Recently spent a week here while on a snowmobile vacation and rented a snowmobile from the lodge. The room was pretty cheap, only $50/night or so, and definitely had a 1-star appearance, with tacky bed covers, old carpet, etc., although the sheets were very nice and comfortable. (Don't really expect a whole lot at that price.) Some things I noticed that could be improved upon were:
1) Their pool/spa room was supposed to be open from 6 am to 10 pm, but was often locked instead. Several times, in swimming trunks, I had to walk from the locked pool/spa room, through the bar, to get to the "front desk" gift center to have someone unlock the pool/spa room. They should really have a checklist of what to do and when to do it, so the guest isn't wrongfully inconvenienced.
2) They serve breakfast and dinner in the dining room, but lunch is served in the bar only. Seems kind of weird to me, but I understand why (they are trying to save $ on labor). They let you smoke in the bar, so non-smokers might not like that too well.
3) They really need to vacuum the dust off all those mounted animals above the bar. Looks like years of buildup.
4) Wonder how they passed a health inspection, or if they ever get inspected, with all that dust and a cat they let run around the bar and restaurant.
5) For the most part, the food was good, except the chili, but they should work on portion control. Ordered a bowl of chili and got a huge, serving bowl-sized helping of what tasted like old, dry, nasty chili that should have probably been dumped, instead of served. Ordered a steak sandwich that was very good, cooked to perfection, but was too much to eat in one sitting and I only ate half. Since they don't have refrigerators in the rooms, I asked if they could keep the other half in their fridge for me, which they did, but they also threw it away the next day. Thanks Bear Lodge! Grrr!
6) Was taken to the cleaners by the snowmobile rental shop. If you rent a snowmobile from them, make sure to inspect the sled carefully (check under the hood). They did not hesitate to charge me for over $800 of damages, even though I never hit anything! All the "damages" were under the hood and I'm not so sure they weren't already present before I rented it, because I didn't look under the hood. They really should give out some written instructions for the sled, ie cost, turn-in time, maintenance checks, oil refill schedule, fuel type, etc., so customers know what is expected. The two grand I spent on rental and "damage" fees for the Polaris would have been better served buying a used Ski-Doo or Arctic Cat.
7) Didn't go on this trip to surf the internet, but it would have been nice if the WiFi was faster than dial up. I've never seen WiFi that slow before. Took several minutes for the weather radar to pop up, if it came up at all.
8) The staff, for the most part, need to smile more. Seems like many don't really like being there or serving guests. It's as if the customer is inconveniencing them.
Primarily because of my negative experience with the snowmobile rental, and generally because of some of the other things outlined above, I will probably avoid Bear Lodge in the future, if possible. read more