Four and a half stars actually! :)

First time visiting Lake Almanor and what a BEAUTIFUL area! My family (two teenage boys, husband and myself) loved staying on the peninsula... a short walk down to the very tip (less than 3/4 mile) and even shorter walk to east side beach access (.25 miles). The peninsula tip was a favorite spot of ours to swim (water very smooth in the morning and more choppy in the afternoons... temp was so refreshing and not cold at all once we were in... bring goggles and you can even spot fish and minnows... on big fish let me touch it's tail!), kayak (saw a bald eagle one day), star gaze (great Milky Way photos and lots of shooting star sightings) and lots of dogs to visit there. Another favorite spot of ours was the rec one area in the country club. We spent hours playing horse shoes, shuffle board, and pickle ball. Very nice tennis courts too. The swim area there was more geared to younger kids so we swam mostly out at the point. I was so impressed with the huge variety of evergreens and how healthy they all looked. Lots of deer wandered through our yard daily. Even saw some babies and a couple bucks.

The house was perfect size/cozy for our family. I think accommodating 8 might be a bit crowded. It was clean upon arrival and easy to get into. East facing deck was nice in evening since the hot sun was on the other side. It was 93-94 degrees during our stay and the 3 giant skylights in the family room let in so much heat that the afternoons were quite toasty inside (might be nice to have some way to cover them on hot days) but I was told those were the hottest days they've had there so far this year. Whole house fan helped in the evening to pull the heat out. Beds were comfortable (although a few of the pillows could use replacing... sour smelling), wifi and cell coverage was good, kitchen was well stocked, fridge leaked water into the bottom drawer but I'm sure would be an easy fix.

Peninsula market was surprisingly well stocked with everything you could need, even fresh fruits and veggies. Nice not having to drive all the way to Chester to get anything we forgot. We only ate out one night of the four we stayed but we strongly recommend Tantardino's Pasta and Pizza. So good! Had we been able to say one more day we would have for sure taken the 50-60 min drive to Lassen. We could see it from the point but would have loved to explore it up close and personally!