We eat here every time we come to Mena. The drive up and the scenery are worth it every time. Every time we come to the Lodge they only have two waitresses covering the whole restaurant so service is incredibly slow. My kids are tough to keep contained for that long so we go outside while waiting and let them run around. The catfish platter is my go-to. It's very good. The downside is getting more than one side of tartar sauce is like pulling teeth. The potato logs always come out and have been sitting under the hot line for way too long and are all dried up. My husbands chicken fried steak is hit or miss. This past time it was way too thick and not even warm when it came to the table. The fried mushrooms are excellent. We will continue to go back because we love the drive but the food and the service are definitely not improving over the years. read more

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Clean rooms. Nice staff. Enjoyed a nice breakfast in the restaurant (biscuits and chocolate syrup) Took a hike on reservoir trail. Sat by the fireplace in the lounge and played some cards. Very lovely location; quiet. Will definitely stay here again. read more

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The lodge looks great and they are still in the process of renovating the conference area. The staff was so friendly and accommodating! I was perusing around in the awesome gift shop and they had lots of 2024 solar eclipse souvenirs. Had a nice conversation with the ladies at the desk about the eclipse watching plans at the park. The rest rooms are very clean. The original lodge was built in the 1800's as a Victorian resort named Wilhelmina Inn to honor the young queen of the Netherlands. The modern lodge has 40 rooms available. read more

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Great food, we have only been there for lunch. Beautiful location, looking out over the valley far below. The service was very good considering how busily it was. read more

Beautiful views, great bar and restaurant, spacious room. Attentive staff and great walking trails, with several places for a sit.

Lodge has indeed been updated as has been posted previously. Was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the rooms and public areas. Front desk staff were friendly and accommodating. Lobby was cozily decorated for Autumn and the burning fireplace added to the overall ambiance. Wonderful rocking chairs on the wide porch where we enjoyed the beautiful sunset. One note: bring your own bottle opener if you want to enjoy your own adult beverages in your room. The only negative was the onsite restaurant. There was a long wait for our food to arrive but the server did her best to compensate for the delay by apologizing periodically and brought us homemade potato chips at no charge to munch on while we waited for our food. The food was mediocre, not bad but not good either. It was fine considering there was no other option available. Overall I would very highly recommend this lodge! read more

Great site for camping - a bit pricey in lodge for bar- nice trails- clean bath house

What an adventure to even get to the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge. It's on top of a mountain -- and it was kind of scary getting up there after dark. The lodge is beautiful and reminds me of a Frank Lloyd Wright style. It blend in with the landscape in terms of building materials and colors. I think I saw where they just remodeled the rooms. Ours was very nice, and the bathroom had a lovely walk in slate or stone shower and granite counter tops in the bathroom. One bonus for train lovers is a full size locomotive on site and also a small train kids of all ages can ride. This stop was suggested to us from a relative. It was a scenic drive which was a little out of the way to get to Oklahoma, but well worth the drive. read more

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Amazing veggie quesadillas!!! Donny served us outside because of the dog. Wonderful food! Beautiful room! Can't believe this is a state park! Loved hiking Lover's Leap! Only one mile but it took me 42 minutes. Very rocky in the center of the trail. Was glad I had my hiking pole for stability. Staff is super friendly! Would love to return! read more

Queen Wilhelmina Lodge - Outside at Queen Wilhelmina State Park restaurant. - Hotels Near Me - Mena, Arkansas

We LOVED our weekend stay at the lodge! The view was beautiful and our room was clean and comfortable. The staff is very friendly and go above and beyond. Park Interpreter Ivory led a lot of fun activities for kids: my kids really enjoyed owl pellet dissection and making a bird feeder!! She is SO knowledgeable and fantastic with children. The lodge restaurant's food was delicious with great service. The waiters and waitresses were very attentive and friendly. One of our waiters was an older gentleman (I feel so bad that I didn't catch his name) and he was amazing. So kind to us and our children. There's so much to do here! Train rides, ice cream parlor, putt-putt, hiking..! Great place for a little getaway. My little family had a fantastic time!! read more

The Queen Wilhelmina Lodge has just been completely remodeled and updated, a process that reportedly kept it closed for over a year. It certainly is wonderfully nice now. The rooms are large and spacious, the bathrooms completely modern, and all the technological amenities are in place. Given its newly upgraded facilities, the pricing is very reasonable. So, it's a very nice State Park Lodge. But as they say, the three rules of real estate are, "Location, location, location." The Queen Wilhelmina has that covered. It is located at one of the most scenic peaks of Rich Mountain, on the Skyline Drive itself. The view is simply breathtaking. Watching the sunset, or the stars come out is amazing. The park is located in the midst of the national forest, with historical sites and hiking trails both on the park, and nearby along the parkway. It is near enough to Mena, Arkansas, to easily drive in for a meal, to visit to the quaint shops, or the historical train depot museum. However, one need not leave the lodge to eat. The Lodge has a full restaurant that has a decent menu, as well as the frequent buffet. One should not get in a hurry if ordering from the menu, as things are clearly cooked to order. All the meals I tried were hearty and homestyle. So, the Queen Wilhelmina is absolutely worth visiting if you are passing through. Alternately, it can serve as your base of operations for visiting the area, and/or hiking in the national forests. read more

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We had a group of 6 staying in 3 rooms for a two night stay. What a great experience with comfortable and clean rooms, dog friendly, happy people working at the lodge, and good food and service at the restaurant. Obviously good hiking and history at the state park as well. Truly a great out of the way experience. read more

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, despite being fogbound for the majority of it. Since the primary consideration here is supposed to be the view, I consider that high praise. Rooms were very comfortable and spacious. Nice bedding, separate armchairs and table for hanging out and reading. Keurig in the room. Everything worked. We also had dinner in the restaurant. I didn't have high expectations for the state park restaurant -- but I was wrong. Our food was very good, reasonably priced, and they had a very nice local craft beer selection along with a full bar. I had to get my "license to drink at Queen Wilhelmina Lodge" first, but it was free and no problem. Looking forward to our next visit. read more

Didn't stay at the lodge but did have breakfast at the restaurant. Lodge sits on top of a mountain with beautiful views. Lobby and restaurant look very nice. When I walked into the restaurant to see if they were open there was only one guy eating. Another couple had walked in before me. No staff to be seen. The guy had to open up the kitchen door to get some help. After the waitress took the other couples order she went to put it in and was gone for a bit before she came back out to take ours. We placed our order and went to the gift shop to look around. After I came back to the table a lady came out of the kitchen and walked around to the lobby. About 5 minutes later she came back and asked "Are you the guy that ordered the chicken fried steak?" I answered "yes" and she said "It's going to be a few minutes because I forgot to turn the fryer on." and off to the kitchen she went before I could tell her I'd just change my order. We had already waited a while by this time. My wife had biscuits with sausage gravy. They looked good but she said they were too doughy and didn't eat much of them. I had chicken fried steak and eggs. The chicken fried steak was mostly crust and the meat was tasteless and tough. We had very slow service and was not pleased with the food. The next time we go to Mena we will not be eating here. read more

This was a wonderful place to stay! The lodge was clean and very comfortable. The staff was always helpful. The lodge has a great place to hang out with family and friends. There was a cozy fireplace and board games available. The restaurant food was excellent and the wait staff was very friendly. It's a great place to gather, and I can't wait to go back! read more

The lodge has been rebuilt and is beautiful! The rooms are very nice and the staff is friendly and helpful. Of course, the view is breathtaking. The restaurant serves basic but good food. read more

Queen Wilhelmina Lodge - Hotels Near Me - Mena, Arkansas

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I imagine the lodge is a cool place to stay, as the views are awesome. But, if the lodge service is a slow and inefficient as the restaurant service, I would not stay here. It took them 50 minutes to bring us four waters and a coffee. My grandpa orders a coffee, and they brought him ice water. The food was alright, but we were so frustrated at the slow service that the food could've been five star quality and we wouldn't have cared. I don't know if this was just a bad day, but there's literally only maybe 12 tables. It shouldn't have been so slow. A one hour lunch turned into a 2 and half hour ordeal that was so not worth the time. read more

Queen Wilhelmina Lodge - View from the lodge. - Hotels Near Me - Mena, Arkansas

It's great to see the Lodge back in operation, and kudos to the remodeling crews. If I remember the original timetable correctly, they kept the place closed for almost twice as long as the original forecast, but the results are worth it. The rooms and the public areas are very nicely updated and clean. They make a great presentation. I had dinner in the restaurant and found it much the same as before the remodel: wholesome American home-style cooking which, while it will never win a star from Michellin or Zagat, is still satisfying and filling. And they serve fried chicken livers with a fabulous brown mushroom and onion gravy. Hooray! So why only three stars? Two reasons: 1. The WiFi is very slow, and censored. Try downloading anything racier than an R-rated picture and you're likely to be blocked by a firewall that says PORNOGRAPHY! SHAME SHAME! Of course this is a state park in Arkansas, where the words Religion and Government mean pretty much the same thing, but I still took one star off my rating on the principle that censorship is inherently evil, and unAmerican. As you may know, the fix for this Putiranism is to setup a personal Wifi hotspot on your cell phone, which instantly detours around the censor, and also provides faster response time than the in-house Wifi equipment. 2. There is a waiter in the restaurant who seems to fancy himself a reincarnated Will Rogers, and loudly so. He spouts corn pone humor for the entire restaurant to hear, and has the audacity to pull up a chair at every table he serves so he can sit down and entertain you with his sparkling wit. There may be some people who find this entertaining, but I found it rude, intrusive, and offensive. Outside of that, the guy seemed like a pretty good waiter, and I certainly don't want him to lose his job over a review like this -- but I would like it if he would dial back the Vaudeville routine to somewhere around zero. So there goes another star off my rating. You should still visit the Lodge. It's a great place, with beautiful surroundings. They just happened to push a couple of my buttons this time around. If they'll fire the preacher who sits in the basement and monitors my internet usage, and stifle Will Rogers in the restaurant, then, on my honor, I will come back here and change the rating to five stars. read more

The restaurant in the lodge is very good!! Much better than you find in most state parks!! The food was excellent!! Their chicken fried steak is as good as I have ever eaten!! Hamburger was also very good!! With the spectacular views it is a great dining experience and highly recommended!! read more

I like this place. The food isn't five star but the location, service, & view make it special. We stayed in the lodge years ago and it was great. I've eaten there many times since and it's always a fun place. read more

Worst food... worst service... we were a group of 5 and we had to wait for 40 mins for the food to be served. I can't even tell that it was worth the wait. Pork chop was so hard and old that it could have hurt somebody if thrown at them. Garlic bread was burnt. Fish and chips didn't have any fish in it Mashed potatoes .. stale. read more

We were in town for the CMA Rally and took a trip up the mountain to see what everyone else was talking about. Unfortunately, it had rained the night before and threatening rain all day so our ride was cloudy yet I have to say the view was still phenomenal! We were unaware of the resturant hours, technically to late for lunch and to early for supper. The staff accommodated us anyway. The brisket was tender, well smoked and better than the previous restaurant known for its brisket and bbq. I loved that the desserts were included with our meal. However if you wanted to skip the meal and just have dessert they offered dessert buffet for $5 or any one for $3! Seriously when's the last time you ordered dessert for $3??? The selection was wonderful although I liked the banana pudding best. After all it was my birthday so calories don't count. read more

The drive up to the lodge is beautiful on the Talimena scenic route with several stops along the way offering scenic vistas. The lodge itself was recently reopened after being closed for over a year for complete renovation. They did a great job on the remodel, everything seems first class and well thought out. The room was large with very comfortable beds with great linens, got a great night sleep. Off the lobby area there is a large sitting area with games offering a great view. There are sitting areas outside with rocking chairs where you can sit and take in the "view". The only bad thing I can say is that free wi-fi internet isn't very good, but after all I wasn't there to work, so not a bad thing! Overall it was a wonderful, relaxing experience. The lodge has a restaurant too. It's a nice place with friendly staff. I heard someone say that since the remodel the restaurant wasn't as good as it used to be and the prices had gone up. I didn't think the prices were bad and the food was good. We had the buffet at both meals and it was good, definitely worth the price. While there you have a choice of several different trails you can hike that range in length and difficulty. Also there is a mini-train ride that is great for the kids. The area is beautiful with breathtaking views, we will definitely go back. read more

When we arrived, we were told that the air conditioning in our room wasn't working properly and wouldn't cool below 72 and the lodge was full. We told them we would try and make it work. We were in the middle of no where on a holiday weekend. The room was 78 degrees and climbing ( it was close to a 100 outside, even on the mountain). We went back to the front desk and they got us a room with two beds instead of the king we had reserved. We also had to move to another room the next day. Both of the rooms were on the backside without the view of the "view" in front. The view of the valley is stunning. The lodge is way up on a mountain and it looks like you can see forever. Just amazing. It made the whole trip worth while. The rooms are kind of old and shabby, we saw three. They need new linens, towels and such. The restaurant was better than I thought it would be, even though the buffets were nauseating to look at. The park is also fun, we loved the miniature train ride and the tour of the Wonder House. The Park Ranger who did the Wonderhouse tour was great, very informative and patient with a super obnoxious kid. The good news is they are closing the lodge in December for a 15 month complete renovation. I really hope they build a place worthy of the gorgeous view. read more

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This place is great. We stayed the weekend and wish we could have stayed longer. Everything was perfect. The food is unbelievably good - neither of us had anything bad from the buffet and the desserts are amazing. The beds are really comfortable, the rooms are a nice size with plenty of room, the staff are all really friendly and helpful, and the location is beautiful. To top it all off, the price was really reasonable. We will definitely be back. read more

Today my family and I finally took the much anticipated trip down the Talimena Scenic Drive. It was absolutely glorious! It took much longer than expected with a short hike and many scenic overlooks. By the time we got to our final destination, the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge, we were famished. We walked up to the hostess stand at 2:40pm and we were told by a very unfriendly hostess it would be a 25-30 minute wait. I honestly think she was hoping we would just leave. We didn't care, we decided to take in the view and check out the lodge. We came back to the hostess stand after 20 mins and she informed us that she had tried to page us but unfortunately our pager didn't work. She told us she held a table for us and seemed to be in a better mood than 20 mins prior. We were seated by the hostess and looked over the menu. After a few minutes we still had not had a waitress come by the table and take our drink order or greet us. We were so hungry we didn't care. We waited patiently. After a few more minutes, we noticed an elderly couple next to us getting anxious. I asked them if they were having trouble and they replied "I think our waiter has forgotten us." A few minutes later an elderly gentleman from another table was looking for help and approached a waiter and asked "who do I pay, I am ready to leave." The waiter said "you need to pay your server" and the man replied "you are my server but you haven't been back to my table." The elderly couple next to us was still waiting, the other man was standing around just trying to pay and we still hadn't had anyone come by our table. I told the couple next to us that we were going to cut our losses and travel to the closest town to eat. 20 mins had past and not a single greeting, glass of water, nothing. The young bus girl apologized as we walked out and she told the hostess. No one made an effort for us to stay. We just walked out like no one cared. Your lodge is lovely, we were scooping it out so we could plan a family trip. My parents were also planning a trip. I will be telling them the story. It isn't worth the frustration to go somewhere you are obviously not wanted. read more

Beautiful lodge with great rooms, beds and pillows. The shower is nice, but water pressure is bad. If you eat in the restaurant I suggest ordering off the menu and not eating the buffet. The fried green beans were delicious. read more

The food was great and so was the service. Look forward to visiting again. We loved the lodge itself. We were there for 3 days and everyone was very helpful and friendly read more

What a GREAT place to stay. The room we had was huge with a great shower...good showers are hard to come by these days at hotels. The food at the restaurant was great as was the service. My only complaint would be that there is not a pool but they are not gonna lose a start for that. I bet this would be when a big storm rolls in. read more

Stayed on July 6, 2015 soon after the renovated lodge re-opened. Check-in was chaotic with new staff training. Room was very nice and spacious. Flies were all over the lodge. Killed ten in our room that evening. Receptionist said they knew about it and were working on it. Web site said "Southern Cuisine" in the restaurant. Only had serve-yourself one-price buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Would prefer a menu. Renovation was still going on outside the lodge. Hiking trails were nice. Talimena Scenic Byway from Talihina,OK to Mena, AR was enjoyable. Many places to stop for photos, picnic, or restrooms. Good food at Skyline Café in Mena. Check out their Yelp reviews. read more