Lake Barkley State Resort

Lake Barkley is a treasure. Visited often when I was a child, and again as a MSU student. I’m thrilled to hear of the lodge updates that are pending. It’s rustic and reliable and just what we needed to get away for a few days.

Nice place by the lake

The rooms have no internet, refrigerator, or microwave.

The service at the lodge was excellent and the cottage was mostly fine; just old. Very outdated and rather expensive for what it was. Seemed to have some mold issues are the lights in the bedrooms, holes in the walls in the bathrooms, and the small was gross.

We wouldn't stay again.

At first I wasn’t impressed with the cabin but once we “made it our own” it was great! You should take a candle to take care of unpleasant smell, it works. There were a lot of deer in the area, be careful. The outdoor pool was great, it overlooked the lake. Get there early to get an umbrella. Apparently, you can go early, stake out your territory, umbrella and all, put towels on the chairs you want and leave for a few hours and come back whenever you want to.Despite that, It was fun and everyone was friendly, staff was great. Tip heavily. These kids are great!

We really enjoyed staying at the resort and only wish that we’d been able to take advantage of some of the things on offer - like the pool and ping pong table!
Our room in the lodge had a very rustic feel - wood paneled walls and lots of spider webs on the balcony’s railing (seemed to keep the mosquitoes at bay). The bathroom was very clean and bright. The bed was comfortable.
The dining room offered a buffet or a menu for the meals we were there for (dinner and then breakfast). We opted for menu items for dinner and then the buffet for breakfast. The prices were amazingly low, and the size of the portions from menu items were amazingly huge. Lots of bacon!
An absolute delight for me was to make a coffee in the morning and sit out on the balcony and look at the lake and watch the waterfowl and turtles.

Not as described! Room was not what was reserved and was dirty. There were bugs in the room every morning and night probably due to poor weather stripping. Intermittent internet at best which also affected TV. Room phone only for emergency calls so you could only contact desk with your cell which only worked in specific area of room ( otherwise was in SOS mode). Housekeeping staff was professional. Restaurant buffet was cold and greasy, waitress did not provide menu to our table though a different waitress did provide one to another table not five minutes after we went to buffet. Pool was beautiful though lifeguards took loungers and were generally unprofessionally. Scenery was beautiful. Beach was nice. Marina and marina staff were great.

The lodge was amazing but the restaurant left a lot to be desired!

Cute room with a nice view of the lake.

Room was decent. The TV would not work due to a poor signal, I alerted the front desk and they did send someone to look at it who tried everything and then said it was cable and that they would contract cable to come look at the service. It was never resolved, so no tv service the entire stay. It wouldn’t have been so bad had the tv been a smart tv in which I could’ve connected apps from my phone but it was not.

We arrived and checked in. I expected a nice clean room for $200 a night. I was very disappointed. The room had a dank moldy smell with layer upon layer of dust in the paneling. The cable was out. At a rate of $200 a night I expected more than a room reminiscent of a 4H summer camp. We went right back to the desk and left. As someone that was born and raised in Kentucky the shape of the lodge is an embarrassment. The one good point was a beautiful view of Lake Barkley. The exterior of building we were in was also dirty and un maintained. Did not appear that any of the walk ways had been swept or in any way kept clear. Will not return. I normally do not review establishments, but as I thought that this would be an outstanding stay at a beautiful setting and was so disappointed I thought I should voice my opinion. I hope this helps get much needed updates to the facility, so that Kentucky citizens can be proud of their state park facilities.

I’ve been coming here over 50 years!! This is where I recharge!

This facility has everything you need for a family get together. Regardless of the weather, there is a lot to do. The beach is quite a distance from the lodge and best to drive. People were wonderful.

This property really brings you into the camping environment. The view is stunning. There is plenty to do for a weekend. Horseback riding, bison prairie, hiking, fishing, planetarium, sight seeing and more.

The room and area around the lodges was very musty. It smelled like you were in a moss ridden forest. They folded the toilet paper but didn’t clean the toilet.

The back deck was mosquito infested. Like hundreds swarming around. (Unusable - do not open the back door).

Air conditioning would not cool the room down until 3am. TV did not work.

Best amenities- lakeside view, proximity to activities.
Book if that is your goal.
Do not book if you’re aiming for any luxury in your room and board.

Breakfast is not included! Expensive food, and the offering is not great. Military DFAC quality food, but you still pay a buffet price for it. No WiFi in my room, room 419 at all, they said it was a WiFi blind spot, so no solution at all.

This was one of the most interesting places we've ever stayed. We loved it. It's like a wooden space station in the wilderness. We were there during the off-season, so it was completely empty, and the outdoor pool wasn't open. However, you can tell it accommodates a large number of people and has been in operation for 70ish years. We hope it doesn't lose its charm when it is renovated. We bought some very vintage-looking mugs from the gift shop. We played pool and ping pong in the game room and took advantage of the access guests of the resort have to the athletic center next door, featuring an indoor pool.

Very nice hotel next to Lake Barkley, first time here and we will return.

Lovely resort setting on Lake Barkley.

The whole property needs updated. We spent our honeymoon here 43 years ago. Not much has changed! The room was clean but very dark with no refrigerator. The restaurant was the high point. Very good food and service.

Stayed 2 nights with my fiancé. When we arrived, we were surprised to see there was no refrigerator or microwave in the room. The beds were extremely comfortable and the house keeping ladies were very nice. Only issue we had was on night two after being out and about all day we came back to the room to find that neither of our cards worked to enter the room. We had to walk all the way back to the front office and the issue was fixed promptly with no hassle. However, we were informed upon arrival that there was an option to use the elevator as there are MANY stairs inside the main building BUT on our way back from the office after getting our room keys replaced we were going to use the elevator because I have severe asthma and couldn’t handle all the steps again, we attempted to go to the elevator just to find there is no buttons and no public access. Yes there is an elevator. But not for the public. It has to be unlocked and turned on by a key. And there is no buttons outside of the doors whatsoever. Maybe they unlock it when a handicap resident checks in, but if that is the case they don’t need to advertise or state that there is an elevator for public use.