This cute train - focused hotel was surprisingly cozy, plus if you're a train nut it will be like heaven. Cozy in this sense of warm and inviting, not in the small sense. The rooms were immaculately clean, and extremely comfortable beds. The showers were awesome. The owners have done a very good job with energy efficiency and sustainable options. Nothing offensive or in your face, just very good decision-making and choices of materials and supplies. The dining area had hundreds of books, probably a good 50 or 60 games, a couple hundred DVDs, and a whole pile of good puzzles. Breakfast was continental, with your basic cereal, coffee, baked goods, and so forth. My daughter insisted that I include in this review that there were Gogurts. "Good for the little ones!" I should point out that she is 16. Overall an exciting treat, and also very refreshing and relaxing. read more

The Northern Rail Traincar Inn delivered exactly what they advertised and more. My husband and I stayed at this Inn while visiting our retirement property up in Two Harbors. This Inn sparkles with cleanliness! I notice details like baseboards, corners and shelves. Each railcar is decorated in a different theme. We stayed in the newly appointed Lighthouse Room. The lamps were shaped like lighthouses, the room was tastefully decorated with Lighthouse pictures and memorabilia, and the hallway that connects each railcar was built reminiscent of a rail yard and train station. When I called to make the reservation. I actually spoke with one of the owners. Cindy. She was personable and friendly. She is the epitome of a fantastic bed& breakfast-type Innkeeper. We met her at the Inn and she was funny and very welcoming. The food was good. They had your typical fare offered at most hotels. The only reason they didn't get a 5 star rating from me is I feel like they could develop a "trademark item" with their breakfast to go with the theme as well. The location is perfect for a quiet weekend or even a Northshore vacation. It's nestled in the wilderness and just a very short ride to Lake Superior. I highly recommend this Inn if you would like to relive some locomotive history! read more

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This hotel is an absolute joy to stay in. Yes the rooms are extremely small, but of course you would expect that. It's just so much fun to stay here and bonus- you can watch local wildlife right from your window. Rooms were clean, and the managers offer a plethora of games and movies you can borrow- which is just fun! Be careful not to run in the halls though- it makes noise, and the managers will quell it immediately (which is a good thing, my kids just didn't realize it as I think we were the only ones staying there at the time.) read more

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Just checked in tonight as I'm here in MN visiting a friend. She's from the white bear lake area but she sent me a few pics of the split rock lighthouse and I had to see it. I decided to find us a hotel or Airbnb and I came across this hidden gem! I'm in a full rail car and she is in a half and we are both very happy we decided to stay here instead of a chain hotel. Each car has such character and the innkeepers have made us feel so welcome. If you are in the area you really have to make this your stop. read more

A unique and comfortable place to stay. Close to state parks and 1/2 a mike from Lake Superior. I found my room to be extremely clean and bed comfortable. Loved the view of the woods from my window. Breakfast was fine and consisted of muffins, bagels, and yogurt, etc. I thought the variety of teas available was nice. The staff members are amazing, really the nicest people!! Loved the area so much. Already planning another trip. read more

Northern Rail Traincar Inn - Hotels Near Me - Two Harbors, Minnesota

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For a weekend getaway north of Duluth, MN....treat yourself to a relaxing time here. It is one of the most unique places I have ever stayed. It is quaint and personable but still has everything you need. The breakfast is straight forward and gets your day started off right. The owners are very friendly and helpful. There was construction on the.major intersection leading to the inn so the owners not only sent an email but also called to make sure I was notified about the disruption and how to re-route around it. Very hospitable and enjoyable. Thanx for a memorable stay. read more

Northern Rail Traincar Inn - Outside of rooms - Hotels Near Me - Two Harbors, Minnesota

This rail car inn was the cutest little place! Perfect weekend getaway. You can't tell it's a train from the inside of the rooms but the hallways are fun to walk down. It's the perfect amount of space for two people. The showers were amazing and the whole inn was very homey. The beds were comfy but a little too soft for us - we prefer some firmness to our beds but that's just getting nit-picky. We had amazing sleep either way! :) My favorite part was being able to "rent" (borrow) DVD'S from the lobby to play in your room. There was a large selection! You could never get bored. They also had a ton of board games! This place would be perfect for kids but as adults we had a great time too, haha! Breakfast was simple - french toast, boiled eggs, yogurt, muffins etc. We grabbed a couple things for our trip back to the Cities and ended up trying breakfast at one of the local restaurants nearby. Can't wait to come back up north, we will definitely be staying here again! read more

Northern Rail Traincar Inn - Inside - Hotels Near Me - Two Harbors, Minnesota

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Amazing hostess and host! Cyndi & Jeff were very kind and available to give assistance. The rooms were very unique. Our room was the fishing room so it had a very rustic feel. The working model train above the lobby is a nice touch. You can tell that the owners put lots of work into maintaining and cleaning the inn. The rooms are long and narrow because they are rail cars. So fun to try something different! read more

Amazing staff and owner, Cindi. Fabulous personality, also very proud of her beautiful railcar hotel. Beautifully decorated and very clean. Would definitely stay here again! read more

Clean, cute and unique. Staff were super helpful and kind. Pricing is awesome too. I love how they even have snow shoes and hiking sticks you can borrow and free breakfast included! Super close to Gooseberry Falls too. Highly recommend this place! read more

This hotel was great! I was a skeptic before we arrived. I planned for the worse. I arrived with my pack of 10 of us. Ages 2-45. The kids were thrilled. The hotel was clean, and the owners were awesome. So kind and helpful! The website does not do this place justice. It is located on the North side of Two Harbors, MN. There is a restaurant (Betty's Pies) within 1/2 mile and multiple options within 3 miles. The hotel had a complimentary breakfast. There were snacks and drinks available throughout the day. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate was free. Soda, juice and bottled water was VERY affordable. Most of us stayed in the large boxcars at the end of the hall. Each had a comfortable king size bed, pullout Queen couch, mini fridge, and a full bathroom. The rooms connected too. read more

This place confused me. I get the novelty of staying in a train car on some level, but I actually found myself wanting more train car. Overall, our stay over the 4th of July this summer was very pleasant. The price is pretty nice (especially if you find one of their groupon deals) and the staff is friendly. The room was clean and quiet. The breakfast in the morning looked pretty tasty and it was nice to have access to a whole bookshelf of DVDs for free. Once you're inside the train car room, it feels like a regular hotel room. The train doors are exposed in the hallway and the outsides of the cars can be seen when you're looking at the hotel. I guess it would have been cool if more of the train car was exposed. I am sure that they decided to renovate the rooms to be comfortable, smell-free, rust-free, and anything else-free that might exist if you stayed the night in a non-hotel train car. In general, the lack of train car on the inside of the rooms just made the experience a little less exciting. read more

Bonus points for being unique. Stayed here a while ago and it was neat to stay somewhere different. To be honest, the bed and room features weren't 5 stars - but come on - it's a train car! That. Is. Awesome! Staff was friendly. Side note: we left a computer bag there and they were so nice about it. They boxed it up and shipped it back to my office. Very appreciative of the awesome service. read more

Unique, clean, good breakfast...they had hard boiled eggs and all the usual things. They kept check in open an extra 45 minutes waiting for us! The location is convenient if you are headed up the north shore and right next to Betty's Pie place. read more

My now husband and I go here every year, it was our heat kept secret but they are gaining attention for their great service and unique rooms. Both family friendly and romantic. The full car suites have fireplaces and loving rooms with a bedroom. The half car suites are either a queen bed and chairs or a sleeper sofa with queen bed. We tell all our friends about this place read more

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For my birthday I usually just go up the North Shore for a day trip. It's fun but also exhausting to drive up and back in one day. This year, I remembered that I am no longer an impoverished grad student, I'm a real adult with a job! So I looked online for a bed and breakfast-type place around Duluth after AirBnb proved fruitless. All the Duluth places were booked and I found Northern Rail Traincar Suites right away. It looked pretty cool - if you are not amused by sleeping in a converted train car, there is something wrong with you - and the price was right. So I booked a room via telephone. Pro tip: ask for a suite that faces the woods instead of the parking lot, if that sort of thing matters. This place is off the road just past Betty's Pies, so it's not that hard to find. Cyndi was managing the desk and was super nice. She said we could check out the other rooms that were open, including the full train car suite. The suites are pretty basic on the inside; they're clean and non-train like until you look up at the eleven foot high ceilings. Most of the suites except for the ones at the end are two to a train car. I didn't hear too much from the other suite though you can definitely hear people if they're running down the hallway. Bathrooms were clean with a funny poem about not throwing anything that wasn't toilet paper or poop in the toilet. Breakfast is served in the mornings until 9:30 or something. It's a basic selection of toast, cereal, oatmeal, and yogurt. They also have tons of books, games, and DVDs though not all the rooms have a DVD player. If you're into that, make sure to bring a laptop or something to hook up to the TV. Wifi is available, but only in the lobby. There is always coffee and hot water for tea/hot cocoa in the lobby as well. They also mentioned that they have a bonfire and s'mores in the evening, but when we returned round 9, I didn't see anything going on. I did see a lot of deer hanging out, so they must know something I don't. If you're looking for something super fancy and where hotel people are fawning over you, this is not the place. We were there to sleep pretty much, so we didn't mind the simple yet pleasant nature. It was really cool walking down the hallways to see the train cars in all their glory, some resplendent with graffiti. Winter rates started last Sunday, so go check it out. read more

Clean, so cool, beautiful location, very nice hosts. We only stayed one night as they were sold out for the next night. We loved it and took lots of pictures. Very homey and up northisth. We all loved it. read more

Northern Rail Traincar Inn - Hotels Near Me - Two Harbors, Minnesota

i love the north woods, and my son loves trains. he's four. granted. but he really, really loved this place, and honestly.... so did we. the hotel itself is built into train cars. (yeah, for real.) it was clean and it was inviting. it provided an ample breakfast, and a pull out couch in the room we stayed in so that my husband and i could share a bed comfortably while our preschooler could have his own bed. it was no extra charge for a room of this size, and it was a nice touch, so he didn't have to sleep on a cot or sandwiched between us. the inn is nestled about 20 miles outside of duluth in a touristy little town on the shores of lake superior, and within quick driving distance of plenty of hiking trails. in the fall, they host a bonfire and marshmellow roast. there was a movie and book check out at the front desk, and my preschooler loved that there were also toys and books that he could check out and play with while he was visiting. this place is a win. when we are ready to book our rooms for next summer's grandma's marathon... this will be the place. this hotel is just a few miles from the start, and they serve breakfast super early to accommodate the runners. read more

This hotel was recommended by a coworker. It is a charming place, beautiful setting, an a unique experience. Our room was clean, homey, and comfortable. We will be back. read more

Great place! Stayed here in May the room was cute and close to a great fishing spot and local attractions like Betty's Pies! Plan to stay here again soon! read more

This place is amazing. I was surprised for our 2nd anniversary with a two night stay here. It is cozy and super clean. We actually slept on a box car. We had the half car suite but had the chance to check out the full cars as well. We'll worth the price. The owner, a former employee who didn't want the place to close when her boss was ready to retire, is great. We felt like family in this place. It's close to split rock lighthouse, gooseberry falls, and only 20 mind to downtown duluth. The morning breakfast was basic but the deer coming right to the windows to greet you good morning both days made it awesome! I completely recommend this place. read more

Clean and great staff! Jeff and Cyndi are great owners. They run a clean, family friendly and run establishment. From the train theme everywhere, the the point, to the back yard fire pit, the movies for free rental, a pile of games, and always greeted with a smile, this is a place to be put on everyone's bucket list. read more

My wife and I stayed here for my birthday back in November and had a lovely time relaxing, playing games, and enjoying all that Two Harbors has to offer. I should have written a review then, but life moves fast and I didn't take the time. Now my stay this time was completely unplanned. You see, I was supposed to be winter camping in Finland, MN. Most of my party either was sick or wanted to leave due to unsavory weather moving in. I love the North Shore so I decided that I wanted to stay. It is ill advised to winter camp alone so I thought I would look for a place to stay in Two Harbors. Ideally I wanted to stay at Northern Rail, but I figured they would have no rooms available. I checked Americinn and Country Inn, but they wanted over $100 for the night. I decided I would try Northern Rail and see if I would be lucky enough to get a porter room. (Only $87 winter rate) I gave them a call and Cyndi answered the phone. She told me they had a couple Porters available and asked for my last name. I tell her, and she replies, "Didn't you stay here not too long ago?" (Okay, now I'm impressed) I told her, I did and explained that I had been winter camping and everyone decided to head out and I wanted to stay longer. "Well we will take care of that!", she replied. Seriously awesome customer service, great atmosphere, and a local business! I will be coming back anytime I'm in Two Harbors, unless, of course, I'm camping in Gooseberry. read more

My wife and I were there this past weekend. We stayed at one of the King Conductor Suites and it was absolutely amazing! It was easily accessible and the theme is definitely unique. It was cool to see the actual train cars from inside the hallway and is quite charming. The owners were very friendly and informative. It's a 5-Star hotel with a home-town feel. We will be recommending this place to all of our friends and family. read more

Rustic, as in a bit dated feeling, but the train car is a cool look each time you drive in and away. Inside the rooms it doesn't really feel like a train car (which is probably good for comfort's sake), but the hallway from lobby to rooms is a neat walk. We enjoyed it but felt like they might be due for a remodel. Will probably stay somewhere else next time but are glad we tried it out. It's quiet and pretty comfortable with a unique look. read more

This place is awesome! Ever since reading the Boxcar Children I've wanted to stay in a box car. This of course is the updated version. Our very comfortable King sized bed looked out into the serene forest. This is a fun place for the family as well there were lots of games, a campfire, movies and books to be borrowed. Everyone should add this place to their list it's an experience you won't get at any other inn. read more

Interesting suites from rail cars. Includes breakfast.

A few friends and I stayed here over the weekend and everything went great. The room was exactly as pictured online and the beds were very comfortable. They have a ton of board games and movies to use for free. The staff was very warm and welcoming. Great location to a number of hiking trails and State Parks. Would definitely stay here again. read more

We stayed in the suite and it was perfect! It was clean, cozy and comfortable. I would definitely go back! What a unique idea.