Visiting from SF we were pleasantly surprised by this hotel, and immediately decided to extend our stay an additional night. We chose this hotel because the rooms looked new and clean in comparison to other options in the area. The casino was not relevant to us, but we were hoping for roulette- unfortunately no roulette. Room was very clean, spacious. Large flat screen TV which we could use with our Firestick TV device which is critical for us. Enjoyed outdoor access with our patio to the outside. The other rooms on higher floors have balconies. We had considered driving to Arcata for dinner, but realize they had an onsite sushi restaurant called Sushi Blue, located inside the casino area. What a tucked away gem of high quality sushi. We are sushi people and this place did not disappoint. Pork Bao buns, Caterpillar roll and sashimi (Hamachi Toro Fire glazed with chili sauce was amazing). We are going to eat dinner there second night in a row. We’ll be back to this hotel for sure. The smoke filled casino area is smelly and dank, but if slots are your thing – it’s there.
As an optimization the hotel would be well served to install a filtered water fill up station. They make you ask the hotel front desk to fill up water bottle-odd. Why not provide a water fill up station like most hotels? Lack of water filtration stations is a fail that could be easily fixed. Also, no coffee station in the lobby – a higher end hotel would provide that. Forcing people to walk through the smelly smoke filled casino for coffee in the AM is not part of our AM wake up routine as clean air is important to us. The coffee makers they have in the rooms don’t make hot coffee- more like lukewarm coffee water. I’d recommend getting some deep breaths of fresh Arcata mountain air outside, and seeing the morning mist hovering outside the hills. We opted to walk to the gas station adjacent to the hotel, which had coffee options a plenty. Also, the gas station is convenient for snacks and drinks and other travel necessities. The prices at the gas station are good and cheaper than hotel vending machines.
Would love to give all five stars but the lack of water filtration station is a major fail in my opinion. Other than that, this is a solid option as the rooms are spacious, clean and overall upscale- the Blue Sushi Restaurant is the cherry on top.

This was first time staying at Blue Lake.
My family and I had a great experience.
Staff was friendly and was always willing to help with whatever our needs were.
Having a microwave in our room was extremely convenient.
I will definitely come back.