We have stayed in Cabin #4 or #5 for every deer season for the last 5 years. We come down from…read moreAlaska and look forward to our trip every year. We really enjoy the cabin and all of it's amenities. When we are not out hunting, we have been able to go canoeing, watch the northern lights, and visited friends and family in and around Grand Rapids. Peg and Tim are great hosts and very responsive to any needs that have arisen during our stays. The cabins are beautiful, and the lake views are impressive, such a great place! We wish we could live there!

We stayed in the "Love nest" on June 1-7. It's very small but ok except for many drawbacks. Take…read morethis advice: 1. poor refrigerator so bring your Yeti cooler and lots of ice. The refrigerator is small and the freezer is froze up totally. The refrigerator freezes most food inside! There's plenty of room for another fridge if they would get rid of the stools underneath the counter. 2. Way too much junk as in stools, chairs, water equipment for a TWO PEOPLE MAX cabin. 3. The lake is not a fishing lake. Literally no fish! The boats they provide are half sunk in the water and are of poor condition. PS: If you are city folks who don't fish or don't do much on the water and want to enjoy the sound of the loons and sitting around using their VERY GOOD WI-FI this fine. Day trips are nice and maybe necessary.

We liked this hotel. It's very quiet, clean and right on 169 in Grand Rapids. Rooms are comfortable…read moreand well kept. Breakfast is included and they do a good job with that- eggs, sausage, toast, bagels, yogurt, hash browns, fresh fruit & so on. Heads up: the restaurant is closed on Sundays. They also have a discount for veterans but you have to make your reservation via phone direct to the hotel.

Note - This review is just for the restaurant…read more I stayed at the IM Hotel across the parking lot (owned by the same management team) and headed across the lot for a late dinner after checking in. Coming in after the dinner rush, the dining room was still showing battle scars from the clearly busy dinner crowd, but the staff was friendly and accommodating. Menu was small, but offered enough variety. I opted for a caesar salad, adding chicken. Salad was delicious and clearly used all fresh ingredients. Being a party of one, rather than take up a table I sat at the bar. Bartender was very friendly and helped offered tips for things to do while I was in town. Would recommend!

The Chippewa National forest is huge with excellent kayaking possibilities. My campsite had a small…read morechannel running behind it where I could leave my kayak when not on the water. The campsites are spacious and spread out so you can't hear the next campsite. The ranger comes by occasionally but doesn't bother you. Dead wood is abundant in the trees and you are allowed to forage for down dead branches. Fire pits with grates, picnic tables at your campsite and clean pit toilets are located conveniently throughout the campground. Well water is available near the fish cleaning station and there is a dumpster near the exit. I had a wonderful week here and plan to return in the future. Remember if you pack it in pack it out. Leave your campsite better than you found it. I pretty much had the forest to myself during the week.

This place is terrific, food is so good and hospitality is very good. Used to stay here when our…read moredaughter would come up for hockey.

Always a lovely time visiting Green Heron. It's cozy, comfortable, and we can't wait to go back!!read more

A beautiful weekend at Back o the Moon Resort near Grand Rapids, MN. This quaint, family oriented…read moreresort brings me back to my childhood when my parents brought our family up North every year for a week or two at a resort on a lake just like this. The cabins are clean and equipped with all the essentials for a comfortable stay. The lake is extremely clean with 10+ feet clarity (or more). And, of course, the hosts welcome their guests with all the love that skydivers share. I highly recommend the Back of the Moon resort for your next getaway!

This was, without question, the worst hotel experience I have ever encountered, and it has left me…read morequestioning the standards and practices maintained at your property. My party consisted of myself, my wife, my mother-in-law, and--most critically--our 9-day-old daughter, which made the condition and functionality of the hotel especially important. Below is a comprehensive list of the issues we encountered during our short but deeply disappointing stay: 1. Undisclosed Amenity Closures Upon arrival, I was informed that the pool, hot tub, and both ice machines were out of order. At no point during booking was this mentioned, which is a clear failure of transparency and a breach of expectations based on your advertised amenities. 2. Room Confusion at Check-In After being handed my room key, the front desk attendant abruptly paused me to double-check whether someone else had already been checked into the same room earlier that day. This does not inspire confidence in your reservation system or guest security protocols. 3. No Hand Soap or Bar Soap in Room Upon entering the room, we discovered no hand soap or bar soap was provided. When I went to the front desk, I was told the hotel was out of soap entirely and was offered body wash as a substitute. For any guest this would be unacceptable--but for us, traveling with a newborn infant, this posed a serious health and sanitation risk during a time when hygiene is critically important for feeding, diaper changes, and newborn care. I was forced to leave the hotel and purchase soap from a nearby gas station at my own expense. 4. Plumbing Leak in Bathroom At approximately 1 a.m., I discovered a large puddle of water in the bathroom, which was leaking from the pipe under the sink. Upon inspection, I found that the leak had clearly been a known issue, as a towel had been wrapped around the pipe as a makeshift fix--prior to our arrival. The sink also failed to drain properly, leaving standing water in the basin throughout our stay. 5. Unauthorized Entry by Staff Later in the morning, we were startled by a hotel employee entering our room unannounced, waking up our 9-day-old daughter. The staff member apologized, claiming that the room was showing as unoccupied in the system. This is a major breach of privacy and guest safety, especially given the age of our child. 6. Inadequate and Dirty Bedding Both beds in the room were made with sheets that were too small for the mattresses, causing them to come loose repeatedly during the night. Additionally, the microwave was filthy, with visible food splatter inside when my mother-in-law attempted to use it. 7. Filthy Bathroom and Linens The shower had hair in it from a previous guest, and the towel I used after showering had pubic hair on it, which was disgusting and left me feeling dirtier than before I entered the shower. This level of uncleanliness is inexcusable in any hospitality setting. 8. False Advertising of Breakfast Despite advertising a complimentary breakfast, there was no breakfast available during our stay. This was another serious letdown in a long series of broken promises. 9. Poor Staff Conduct and Facility Maintenance Throughout the hotel, the garbage cans were overflowing, including those in the lobby and outside. To make matters worse, members of the hotel staff were heard loudly complaining about their jobs while sitting in the public areas, with one even commenting that they were on a "three-hour break from cleaning."

I booked 3 months in advance. When we got there no pool, no hot tub, no breakfast…read more Tried to charge me a cancellation fee! We chose to stay there to play in the pool with the grandkid. The manager told me not having a pool was no big deal. The employees were not professional in speaking and attire. The manager informed us that the pool has been down since June. it has actually been down for about 3 years.

I'll start this review by saying that my nephew at one point during our family vacation proclaimed,…read more"Can we stay here forever?!" Sand haven was a great choice for my giant family! There are different sized cabins to accommodate various sizes of families and we were able to rent four cabins all in a row. The resort is very family and kid friendly - plenty of activities for littles with a playground, beach area, pontoons for rent, fishing stuff, etc. The cabins are comfortable but still feel like you're in the woods and the porch area is definitely the best part of the space - coffee on the porch looking at the lake was just awesome! Lake views, fire pits, picnic tables - all make it feel very up-northy. There is a little lodge down by the beach area where too can buy a limited assortment of snacks as well as toiletries that may have been left at home. They have pizzas, arcade games, and free popcorn and coffee too. Wifi was super strong throughout the resort! A few minor things that I didn't love: - The beach area is pretty weedy which contributed to swimmers itch for a few of us but the kids didn't seem to mind. - There isn't really anywhere to walk for exercise, just the dirt roads but no paths or anything. Flies were terrible when I tried to walk anywhere! - Porch furniture wasn't super comfortable and we spent so much time there that it would be great if those chairs could be upgraded! - The tap water tastes and smells irony. We chose to bring bottled water to drink just because of the taste. One of the best parts was taking the pontoon out to what we called 'secret beach' which was a really nice sort of sand bar that was a short ride away from the resort. A true mom and pop place! If you are looking for something that's a bit rustic but still comfortable, this is a good choice. Nothing fancy but that's the way it's supposed to be!

My husband and I visited hotel Rapids eatery on a Saturday morning for breakfast. This is a small…read morespot within a somewhat recently renovated hotel. We really enjoyed that they had a unique option of crêpes and delicious coffee, which is not common in northern Minnesota. Overall, we had a great breakfast. I would highly recommend getting both a savory option and a sweet option as the portions are not very big. The coffee was also delicious. The service was very friendly and quick and the overall vibe was cozy. I would definitely recommend. Because this is in a hotel the parking lot is large with plenty of space.

TLDR: we recommend this motel, and will stay again anytime we're in the area! Posting separate…read morecafe/bar review. We stayed 3 nights in unit 20; it sits atop the office/bar, so it sticks out from the rest of the motel, windows on 3 sides. It's a super cute unit! Very impressive remodel. I loved the black-and-white photo art on one of the BR walls, it would be really cool to see more art in here. We loved that it had a heated mudroom at the foot of the stairs to remove your boots before you come up to the unit. A little bench or stool in there would be nice to sit and take off your boots for those of us who are over 40. ;-) The suite had just about everything we need, which typically never happens. There were even wine glasses! It could use a can opener and some dish towels, but other than that, the kitchenette was well appointed. We loved having a toaster. There were even hot plates (but no pots to cook in) and 2 coffee makers. My only complaint is there was no decaf coffee, and when I asked at the front desk, they said they only had caffeinated coffee for the rooms? Seems like an odd thing to skimp on, but I was able to purchase cups of decaf from the coffee bar downstairs, so not a huge deal. The fridge is a pretty decent size for a motel, it even has a separate freezer! An ice cube tray in the freezer would be nice. Each bedroom had a TV, desk, closet and full-sized bed. It would be nice to have closet valets to set luggage on- I typically like to avoid setting my bag on the floor. We loved having separate rooms and desks in each room, and took full advantage of them, as each of us had to work over our stay. Recommend getting queen beds in the bedrooms when they replace the mattresses. Beds were okay, but old and pretty soft, and probably should be replaced soon to match the upscale vibe they are going for here. Website says their bedding is "luxurious" and it felt fine, but we prefer 100% cotton sheets. And we noticed there were some rips in the comforters and pulls (from a dog?) on the rugs. Not a big deal, but details like this matter when you're trying to be upscale. We stayed toasty warm even though it was below zero all weekend. It has electric baseboard heating throughout the unit, but not sure what's up with the super loud heater in bathroom? It was the only heater that made loud noises, and we couldn't control when the noises happened, so it was irritating while we were watching movies together. But the great thing is we didn't ever hear any noise from other guests, even though below us was the office/bar. We did however constantly hear street noise, which can't be helped on a main thoroughfare. You get used to it after a day or so. Recommend bringing earplugs if you're a light sleeper, truck traffic goes through there all night long. They desperately need blackout curtains in all the bedrooms, it was wayyyyy too bright with just the blinds closed, even at night. Installing blackout curtains would help with the street noise as well. The only sour note in the whole weekend was the front desk clerk, Kayla. I'm not sure what her problem was, but she was rude, defensive, sarcastic and seemed angry to see me whenever I entered the office/bar. She seemed to snap at her coworkers as well, and made them visibly uncomfortable. Also- it really would have made our Sunday morning tons easier if we could have gotten a late check out, but they refused to allow it unless we paid for half a day. ($77). But, it was such a fantastic experience otherwise, I am still giving Hotel Rapids 4 stars!