On August 8th 2019 I made a reservation for accommodations on the Expedia platform, which utilized…read moreHomeAdvisor as an intermediary. The reservation for accommodations was made on August 8th 2019 for a stay in Oglesby IL at accommodations provided by this business. On August 14th I learned that the booking does not include waterpark passes, whereas booking directly with the Resort includes them. I called HomeAway on Aug 14th and spoke to a representative about the possibility of cancelling the reservation with the intention of booking the dates directly with the Resort. The representative had misunderstood the request and cancelled the reservation without refund. HomeAway then got the homeowner, Sam on the phone. The owner said that he was willing to reinstate the reservation and provided me his phone number while on the line with HomeAway representative. Once I called the homeowner directly, he offered to refund the amount paid though HomeAway for the reservation and rebook the reservation through him directly. I have been in contact is Sam and Matt in regards to reinstating the reservation. They both make promises that this will be done but do not follow though. Sam and Matt, did not act in good faith during my communications with them. It appears to me that their intent is to keep the reservation money and re-rent the unit to someone new.

Place never was affected by any fire. Perfect stay. Close to parks and other attractions.read more

The place has been burnt down so, its hard to give it a review. The time I came here was great but…read morethey had a 5 alarm fire 4 days after I left and so now I am not sure if it will open again.

On August 8th 2019 I made a reservation for accommodations on the Expedia platform, which utilized…read moreHomeAdvisor as an intermediary. This is the same company that lists on AirBNB under Starved Rock Cabin Group. The reservation for accommodations was made on August 8th 2019 for a stay in Oglesby IL at accommodations provided by this business. On August 14th I learned that the booking does not include waterpark passes, whereas booking directly with the Resort includes them. I called HomeAway on Aug 14th and spoke to a representative about the possibility of cancelling the reservation with the intention of booking the dates directly with the Resort. The representative had misunderstood the request and cancelled the reservation without refund. HomeAway then got the homeowner, Sam on the phone. The owner said that he was willing to reinstate the reservation and provided me his phone number while on the line with HomeAway representative. Once I called the homeowner directly, he offered to refund the amount paid though HomeAway for the reservation and rebook the reservation through him directly. I have been in contact is Sam and Matt in regards to reinstating the reservation. They both make promises that this will be done but do not follow though. Sam and Matt, did not act in good faith during my communications with them. It appears to me that their intent is to keep the reservation money and re-rent the unit to someone new.

We stayed on a beautiful time in July when the weather was mid 70's and literally nothing outside…read morewas open past 4 (and you can't check in until 4 lol) No mini golf No outside bar Nothing The bar inside the resort (JH Higby's) closed at 7:30 The pizza place (Jacks Place) closed Wow, what a shame. Absolute trash "resort" Heck, even the TV is ridiculously bad! The "water park" is so so at best with enough chlorine in the water to cure every disease known to mankind!! I absolutely will never stay here again and I promise you, if you do, you will regret it.

**THERE'S A REASON THEIR FACEBOOK REVIEWS ARE DISABLED!**…read more Thank goodness I booked through Expedia and not directly with the resort. We were in town for my son's soccer tournament and decided to stay an extra night to break up the drive home. Grand Bear Resort looked like a perfect, affordable "mini water park" getaway for our two young boys. Before booking and knowing that it was this areas off season, I checked the resort's website and even called their reservation desk to confirm the water park was open during the entirety of our stay. I was assured it was. After FOUR hours of driving, we arrived around 7pm only to be told the water park was closed. Not only that, but the mini-golf and arcade were also shut down. Staff admitted their website wasn't updated because they "can't get a hold of the guy," and said their reservation team (based out of Chicago) didn't know about the closures. How are the people responsible for booking rooms com pletely unaware that all the amenities are closed? We weren't alone...multiple families in the lobby had the exact same story. The scene was full of frustrated parents and disappointed, crying kids. What really made this unacceptable was the resort's response. They refused to refund the stay and even pushed back when Expedia stepped in, despite clearly advertising amenities that weren't available. Thankfully, Expedia stood behind their customer and issued us a full refund, even offering to help us find another place to stay since while we were still six hours from home. I've never seen such an obvious bait-and-switch marketing scheme. We ended up staying at a Fairfield Inn & Suites with a tiny pool--but excellent customer service. Shame on you, Grand Bear Resort. This is not how you fill rooms.

NM Private Car Service is THE ONLY service I use! The rates are always fair and I get detailed…read moreupdates before my pick ups. The cars are clean and comfortable. The drivers are all so friendly and careful. When I use NM Private Car Service I never have to worry about being picked up on time or having a comfortable car to drive me. Neil makes sure to always be contact with me so I know who my driver is and how I can contact my driver. There's no mystery with the car or concerns of safety. I've used NM Private Car Service for rides to and from O'Hare and to and from the burbs to downtown Chicago. Using this service is well worth every cent and it's so reasonable! Never will I use a different car service!

Neil just made everything easy. Easy to book, he confirmed everything clearly, he was friendly and…read moreperfectly on time. I was traveling with a baby for the first time and he had a car seat in the car for me, and again it was all easy. Happy to recommend him and to use him in the future!

My parents stayed here one night and the staff took such wonderful care of them. They said the room…read morewas beautiful and they felt safe and happy. Thank you so much for taking care of them!

We stayed here for one night after hiking at Matthessen state park and starved rock state park…read more Positive: clean, quiet motel. Negative: breakfast offering is sparce. I had a sausage croissant and removed bottom bun. Scrambled eggs and make your own waffles were only hot items. I grabbed an Activia yogurt. Also at 8:30 a.m the housekeeping staff just let himself into the room. No knock. We were ready to leave anyway. What if someone was naked or having relations? We walked next door to Blue Margarita to eat dinner.

If you receive a call from a marketing company offering one of these 2 value propositions to assist…read moreyou to get out of your timeshare make sure and hang-up: 1. A way to convert to a "pay as you use your timeshare" versus paying the annual maintenance 2. A developer being on-site to make an offer to purchase your timeshare We showed up at the appointed time at the restaurant and the nice sales lady with KTO Travel we spoke with thought we were there to hear about a "Viking Cruise". That was the first sign things were about to go awry. The "manager" that came over to clear things up. I explained the pretense that got us to this dinner. After a very frustrating 30 minute ordeal he proceeded to tell me that I'd have to be a fool to believe that anyone would pay us a dime for a timeshare. He claimed that the marketing company they hired must've made a "mistake" and said that they have no control over the company but as long as we were there that we might as well hear them out. They proceeded to try and sell us a new program for $399 a year that would supposedly be better for us and eliminate our annual maintenance fees (no real explanation of how that would happen). The sales pitch for this new program was so convoluted that it made our current nightmarish booking experience with Hilton Grand Vacations sound better (hard to do). The other option available to us was to pay this racket $5,000 to get us out of our timeshare (along with a guarantee to refund our money that they needed on the spot if they weren't successful). He claimed that they're very successful of course. We could not get out of this meeting fast enough and I decided to make it my mission to try and save others from the experience. Photo of the pair below for reference.

I cannot speak to KTO Travel Solutions, as a travel agent, but if they contact you,and promise to…read morehelp you get out of your Timeshare, RUN. this is a pitch they used to get it to listen to a presentation about something that has nothing to do with helping you get out of your Timeshare. The presentations are confusing and misleading. Especially because they got you there under the premise that they are going to help you exit your timeshare. No matter how many times we told them that we did not vacation in the in a way that would make use of a timeshare or any vacation oportunity like that, and when we purchased our timeshare, it was local to a Membership campground where we spend our summers, with the exception of one trade when we first owned it 20yrs ago, we have only used it for the pool and facilities. But the way it was presented we still thought that our $6800 was for the most part to facilitate our exiting our Timeshare, and the 1st year of Dreamstar was like a complimentary trial for 10,000 points, with a 250,000 available. Even when I said we won't use it, and haven't..he still insisted we should give it a try as it will be there either way.