I am writing this about the restaurant only. I come here a couple times a year (spring and fall)…read morefor lunch and dinners for several years now. The menu has not changed in the years I have been coming here. They have a couple vegetarian options (grilled cheese on kids menu, cheese pizza) and no vegan options. The salad bar is lackluster; my vegetarian friend took one look and said "Uh no thanks" which was my thought too when I looked at it previously. The dining room and bar areas are nice and clean, bathrooms are clean and you can see into the kitchen which also looks clean. The food is good, not amazing. The service in the bar and dining room is great and friendly. The views are great from the bar and dining room looking at the Rainy River. They have a nice patio to enjoy when the weather and bugs are cooperating.

Six experiences since 2011, five summer and one winter. All were fantastic, except maybe the -30…read moredegree winter one. Full disclosure: I hate winter anyway but wanted to experience winter fishing at least once ! Our guides were always cheery and pleasant, even when they would have to keep replacing the many jigs we kept losing in the rocks. Shore luches were always a necessity. Dining room meals were always great, the portions hearty, and staff friendly and attentive. Unfortunately, fish are not guaranteed, but a great time is! Whenever I hear of someone headed to LOTW for fishing, I try to steer them to Ballard's. Fish on!

The food is always great! The service always friendly! Offering the normal burgers to some…read moreuntraditional dishes, I've tried almost everything on the menu and have yet to be disappointed. They definitely beat most of the other resorts in the area.

Great overall dinner experience. Server was busy and still had our drinks out in 2 minutes. Food…read morewas great (Ribeye cooked perfect and tasted really good , Brisket Nachos, steak bites).

Great place to stay up north, super prices. Friendly. Rooms are comfy and clean with kitchen and…read morebathroom. Playground for kids. Water toys. Ice fishing. I'll stay here over and over!

Perfect trip up from the metro to limit out and then some. The folks here at the resort were on top…read moreof ensuring everyone got a ride out as the ice was 4-6" to thin for personal atvs. On our way back in for the night they were waiting at the pickup point on the ice and off we went. Had a blast. Caught lots of eyes. Will be returning.

Absolutely the worst experience! If you're not Local" you are treated like absolute crap!!…read moreDisrespectful server, NOT WASTE YOUR time going there. Serving under the table shots to all the locals and completely "shunning" paid customers is an abso joke; I'll NEVER go back! Staff was SO disrespectful!

Quite possibly the worst I and my group have ever been treated by a server in my life. I have…read moretraveled all over the world and to be treated like this in a small area that is entirely reliant on tourism dollars is unbelievable. I have been to Slims numerous times and have given Elizabeth the benefit of a doubt. People have bad days. Elizabeth obviously has bad life. She is the most rude, unhelpful, unhappy server I have ever come across. If you are a "local" you are good. She is more than happy to have shots all night with you. Anyone else, you get nothing. Useless is too kind of a description. She literally tells "locals" they get a lower tab in front of non locals and tells you to get over it. It is a good enough deal for you. Unfortunately this will be the last time I will spend any dollars in this establishment. I cannot believe she is still employed. I come up to Lake of the Woods several times a year and will have no problem spending my money elsewhere. Wow. Minus 10 review. Good luck when all of your tourist business is gone.

So it might even be five stars if you're the target market. I'm a little bit not. There's a lot to…read morelike here, though. The Lodge rooms are warm, pretty spacious, and come with a freezer to store your catch. There's a pool and hot tub, which could be a little bit warmer, but not bad. You can everThe on premise cooking is hearty meat and potatoes stuff, and will keep you well fueled for a day on the water. (They offer an included meals plan, but by my math, not worth it unless you eat a LOT.) There's wifi, it's spotty and would not be enough for streaming, but you can check email. Their fishing guides will definitely get you to where the walleye are. We came back just one shy of the legal limit for a boat of six, and two anglers were kids who barely fished. Now, a few bads. First, the lodge rooms are comfy, but gosh those walls are thin. When the room above us was occupied, we heard every footstep, TV show, or discussion. Second, the property is really showing some age. The biggest sign is the microwave in the lobby, which trips the circuit breaker if you actually use it. But third, and this is where I think I'm just not their target market... the fishing charters are really designed for people who know exactly what they're doing. I'm not an experienced walleye angler, and I wanted to understand how to find the spots, where we were, what to watch for on the sonar, etc. Pretty much the guide service here is get driven to spot, get handed a rod, and jig in silence. I asked questions and learned a few things, but when you get two word answers, you learn not to ask too much. So all in all, not a bad place, and definitely an inexpensive option, but I might've gotten what I paid for.

2nd year going to Sportsman for MEA weekend. We chartered a boat for 1/2 day and totally lucked…read moreout: we got a great captain! His name was Joe and he was so experienced. Highly recommend him! Caught 24 We stayed in a small cabin (2 bedroom), it was perfect for the four of us - no frills, but had all we needed. Lodge staff here is always hit or miss, especially late in the season when everyone is tired and ready for the break between fall and ice fishing. Always great service over the phone though! Kids had fun at the arcade upstairs and adults had fun with the bar/pull tabs.

Simple, necessary and social. That is how I would describe this off the beaten path recluse. Tucked…read moreaway amid 14,452 islands in the Lake of the Woods, this lodge has all the things to make a memorable trip. Built for fishing, the lodge is a prime location to shove off into the open wilderness. With plenty of experienced guides that really know their stuff a few days of lake fishing punctuated with a shore lunch should be on your list. Besides that it is pretty straight forward and simple but the combo of a cozy lodge with good music and meals (made like you were in your mom's kitchen) will make it a wonderful social experience. Whether it family, friends, or colleagues this is a place to truly disconnect with technology and reconnect with human being. Don't worry, there is enough connectivity to get a sports game or TV show. It takes a minute to get there but it pays in spades after you are done.

This place is so awesome. The accommodations are great. The staff is first rate. The fishing…read moreadvice is accurate and not a closely guarded secret. The food is top shelf. The price is very reasonable and they make newcomers feel like they've been here 10 times before. I will definitely come back here year after year. Perfect for both fishin' with the guys or a getaway with the family. Stay here once and you'll be a customer for life.

I stayed at a sleeper ice house for two mid-week nights in January. The people here could not have…read morebeen more accommodating. They cleaned our fish for us right on the lake so we could cook them ourselves in our ice house (there's a law about brining cleaned fish into the lake). They checked on us multiple times during our stay and taught us what we needed to know to have a successful fishing trip. The ice house was clean and warm. The beds were very comfortable. We had a great stay and I'd recommend River Bend to anyone.

They run a deceiving website, led us to believe walleye inn was a part of the resort on the river…read more Very rude to us when we discovered our room was 11 miles from the actual resort. Charged us $125 for nothing cuz they had no available cabins on the river. Had to book somewhere else. Front desk told us not the first time it has happened. Even rented us a dock slip 11 miles away but neglected mentioning that. Two different businesses should have 2 different websites and "management" should be more understanding if thats how they're gonna run it.

Arrived on a Friday just after noon. The staff was friendly and gave us a deal on minnows and we…read morewere escorted out to our sleeper. The video shows interior of a 2 person sleeper with beds down upon arrival. Was warm and holes were ready. Bedding was not clean (bodily fluids smeared on fitted sheet near garbage can) and garbage can had garbage in it (paper towels and a pop bottle). Consider bringing your own fitted sheets. Overnight winds caused bridge to be unstable and a vehicle had gone through 3am Saturday morning, and received a visit early Saturday morning telling us to shelter in place until someone physically came to tell us it was safe. No one stopped by or called to check on us until Sunday morning to plow us out. The outhouse was completely full by Saturday night and no one changed it out all weekend. Bring paper towels with you to cover the mound. Rented a generator but only had gas enough for 8 hours. Couldn't get back in to get more gas. Lucky to have brought enough water and snacks, including lots of beef jerky, to last us the weekend. Brought a jackery which came in handy to charge phones 2nd night. Word of advice that they didn't tell us, if renting a generator, bring a gas can and extension cord. Bring a power strip and extra power banks. If you have your own poop bucket, consider bringing it with plenty of bags and TP. Plan to be stranded for a few days, just in case of blizzard conditions. Shack we were in was very drafty with the high winds and there was a 2 inch gap above the door. The windows were also very drafty. We had two large bath towels with us and hung one over the window which helped a lot and stuffed the other in the gap above the door that helped. Then the propane fumes built up since there was no air vent. There was a small propane cooktop as seen in the video. The propane lights added warmth. Caught and kept 7 walleyes 15-16.5", one really small walleye was thrown back, and kept one nice size perch during the 2 days and 2 nights lines were down. Would have liked to make it in to eat at the bar but that never happened.

Walleye dinner was great however lots of little bones. Great homemade tar tar sauce. Salad was just…read moreromaine, 4 croutons, tiny bit of cheese. Wild rice soup was awesome! Service was good.