Bear in mind I'm not saying this is a five-star hotel (obviously), but for the money this place was legit. As a student I'm usually scraping the bottom of the piggy bank to do anything other than sleep and study.

Girlfriend and I came up to Tahoe for New Years this time around. As usual she took a while to get ready, and we were already driving up from the bay area. Finally she comes out and announces she's ready to go, and we head out around 7 PM.

We get to the Pine Cone Acre about quarter to 11 on Dec 30th. It was late as hell. Luckily, the neon sign said open and the lights were still on. Unluckily, the service window was closed and there wasn't a soul around. We knocked but there was no answer.

Losing hope we called the phone and left a message, telling them we were outside.

Success! A sleepy looking dude comes to the window and says that if we were two minutes later he wouldn't have heard the call. I think he was just being polite and got had just gotten out of bed and put on a friendly face to help out a couple young people get a warm bed. He was a nice guy, very informative and helpful. He told us that the place was full of college kids attending SnowGlobe and we let him know that was our agenda as well.

Room was clean and cozy. Heater was off the chain and the shower water was instantly warm. I don't go on vacation to watch TV, but if that's your thing they have all your usual cable channels. Wifi reception was strong, no problems there. No fridge, but that was the only downside.

We had unfortunately already booked another hotel for the next couple nights (long story) and lamented that we had to leave the great Pine Cone Acre.

The only reason I can think of why the rates are low is because not too many people know about it. It's past the right turn folks take onto Lake Tahoe Boulevard off of Highway 50. But in terms of location my GF and I had no complaints.

I'll be staying here every time I come to Tahoe.

Our family of 5 stayed here one night en route to Yosemite from Sacramento. Location was good and we stayed above the motel office in a family room that could sleep 6. Room was basic but comfy with modern en suite bathroom. Aircon was noisy and ineffective though. Proximity to restaurants was good. We chose the nearby Mexican which was really good and very popular with locals. Pool was a little small and too full of children for us to use.Not bad for the money though.

This is an amazing Motel. It is very clean and has a nice cozy feel to it. The people who work here are very kind. We were here during a blizzard and the heater blew out, and the guy that was shoveling the snow came in and fixed it in the middle of his work! Don't listen to all those bad reviews. Those are people who are used to staying in 4 star hotels. This is a very nice and cozy place. We have come here once before and absolutely loved it. If you have to choose a place to stay, come here!!!

I've stayed here at least 4X in the last two years, so I think I have a pretty good sample:

Here are the reasons for the title of my review (top value in tahoe):

-price
-location (quiet -minimal road noise, walking distance to Burger Lounge, Cantina, 7/11)
-VERY RECENT refurbished rooms, so lots of new carpet, bedding, paint, and such; anything else in this price range I know about is lesser quality. It's not fancy new, but no worn-out beds that have some pit to China in the middle or broken edges and such.

Room size is small, but ample, the heater works, the TVs are not new but work.

There is one thing that has bugged me about this place (even since the remodel) is the window coverings; they are blinds and not drapes, so they let some light in, especially from the outside light next to the door (which I unscrew). Last time I got snowed in by 3-feet of powder and had to shovel my way out in the morning to ski; there are worse things that can happen. But even given this one moderate imperfection, I would rate it as the top value in South Lake.

This is not the place to stay if you are going to the casinos - it is the place to stay if you want to be away from them.