For almost $2000 a week our "suite" as they called it was a dump. My feet did not touch this carpet once being I was afraid I may get fungus on my feet. The couch in the room was disgusting as well which left no place to sit and relax for a few minutes. The beds in the room mustve been 20 yrs old being they sunk in the middle. They have the nerve to leave an envelope for the maid when I was the maid all week having to take out the garbage daily (not even a close location to drop it off) and get my own towels within a 3 hour time period in a separate location. Honestly, dont waste your time and money here.

This was our first time in Lake George. Our stay at the Depe Dene was excellent. We had 5 units in the Forest Cottages and that worked out perfect for our family. Anna the new manager made reservations for dinner at Georges Restaurant and they accomidated 21 of us with no problem.

The resort was clean, the pool was perfect and the beach was wonderful.Our kids had a great time with all the activities.

This was our first year but not our last. Next year we are going to try to book "The Mansion" on the property.

From our entire family THANK YOU!

The Clarks

This year (2008) will be my 12th year staying at Depe Dene, and from my experience I can honestly say that this resort is one of the best family resorts on the lake. I've read the reviews that people have posted and I don't believe that they do it justice. One must realize that the reasons for visiting Lake George is to experience NATURE. To escape our city or suburban lives and to experience the trees, mountains, and especially the water. I believe many of the people visiting, fellow Long Islanders I'm sure, are used to and expecting pseudo-Marriott type rooms. What you can expect are cabins that are accomodating, comfortable and practical. The cabins are beautiful don't get me wrong, but if they are your primary concern than you probably are spending too much time inside and not embracing the wonderful environment that Lake George has to offer. The resort provides many things, such as free BBQ meals, boating, WiFi, water sports, a pool, tennis and basketball court, and even more that only a staff member could remember. The resort is under new management and the resort is looking and operating better than ever. They will accomodate you in any way and will contrary to previous posts, they will fix problems immediately. Need an example? My cabin "neighbor" complained about a problem with his stove, and within 2 hours, the owner bought and installed a new stove while they were gone. I'm definitely coming again next year!

I am reading all the reviews here, and I figured that I should add one...as I have been going there for the last 18 summers. My family of 5 (three kids) have been vacationing the 4th of July week at Depe Dene for 18 years in a row. We all but one time stayed in the same 3 bedroom cabin. While so many of the things that they are writing about the resort are true, I feel that I have to defend it a bit.

First, the price has become some what steep, considering what we paid when we used to first go. When you consider that you get essentially a three bedroom house (in my case) on a resort Lake in the height of the tourist season, I guess it is in line with other vacations. I have found my cabin in lots of different states of repair on arrival, different years....some years mice, some years ants...one year there were skunks living under my cabin, and in the middle of the night sprayed under my sons room (that was not great, I must admit) oh and the year of the mosquitos (not the resorts fault) when we could hardly go outside....The beds are not the best, and I have seen the furniture in my cabin change over the years from early salvation army decor to discount garage sale decor. Pots, and pans have come and gone.....my refridgerator has been missing a shelf or two, and the carpet in my bedroom had what looked like a milkdud stuck in the same place for a few years running (I finally got a new carpet). I learned to step over that spot. There is no daily maid service, and you have to walk up and down a small hill to exchange your towels each day, and retrieve your own toilet paper. You might say it is a step above camping (self admittedly, I have never gone camping so I am assuming here) with air-conditioning, and cable tv.

OK, so now you are wondering why have I gone there for 18 years. Here are the reasons....we have gone up with many other families over the years. I have watched their children grow up over the many summers. Every year I marvel at how big they got since the summer before. The staff is eclectic, and friendly. They keep the grounds clean, and fairly natural....that is a plus for me. I love the view, you can't beat it. There are many places at the resort that I love to go sit, from a ledge overlooking the lake, to a 2 seater swing that I have sat with my kids or husband (or even alone, glass of wine in hand, or book to read) and watched boats go by. Sitting on my porch BBQing, and having dinner at night, watching the kids play ball on the big lawn, and talking with the other friends, and guests. Discussing who will get up in the morning to score chairs at the beach by laying out towels early. There are no planned activites at this resort, (except for a tuesday BBQ with some of the cheapest hot dogs sold...guaranteed to repeat on you for the rest of the day) yet there is never enough time to do everything that you want to do. If you are interested there are tennis courts, badmitton nets, and somewhere I heard there is shuffle board (I should have seen, but I dont think I have) There is a game room, not a huge one...but it is a place for the teens of the resort to find each other. The pool was re-done a few years ago, and is really nice...the hot tub is another popular spot for the older teens. If you have small ones you will have to keep a watchful eye, because the grounds are rustic, and large...lots of places to get lost. There is a playground with a God- awful merry-go-round thing that the kids love...I always wished that they would have filled the middle in, as I had nightmares about a kid losing a body part on it...but all of my kids lived through it....and so did I.

So, I have learned what to bring (my own cleaning supplies....and as soon as I pull in, I am in the cabin wiping down the bath, and kitchen with disinfectant) Once I do that and settle in...I relax my standards a bit for the rest of the week, and have a wonderful time. Bring a few pots, a pan...paper plates, and cups and you will be fine (a bottle of wine, and possibly some vodka most have found useful too, lol) I am looking forward to my week there a month from now, and have already begun planning. My kids who are not little kids anymore can't wait, they feel as if it is their vacation home. My twins took their first steps at Depe Dene, one of them had her first kiss there (many years later!) My son leaned to water ski, I had too many wonderful memories to count with friends and family. I guess the anser is yes, I would reccomend it highly....just turn a blind eye to a bit of the dirt, and don't forget your wine.

We were sent a brochure in the mail promptly after we inquiered information through the Lake George Chamber. My husband and I decided to go to Lake George for the wekend to make plans for a family reunion this summer.

When we arrived at the Depe Dene we were warmly greated by the General Manager Ana and escorted us to our room.The views from our room were breath taking. The unit was immaculate and the grounds were perfect.

We had a wonderful weekend and the only down side was that he resort was totaly booked for the weeks we were available to come back. We hope perhaps for next year.

The Connors

After driving thru the premises (, we arrived at our cottage at the Depe Dene with much trepidation. To our horror, the condition of the cottage was worst than we ever could have imagined. The blankets on the beds were infested with hair, the bleach used in the bathroom was unable to conceal the scent of urine, and the stained and riped carpet were unfit for any animal. We closed to doors in the rooms only to find the back of the door laden with cob webs and infested with spiders. The draws in the bedrooms were filled with mice droppings and the chewed out holes along the bottom of the walls were clear evidence that mice were present. The couch smelled like dirty feet and it was quite obvious that the place had not been cleaned or dusted in some time. The image of my children (3 and 8 months) sleeping in this dump and touching the floors (cringing) sent me off on my search for another place to stay. We tried to keep our cool and asked management in a civilized manner to address our concerns about the cleanliness of the cottage. They agreed to send their "top housekeepers" to the cottage for a deep cleaning. We left the premises and returned four hours later only to find the cottage in the same shape. At that point the lady at the front desk came down to the cottage to verify the complaints. She felt that our complaints were valid and the place was unsanitary for adults, let alone the children. She told us that she was not authorized to give us a refund and she needed to contact the GM. Throughout our four day stay, we went back to the office three times to speak with the GM. We were told that we would only be refunded for a portion of our stay, which we felt was unacceptable. We later learned that the owners of this dump are trying to sell it and obviously do not have much regard of the facility. We are still in the process of fighting for a refund and I can only hope someone reading them can learn from our experience and stay clear of this motel, and their sister hotel -- the Tea Island Resort.

We searched the internet for a place that was good for kids (2- 3 year olds and a 6 month old). From the pictures this looked like a great place. After paying in full we went into the beach cottage # 215. the site of duck tape holding the carpet together was our first clue that we had a problem. Then seeing how the floor was not vacuumed. We then went to the bedrooms. The Blanket was covered with hair. It was impossible for someone to make the bed and not notice the hair. We then checked the sheet and found more hair as well as black spots. Behinde the bedroom door was a HUGE spider web - at least 8 inches long and 5 inches wide. We called the office and Jennifer promised to send someone right over. I even went to the office to tell them that our wives were ready to check out. They promised to get right on it. We left for 3.5 hours and returned to the room without any cleaning done. We looked further in the room and found mouse droppings in one of the drawers. Pretty hard to miss that if they opened the drawer. At this point there was no way we were going to stay here. We wnet backl to the office to tell them we wanted our money back. Sharon said she could not do that and was waiting to hear back from the GM. She then came down to the room to see the problems. She agreed with everything we complained about. She told us that their head housekeeper was off that day. She said she could get the head housecleaner form their sister hotel to come in and clean the room in front of us. We said with mouse droppings there was no way we could stay. She still could not give us a refund. We left anyway and told her we had pictures of everything. We went to Still Bay and loved it. As of this post still diputing the charge with Visa. On Monday the board of health and chamber of commerce will be notified.

We planned a vacation with a bunch of friends several months ago and they picked the Depe Dene (which we now refer to as the dumpy Dene). I personally called the Depe Dene and asked a lot of questions about the resort. When I arrived I found that they lied to me about all of my concerns. The pictures on the internet were definitely touched up or about 20 years old. My first question I asked was about the size of the Lakeview Townhouse. I was told it can fit 6 adults comfortably. My group was 4 adults and a 5 year old, 2 year old and 10 month old. It was a very tight fit. They tell you that the kitchens come equip with silverware and dishes. This stuff was gross; I wouldn’t even give it to a bum to use.

Here is the list of all of the issues within the first 10 hours of my stay

1) House was infested with Ant and Mosquitoes. We couldn’t even let our children play on the floor. Ants were falling from the ceilings, in the rug, in the beds, all over the toilet bowls.

2) Carpets were Very Dirty. I would rather eat off of the sidewalks in NYC then touch the carpets.

3) We found Nail Clippings in the carpets.

4) Bathroom was moldy

5) Bedrooms had cobwebs

6) Sheets were ripped and disgusting

7) Mattresses were as hard as a rock

8) The Sofa’s stunk like dirty feet

9) The TV was on a small round table. It wobbled so much that we feared it falling on one of the kids

10) Bats we flying around under our outside deck

11) A bunch of people from Staten Island rented about a dozen houses around us and were rude and obnoxious. These guests had a “Chucky” doll hanging in a noose in the front of one of the houses. Poor images for little children. It sounded like a frat party every night and our children could not fall asleep. We complained to the front desk and they told us they can make noise up to 11pm.

12) The Toaster did not work

13) People that worked for the resort were nasty. It seemed like we were bothering them when we would complain about something.

14) The pool was dirty.

15) The offer wireless internet and it don’t work. When I called to complain, they told me it was my problem.

16) Bulbs were out all over the house

17) They showed no urgency to my complaints.

18) Not enough parking around the houses.

After two days of complaining about the ants and other issues, I finally lost it when an ant was crawling on my 10 month old. My wife and sister-in-law went to the front office to complain and got nowhere.

I finally went too the office and demanded a full refund. I asked for the owners or the managers and the ladies at the front desk stared me down like they were the victim. I threatened to take them to court and sue them for the house rental for a week and all four adults salaries for wasting vacation. I also threatened to call the Board of Health because Ants should not be crawling on children. They told me it would take several hours to get approval for a refund. I then told them that I would stand at the front door of the resort and tell everyone what a dump the place was. Within 5 minutes I received a full refund. They even refunded the money for the two nights I stayed.

Then proceeded to tell me that I was not welcomed back. I laughed!

Don’t let them scare you, if you have issues be aggressive and raise your voice and threaten to sue them and call the Police. They will refund your money if you push the issues. The place is a dump, and they should not be called a resort.

I took pictures of all that I have listed. They threatened me because I told them I would write a bad review. They told me if I had intentions of writing this review, they were going to reverse charges on my credit card. I needed to let people know.

We told everyone we ran into about the Depe Dene Resort and they all told us they hear complaints all of the time. Do yourself a favor, spend a little more money and go to a better place.

The People who say they love it have obviously not ever been to a real resort!

The location was beautiful. The room was filthy, the sheets were ripped and all four beds were the most uncomfortable I have ever experienced. The kitchen was still dirty from the previous occupants. The laundry room was disgusting. Overall, it was the worst resort I have ever stayed in. I was very disappointed. We left three days early with no refunds.