Deer Creek Cabins and Lodge

For about 15 years my family has spent Thanksgiving here, and now we're extremely disappointed. This year they introduced a no-pet policy, even though we'd all planned to bring our dogs. I tried to discuss the change and the $50 per pet per visit charge with the owners, but they wouldn't budge. We always left the lodge cleaner and neater than we found it, and they wouldn't even talk to us directly. Everything went through an employee. What used to be a great family reunion spot has turned into a bust, and now we have to find somewhere else. Their attitude has us so bummed.

The upstairs great room and scenery at Lodge #5 were beautiful, but the downstairs sleeping area felt like a dungeon. I strongly suggest documenting the place at check-in and checkout if you want your cleaning deposit back. In my experience, the owner expects guests to clean up after the people who stayed before them, then blamed us for trash downstairs that wasn't ours: a crushed turquoise can, a glow stick, and colored ponytail holders. We had only taken Mountain Dew downstairs, and none of the five people who slept there use those hair ties. We swept the upstairs great room and kitchen several times, at least six people saw it, and seven can confirm the room was mopped Sunday. Five people, including a lodge employee, saw me mop the kitchen. Still, she pointed to a footprint by an upstairs bathroom and a long black hair in a shower drain. Of the five overnight guests, only three used the biggest shower, and none of them had long black hair. The oven was so crusted over and smelly that we didn't want to use it even to keep food warm. She also said the outside grill had trash in it, but we never opened it because a local family in Wynnewood cooked the food at home and brought it over. After I explained all that, she still wouldn't refund even half the deposit. We paid nearly $1,800 for the lodge, pet fee, and deposit, and our family also brought almost $600 in business from renting a cabin and two motel rooms. I understand the lodges may be for sale, but slow business due to covid isn't a reason to cheat guests. I've seen other negative reviews about deposits too. Even after a thorough walkthrough at both ends, be ready to fight for your deposit. Good luck.

We've been coming for our family reunion every year for more than a decade, and we've watched the place grow. We love having access to both ponds and the docks. Hopefully the dock on the smaller pond behind the cabin gets fixed soon!

The place was clean, and our kids loved the animals in the field across from the cabins. It's a great spot for visiting Turner Falls. Ronda was really sweet and helped us book a last-minute trip.