Our family always spends the 4th of July in Williamsburg. We normally stay at the Marriott but my husband enjoys the Historic area so much that I thought it would be a real treat to park the car and relax. The Williamsburg Lodge proved to provide just what we were looking for. We were initially assigned a room in the Tazewell building. The hotel consists of a series of buildings. Upon inspection we found the room to be very far from the center of the hotel. The Tazewell building itself reminded me of a College Dormitory. The room was large, ncely appointed and had a balcony. We rejected it because the balcony overlooked a service area with industrial air conditioners and the room seemed very dark. The front desk was accomodating and offered a room in the Custis building. We liked this room better because it was closer to the center of the hotel and seemed a bit more cheerful although it was quite a bit smaller. The rooms and hallways are nicely decorated in an updated Colonial style. We stayed for 2 nights. The Lodge's location cannot be beat unless you want to pay more for the Inn. We had breakfast at the buffet on both mornings. The food was average upscale hotel fare but the service (i.e. coffee refills, plates removed,check) was very slow. Do not order from the menu. My son, age 12, was still hungry after ordering from the adult menu and I had to then pay for the buffet as well. The concierge at the lodge was very helpful.

We will definitely stay here again. I believe it is worth the extra cost.

We stayed at the Lodge during a hot, sunny Williamsburg weekend. We choose this place each time we visit because we get to partake of many of the amenities that the Inn offers, yet don't have to pay the Inn's steep prices. We also like to be close to the Historic Area, so we don't have to use our car the entire weekend.

You should know that the decor of the Lodge is intended to be "colonial rustic". (Plush is for the Williamsburg Inn across the street.) Plus, we don't come to Williamsburg to stay in our room--we come to be out and about. I've stayed in both the Tazewell Wing and the South Wing, and found both to be every bit worth the $149 we paid. (They do offer AAA and AARP discounts, so ask when making reservations.)

The value is particularly good I feel, especially when you consider that guests have free use of the brand-new gym at the Inn, and the Inn's amazing 3 pools. We spent much of the weekend by the adult pool, quietly reading on wrought iron chaise lounges (with plush cushions), under crepe myrtles and umbrellas. Pool staff come by periodically with cool towels. The cabana is very nice, and the pool house has a small menu that they will serve to you pool-side.

We also stopped by the Inn on Saturday afternoon, where they were serving complimentary iced tea and cookies to Inn and Lodge guests. We enjoyed our refreshment on the Inn's terrace, overlooking their amazing grounds, and relaxing in the shade with our feet up. (They also have cocktail service out here).

If you want good meals, stick to the Inn. Their breakfast is fantastic, and we have had both the afternoon tea in the Terrace Room, and also a light dinner in the Terrace Room, both of which were fantastic. When we visit, we savor the environment--excellent classical music, fresh flowers everywhere, beautifully landscaped grounds, and impeccable service.

My husband and I and our 3.5 year old daughter stayed for one night on Friday 25 July. e had stayed previously at the Williamsburg Inn and enjoyed the luxury but it was $400 a night) so when we needed a place to stay to cut the travel time in half to North Carolina we sayed at the Lodge for $169 (after the AAA discont). It was perfect as we made ful use of the 2 outdoor swimming pools and the beautiful grounds. The room was very nice in one of the newly renovated annex buildings which had 2 queen beds, a large bathroom which was sparkling clean and with an amazingly good shower. The beds were comfy. We had the seafood buffet for $25 per person (kids are free) which was only OK but it's hard for buffets to be very good. We also had the breakfast buffet which was also fine. The only draw back with our room was that it was noisy - we could hear the people clearly in the rooms on both sides of us and all the doors inclding te exit doors slam really loudly. At about 11.30pm it was quiet enough for us to get to sleep. All the staff were super friendly. The spa and workout facilities were excellent.

We stayed in a room in Tazewell Hall, which is the modern building. I selected it because I could choose to have a balcony, however, we didn't use it at all. The balcony was very tiny, and faced another building, no real garden view, just a patch of grass and other windows. The room was a good size, bed comfortable, but there were a few extra layers of blankets under the bottom sheet, perhaps due to other reviews saying the beds were hard? Anyway, it was basically a lovely room, though the toilet was alarmingly slow, the bathroom was quite adequate but small. Even though we were not in the main hotel which houses the restaurant and lounge, the buildings are connected by a covered walkway, and the grounds are lovely. The swimming pools and gym are just across the street and there is an indoor lap pool which is adults only from 6am to 3pm, which is great for those who actually use it to exercise. The down side was that the restaurant was not that great, and overpriced for the menu. I did not care at all for the Seared Beef Seviche appetizer, and they did take it off my bill. I then had a salmon dish for my main course. Tthe salmon was good, but it was floating on a soupy mix of something I couldn't quite identify. Not actually bad, but not really good. Frankly, I expected better, so we had the rest of our dinners at local restaurants. Breakfast buffet was average. Location is excellent, just 1/2 block from the Colonial streets and activities.