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    Old Rittenhouse Inn

    4.4 (67 reviews)
    Open Open 24 hours

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    The food is absolutely outstanding and plated beautifully. Extremely creative with care taken to include seasonal and local fare. The ambiance breathes history and keeping the story of the house alive. The worst part of the evening is choosing what to eat. Would highly recommend!

    There's a vanity next to my in room hot tub
    Nik N.

    This place is worth every penny!! It is so pretty and elaborate! I highly recommend the rooms with balconies. The in room hot tub totally made my night. My daughter and I slept soooo well. Bayfield is so beautiful in the summer, everyone should come visit!

    Lake Superior Chowder -- excellent!!
    Paul F H.

    It's old. It's historic. It's beautiful. We had an enjoyable evening dining with our friends from Germany at the Landmark Restaurant at the Old Rittenhouse Inn. But I expected much better. Though it was a satisfying meal -- it was far from great or memorable. We all opted for the five course dinner (which I certainly would recommend if you dine here). My only complaint about the five course offering is that it does not include the option to substitute one of the appetizers for the the soup or salad. I would have preferred to try the whitefish cakes -- especially after tasting my salad (which actually cost a dollar more than the whitefish cakes if purchased a'la carte). For me the soup course was the highlight of the meal. I opted for the Lake Superior Chowder. I found it to be excellent with an ample amount of trout and/or whitefish, and an appropriate amount of potato and carrot in a well seasoned, creamy soup base. The local ingredients garnish of green onion and wild rice was a nice touch that worked well with the overall flavor profile and added a textural component to the dish. Next up was the smoked trout salad which was the first miss of the evening. The trout was fine. The mesclun was lightly but adequately dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. Even the use of cheddar cheese was fine (though it could have been older and sharper to my taste). But the under-seasoned wild rice ruined the dish. The blandness of the undressed wild rice literally canceled out the rest of the flavors. And though it brought a bit of texture to the party it was not nearly as satisfying as a proper crispy crouton. The next course was one the most significant missteps of the evening. I like the idea of serving an icy palette cleanser in the middle of the meal. But when you make a raspberry ice or sorbet -- for god's sake -- strain out the seeds! That's why the French invented the chinois. Our main courses were fine though unspectacular. I ordered the "pork chop" which wasn't actually a pork chop in the classic sense but rather a braised pork roast. It was good. But call it what it is. My wife ordered the fish roulade. Normally it is Lake Superior white fish but since the white fish season is closed in October the kitchen used Dover Sole instead -- an acceptable substitution. The phallic slice of bread jammed upright into the mashed potato made no sense -- unless the chef is trying to say something. . . ? For dessert I was served one of the worst slices of cherry pie I've had in recent memory. I doubt there were more than four or five whole cherries in my piece. The rest seemed to be cherry juice congealed with a cornstarch slurry. Even the crust made with lard and the a'la mode scoop of ice cream couldn't redeem the pie filling. The ice cream parfaits everyone else ordered looked much better -- and impossible to screw up. The wines offered by the glass were quite good. I liked that the server offered a tasting before ordering. One of our friends changed her choice after finding the wine she tasted too sweet for her taste. Our server was attentive, kind and patient -- especially since everything needed to be translated for our German friends. Despite my criticisms, the Old Rittenhouse Inn is as good as it gets in the far reaches of northern Wisconsin. In fact I would say it is one of the better places I've eaten north of Chicago and east of New York and west of San Francisco. It's just not perfect.

    Room X (10) old Rittenhouse Inn
    Jim R.

    Certainly one of the nicest B&Bs in the area. We splurged and booked room X (10), the one pictured on their website and in their other marketing materials. It was huge - part of the former ballroom on the third floor and featured a two-sided fireplace, a large whirlpool tub, king sized bed and nice window seat that looked out to the lake. It also had a teeny tiny bathroom - which was curious give the 800 or so square feet of the room itself. The Rittenhouse is in a great location that makes for a nice base to walk and explore the small town of Bayfield, Wisconsin. The inn keepers are celebrating 25 years+ and know how to run a successful inn. We love sitting on the porch with a glass of wine (we usually bring a bottle along) and just relaxing. Meals at the Inn are also a treat - for dinner BE SURE to get the roasted pork loin which has been on the menu forever. It cooks all day and literally falls apart. My wife and I ended up splitting it and it was plenty for the two of us. This is true of breakfast at the Inn as well. The portions are quite large and even the breakfast entrees are enough to share. Very limited cell service at the Inn. AT&T coverage was spotty with only the super slow "E" network available - which isn't all bad. You are supposed to be on vacation after all!

    Damian C.

    ****Landmark At The Rittenhouse part 1****It's been awhile since I've posted anything. Not to get until too personal of details, but I was in a downward relationship for years with someone who did NOTHING, but pull me down and make me feel worthless. Also, my dad passed away in December of 2017. I'm now with someone else who I really didn't expect to come into my life, but I've have been extremely blessed and thankful. It's great to be back to reviewing!! So supportive, caring, and loving, and we were exactly what each other needed!! My awesome partner and I went on vacation to Bayfield, WI to bring in the new year. Let me first start off by saying, if you haven't been there, you NEED to go!!! We had plans to drive directly across Lake Superior, but the lake wasn't frozen. We stayed in a beautiful condo, and had the BEST 4 days ever to ring in New Year's together! I will be making a few reviews of places, so be on the lookout for the other ones. FINALLY, let's get to the review. This review is of the Landmark At The Rittenhouse, located inside of the Old Rittenhouse bed and breakfast hotel. This was not where we stayed. My partner surprised me with an amazing meal here and it was unbelievably good!! There was a special menu for New Year's and yes this is fine dining with chef's from Alaska who cooked our meals. They have a normal 5-course menu, but for New Year's, it was a 6-Course meal! It was nearly 70 something each for our meals. The first course I had Scallop Crudo. It had hints of mint, soy sauce, jalapeno, micro basil, Korean chili and black salt. It was soooo GOOD! First time having scallops and this dish made me a fan! My partner had seared duck, and it was delicious too! We tried each other's meals if we had something different than one another. We only had 2 meals where we chose different things, and that was the 1st course and the last course, which was dessert. The seared duck was fantastic! Did not taste gamey, and had almost a beef flavor to it...perfect! My first time having duck too! 2nd course was either a Spinach and Garlic Bisque, or a Lobster Bisque. My partner thought he ordered the Spinach Bisque, but he got the Lobster Bisque too, but he was completely fine with it and said he was glad he made that mistake! We LOVED the bisque. Plenty of chunky Lobster, creamy, buttery, and just completely flavorful! 3rd course was Charred Dates and Smoked Carrots. We couldn't get over how tasty this dish was. It had beluga lentils, lemon panna cotta, roasted hazelnuts, and a cedar vinaigrette! You can fathom the idea of how incredible this was. I'd have an easy time being a vegetarian if I could eat this everyday!! All of the flavors just work, and having the charred dates and the smokiness of the carrots...unbelievable!! Who would think to char dates?...YUM!!! ****This review will be continued...too long to post it all*****

    Ana C.

    Ive been wanting to stay here for years but as a poor college student it was always a bit out of reach. Came back for a girl's trip and it was as enjoyable as I had thought it would be: quiet, comfortable, cozy. Breakfast was delicious and the staff was just the right amount of friendly and helpful without interrupting our friend time. (Only giving 4 out of 5 because the bathroom was small with only a shower and I would have loved a bath. I'm sure if I had asked they would have moved me but we checked in late and the staff was gone for the evening.)

    Lily C.

    It's my first time in Bayfield, so a friend recommended to come here for dinner. I'm so glad I listened. When first entering the inn, I wasn't sure we were dressed nicely enough to go in, but Wendy made us feel very welcome. She seated us right away next to the window with a beautiful lake view. My boyfriend and I both decided on the 5 course meal which btw, is their specialty. To start off, you get a choice between their fish chowder or soup of the day. Now I'll tell you that I'm not a huge fan of seafood, but I got the fish chowder anyway. It was SO good! Amy, our awesome server, said there were big chunks of fish in it. I was a bit intimidated by that, but the chunks really weren't big. At least they were not not the 1/2" chunks I was envisioning. The next to come was the salad. We both chose the spinach with bacon dressing. This is THE way to go. - so yummy! The blue cheese comes on the sides of the plates, so your choice to take it leave it. I'm not a big fan of blue cheese but this was pretty good. The third dish is a pallet cleanser. It was a lemon ginger sorbet. At first taste, it's sweet and lemony and then you get a mild kick of ginger. I would have taken a gallon of this home if I could. Then the main dish came. I chose the pork chop while my boyfriend chose the steak. The pork chop was a pretty big portion. The sauce was so good the meat turned out to be a bit on the dry side. I got the rice pilaf which I liked, but my man got the garlic mashed potatoes and said those were better. The final dish was dessert. I chose the lemon pie with ice cream. I should have gotten ice cream instead. The pie was very lemony and sweet. It was the texture that got me. Overall, I highly recommend going here and may actually ask about going back tonight. Service was AWESOME. Both Amy and Wendy were very hospitable and made me feel welcome.

    Prime rib medium rare

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    5 years ago

    Our server was amazing! Her name was Katrina. She was patient and attentive. The food was great.

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    Lovely place and the staff is very welcoming! The grounds are beautiful, also.

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    Ask the Community - Old Rittenhouse Inn

    Review Highlights - Old Rittenhouse Inn

    Hayes could come strolling in at any moment (not sure why I picked him, he probably never visited Lake Superior...).

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    Queen's View Bayfield - Maggie Suite

    Queen's View Bayfield

    (4 reviews)

    Quirky designed with flamingos as the main point of attention…read more It's a nice place, and for the right guests it is perfect and a perfect place to getaway and relax in the pool and swing on the front porch. The furniture in the front room of Maggie Suite is tired, small couch is actually a hide-and-bed. The bed was too hard for me, but it could be wonderful for you. For a 2 night stay, we were gifted 2 bottles of water in the refrigerator. The breakfast buffet was my biggest disappointment, for $240/night I was really looking forward to the breakfast and sadly really disappointed. It simply wasn't worth the price and I felt gypped. Again, for some this would probably be perfectly acceptable but for me it was not.

    Queens View Bed & Breakfast was the perfect place to host my bachelorette party with 15 of my…read morefavorite people! Margie and Rin went above and beyond to make us feel right at home, and their friendship made our stay even more special. I grew up going to Bayfield with my family, so being there during such a meaningful time in my life and sharing it with the people I love most meant the world to me (especially at such a special home). We rented the entire house, which was absolutely perfect for our situation. The charm and history of the home completely wowed my girlfriends--it's truly a one-of-a-kind place. Bayfield is already such a magical town, but staying at Queens View made the experience even more unforgettable. This beautiful home will always hold a special place in my heart, and I can't wait to come back! Ps... if you visit you have to stop by Wildrice Retreat as well for peak relaxation and restoration

    Seagull Bay Motel

    Seagull Bay Motel

    (21 reviews)

    $$

    We were visiting Bayfield for the first time in mid-May, and selected the Seagull Bay Motel as an…read more"affordable" option ($126, with taxes, on Hotels.com). On the positive side, -- our room (which was on the lower side of the property) had incredible water views, -- there's a shared outdoor porch with chairs overlooking the water and an inviting backyard with picnic tables and chairs, -- a flat path along the water connects the motel to downtown Bayfield. (You can walk to town in about 15 leisurely minutes without worrying about parking there). -- the room was clean, and had some conveniences (small microwave, tv, coffee maker (but no tea!), toiletries), -- the very small bathroom has a tub/shower combo, -- we didn't hear traffic noise in spite of being on main route into town, -- there was free parking. However, -- the price point was high given the overall quality of the motel and the fact that it was still pre-season. This is effectively a small and rather dated budget motel. -- Breakfast is NOT included in the price of the room. -- Our bed creaked whenever either my husband or I moved. -- Rooms are close together, and there is no privacy if you want to sit on the shared back porch. -- The motel has a unique check-in procedure. When we entered the lobby, there was no one there. We needed to call or text to announce our arrival, and were then provided instructions on how to access our room. We didn't interact with any staff in person until checkout. We would stay here again if we were to return to Bayfield, but would compare options to see the best quality to cost ratio.

    The motel was very clean and it seemed to be newly renovated. It was near town and we had a great…read moreview of Lake Superior from our large window. There was a deck with chairs, a table, and an umbrella right outside our room. The bed was comfortable and there was a small refrigerator and microwave in the room. The check in and check out process was easy and so was unloading our car because we were able to park right outside our door. It was affordable stay and we really enjoyed our trip!

    Island View Lodging - View of sunrise from inside.

    Island View Lodging

    (4 reviews)

    $$$

    We are staying 5 nights. Made it through the first two days and couldn't be more pleased. Clean,…read morecomfortable, and the owner is a gem. He has been very accommodating and even made sure we had breakfast delivered to our door by 7am so we could get an early start to the day. This has been a great trip so far and we are already planning our next stay here at the Island View. Thanks Mark, we haven't even left yet and we can't wait to return!!

    I going to divide this review into 2 parts: physical facility and service…read more Physical facilities: 5+ stars This is a GREAT place with a GREAT view of the lake and Madeline Island. We stayed in the Fedora suite. Had one large bedroom, a big bathroom and a good sized living room. The living room was not crowded with a couch, tv, round table, a small refrig, a sink and a very small kitchen counter with microwave and coffee maker. The view from the couch was great! The property is on a hill about 40-60(?) feet above the lake level. The wall is mostly glass so the inside view is great. See the picture of the sun rising. There was a sitting area in front of the glass wall. Better view but subject to weather and bugs. See picture of the sunset. Service: 2/3 stars When I pay $160 a night I expect good service. This did not occur during our stay. Taken individually the below items are mostly minor. Taken together over 2 nights they reduce the pleasure of being in a nice place. Items are listed in approximate order of occurrence. 1) Only enough toilet paper for one use. When I requested more was told they were picking some up on the shopping trip that was taking place as we spoke. 2) Cigarette smoke wafted into our room for the owners deck. This is advertised as a non-smoking property but this does not seem to include the owners and their friends. See picture of the guidelines. 3) No soap in the bathroom. 4) Coffee pot and filters included but no coffee. There was popcorn, hot chocolate and tea by the microwave but no coffee. 5) Breakfast was promised between 8:30 and 9am. It arrived at 9:04am, this was ok. The breakfast was individual ramekins of quiche which was very good. There were 5/6 very small sausage patties that looked greasy , were not warm enough and somewhat undercooked for my taste. We did not eat these. The drink provided was apple juice. No seconds were offered. This is first time I have every had breakfast provided in a hotel/motel/b&b and I left hungry. Did not stay for breakfast the second morning. 6) Took three trips to the office to find someone that I could pay before we left. All of the six items could be fixed with some management talent.

    Lost Creek Adventures - Sunset on Basswood Island where we camped overnight.

    Lost Creek Adventures

    (32 reviews)

    I went recently on an overnight kayaking trip with my two sisters - joining six other visitors, and…read moreled by two guides, Maddie and Karalyn. My experience level is kayaking a few times a year on lakes primarily, though I have done ocean harbors and coves also. Our group included some with more and less experience than that. The guides ask for your input ahead of time on what experience you are looking for, and dietary restrictions, which is great. Based on the weather forecast, our guide recommended we consider tandem kayaks. We normally prefer single kayaks but took the advice and were so glad we did as it absolutely helped in powering through the wind and waves of Lake Superior (and the presence of the rudder meant a relatively low amount of coordination required between the two paddlers). The Lost Creek team also quickly acted to put together a plan B when our initial trip to Sand Island was nixed due to a small craft advisory. We ended up going to Basswood island instead. I appreciated the water exit training we did before the trip. The food provided throughout was excellent. Our sights included a seastack, an arch, and a shipwreck. Most of all, the guides ensured we had a fun, safe adventure!

    This was a great paddle out to the caves near Meyers Beach. Abby and her associate were very…read moreprofessional and provided all the necessary safety precautions and kayaking techniques. I've kayaked AK, HI and the San Juans (WA) and this was the best! It's a very short bus ride to Meyers Beach so you don't waste a lot of time getting on the water. As a side note, I later learned from another type of boat tour on Madeline Island that there are a few pretenders in the kayak tour business but Lost Creek is considered by locals to be one of the best!!

    Grey Oak Guest House

    Grey Oak Guest House

    (3 reviews)

    Beautiful Victorian, well-preserved, beautifully decorated and immaculate. We stayed here for two…read morenights following Bayfield's big Applefest. Considering our hosts must have been tired after such a weekend invasion, they were wonderfully welcoming and accommodating. They were also non-intrusive and left us to come and go as we pleased. Our suite was delightful and comfortable. Breakfast was left on a tray outside our door by 7:30 each morning and it was delicious. Bayfield is an interesting, artsy town on the Lake Superior shore. The guest house is just a block or two away from the shops and harbor, albeit up a hill. Walking is completely doable if you are of average physical health. The only drawback is minor (to me), but was major to my husband, a Green Bay Packer fan. The guest house, and apparently much of Bayfield, subscribes to Minnesota-based cable TV. It didn't have much to offer, especially the Packer football game. Instead we and hundreds of others packed into the Creamery, a downtown tavern that apparently was the only venue carrying the game. All in all, a beautiful place to stay. Hope to come back again!

    First visit to Bayfield. Stayed 2 nights at the Grey Oak. The first night we killed 8 flies in…read moreour room; the second day we got 7 more. There was a huge spider web in the bathroom. The bathroom door was spattered with something brown. The wallpaper, bathroom fixtures were very out of date (1980's?). The mattress has definitely seen better days, not replaced in recent history; it was very uncomfortable. Only 2 flat pillows in room. The sofa also was old and uncomfortable. TV didn't have many channels. There was no shampoo/conditioner in bathroom. The continental breakfast was adequate, but with no table in room to eat on, we didn't partake of much of it. The only time we saw or heard from the innkeepers was at check in and check out. Oh, there was a typed note asking how we intended to pay and if credit, schedule at time to meet the innkeeper in the living room downstairs. He never asked how our stay was. We have chosen to stay in B & B's many times, and have not seen the likes of this - ever. All in all, a very disappointing stay. We would recommend staying anywhere else.

    Old Rittenhouse Inn - bedbreakfast - Updated June 2026

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