We just spent 5 nights starting Monday to Friday (August 2025) before Labor Day weekend. I don't agree with all the bad reviews but maybe management has changed because the staff could not have been nicer. Yes it was a little dated but clean. We basically had the pool/hot tub to ourselves. Thought the price was well worth the stay and would stay again in the future. Sadly the Perkins has closed so you need to find a breakfast place.There is coffee in the lobby every morning. The attached bar and staff were nice but no food. I'll give 5 stars because the reviews may be a little outdated. read more

We were in search of a hotel that would accept our dog. We found this place. We called to enquire and Jerry was happy to receive us for 2 nights. He was very polite and helpful. Very pleasant to work with. We were delighted with the quality of the room for what little we paid for! This room we got is so spacious! The layout is very ergonormic, the TV was working well, the remote was working well, the internet was strong. Refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave all worked well. I didn't use the iron and board and hairdryer. The room was clean and smelled fresh. The AC worked and kept the room at a comfortable temperature (70F). In the bathroom, the water pressure was strong, same for the faucet at the sink. The little tubes of shampoo, conditioner, soap were all nicely laid out. They even have make-up cleansing sheets! The towels were soft and thicker than expected. Lots of towels in various sizes were available. We got 4 pillows per person on each bed! All soft and fluffy. Bed was comfortable, not too soft and not too hard, as Golilocks would say "Just right". We had 2 comfortable nights' sleep. Thank you Grand Gateway & Jerry. read more

It was pretty cool, not sure why all the bad reviews were about though, I had a pretty good time. They have a "sports bar" that was a little lame, it was still fine, they also have a killer pool with a badass slide. This hotel is also connected to a handy Perkins place, I didn't eat there but it looked good. Everyone had concerns of identity theft, robbery, etc but I had no issues or saw anything suspicious. The staff was pretty cool too, till I forgot to put my do not disturb flyer on the front door, don't forget to do that lol. read more

The staff is not very friendly, the hotel is very outdated and not very clean. Our room keys did not work very well. Six times in 3 days we had to get our keys remade at the front desk. When I asked if there would be any considerations for having to gone to the front desk to get access to our room. The answer was NO NO CONSIDERATION. read more

Back in its day was probably a absolutely delightful place. Showing somewhere in tear but handy and OK. The room I had was pleasant except for the carpet which had multiple stains. I got a great deal on staying there so that's why I chose it I was coming, about eight hours away wanted to have a place to settle. read more

If I could give this a zero star, I would. Just spend the money somewhere else. I saw more cops dealing with the crazy people staying here or the over reactive employees. Seriously the cops were there every. single. day! One night a guy got arrested, the next day some lady's car was broken into and on the last day the very sketchy cleaning men found two coatless and barefoot toddlers in the parking lot. The staff was challenged and almost trained to be over reactive and just not super service oriented. The exception was Amy at Cheers. Amy was amazing. And close second was the guy from Sunday night open mic night at Cheers! Cheers may have single handedly saved our trip! We traveled in a group of 19 - adults and kids. There was literally no where for our teens to hang out. The walls were so thin that when in our room they got few noise complaints (these are truly good kids just being teens - probably mostly on their phones tbh) and when in the lobby they were told they couldn't be there. Seriously the two security guards were threatening our kids when we (the adults) were readily available. When we learned this, we let him and front desk know that his behavior was inexcusable. You could tell that at one time this place was really cool but with all the controversy it's seen (we didn't know about until we got there - another reason to do your research) and COVID has not done this place any favors. Overall there was a smell - like old pool water. The rooms were run down and while clean really made you feel like maybe they weren't. The pool was run down. The area around the pool was run down. There was no where to be in our group except in the hot and under ventilated pool area. The cleaning people tried to enter our room to clean at 8am every day. They kept saying the hotel was full but the parking lot was empty. Seriously this was the seediest place I've ever stayed! Outside of Amy at Cheers being the bestest in South Dakota, this place is 100% a skip. Just visit Amy at Cheers and tell her that the big group from Thanksgiving week sent ya! read more

Decent place to stay. Clean and quiet rooms at a good price. I'm not sure why there are so many low reviews. It's much better than a super 8 and the same price. Im picky about hotels and I would recommend this. Btw-there's no complimentary breakfast. read more

During booking, I left a note that I don't need housekeeping during my stay. I checked in on March 1st. I told front desk the next day, I do not want anyone in my room while I will be outside. The front desk employee was sleeping, she was rubbing her eyes and nodded but she did not take any notes of my request. When I came back, I realized housekeeper came. I called front desk and the lady was extremely rude and arrogant. She stated "Either you request it or not, our housekeepers will go inside your room. And that how we operate" . Instead of being considerate or acknowledging that they fucked up, she gave me attitude. I do not like it when people touch my stuff. This should be titled as 1 star hotel instead 3 stars. Poor customer service, filthy carpet floors. And everything is extremely old and dirty. read more

The hotel is fine. No particular character. Large, clean, and crisp. The downside: People knocked on my door three times -- the same person knocked twice -- before 10:00 a.m. I can see how they want to keep their staff notified about which rooms will need to be cleaned but did they really need to make it seem like they're trying to hustle me out? I twice said I'd be leaving by 11:00 a.m., which is their own deadline. That isn't how you inspire people to put money in the envelope for doing their job. read more

Grand Gateway Hotel is a decent place to visit. The place is outdated but it has all the accommodations that you need. They have a pool with a 130 ft water slide, air hockey, ping pong, a bar, and a restaurant connected to the hotel. This hotel is an average find. Nothing special. The rooms are clean and the restaurant, Perkins, has decent food. The wait staff at Perkins were helpful and kind, Michael was especially helpful. The crepes are pretty good and the sausage is okay. Really just an average hotel (besides the cool water slide). read more

We had a very poor experience during our stay here in 2019. When we first pulled up, there were a bunch of drunk homeless men in the parking lot which scared my 7-year-old daughter. Our room had a strong smell of cigarette smoke and was poorly lit. When my wife and I complained to the front desk, they were very rude and told us to "deal with it". The walls were paper thin and we woke up several times in the night to the people next door talking. The pool area was extremely crowded and my daughter cut her leg on the waterslide. We ended up leaving after one night because of how awful this place was. read more

This hotel is very tastefully decorated. It was exceptionally clean. The mattress was very comfortable with 5 pillows. It had all the amenities: blow dryer, coffee pot, safe, & fridge. read more

Grand Gateway Hotel - Great place to stay - Hotels Near Me - Rapid City, South Dakota

This place price gouged us charging over $300 for the one night we stayed. The rooms were dark and questionably clean. Their pool area was carpeted which I find gross. The desk staff was unmasked during a Covid delta surge when they were there, but they were largely absent. I stood waiting for 15 minutes trying to check out with no one in sight. Then I see they overcharged me on top of the price gouging on my credit card bill. Do not recommend! read more

Stayed Sept 1st-3rd. Room stunk like mildew. Furniture and carpet worn and dated. A/c sounded like a jet engine. Shower would not drain. Notified front desk, never fixed or contacted us. Voiced complaint upon checkout and was given an indifferent " my apology". Front desk could care less. Stay away! read more

It hate leaving bad reviews. Especially like this one because the customer service was fine, but the hotel did not meet my expectations. I read reviews and read alot of clean, but dated. It was clean for the most part except for the carpeting & upholstered furniture. The carpet was old and filthy. In the pool area there was carpet by the lounge area and it was coming up off the floor and could have been a tripping hazard. The furniture was all stained I had to use a towel to sit on it. But there was a table tent in the room to tell me if I stained the nasty carpeting they were going to charge me $250!! The furniture was so dated and the lamps were hideous, old and dusty. The wall paper was coming off the wall. The room was huge but the fridge and microwave were in the closet so you couldn't hang your clothes even though there were hangers. The hallway carpeting was dirty and so was the tile floor by elevators. Now back to the pool. Which looks amazing online. There is a waterside and kids at the pool were loving it. The pool itself was slanted all the way around the walls it was weird. In the pool area there are tables for eating, pool tables, ping pong & air hockey. The hot tub was more like a hot puddle. The first step down was huge. I didn't measure,but it was hard to manipulate and there was hardly any water in the hot tub. I would say it was only half full. Extremely small it could only fit a couple people realistically. I am 5'3 and I was knocking knees with the person sitting across from me. There is a bar in the hotel and the staff was awesome. A great place to relax after a long day of site seeing. No food though, but you can order from Perkins next door or any other redtaurant. I should have taken notice when the hotel picture was taken at night. It looks gorgeous in the photo, but nothing like that during the day. All in all if your traveling with kids they will love it. If you don't mind the dated look and wearing shoes in your room it's ok. It was quiet, my bed was comfortable. The towels were OK, they offer to sell them for $20 each which is laugable. We had to ask for clean towels and even though we stayed 6 nights our bed was never made even though we were told we would get full housekeeping service when we asked. To the hotel I understand the cost of renovation, but new carpeting and updating with paint, reupholstery and new carpet would go a long way. I actually laid there the first night thinking how nice the room would look painted gray, paint the furniture white and hang some black white photos of the President statues downtown. Also it seems odd that you don't offer free breakfast in a family friendly hotel? read more

Came for Sturgis bike week. Was at first pleased with the hotel. Getting into the jacuzzi the second night my fiancé slipped and grabbed the hand rail that wasn't secure and moved so he fell hard. i told staff who didn't seem to care. After our ride the third day we came back to our room which had the sign on the door and maid service had gone inside. I brought it up to the manager Nick who proceeded to tell me they go in the rooms regardless and the sign is a room occupied sign. Or a do not describe. He told me if I didn't like it I could go somewhere else. Very poor customer service from management. I'm disappointed! read more

Warning friends: we found the site online while traveling to the area. We book and paid online. The next morning discovered the hotel charged us again when they said they were swiping for incidentals. We discussed this with manager Maria and showed her the paid booking and the bank debit.... after trying many attempts to discuss the facts in front of us she continued to stand firm that it wasn't their mistake. Her staff had it solved but needed her to reverse the charge....the staff apparently more competent than the manager who without knowing or learning the facts jumped to a position she would not budge from. Manager Maria you are in the wrong line of work. Hotel and staff are fine but think it fair to only pay once.....watch your bank and credit cards activities IF you choose to stay. read more

The carpets in the lobby, elevator and room were filthy. The upholstered chair in the room was so dirty and worn, we couldn't even sit in it. The hotel smelled musty. It badly needs updating. read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. It's completely outdated and dirty, I asked for towels the front desk said they can't give us towels because they don't have a key and house keeping is not here. Our tv does not work she said "I'll see what I can do" not to mention there was a murder here I just found out about. DO NOT COME HERE! read more

Perfectly good hotel. Everything was clean and nice. Nice pool and water slide! Great hot tub. Loved the pool and ping pong tables as well! Nice place to stay. read more

Grand Gateway Hotel - Exterior - Hotels Near Me - Rapid City, South Dakota

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I did not have any problems with the hotel until last night.  I was told that children were not allowed in the hot tub by a little old lady that worked the front desk, which I completely understand, and she proceeded to wait till my son and I got out of the tub before returning to the front desk. But as we were drying off (about 10 mins later), a GROUP of kids 8-9 year olds got into the hot tub and was in there splashing around for a good while but was not spoken to. I would of let this go but it ruined my son's night just because she wanted to be the wicked witch of the west. If you are going to enforce the rules, do it with everyone not just a 3 year old that doesn't understand why he has to get out of the bath tub. read more

Would give 0 if I could, they will screw a tourist, made a reservation, showed up, gave me another room and billed me for the reservation, called them and was told that I had made 2 reserv. explained to them that if I did it was unknown to me and why didn't you try to give a 2nd set of room keys, basically front desk messed up and was told that that's the way it goes, thieves shysters and straight up rip offs, do yourself a favor and go somewhere else, already back in Wa nothing I can do. Update, night managers are useless and Cody needs to get a job where customer service doesn't matter, but...........if you ask for the operations manager (Amber) you may get a logical response, was told I will get a refund, will update if and when it happens. read more

Disappointed. I think the interpretation of a 3 star "luxury" hotel is being used VERY loosely and should be reevaluated. 2 max and that's pushing motel 6 quality so keep that in mind. This place is musty, dated, smells like old smoke, dirty carpet, wood veneer vanity, yellow wallpaper, rocks for beds and pillows and fridge/microwave stacked and stuffed into the closet (so if you have things to hang up...move the fridge/microwave combo). But the writing is on the wall with the description stating "functional rooms, warm decor, air conditioning and cable TV". These are standard amenities at every 3 star hotel I have ever stayed at yet they're considered an "amenity" at the old Grand Gateway Hotel.  Now to put things into perspective the night before was spent at a 3 star Sheraton in Sioux Falls which was a legit 3 star. So I would put that type of hotel/chain into this 3 star rating.  Knowing this area better now, there are much better options compared to this run down establishment....try the Courtyard, Ramada, etc and they are in a nicer location closer to dining options. All in close proximity to drive to Mount Rushmore.  The pool is clearly a win with the young kids but we saw a pool full of 5-10 year old kids but no adults to stop them from trying to go down the slid and leap to the pool stairs which is just waiting for someone to break their faces. Parents must have been inside Cheers which offers drinks with a window view of the pool to see your kids play. As far as covid-19 concerns.....none here. Evidently it doesn't exist in SD or the Grand Gateway Hotel. Little judging for us wearing protection to stop the spread but these people don't care here so be prepared. read more

This was a wonderful place to stay! I cannot believe we didn't stay here the entire time we visited Rapid City. Our vacation would have been so much better because of it! We tried three hotels during our time here in Rapid City. This one is by FAR the best bang for the buck. Our room was clean, luxurious, QUIET, felt very private, and had everything we needed to get rest and relaxation. I especially appreciated that they had a bench to put our suitcases on top of, that there were multiple lamps for good lighting, and that there was an iron and ironing board. The one drawback was that there was nowhere convenient to plug in our cell phones. The outlets were far behind the bed and unless you moved the mattress, you couldn't plug in your phone next to the bed. The closest outlet to the bed we found was across the room next to a chair, and even then you had to kneel close to the ground and unplug a lamp to use the outlet for your phone charger. read more

Grand Gateway Hotel - A quiet corner near the stairs - Hotels Near Me - Rapid City, South Dakota

Priceline said this was 3 1/2 stars. I'll generously give it 2. The only reason I stayed at a 3 1/2 star is b/c that's all Rapid City has to offer. I would have chosen a different hotel, I would have even driven to a the next city if I would have known how grungy and dated and stale this place was. Also their pillows was the worst I have ever slept on. Next time I'll check yelp to make sure Priceline lines up with this. read more

We had a great experience, especially in thanks to the staff. I lost my earring and two of the employees worked tirelessly to help me find it and helped me with retrieval (found in pool after they had closed already around 10 pm). Found this place on 'Hotels Tonight' for $34/night. Personally, I am a fan of the timelessness of the rustic feel to the hotel, as what matters to me is that it is clean, which it certainly was. It did feel like a resort, with karaoke every night at the bar next door, a pool with waterslide, a hot tub, pool tables, ping pong tables, and an air hockey table. Felt safe there as well, as they had a security guard walking around the premises throughout the night. read more

DO NOT STAY HERE! Housekeepers started banging our door down at 8:30 even though check out is at 11am. We were rushed out early regardless with a 2 year old. In the time we went to our vehicle the housekeeper had gone in our room and immediately our wallet was stolen. Our cards to enter the room were already canceled. We spoke with the manager and couldn't leave. We were stuck in the parking lot for hours in the freezing cold. The manager did say he was reviewing cameras but we never heard back. We had no choice but to stay stuck in this place another night because we literally cannot leave across country without ID. we had to file police reports and were told just how often this happens the same way with the same story. They still charged me another 100 for security deposit. read more

As other reviewers have pointed out, this place has a vibe. Each person has a unique experience. The front sitting room makes me feel like I just stepped into a game of CLUE. The rooms themselves are straight out of the early 1980s, with dark wood everywhere and dark brown furniture with scrollings on it. Housekeeping. Had to ask for a roll of toilet paper when housekeeping didn't bother to replace. Our nephew had made up one of the beds sloppily as a lark. Housekeeping decided that was good enough and didn't even bother. There is a bar called Cheers that may be where happiness goes to commit hari kari, but they do have a decent selection of beer on tap at a reasonable price. The pool. Ah, the pool. Grab your towel early or you won't get one. There is a water slide that is very popular with those who are both naughty and nice. Nobody is watching the pool, and on some nights it looks like the final scene from The Poseidon Adventure, I kid you not. Front desk staff said people just dump their kids there and leave (supposedly not allowed) so that might be a factor. Not interested in returning, especially for the inflated price for a three-night stay and no breakfast. Waiting for breakfast at the adjoining Perkins is indeed not unlike the waiting room in Beetlejuice, as a previous reviewer noted. read more

Found bugs in the room! Very outdated! Weird smell in the bathroom. You are better off staying somewhere else honestly. Will never be back.

Typical level three hotel on the standard 5-point scale of very basic budget motel to extravagant resort, perhaps on the low end of 3 for tired decor, saggy mattresses, and imperfect cleaning (a few cellophane wrappers in the bathroom from the previous occupant). Minus one Yelp quality star for unusual policies that are not disclosed until after you have committed to a stay namely: 1) an additional "destination charge" of $3.95, which is explained as a mandatory charge like a resort 2) a note that rooms that have a Do Not Disturb sign after 11 am will not be cleaned. This second is not a big deal. The first is not a lot of money. However, the failure to disclose additional fees so consumers can make informed decisions is disturbing. read more

An older hotel, but very nice. Recently had a Navy reunion here, and this was a very nice place to have one. Conference Room is huge, and can seat 100+ people for a banquet. Anna in the sales department is as good as it gets, hard working and dedicated. The big plus for us was having an attached restaurant that is open 24/7, and also an attached bar/pub. Oh, and the indoor pool for the kids is also a big plus. read more

While traveling cross country we needed a place to stay while heading to Mount Rushmore, so we decided to spend a night at the Grand Gateway Hotel. When we arrived it was fairly late in the evening and we were warmly welcomed by their front desk staff. As we were checking in we could here obnoxiously loud music coming from the bar attached to the hotel which was nice because this place has a little night life. When we made it to our room we were underwhelmed by the decor but found the overall setup to be decent. The television was outdated, the lighting was horrible, but the beds were comfy and the pillows were amazing. This hotel is known for its pillows, and I can say that we were not dissapointed. In the morning when we were checking out we saw that they had a nice pool with a slide. This would have been a blast to swim in but we missed the cut. Overall, the hotel itself is a bit outdated but the services they provide here is great and the room was comfortable. read more

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We arrived early and were not able to check in. Told they had been full the night before. Got directions to something to do while we waited. It's right off the highway and has a lodge feel with the dark wood beams and indoor decorations. Room felt small and dark. One in our family felt it had a weird smell. I didn't notice. parking was adequete considering they were full. Perkins on site as well as a bar. Expensive but the bartender could make a lot of older drinks well. Indoor pool area has pool tables and plenty of seats/chairs/loungers. The large slide is the main feature. If you don't mind the stair climb(rough metal to prevent slipping) it's a fun slide. Only issue I saw was kids trying to stop in the slide and crash in groups....while parents sat nearby ignoring them. Otherwise it was nice area. My kids enjoyed it. It was quiet at night and check out was easy. Morning staff not to friendly. It was close to gas/shopping areas as well. The drive to Mt Rushmore here was about 30 min. read more

Grand Gateway Hotel - Hotels Near Me - Rapid City, South Dakota

One star, hmm maybe that is generous. Clearly not a place looking for repeat customers, but happy to rake in once-in-a-lifetime tourists to Mt.Rushmore nearby. Hallways to the rooms smelt of a mixture of sweat, stale popcorn and cheap pine scented cleaners. Rooms are dirty, carpets threadbare, caulk in shower/tub blackened or missing, pillows smelt of mold. Noisy halls full of the overserved, randomly knocking on room doors at 4 am... (no front door staff to monitor this at the time). Really not to be experienced. I'm sure they do very well with the Sturgis bikers and summer trade, but in mid September you would think they would try a little..... Somebody in Rapid City has to be doing better than this. read more

So many choices of hotels in the area online. We decided to go old-school and call this hotel directly. Got a wonderful price and headed in for the night. The hot tub was just what I needed after a week of camping and the water slide made it fun for my daughter (and a lot of other adults). The room was comfy for our family of 4 to sleep in and as I wake up much earlier than my family, the hotel lobby with free coffee was just lovely to sit in and plan the rest of our trip from. Monty, the manager, was helpful and friendly. This place has a homey, family friendly feel to it. Like visiting your aunt that you actually like who wants to make you happy during your visit. Would definitely recommend it. read more

Not at all happy with my stay. Staff was not helpful and occasionally downright rude which was disappointing after an 8 hour drive from Minnesota to get there. Once in the room found two dead cockroaches in the bathroom and had a very funny smell. The worst was when we got into bed and found the mattress had a very mildewy smell and being late at night was impossible to get anyone at the front desk to respond and had to sleep on top of the bed spread. When I mentioned all this at checkout the response was less than caring. Definitely won't be back, I'm sure there are better places to stay in RCSD. read more

Probably one of our worst hotel experiences. After of long day or driving and site seeing, my wife and I retired to our room. Around 11pm, a noisy group arrived next door to us. We couldn't understand how we could hear the neighbors so well u til we turned the lights off and saw light coming in through a crack between the wall and ceiling across the entire wall! Around midnight, the front desk helped us change rooms (which is worth one star). Unfortunately, we were awoken at 8am the next day by housekeeping! For context, this was a Sunday morning... read more

This wasn't a good experience from the beginning. The check in was rude. The room next to us was so loud late into the night. Then house keeping came around at 9 and knocked on our door. When we called down to ask if it was normal, the front told us yes, they have stuff to do. For reference, check out is at 11. If you have any concerns about COVID, then absolutely don't come here because I didn't see any precautions happening. read more

If you would like to travel back in time - this is the hotel for you. It is old, smelly and very outdated. Katie at the front desk needs about a year's worth of customer service training. Absolutely horrible experience. Also, be warned - if you book your reservation online it takes you to a third party. Very sneaky!!!! So if there are any issues they will not help you at all and will continually tell you to call the third party. When you ask for the phone number for the 3rd party - they tell you to refer to your confirmation email which never came. When I arrived at 2:30 and asked if I could check in she instantly went to a 10 and was like check in is at 3:00 and there are no rooms available and that house keeping hadn't even arrived. When I called back to get some information from her to try and resolve my issue she lied and said I arrived at 11 am. It is incredibly frustrating when you have to deal with someone who is defensive, will not listen, interrupts, is rude and has zero problem solving skills. I left feeling cheated, robbed and beyond upset. I did not stay there - I left and booked a different hotel. Please please please beware about booking online - it looks like you are booking directly on their website but they have outsourced it and there is nothing on the website that says you are being redirected to a 3rd party. AND the third party is not booking.com, expedia.com, hotels.com or anything that you would realize is a 3rd party. If I owned that hotel Katie would no longer have a job!!! Buyer beware! Old dirty hotel - not worth the value!!!! read more

Never ever have I checked into a hotel only to check out two hours later. None of the staff were taking any precautions against COVID. I did not see anyone wearing a mask, the staff did not have plexiglass partitions at the front desk. Regardless, my girlfriend and I were planning to stay in our room as much as possible. Despite the dated appearance and musty smell of the room (something that I was willing to put up with just to have a place to lay my head after six days of camping), the WiFi proved to be the most problematic aspect. My girlfriend needed to work on her thesis and a reliable connection to do so. It was so bad that the speed test website would not even load. When she went downstairs to address the matter, Lucy at the front desk was very rude to her. Take my word for it: stay at the Howard Johnson instead (only a ten minute drive away). read more