Service at Black Lions is great and they treat you like family. Hats off to the cooks, they are the…read moresilent rockstars of Black Lions!!!!

Amazing all around. I'm a bit of a "she's likes it - she repeats it" kind of gal. Mediterranean…read morealllll the way! Man would I love to see some chicken schwarma .. I mean that's for me not something that's missing. Although.. wouldn't it be

My brother got married there this past weekend. When the bartender/event manager showed up she…read morewalked around taking peoples drinks away stating the bride and groon were going to lose $500 per person and had lost their deposit....there were no signs saying no outside beverages. She had told the wedding party they could bring a cooler. She proceeded to complain to every customer that walked up to the bar until well past dinner. The sound system was awful. You could not hear any of the ceremony. The music was loud. You could not hear/understand anything the DJ said. Or any of the speeches. At one point the bartender/event manager told my brother he had to clean the men's bathroom or lose his deposit. When asked if someone could empty the trash cans, she said that is cost extra and was not paid for. She did not provide garbage bags for a guest to do it. Their hired security guard (by The Post) was also incredibly rude to guests. He did not ask what people were drinking on the porch....either took their drinks or demanded they dump them out...including little kids' shirley temples, lemonade, waters. And when he was told he was rude he replied that some people are just too sensitive. There are no signs in the building that state "no alcohol beyond this point". No signs that say no outside beverages. In the bathroom-which I did not need to use until 930pm...there is a sign saying the hosts of the event are supposed to inform their guests of the rules... The air conditioning worked well....to the point my uncle and I needed winter jackets to eat dinner comfortably. The bartenders were charging one price before dinner and $2 higher after dinner for drinks. When asked, the event manager said it was top shelf....when the order had not been for top shelf. I could go one.... The location is incredibly lovely and convenient, however the service provided was beyond horrid.

The venue looks absolutely beautiful after the new renovation. However, the new management is awful…read moreto work with. The manager would wait days to respond to any questions we would have about our event. We were promised many things including 25 rectangular tables, however, there were only 18 rectangular tables come the day of set up. We then were informed, a week prior to event, that we had to be the janitor for the building, including scrubbing toilets, cleaning mirrors, cleaning kitchen, and mopping the entire building. Just to receive $50 back out of a $250 deposit. Don't expect quick response, if any at all. It definitely was not worth the headache to have our event here.

We were pleasantly surprised by all the activities. Plenty to keep kids and adults occupied. They…read morehave brain teaser puzzles, interactive farming game that covers all four different soil zones in ND, medical area with heart and interactive laparoscopic, build a car racing area, papers plane and paper rocket launchers, and many more. We spent 3.5 hours here. Worth the visit.

It was fantastic! Kids absolutely loved it! Spent a half day there! Great memories to make with the…read morekids! So many things to do!

Nice Special Event venue/venues. Love the fact they have many separate areas for reception, dinner…read moreand services. Place was very clean and well organized. I just couldn't get a Manhattan because they didn't carry any vermouth

My company hosted a private event here, and it was awesome! The staff are great to work with, the…read morevenue is amazing and so unique to Bismarck, and the food was fantastic. Even the bathrooms are incredible. Seriously. Even if you don't need to use the restroom while you're there, check them out. I've also attended a couple of public events there. One comedy show and one trivia night. The comedy show was great! For $25, I got a drink and a decent night of entertainment. The only thing I didn't like was having to sit at a round table with 6 strangers - it was awkward, and round tables are just not useful for this kind of event. The other event was trivia night. This time I went with a large group, so we had a table all to ourselves. We shared some awesome pizza prepared by the chef at the venue. The trivia was not great, however. The person leading the games was boring and had a hard time pronouncing some of the more important words. Plus, it was just a poorly curated set of questions, and poorly worded questions. Everyone in my group agreed that we would not be back for another trivia night. But I would definitely return for comedy or another type of entertainment.

We stayed here for three nights recently and the hotel staff were amazing! They were friendly and…read morehelpful and we felt warmly welcomed. The bed and pillows were super comfy and we really enjoyed our stay. The room was really clean as well. There was also plenty of parking, which was nice! The location is convenient and the price of the room was reasonably priced. While the room itself was reasonably priced in my opinion, the $75 pet fee seemed steep. We knew this going in, although if we traveled here again with our dog, I'm unsure if we would stay here again or look for a place that doesn't have such a high pet fee. I like that it had a kitchen in the room, which was also very convenient. An all around great place to stay in the area!

Great experience from start to finish. Stayed here during a…read morewinter road trip and couldn't have picked a better stop. The location is very convenient, the price was affordable, and the entrance felt genuinely welcoming, especially with a fireplace going while a bitter cold storm raged outside. I arrived early and was offered early check-in, which was hugely appreciated after a long drive. The room itself was spacious, warm, and extremely comfortable, perfect for actually resting and recharging. Amenities were IMPRESSIVE. You heard me. heated pool, spa, fitness center, and a business center, all well maintained. Everything felt thoughtfully set up for travelers who actually need comfort, not just a place to crash. The only minor complaint (and it's a fair one) is the $75 pet fee. That said, it didn't take away from an otherwise excellent stay, thats just me being cheap and honest. Will absolutely be staying here again and would recommend it without hesitation! *Special Edit* I wrote the review while in my room so I had to come back and make an edit just to highlight the Breakfast Buffet! Wow! I was so impressed. The area was immaculate and the lady servicing the area was keeping everything FRESH. I'm not talking a continental tea/juice/coffee folks, you'll find the standard cereal, breads, cold bar; But you'll also find a fresh Waffle station, Hot Scrambled Eggs, French Toast Sticks, and Ham! All COMPLIMENTARY!

I had SUCH an amazing experience working with Megan for planning my best friends Bridal Shower in…read moreApril!! Megan was incredibly easy to work with and provided all of the best vendors and options for the special day. We ended up going all out with the glamping/boho chic decor, pops of pink, a mimosa bar, two tiered cake, balloon arch, the works. This day was beautifully decorated and she even did tear down! She made this experience the absolute possible best and really helped bring my vision to life! I'm thankful to have found Behind the Scenes Events, 10/10 would recommend!!

A late night stop, glad we could find a room. Comfortable bed, but in room coffee tasted bad and we…read morewere disappointed that there was no coffee in the lobby. We could have bought our coffee in the restaurant but didn't. They had stocked only 1 bath towel in the room.

Check in - awesome Room - awesome…read moreMorning manager - awesome Breakfast guy - awesome Breakfast - 90% awesome Value - questionable. My biggest complaint? WTF happened to the cinnamon rolls? Seriously, due to snowstorm on my route home, I pulled up a list of available hotels and selected this property over the Candlewood Suites almost exclusively due to HIE breakfast and, in doing so, paid an extra $40. The breakfast was great and the guy working there was helpful, friendly and very attentive. But those "new and improved" Cinnabon rolls were a total let-down. While they smelled good, they were lukewarm, too dense and largely taste-less. If I wanted taste-less mass prepared breakfast pastries I'd have stayed at the dozens of other hotel options. Instead, I stayed here for the awesome cinnamon rolls that HIE hotels are known for. I know you still have them - I had 2 on Tuesday morning in Fargo. I can only surmise that Cinnabon is paying you a ton of "dough" to proudly display their logo and serve their rolls. Don't get me wrong - I love Cinnabon rolls. But these are not normal Cinnabon rolls - these are some kind of 2nd rate imposters that obviously come frozen and then are thawed and slightly warmed to room temperature. I've had better cinnamon rolls out of vending machines. You are going to lose more money than you make on this deal. Am I overreacting here? If you think so then you don't understand the importance of breakfast pastries or the pure joy of eating a traditional HIE cinnamon roll. They are pastries that just simply make you happy and ready to face the day. The new ones made me want to go back to bed. This started as a 1 star review but this hotel is great and the people are awesome - it's not their fault that the corporate people are morons. But the cinnamon rolls are a differentiating factor for Holiday Inn Express. You've lost that now. And me.

This is a great place to stay if you would like your things rummaged through and then, taken from…read moreyou... but don't worry, they don't fluff and tuck your room while they are entertaining themselves with your items, that were not left out for them to take home! I left my room and when I came back four hours later, the bed was not as I left it and there was a hanger on the floor. I NEVER EVEN OPENED THE CLOSET DOOR. My friend who had traveled with me had her Beat headphones, her kindle, and her Diff sunglasses taken out of her bag that was zipped shut, and the items were BURIED under clothes. But wait! Did I mention that the room was never cleaned? The workers went in the room for ONE purpose, and it was not to do their job. Now I understand that said employees have been terminated and new management is in place. However, we have reached out to management with little help on being reimbursed for the stolen items. I understand that management has changed; but has ownership changed as well?? Am I wrong to assume that ownership should be responsible in helping rectify this situation? I think not. Management may respond to this review. But keep in mind, they have responded ONLY to ONE email, and it was very brief. Our stay was a month ago. I am not sure if front desk staff has also been replaced, but as a former hotel manager of a Holiday Inn, I assure you that front desk staff should NEVER say your room number out loud. EVER. When both of our key cards stopped working, we let the front desk know and they were happy to re-key them. Did they ask for an ID or name? Absolutely NOT. They only asked what our room numbers were. NEVER okay. Hope this helps you find a better place to spend your money. $285 for two nights of unrest and catastrophe should be spent somewhere else. We've had better service at Chuck E. Cheese.

I had my engagement party here in their meeting room! It held up about 35 people! We had tables…read moreranging from round to rectangular tables. It was a wonderful space and we had the chance to bring in our own food and drinks for the party! It was quick and easy access from the parking for loading and unloading our supplies. I took one star off because there was miscommunication with the types of tables we had in the agreement. They didn't have the right amount of tables they originally agreed with us. There was also a certain amount of stuff left in the walls that weren't cleaned up from the previous event hosted there that I wished the room was looked through. Overall a great space to host parties for about less than 40 people since it did get tight walking around with even just 30 people. Otherwise it was a great space!