I utilized this hotel because we had a wedding to go to and all of the other hotels were twice the price. I did, however, have this saved as a "look at" for a few years now. The pros: 1. Very clean 2. Quiet 3. Nice sized balcony with two chairs and a table 4. River view side was lovely and interesting to watch as boats went down the river 5. Towels were cozy and thicker than average 6. Mattress was both firm and comfortable 7. Close by restaurants that you can ubereat. We recommend Grandmas Kitchen. Great Mexican food. 8. Clean sheets with an extra pillow and blanket in the room. Ask for extra pillows. There are only 2 on the bed. Cons: 1. Room was not handicapped accessible at all. 2. Shower was short. Fine for me because I'm under 5 foot tall. 3. No cable TV. 4. No internet and my 5G was not working in that whole area. Could just be my service provider though. All around, I really liked this hotel. Small rooms. Not too hard to keep tidy. Lol. I'm a tornado in a hotel room. read more

Waterfront Hotel & Marina - Right off the balcony - Hotels Near Me - Johnsburg, Illinois

See all

Hometown type of Hotel. Very Clean and Quiet. Beautiful view on the Fox River. Get a balcony room facing it and watch the boats. Nothing fancy but perfect for a short visit if you're only in the area for a few days. Plenty of restaurants, grocers, and shopping nearby. Loved the retro clothing rack! I will stay whenever I come back to visit friends in the area. read more

Not as advertised. The Bar and Grill that states it was newly renovated on their website, is perinatally closed. With that the WIFI that it states is part of the accommodations does not work. We were told it was linked to the Bar and is no longer active after we checked in. Pet Friendly is highly misleading. Overall old, run down, staff is ok when they are there but hours are more limited than advertised. Had about half of the hotel rented for a wedding, we were all disappointed. Weekend staff was excellent, weekday staff was rude and unpleasant. read more

Two stars for the location, right by the water and for the friendly man who checked me in early. Thank goodness this was a one night stay. I was traveling for Country Thunder and booked at a chain hotel for 3 days, last minute decided to stay an extra night. I wanted something close to the venue and booked this place. Checking in early was great, the man at the desk was friendly and chatty. Asked if we needed help bringing things in. Waking in to the room was disappointing. We were greeted with a terrible, disgusting smell. My friend said it smelled like dog urine. Knowing how that they are pet friendly I have to agree with that statement. The room smelled terrible. The bedding, towels, carpet, pillows were all worn out and looked like they needed replacing. The water coming from the shower also had a strong smell. The balcony and facing the water was nice but our room was anything but. My friend had febreze with her and she misted everything in our room. I will never stay here again. read more

Excellent, location super clean. I believe the couple that was in the front desk are the owners. They were very kind! We will definitely come more often ! read more

My wife and I live in the area and after several weeks of passing this seemingly busy new hotspot, we decided to give it a go. It was about 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night, so we were expecting it to be packed.. it was somewhere around 65% capacity. When you get there, it is very confusing as to where you need to go to get to the restaurant (there are no signs, that we could find, directing you where to go) but the front desk employee was kind enough to roll up the cage to tell us where to go. Arriving: after standing at the hostess podium for about 7-8 minutes one of the several servers that made eye contact with us felt bad enough to tell us, "You can just sit wherever. I'm not sure WHY they have that thing (podium) there.." We sat. Service: we sat waiting, for 9 minutes this time, our server finally came over to apologize, "sorry it took me so long, I was trying to get change for $100. Do you guys know what you want to drink?" Considering we were sitting at a table with nothing on it we asked if they had a drink menu. She said yes and brought one after another 5 minutes. The drink menu looked like it had sat on the floor behind the bar from the night before BUT we could read it, so we rolled with it. My wife ordered what seemed to be their signature drink, called Tito's Punch and I got a "bottle" of beer. The drinks came and we both really liked my wife's, which was promising and my beer came in a plastic cup, which was disappointing. We were told that the owner didn't want glass out in the patio area, even though I could see 2 other tables with bottles of beer on them, again we rolled with it. Apps/The meal: Calamari: cooked well, the breading and the dipping sauce needed salt and/or pepper but both were really good. $9 - priced appropriately for the portion! Sesame Chicken Wings: first order came out cold, sent back. Second order came out nice and hot. The breading was very good and the sauce was delicious, just wish there was more of it! $8 - priced appropriately as well! Blackened Shrimp Cesar (salad): salad was big and delicious! The shrimp was cooked perfectly and seasoned perfectly. The greens were very fresh and crisp even with the hot shrimp on top. Enough to share if you wanted. Lots of shrimp (about 8-9). Very happy with this selection! $10 - amazing price considering the quantity AND quality! Asian Shrimp Tacos: DISAPPOINTING. DO NOT ORDER. The shrimp was very tasty BUT.... This is a tapas style dish considering you get 3 - 4"tortillas with, no joke, 2 shrimp and a pinch of the Asian slaw on each. So you get a total of 6 shrimp with this dish. Served with black beans.. Considering this came with less shrimp than the salad and was $4 more, we were disappointed. $14 - WAY OVERPRICED for what you get. Overall: I think this place has a TON of potential. The food was all delicious, they just need to adjust their pricing on the tacos or make it in line with the other regular portion sized entrees. The signature drink was very good and well made. The service needs A LOT of help. Our server didn't know what the soup was that day and tried to describe it based on what it looked like. Also mentioned that "honestly, it looks gross". This is not a place to go when in a hurry. Total time spent there was just over 2 hours but we weren't in a hurry so we didn't mind. Confused as to why the (what looked to be the) manager was bringing unordered/courtesy shots to the tables that looked to have single women at them..? Also the plastic tableware needs to go! We will definitely go here again to give it another shot and depending on how it goes the next time, I'm hoping to increase my review to at least 4 stars. read more

See all

Nice, clean rooms which are reasonably priced. They have a big parking lot which is nice if you're trailering a boat. They have a nice boat launch which you can use if you stay at the hotel. read more

Ok, now, don't take this the wrong way. This is probably the nicest, best place to stay in the whole Fox Lake/Chain O' Lakes region. We'd never been up this way and looking for a one night city escape to be near water, I came upon this place online. Sure looked nice, plus it was affordable, on the river, so we booked. We arrived and said, wow, is this it? It's so small. No big deal, though, who cares, right? Walked in and it was clearly recently renovated. That's good. The lady at the counter was very nice, got us all checked in, offered us lots of stuff, call if you need anything. Thanks! Went to the room and eh, it was small, but if you're not really there except to sleep, what's the big deal, right? It did smell. Like grandpa's basement with 20 wet dogs in it. Or old dirty carpet cleaner water. We couldn't figure it out and it didn't go away. The room was clean. Plus plus there. The bed was sproingy and coil-y and firm, not my fave. I really don't think it was a queen as advertised, more like a full. Creepy factor: the fitted sheet slipped off to reveal a plastic mattress cover. Ew. Pillows, cheapy but tolerable for a night. Shower head....insanely low -- I'm not tall by any means and even I had to scrunch down. Room was all remodeled which was nice. Flat screen tv, fancy coffee packets that we never used, ya know, they're trying. Mini fridge (unstocked), desk, chair. Nice river view though I didn't realize the river was so narrow here. We had a balcony which was cool. I guess the radio got left on and it kept going off like a geiger counter all night, waking us up. Freaky. Any time we talked to someone, like say at the bar across the street that seems to be nameless and unsearchable, they laughed...."you're staying where? Well, we did hear it was remodeled and they're trying to turn it around but it did used to be the place for hookers, transients, and heroin addicts. But we hear it's nice now." So comparatively speaking, clearly it's nicer than it was and they are trying and have big plans which is great and I applaud them. And if we ever came back to the area which is pretty unlikely, we'd consider staying here. A few more tweaks and they're good to go. read more

We were in town for a wedding and decided to stay the night. I like to support local and small businesses whenever possible. PROS: Friendly staff and management. Great location on the water, and rooms have a great view. The rooms themselves are a bit old but pretty clean. CONS: There was a bit of a smell from the carpet, which looked very old. There was also a long blond hair in the bathroom sink. We ate at the Wave Bar and Grill, connected to the hotel. We enjoyed the patio and the friendly server. However I was served raw shrimp in the shrimp tacos. It appeared to be marinated but not cooked at all. This is a pretty scary prospect and it was obviously taken off the bill for us, but seems to show how the kitchen quality. Another issue that arose was there were two guests who were screaming and fighting literally from 10pm till 1am. It involved drinking and a man screaming at a woman, which prompted us to consider calling the police at one point because of the profanity used towards her and her crying loudly. There was also no peephole in our door so we felt pretty unsafe opening the door, but also couldn't see anything. Because management had gone downstairs to attend the bar after hours, no one was at the front desk premises to hear the noise. The final problem came with the bar and patio, which, because the rooms overlook it- there is quite a lot of noise. There was a loud party drinking and watching soccer till about 2am or later. I can understand it's Saturday night, but if you stay here overlooking the patio you don't have a choice but to hear all the noise. Be sure to stay in a room facing the other way as it may be quieter. Overall I want to write this review to provide feedback that the business can use to better things in the future. read more

The wave bar is a joke. Firstly it smells like cousin Eddy is emptying the RV outside. They charge more then anywhere else in McHenry county for drinks. They have no music or jukebox. Service is rude. I will not go here and neither should you. read more

Really disappointing. I mean really really disappointing. We booked a room from their website for a weekend stay at the Chain of Lakes. We read the few reviews on Yelp and it seemed like a nice place. Wrong (I'm convinced the existing reviews have to be from the owner). The hotel is positioned against an extremely busy road and all day/night it sounded like cars/trucks/motorcycles were driving through our room. We literally had no sleep either night. Also the room, while clean, had the worst mattress I have ever slept on (which was ok I guess because the road noise didn't let us sleep anyway). And the mattress had a thick plastic mattress pad which made the bed feel like we were laying on an air mattress (I travel all the time and I have never seen this mattress wrap before). I guess if you are a bed wetter you are set. For anyone else you will hate it. Buyer beware - we will never repeat. read more

It should be listed as an Inn, or possibly a motel, as there are only 23 rooms. It's quaint, as it's Johnsburg, so if you blink, you'll miss the entire town. This gem of a motel has actually been remodeled, and it is fairly modern. Yes, the rooms are very small, and the showerhead isn't likely tall enough for a tall midget, but the customer service from the staff (1-2 employees, maybe) is top notch, and makes up for any minor inconveniences. There aren't any irons / ironing boards in the rooms, but the owner, knowing that we had a wedding to attend, went out and bought a brand new one for us. For real!? That's customer service! Research this place, and read up on how the new owner (Mario) has transformed this property. He has a great vision, and even plans on opening up a waterfront bar behind the hotel. Cool place, with lots of fun stuff in store for the future. read more

Very nice and inexpensive place to stay. The location is amazing, they have a nice patio area siting right off the Fox River. The rooms are small but very clean. Just make sure you bring your cell phone and your charger because there is no phone in the room to call front desk or restaurant. If we ever visit Mchenry again this would be my first choice hotel to stay in. read more

See all

Very nice surprise on the water. Beautiful view in the morning. Lively pub with live music on Friday night. Drinks were very reasonable. Place was spotless. Many of my family members were surprised I was staying there as they remembered it under it's previously owners, but ti's all been been redone. The price was right, too. I do think that heating/ac unit could be quieter -- it was a bit noisy. But I'd stay again. read more

RE: RESTAURANT. we've been here twice to eat at their bar/grill "The Wave" and here's my honest review of both times (plus my mom's commentary on the food on the night prior to us visiting) My review: We went the 2nd night they were open and though it was busy, it wasn't packed like crazy. It took a little while for a server to visit us -- but having personally worked restaurants openings before I'll let it slide -- the blonde girl working could have been more pleasant, but the petite brunette was nice, and so was so the manager Erica and one of the owners (the wife) who introduced themselves. The cabernet was good and there was a nice beer selection. We ordered a quesadilla that was good, the sauce served with it was awesome! We also ordered 2 burgers (Black& Bleu and a BBQ) an order of fries and a bleu cheese/cherry salad. The salad was huge and topped with lots of goodies, the fries were thin and yummy. The burgers were pretty good, no complaints though they could have been even better with a better patty. The second time visiting we had calamari,a Margarita flatbread, and a bottle of wine. The wine selection is larger than the menu says so just ask, we got a bottle of a different cabernet than the menu has listed. The calamari was not bad (**beware there are little slices of fresh red peppers and jalapeño but the calamari bits are not hot... I don't do spicy) the Margarita flatbread was really good! This time the husband owner came by to say hello and welcome us back. I will be back. Decent prices, though i think it odd you have to order a side of fries with the burger, they don't come with. Super neat atmosphere, video gaming if that's your thing, plenty of TVS and the patio is huge. That will be neat in the summer! Moms food review - easy menu. Nothing fancy but nicer than just fried bar food. The pot roast was more like a stroganoff but EXCELLENT stroganoff. The menu was just some flatbreads, burgers, a few entrees. * my dad the sausage flatbread and that was pretty good also apparently. I don't give it a 5 star because there is always room for improvement but they have certainly set up a neat new place in a little bitty town! read more

I think this place is going to pretty fun this summer. Hopefully they will iron out the kinks before then. Every new business, restaurant or other, when they first open, has some issues they need to straighten out. Wave bar is no different obviously. We stopped in for a drink and the place was pretty crowded. It took a little longer to get a drink but that is expected at a crowded bar. Drink was pretty good, maybe on the higher end as far as price. We didn't eat but what other folks were eating looked pretty good. I'm definitely coming back when boating season starts. They have a big patio by the river and I think it is going to be pretty fun. read more

I don't know the area at all so when we got invited to a wedding here, I started investigating hotels. Compared to the hotels near the reception, this one seemed most desirable. I was in fact pleasantly surprised. The hotel was just remodeled in July and was upgraded and clean. Yes the rooms are small but all we needed was a clean room with a bed and warm, running water. Plus, Mike at the desk was very nice and accommodating. It was raining so he came out and helped with our bags. He asked us numerous times if we needed anything. My son loved looking at the water and boats from our balcony. I would definitely come back and would recommend this place. read more

My updated review is based on The Wave Bar and Grill located under the hotel. While the hotel is nice, and the gentleman at the front desk was nice, the staff at the Wave is outright rude. read more

Had a great time there... Loved the fact that I could bring the dog :). And the bar downstairs was sooooo much fun! Nice rooms too

This place is beautiful and the food is delicious but the only problems I had the room had horrible lighting, there were a few bugs and cracks in the ceiling, the light in the bathroom was filled with dust, and the sheets had a little stain. Overall this hotel was very nice and the mattress was very comfortable. read more

Found blood on the comforter that's on top of the coat hanger looks like it was never washed. Had light bulbs out and 2 face towels were yellow instead of white. People were nice overall. read more

We ate at the bar, ordered some food....it's overpriced, bland, and after sending back one dish we were told it wasn't coming off our bill because according to the manager "we ate too much" we had the calamari, the breading fell off everything, we had three bite each it was gross. Other people in our party ordered food too all of them were bland, small portions, and not worth the money. 13 bucks for 2 small tacos so bad. Bartenders are the best asset but they over pour sooooooo much I ordered a double and ended up with like a quad. The price is 2 dollars higher than down the street and drinks are better. Overall this place sucks, I will never go back and I will make sure we let everyone know that the manager has no concern for future business and stood arguing with us about us "eating three bites each on his shitty calamari" no thanks.....locals steer clear not worth it. read more

Great owners, Scott is such a great guy! He is also the best guitarist ever to play in Johnsburg IL. The Best restaurant I've ever been to in my life. I hate going to other places in Johnsburg because I truly feel this place has the best food I've ever had in life read more

My wife and I went here last weekend on Friday evening and met up with some of our friends to try your place out. We sat up at the bar that has the led lights in it towards the big door. We got the calamari which was really good and shared the nachos with the beef on top of it which is HUGE! Our server was very friendly and attentive and was always checking on us we had our drinks before the last round was gone. The only reason I am giving you 2 stars is there seemed to have a party going on for a birthday and who ever their server was seemed really unhappy. My wife said she heard her complaining to another server about they wont tip and how she did not want them and wont take them again! I get that it was busy and might have been stressful but to have another server complain about a big party is so Disrespectful to those customers. What if they heard her say something? This made my wife uncomfortable since she heard this server mention to a bartender and another male server about this table and if we heard her, how many others did! It is just unprofessional and even if they don't tip (which yes would not be great) but business is business and as long as they pay their bill and refer friends to you that is all that matters right?! It was a big party along and they were drinking. We were looking for somewhere to go during the summer but I am not sure if we want to come back to this place since it seemed you have a server there that just wants a tips and does not care for anything else but that. The only thing that made the night enjoyable after hearing that was our server. I am sorry wish I remember her name but she had brown hair pulled into a pony tail with braids. I would only maybe come back if she was our server again. I hope that you speak with that server that was rude to the table. I work with kids and I know that some people can be difficult but I would never talk about that child or family in front of other people. Thank you for your time read more

Our new favorite restaurant. Second time going. Boat parking is awesome. Your boat won't get beat up. First visit we sat inside. Had the tsunami drink. Watch out it sneeks up on you but really good. Good good selection. Burgers, steaks and pastas. I had the ahi tuna app. Very good especially for the price. My husband had chicken Alfredo. Very good. Liked that the chicken was shredded. The service was very good. An yelderly women keeped asking if everything was ok. She was sweet. Our second visit was on a Sunday late afternoon. Not real crowded. Server Crystal came right away. Didn't bug us but was there when we needed her. I have the tuna again. Just as good as the first time. My husband had the dish of the day. Pot roast pasta. AMAZING. Tender beef, fresh mushrooms, and the crunch of the onion rings made the hole dish. Definitely worth ordering. Comes with a nice fresh salad. Don't usually order dessert but had the peanut butter crunch cake. Had them put a scoop of vanilla ice on it. Delicious, did I say delicious. We will be back many times. Just what the area needed read more

First time at the restaurant tonight. Sat outside by the water. What a GREAT WATERFRONT RESTAURANT! Our waitress was fantastic, food and drinks were really good. Might just be our new favorite waterfront restaurant! You got to try it while you can still sit outside, before the weather gets cold. read more

This place looks the same on the inside, but it has been totally remodeled and everything looks brand new. No one seems to know it's open again, so we had the place to ourselves with a river view. read more

My husband & I stayed the weekend (8/15/14) & celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary at The Waterfront. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay! Our room had a beautiful waterfront view & while the room was somewhat small it had a great bed & pillows!!! My husband bought me a bouquet of 25 roses, one for each year & Mike took it upon himself to spread out some petals leading to the bed which was covered in the petals!!! He also personally purchased a Happy Anniversary Mylar balloon, which was very much appreciated & above & beyond!!! Crystal was there every day of our stay & pretty much at our becon call, whatever we needed she was there with a smile on her face! All & all, I can say these folks know customer service. Which in today's world is a lost art!! We will happily stay there again! PS Please don't be offended by the 4-star rating, I never give a 5 because I believe there is always room for improvement in any business! read more