We stayed in cabin 15, which is not a cabin at all but part of the lodge building, and it doubles as the event center. It was originally the main lodge sitting area and cocktail bar. As such it's not ideally suited as a guest room, but it was all they had when we reserved. The main room is enormous, with tables and chairs for 20 diners, upholstered furniture, large fireplace and windows overlooking the gathering area and A-frame, and the lake. Not exactly intimate, but anything but cramped. Large and modern kitchen (plates, bowls and mugs for dozens of people, flatware for less than half that). Gas grill worked great, good char on our steaks. Bedroom layout was haphazard, again being a repurposed common area, but more than enough room for the 7 of us. 2 showers (hot water is metered, our shower was lukewarm), huge washer and dryer. Not a lot of privacy as the main windows faced the grassy gathering area but they have privacy glass, and ppl minded their own business. Hate to say it but their pizza may be the worst I've ever had, including take-and-bake, and most frozen. Edible, but not by a lot. Burnt on one half, and mistakenly half cheese only. Sausage and pepperoni on the other half almost non existent. Bring your own food or drive to town (Luekens grocery in Bemidji was outstanding). Staff were all very nice and accommodating. I liked it, others not as much. read more

Looking for somewhere fun to go during the summer or winter? This place is for you!! Indoor pool, hot tub, games, pool table, ice cream, small bar with some food. Huge beach and lake access. Seriously an amazing beach! Played bingo one day and even won a few prizes! We stayed in a cabin that overlooks the lake. Highly recommend. Really any cabin here is great. Very clean, up kept, many utensils in the cabinets and more! I can't say enough about how welcoming the Putnam's are. (New Owners) They are there when you have a question, will help you with what you need and are very accommodating. We rented a pontoon and got to explore the lake and get some fishing in. The lake itself is great. Pretty quiet, big and great for swimming. I will recommend this place to all of my family and friends! We hope to be back next summer and enjoy Kohl's resort for even longer. read more

See all

This resort was amazing!!! The people that work here are amazing and friendly and very helpful. The cabins are clean and in good condition. The beds were super comfortable and they literally thought of all the little details like trash bags, dish soap, dishwasher detergent plus the kitchen is fully stocked so you can cook and eat. The have daily planned activities that are perfect for the kids and the whole family. They had bingo with prizes, tie-dye shirts, put put golf, minnow races. They have a gift shop with some of the best ice cream, it reminded me of Thrifty's ice cream from back in the day. The water toys were awesome, the boat rental was awesome. And every cabin came equipped with their own personal fire pit. There is a playground for the kids and an indoor pool. I could go on and on but we had an amazing time here. read more

See all

This resort had a lot of amenities and our cabin was nice sized. The porches attached on our cabin were a bit small (we were a family of only three) but we made it work. Our 13 yr. old enjoyed the pool but was not so much a fan of swimming at the beach. It was a nice beach with lots of water toys to take advantage of. Also a nice touch was the honor system bait shop on site. The fishing from the docks was another story. We checked in on a Saturday and we're told the fishing was good. My husband went fishing at several different times on as many days and he never saw ONE FISH not even UNDER THE DOCKS!!!! He caught nothing the four days we stayed (we booked a week.) Maybe you have to rent a boat or bring your own to have good fishing. Our experience fishing was that it was awful and non-existent. Our cabin was nice but the furniture and beds weren't. Couldn't get comfortable on anything and my husband had a spring in his back from the bed. The bathroom was nice except for the toilet which was stained a deep yellow and looked like it always was full of pee even if it wasn't. Always Just kinda gross looking. The cabin was clean however. The hot water was always hot and the toilet flushed great, the stove/oven seemed a bit off but we made it work. We were from the twin cities so it was a 4-1/2 hour trek for us (long drive) as we lived in the southern suburbs vs. those who live in the Northern suburbs (less driving for them). The owners should spend some time sleeping in the cabins and sitting on the couches and cushions on outdoor furniture to get an idea of what their guests would experience. They do get props for having a gift shop on site, plenty of things to do for kids as well as adults, and on-site lounge with a mini menu. This resort would be great for family reunions or people with large families as they have a ton of cabin options! The biggest plus was they were dog friendly!! The fact that each cabin comes with its own firewood pit and firewood supply was another plus!! Would we stay here again? Maybe. If the furniture was improved upon at least in cabin 5 (where we stayed). All in all not bashing the resort just some things that could be improved upon. It was nice enough and being fairly close to Itasca State Park was a plus too! Nice scenery with lots of chipmunks!! Give them a try! read more

See all

Kohls resort is a great place to stay. It's got great fishing on the lake. The owners were wonderful and the place has a lot to offer. They have personal grills and fire pits at every cabin. They have an indoor pool which is cool for those hot days out in the sun. The ping pong table is outside for patrons. The playground is nice for little ones. They have comfortable seating overlooking the lake. The cabins are fully stocked with dishes. Kohl's is also dog friendly so your furry friend is welcome. Lots of shade trees and very quiet calming place. Loved it!!! read more

Fun place when you are out on the lake for the day! Try the walleye wontons or deep fried pickles! read more

The amenities are nice, but the owner could use some classes on personal interactions. He treats guests like children, with constant scolding regarding an odd way of putting everything back in order, from the hot tub cover set just so, to the life jackets on the proper hooks. Plus there is an awkward tension if you choose not to participate in the group events. Mild consternation for missing the minnow races. A weird verbal guilt trip for not booking the paid extras, like the canoe trip or massages. The whole thing felt a bit like a visit to an odd, unpleasent uncle with a great house. On a side note, some cabins are way better than others. Steer clear of the odd layouts and shabby old interiors of the octagonal cabins. The newer rectagonal cabins are much better. Although all could use a good deep cleaning. read more

This resort is beautiful, however the management and staff must learn to make customer service a priority if they want it to thrive. Otherwise, sadly I don't think that this place will make it. Overpriced Needs just a little updating But mostly, very very poor customer service. I hope for their sake this summer, things have changed. read more

Just stopped by Kohl's for some ice cream for our kids and had the pleasure of meeting the new owners. New ownership is amazing and I am so excited to take our family here this winter! Brian and Ashley will take great care of you at a gem of a resort just outside of Bemidji. read more

I wish I could have stayed here but I had to cancel my reservation due to illness in my family. I gave this resort two and a half months notice and still, I am being charged 381.00 to cancel. Distressing and unfair. read more

I agree with others on the hosts. They need to be more friendly and I got swimmers itch when I just went. The host told me at first it couldn't be and no one had it for years and must be mosquito bites. Went down to Walmart got cream and told swimmers itch went back and then she was more understanding. It was awful bumps all up my legs and buttocks and stomach. Also they need to be quicker at serving their guests. I didn't feel like I was looked after at the resort. But our cabin was gorgeous and comfy beds. read more

I am at Kohl's as I write this review, but I will not return. Great setting, strange owner, and DOUBLE-CHECK TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE ALL THE AMENITIES LISTED!! I found this resort on the internet, and THE reason it won out over others was the water trampoline. I thought it would be so much fun for my 11-year old daughter AND myself on these hot August days. Unfortunately, the first full day we were here we found it covered in seagull poop (along with the swim dock). We asked the owner about it and he said "when we clean it, it's just covered with poop the next day, so in a few days we're just going to take it out." And the next day they did just that. So the big attraction was pulled before my daughter's very eyes. Imagine the disappointment. I asked if he could just clean it like one more time so we could at least use it one day, and he said no. No apologies, no anything. Other amenities that are not here as listed on the website: the sauna has not been turned on, nor have any of the games in the game room. Also the "golden sugar sand beach" ... the beach is actually fine, a little rocky but what I'd expect from a northern MN lake. But it seems like they've decided to let the seaweed take over for the season. It starts about 4 feet out into the lake. I'm sorry but I have to agree with Mel T. (9/1/2012 reviewer). It's been odd and awkward dealing with the owner. He has a lot of rules, and he spends his day in front of several tv screens behind the desk in the office, watching all his video camera feeds - several on the beach, in the pool room, above the hot tub... who knows where else. Then if he sees an infraction of his rules, like when my 11-year old daughter went out in the hot tub ahead of me (under 12 are supposed to be with an adult), he runs right out to make sure he brings you back in line. The first day, when we asked about kayak paddles, he began his response with a lecture about putting away life vests and dragging boats to their proper place on the beach... and that was our very first interaction with him of our stay! No hello or welcome, just launching into a lecture. Needless to say, I'm very disappointed. The only reason I can even give two stars is that the setting here is lovely. It's just unfortunate that particular owner is not so lovely with his guests, and also unfortunate that they seem to have given up on providing amenities for the season, even while still charging full price. I wish we'd known this before we came. They should take these off their website or say they're not available during certain times. read more

It has been a while since we stayed at this resort with friends of ours but I wanted to "calm" my thoughts a little before posting a review. I am not sure how the owners of Kohls have been successful or even if they are because the owner is not personable, very unpleasant at times and just plain odd. Cameras all over the resort just so he can spy on you and make sure you are doing exactly what they require and that you are holding to there strict rules. The cabin was ok but not that clean and lacking some of the basics you find in other resorts especially considering the premium price for the cabin we stayed in. They make using some the amenities like the pool, or outdoor equipment/toys, etc just unpleasant because of them watching your every move and the constant lecturing on how to take care of everything and how you are to put everything away in its exact proper spot. Kind of surprised they didn't ask us to wash the linens, vacuum and clean the cabin (although I am sure we could have done a much better job then how we found the place!). Also charging $16 a day for dock rental is just crazy. We have stayed at 10-12 resorts around Bemidji and another 20+ in other areas of the country over the past 30+ years and have never had to pay to dock our boats. (just nickel and dimes I guess for them) We all really wish we would have read the other reviews on here about the resort BEFORE making a reservation because they were accurate! read more

The place was decent, more of a quiet family atmosphere, long story short, take a picture of the prop and everything else you use, they will pull the oll, you wrecked a prop move at check out and get ya for another 85 bucks. Never again. read more

I would totally agree with the other negative reviewers. The owner Jim is not nice, has no customer service skills, no reason to be working the front desk and is an odd duck. Jim too accused our family of trying to cheat there system of having more people than we should have. First of all four of our families had rented three cabins. One slept 7 (they had five), one cabin slept 8 (we had between 8-5 people), and my father rented a cabin that slept 4 (they only had two). At no time did we go over the limit, but God forbid that my one brother had two cars and my Father had one and they would drive to our cabin and hang out by th fire pit. Our family and brother's family had five cars between the two of us. Three kids drove vehicles because of work schedules and the adults drove separate because we were all coming on different days. Instead of jumping to conclusions and accusing us of cheating the system Jim, the car Nazi, should maybe do a little leg work before he starts accusing people of not paying for extra people.he even had the gall to corner my brother and my father that we had too many cars and too many chairs by the fire pit. It was one of those odd Jim situations in which it wasn't the queston he asked, but how he asked the questions and the disbelieving sounds and non verbables which when you read between the lines he basically did believe a word they were saying. Isn't it all right that four paying family customers would want to spend time together eating and having fun by the fire at one cabin so that we can all be together? They are more worried about losing out on an extra fee ($20) for a person staying there than they are about losing three paying families (thousands of dollars) for next year which was the result in the end because we will not be going back. Too bad because everything else was great. read more

I am at Kohl's Resort as I write this review. This is my family's 3rd year staying here for a One week Rental. My children have a blast every time we come here. I have had many encounters with Jim and Debbie the owners and find them to be hard working and attentive. I myself managed a lake resort with 18 cabins and 22 boats. It's a lot of hard work and long ............i mean long 12 or 13 hr workdays. The person who left the awful review is full of it. Jim has never pressured our guests or our family to partake in any upsell services. TOTALLY NOT TRUE As a matter of fact, I like Kohl's Resort so much I made my own video review 3 YEARS AGO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXWV3S5k1cg Come stay at Kohl's. You will really enjoy the stay. read more

Thank you so much Kohl's for giving my family a fantastic vacation and beautiful memories! I booked a cute little 2 bedroom cabin for my family of four in August. It was short notice and hard to find anything. I booked through Expedia. I received a confirmation email from Expedia saying things were set, no need to confirm with the resort. I learned a valuable lesson about this. You cannot trust Expedia!!! After booking the cabin, I read mixed reviews, which made me nervous. We went and hoped for the best. The drive took over 4 hours. My husband went into the office to check in. My boys and I waited in the car a very long time. When my husband finally came back, he said we never had a reservation. Expedia had not booked the reservation, we found after clicking on the itinerary spot. The owners' son at Kohl's (I believe his name is Aaron) worked with my husband the whole time we waited to make something work for us! The resort was already fully booked. They put us in a two bedroom cabin for two nights, and then the owners very own winter home that they rent out to big groups in the summer for our last 2 night. It was ginormous and so beautiful. It was like being a retreat center. I was so very grateful to the owners for helping to safe my family's vacation. There was so much to do at the resort rain or shine. It was very well maintained and clean. My boys loved the indoor pool, covered outdoor hot tub, and beach full of play things and big floating toys. I found everything listed on the website was there to do and play with, in good working condition. My husband rented a boat through the resort for a day and really enjoyed himself fishing, with great tips from the owners' son who enjoys fishing the lake himself. The snack bar came in handy a few times. My husband and I enjoyed the beer they had on tap at the snack bar also. The owners are so proud of their new snack bar. We enjoyed hearing about the history of the resort from them. They take pride in all of what they do, and it shows. We will visit again and ask other family to joins us. We will make our reservation directly through the resort next time! read more

Stayed at one of the VRBO places that advertises through Kohl's and offers use of the resort for free. Even though they advertised on the Kohl's website and had a Kohl's rules/regulations booklet in the house, they claimed to have no affiliation. Regardless, the Kohl's resort and the place we stayed had major issues. First the VRBO wanted to charge extra money for day guests that were not even using the resort....just people who came over to hang out for a while during the day. We were approached in a very aggressive manner by the owners because we had 'too many cars in the driveway.' There had been no noise complaint nor was there any disrespect or damage done to the property. I've never heard of a VRBO charging extra for day guests. Kohl's itself is nothing special. Super cheap/old water toys are available and the grounds just aren't that nice. Customer service is even worse, especially from the "Family Reunion Lake House" that we were staying at. I would advise others to look elsewhere for a summer vacation, I definitely will next time. read more

I stayed at what they listed as the Family Reunion Home. Since then they have taken it off their Kohls website and now have it listed with VRBO, but it's the same owners. I found the owners to be very rude. They didn't like us having our family over for dinner and yelled at us for 45 minutes during dinner in front of everyone. The home was beautiful as was the lake it was on. I thought it was odd that we had to provide our own towels, hand soap, and toilet paper. They told us in our confirmation that they would put enough toilet paper in the home to last us the whole week but with 16 people we ran out after 2 days. When you are flying to your vacation sight it's inconvenient to have to bring towels. On top of that the washer a dryer were 1.5 miles down the road and coin operated. If we have to bring our own towels, at least let us use your washer and dryer on sight at the rental home. They also advertise the home as having 6 bedrooms. This is not true. It only has 5 bedrooms. The 6th room does not have any windows or closet. It's about the size of a large walk-in closet. In Minnesota it's illegal to have a bedroom without a window. I'm not quite sure how they're charging so much money for what is clearly not a real bedroom. read more