visiting here every year since I moved to Seattle area. Quite, beautiful, clean, spacious, lovely , and private campsite. Easy to access Sol Duc Hot spring resort, Sol Duc fall, and a few other trails. My one of best campgrounds in WA.
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August 2023 by Kelvin Price
Real real nice. Mostly by reservation, but some are saved for first come, first served. Completely surrounded by beautiful, old trees. Each site is fairly private. Potable water next to the bathrooms. Everything you might need at the front office, though the firewood is expensive. Hot Springs are basically just a pool, and cost like $20 to access.
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July 2023 by Theresa S.
This review is mostly for the restaurant at the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort. We stayed at the nearby Olympic NP campground, on Loop B, which was stunning... total enchanted forest. Loop A is the same. For a break from camp food, we went one night for dinner to the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort restaurant. Overall, we were disappointed. The service was slow, but I don't fault the waitstaff because they were really busting their butts. Management needs to hire more waitstaff. The two ladies there were doing their best under lousy conditions.Another problem... we could BARELY read the menus. They looked like they had been printed with an ink-jet printer that was running out of ink. The adults' menu was very limited: for dinner there were a couple of salads (descriptions indecipherable), a cheeseburger, an elk burger, fish and chips, and some side options that were also indecipherable. My husband ordered the cheeseburger, for $16. He said it was good, but it's hard to mess up a cheeseburger. I ordered the fish and chips, for $23... it was not great. It tasted like a soggy Van de Camps breaded fish filet. Also, they had no chips (i.e. fries), so the waitress apologetically offered us house salads, which turned out to be good, but it's also hard to mess up a house salad. There was no dressing choice... you just got vinaigrette. We asked for diet colas with our dinner. They weren't listed on the menu, or maybe they were in the unreadable sections at the bottom, but we were shocked at their price ($5.50) given they came in water goblets that were mostly filled with ice. The table water they served us was, ironically, NOT filled with ice and very much room temperature.Side note: there are 2 restrooms available for diners at the restaurant. When we were there, neither had paper products of any kind: no TP, no seat protectors, no paper towels. That's just gross.We were contemplating going for a soak in the hotsprings but after spending dinner observing the "people soup" outside the restaurant window, we decided there was no way we wanted to shell out $18 each to sit shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of strangers, simmering in water of questionable cleanliness.I'd definitely go back to the campground. I wouldn't ever bother going back to the resort.Aramark runs the resort, as well as many (perhaps all?) the U.S. National Park concessions. They are notorious for ripping you off. Everything they touch is substandard and overpriced. It's dismaying to see how they use the National Parks to make billions off visitors who just have to accept the crappy service.
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June 2023 by Silver Fox
A great spot for a weekend getaway! Campgrounds are well maintained and everyone seems to respect the quiet hours.Restrooms: Cleaned and stocked daily.
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June 2023 by Brian F.
The Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort is situated by the Sol Duc River in Olympic National Park. Whether you stay here or not, you can still come and take advantage of their hot springs.The admission prices were (as of June 2023):- under 4: free- 4 to 11: $12- 12 to 62: $18- 62+: $12- military: $12- cabin guests: complimentaryTheir hot spring start times are every even hour (so 8am, 10am, 12pm, ..., 8pm) and last 1.5 hours. They do not allow reservations so we arrived 15 minutes before our desired time to buy tickets and give ourselves time to change. They had towel rentals for $5 so I highly recommend bringing your own towels to save on that charge.There were three mineral hot springs at the resort along with a swimming pool but unfortunately the pool was temporarily closed. Each of the hot springs was at least 105 degrees and had varying levels of depth.The staff recommended we bring water bottles inside because it could get very hot, and it was doubly beneficial because the sun was beaming down on us. There was no shade so it was almost unbearably hot.There was a restaurant on premise to eat and a shop inside selling souvenir items. We enjoyed our time but we only stayed in the springs for about an hour because we thought it was more than enough. The showers were pretty clean and there were lockers to store our stuff too.
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April 2023 by W C.
As a family who lodged, dined, and splashed at the Sol Due Hot Springs Resort--"Resort"--we have plenty to say about this establishment. Let's break it down by category.Lodging: we stayed in a "non-kitchen" cabin for TWO HUNDRED FIFTY dollars a night. It was cold, dirty, and the hot water worked for approximately five whole minutes with barely any water pressure. When we asked for an extra blanket and space heater to be sent to the room, we never got the latter and the former showed up with holes. Yes! Literal, massive holes in a blanket. Listen, if this place was $100 a night, we wouldn't complain, but you're a captive in the park, so they get away with this price gauging.Dining: We ate breakfast here twice, and we have to say that it wasn't half bad, which is the only reason that we're landing on two stars instead of one. There is a single soul manning the whole operation, and she was a young lady who managed to hold down the fort pretty well considering some of the wildlings that she had to deal with. Coffee isn't horrible, and we enjoyed our meals. Our daughter had the pancakes both times, and the portion was not only sizable but you could tell that they were fresh and homemade. One of us also got the "build your own" omelet ($20) with bacon, mushroom, cheddar, and spinach both times, and it was also really good! You get a side of actual fresh fruit. So, overall, re. breakfast: pricey, but worth it, and mostly pleasant.Here's what happened when we came for dinner: the one guy working couldn't handle all the tables, so we sat ourselves and waited patiently for him to come over. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. He did not acknowledge our existence--not even a "hey, be over in a minute!" It seemed vaguely deliberate, so we got up and left and bought some snacks and beer in the mart outside for dinner. So, overall, re. dinner: horrible experience, wouldn't even attempt it.Hot springs: the locker room area is mostly fine, but the springs themselves are really outdated. Part of the seating area material inside the pool was chipping off and floating around. Yes, it's nice to be in a hot soak after a long and cold day of hiking, but this place was crowded and loud, and if not for our daughter's sheer joy of the experience, it would have been a huge bummer for us. At least it was included in the cost of the cabin!It seems like if the right people took this place over, it could be rehabilitated, run well, and really fun and nice. We're campers and we know how to do rustic, but if you're charging European prices, then at least deliver SOMETHING worthwhile. Aramark runs the whole operation and it's very obvious that they do not give a flying hoot about value or quality.
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October 2022 by Margo V.
Yesterday was my second time at Sol Duc hot springs. It is a treat to soak in the mineral water after days of camping and road tripping. This area of the Olympic National Park is often chilly and rainy, so the warm water is a relaxing remedy. The "hot springs" is a man-made pool out in the back and has steps underwater to sit on. There is no cell phone service and no wi-fi here. I liked that we did not need to reserve in advance. The $18 sessions are 1.5 hours each. For me, 1.5 hours is a perfect amount of time in the springs. I felt the price was also super reasonable. However, I think towels should be included. According to their website, it costs $5 to rent one. The showers and bathrooms were clean. They had a small machine that you could wring out water from your towel and bathing suit. It had directions and was easy to use. I wish they had a lounge area to relax in beforehand if you come early to your session or to relax in after your session.
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September 2022 by HB
A campsite fully covered with big pines. There is flush toilets available here. The lodge that’s nearby has shower facilities and hot water spring. You have to pay for hot spring for each 1:30 hr session.When I was at the campsite for two days there the camp host was not around , but you can get firewood from the host.