This place has its ups and downs, given the 4 stars, but all in all, we've had an amazing stay. We stayed for a week. Amazing staff, some are a bit... antisocial lol, can't blame them though. The indoor pool is amazing, as is the jacuzzi and sauna! We stayed in one of the lake house's directly in front of the lake and it is so peaceful listing to the waves clash. The big bed is super comfortable. I personally have no issues with this place at all! Their breakfast options are a little small, but yummy! by far the best cinnamon rolls from a hotel for sure. Warm, soft and the cream cheese glaze is amazing! Their food prices are a bit... ridiculous, almost $50 for two people, but the food is pretty decent. read more

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Amber was our server not only was she informative and friendly but she was very concerned about our outcomes as we had some food allergens. Her recommendation(s) were a hit!! I'd love to return when she is at work as I would not want to be disappointed if someone else was not as knowledgeable friendly or attentive! Kudos Amber don't change!! read more

Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge - Whipped Feta with pecans and a drizzle of something delicious Onion rings amazing Wild Rice Soup scrumptious - Hotels Near Me - Bemidji, Minnesota

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Lovely staff and service. Food was cooked very well with a really nice menu with variety. Love all the fun activities available nearby as well. Will definitely be returning! read more

Such a disappointment from what it was from food on down but especially starting w the hostess. I come from Miami twice a year and cherish the experience so much that I make reservations weeks in advance to insure we get a window table Tonight we arrived 10 minutes early for the reservation to be told that they had no window tables available because they had so many walk ins but they did have a table for us. Are you kidding me? Give the non window table to the walk ins and the window to the person that called in advance! I actually asked why she did not give one of them our table and she said we do not do that. Seriously! Incompetent! She then preceded to inform us that they were short servers and the kitchen was backed up so plan to wait a long while for our food..... none of which were true. Total incompetence. It starts w the hostess and she ruined our traditional experience at Rutgers. Next time we will vacation in Brainard! read more

Restaurant review Very disappointed. Ordered the ribeye med-rare. It arrived medium. Sent it back. A new waitress arrived with the old steak. She told me thats the way they cook the steaks there and under the heatlamps is looks pink. What do I want to do. I said I want a steak medium rare. She stormed off. Then the manger shows up wanting to know what the problem is. I tell her this is cooked medium and not close to medium rare. After some thinking she took it back. After a time a new steak arrives. Its rare and cold in the middle. Seriously? By that time Id had enough. Wife was already finished with her dinner. So I ate what I could and we left. OBTW---my wife ordered her steak rare and it came out med-rare to medium. They have issues. Waitress was nice so there was a positive. read more

We had the best time visiting friends at the Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge. One friend had grown up in the area, and he and his family go back every summer to get together. We joined them this time, after hearing about it for years. We stayed in a rustic one bedroom cabin next to our friends' cabin. We spent 3 nights at the lodge. We had arrived in our travel trailer and they let us park it near our cabin, so we could have access to it and keep an eye on it. I did laundry while I was there as we were on a long trip and I didn't worry about my laundry being stolen. We had so much fun every night enjoying the outside, playing corn hole, hanging out by the lake. We enjoyed the rooftop bar and the food at the main lodge was excellent. Our cabin was very rustic, it could use some updating, but we knew that going in so were just fine. read more

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Their Black n Bleu burger is the best Black n Bleu burger I have ever eaten in the 40+ years I have been alive. I am so excited to have come here to have such a wonderful staff and Mary Beth was the greatest server and so polite. I would love to stay here sometime in the near future and enjoy pontooning someday in the neat future Summer's. I would recommend this place to anyone on this planet who is in the bemidji area. Beautiful and tranquil and just an amazing atmosphere and really a great destination to go to. Absolutely marvelous place to eat and stay. Thanks Ruttgers for an amazing and outstanding experience. read more

Went to Rutger's last week. Food and service were wonderful. Ordered the fish tacos which were good but the chicken salad sandwich was the winner at the table. Great bread and large pieces of chicken. read more

Thank you Rutgers Birchmont Lodge for hosting the Loop the Lake bicycle rest stop. Clean, organised lodge! read more

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Review is for dinner. The Birchmont has long been a staple in the Bemidji area. It is a grand old resort if you like older styling. Lots of wood paneling, etc. The on-site restaurant just did not provide a good meal. The fried foods came out over cooked and the oil it was cooked in was past its prime. Portion sizes were generous, especially the all you can eat walleye special on Friday night. Side dishes were bland. Walleye was overcooked but tasty on the inside. Bacon Cheeseburger was a LOT of bacon, no skimping on that! Fries were mediocre. For a resort they should really work on bumping up the restaurant fare. read more

This is a charming rustic hotel, we stayed for two days. I would say they should probably update some of their rooms- our screen door was almost impossible to open up for our balcony. Lots of stains on the floor and the linens on the beds didn't seem to fit properly and so they continually exposed the mattress which is a pet peeve of mine. For the price I'd say these things should be updated and managed a bit better. As we checked in we weren't offered any information about the pool so when we found out you need wristbands and a code to enter we enquired further and they asked for $43. Thankfully we communicated that we were staying there and the person up front was apologetic and gave us our wristbands for free. I think a lot of young people work here and service varies, but everyone was incredibly sweet. Another confusing part of our stay, we got a knock on our door at 9 am and a pair of young girls asked if we needed anything. It was incredibly confusing and rather irritating, but I wonder exactly what they were even offering. It is an incredibly beautiful place, the weather was perfect and we did enjoy the space. read more

Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge - View from the hotel balcony. - Hotels Near Me - Bemidji, Minnesota

This is our second year coming to this peaceful resort. It's a fantastic escape from the busy world. Borrow a canoe or kayak or just sit on the beach and watch the lake. Safe swim area to play and friendly resident dogs on patrol. Food at the restaurant is great (try the bison burger) and rooftop lakeside bar is lovely. Staff are friendly. The cabins are dated but we didn't come here to be in a sterile chain hotel. They are clean and the bed was super comfortable. Perfect for extended napping. Sunshine, breeze, lake. Perfect vacation read more

This place is the perfect weekend get away, or week! However long you want to stay! They have everything from the fire by the lake, fun and delicious restaurant and bar, to kids toys for the lake and bikes! Honestly, two days was not long enough here. We stayed in a private three room cabin that was private enough from the main lodge but still a 5 min walk to the restaurant/bar and main lake beach area. In front of our cabin was a small fire pit right next to the lake where we hung out after our night out. They provided everything we needed to make our stay memorable. Comfortable and clean cabin, fire wood, lake toys, (stand up paddle boards) and a giant blow up water slide. We went for a girls weekend getaway, but would definitely bring my nephew and family back here for a family weekend. We had a blast. As for the food...we couldn't decide what to eat so we ordered several appetizers and main dishes to share. It was all gone amongst the four of us girls! The wait staff was amazing. Kind, funny and always refilling our drinks. The owners were very attentive to all the guests and active on the property greeting everyone and making sure guests were happy. I had a blast here and can't wait to go back! Seriously love this family owned and operated resort! read more

Great rustic feel to this place. We stayed 4 nights and plan to come again. We planned to come up to see fall foliage, but the weather turned and we go snow instead. So the heated pool and gym came in handy. I give it 4 out of 5, since the bathrooms could use some updating. The beds are comfortable and the microwave and refrigerator is always a plus for me. The resort was also in the midst of some construction during our stay, so I'm excited to come back to see how this place looks in the the summer. read more

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Stayed during covid and had a great stay! cozy place with a welcoming staff. enjoyed ice skating on the lake. cant wait to come back in the summer! would come back just for the food. read more

Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge - ice rink on the lake - Hotels Near Me - Bemidji, Minnesota

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Awesome Walleye & Sammon dinner with great views of the lake and live music on a Monday night!

We stayed in cabin 27 and when we tried to take showers or use the sinks the water came out brown rusty and smelled rancid. We called the front desk 3 times and were told to run the water and it would clear up, for two days it continued with no help from the front desk. We ended up having to go buy jugs of water and wipes. Upon check out I told them and no apologies no nothing. We paid over 300 a night for this cabin. read more

We just had a 4 night stay as a family and we really enjoyed it. Great on the water activity for kids and adults. Massive blow up slide, trampoline in the water for kids to play. Also canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, and also a bunch of bikes so you can bike the trails around the lake. You can rent boats, and jet skis also. They also have an indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, and work out room. Cabins are well cabins. They were what I expected and we slept very well after all the fun. The beds were new and very comfyThey have a full bar with great happy hour as well as lunch and dinner dining. read more

Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge - Hotels Near Me - Bemidji, Minnesota

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At 8:45 pm they knocked on our door asking if we were smoking weed. Absolutely not. At 10, they sent the sheriff to search our room. My husband and I are in our 60s. We were in town after our son died tragically. We needed some respite and a good night's sleep. We've been staying here for years and will never stay here again. read more

Absolute worst service at the front desk on 8/9/22. Will never visit this resort again due to the inconsiderate and disrespectful service at the check-in counter. I am a prominent business owner who was considering hosting an outing here for upcoming team building workshops but will never look at this establishment ever again as a possible venue. Ruttgers needs to work on team building and customer service relations before anyone ever attempts to host here !! read more

I wanted to like this place...but they completely screwed me over with no apology. They Lost, NO, they canceled my reservation...charged me more, made me walk the property back and forth to find the cabin I was suitable with. Slept in a spider cave that they should have paid ME to stay in. What a waste of money.... I spent an hour looking and picking out the cottage for me and my dog , so i could visit my family for the weekend. They made this trip a complete nightmare. My cabin ended up being a wreck. Old disgusting berber carpet. infested with insects. It just looks gross gross gross. Old furniture, might as well make it firewood. Their computers don't ever work. They look at a board with tacks to see if the cabins are available for godsake! I understand it is experience, but whatever! They are working against themselves. Don't expect anyone to coordinate, or help you figure out a problem. I had to talk to five different people, and completely explain my situation separately....Especially the dumb blonde who just looks at you weird when you complain and doesn't respond.....f**k I feel like I'm in some twilight zone...Never again.. The cabin they gave me was ridden with spiders and other dead BIG bugs.Dust in every corner...hair on the sheets. I slepts with my clothes on...the little sleep I got wasn't worth it. Luckily I was up going to the bathroom at 4:00 am because when I went back, there was a spider crawling on the wall right towards my head. VERY FUN TIME. There were a million mosquitos that resided under the porch in the entrance. I had to run and force me and my dog in every time to avoid them making it inside. I couldn't even leave the main entrance...Because when you open the door the screen door has thousands of mosquitos waiting to get in...really fun. They don't care...I would have more luxury camping n a tent...Aholes... Nice location on the beach. only reason for the 2 stars... read more

Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge - Hotels Near Me - Bemidji, Minnesota

Rutgers recently bought the property. Some money spent on the main lodge and patio. Otherwise be prepared to spend outrageous money for "rustic" accommodations, service and food. read more

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I've been so impressed with Ruttgers! Ever since the new owners took over we've had nothing but great experiences! The resort dogs made our whole stay!!! Can't wait to come back this winter and have a cozy stay and do some ice fishing! read more

Highly disappointed in our experience again at Ruttgers. Called to make a reservation, was told we couldn't for outside. When we arrived the hostess had room on the patio, great! To our surprise we weren't allowed to sit as a group more then 6. Manager came out right away stating she wouldn't put tables together. Food was mediocre, walleye fillets had bones... We went to pay our bills and the server informed us we had to pay on one check due to having more then 8 in our party.. The manager came over again and stated her policy. Sad to say we used to love Ruttgers but yet again this type of experience will have us not coming back.. read more

We love Ruttger's! They always have such delicious food and drinks as well as great service! It's a true, Lake Bemidji experience and I look forward to date nights there. Our favorite season is patio season and we can't wait for the weather to warm up! read more

Loved our stay here, you must meet RANGO!! They place was so nice, everyone was extremely accommodating. We will go back very soon!

Ruttger's Birchmont lodge is a wonderful place to grab a bite to eat or enjoy a cold drink. Staff is very friendly, always ready to help. Main lodge was recently renovated adding a lovely ambience to an already historic building. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! read more

Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge - Hotels Near Me - Bemidji, Minnesota

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We just came for the eats. I have no comments about anything else here. We came for a lunch by the lake. It was a great day and we immediately got seating outside. The menu is pretty extensive with quite a few unique options. I got the special which was a smothered chicken sandwich. We also ordered a burger and a salad. All of it was good. Our server kind of went MIA for most of the meal. Not sure what that was about, but did kind of leave us with drained drinks. read more

Came really wanting to like the place to have a fine dining go to in Bemidji. Wait staff is untrained, just college students who probably worked fast food before this if anything. The service was slow. Our waitress got back to us ten minutes after I flagged another. No water or offer of water. Food was OK. The cook (obviously not a chef) had no idea what medium means. My prime rib came out red and bloody. I had ordered a baked potato loaded. Here that means you get a tablespoon of sour cream and a pat of butter. After sending the prime rig back the same piece was returned to me fried. Prime rib should never be fried. Now it was dry and tough. The place was so noisy we could not talk. All the seating is one crowded common area with no consideration for sound barriers. At $100 for two plates the service and quality was very poor. This was not a good value. Don't get me wrong, I have paid more and been happy when I get what I pay for. Parking is horrid. They desperately need valet service if they want better patrons. My overall take is that they have no idea how to provide fine dining or service but still want to charge for it. I do not recommend eating here unless you are staying at the resort and stuck. read more

Beautiful location and staff is friendly and responsive. The pool and spa are really nice, especially when the weather decides not to cooperate. I can't speak to the main lodge but for the cabins I'd say it's expensive for what it is. I didn't expect luxury at this price but the carpet is kinda gross, there are years of grime on the walls and doors, and the windows and furniture dirty. We don't mind rustic, and we didn't expect daily housekeeping, but at these rates they should be able to manage a thorough cleaning between guests, and a deep cleaning once or twice a year. read more

Scammy place. Horrible ownership. Run from this place. They're scamming people saying they're pet friendly to only discover they are not. And when you complain they charge you regardless of their error. I cannot imagine if this is how they treat you before you arrive what the actual stay could be like. Yikes, scary stuff. read more

We had a nice time at the Birchmont. Really, the best resort staff I've ever seen-- Disney could take lessons from this crew. In particular: everyone at the front desk expertly answered our questions, the laundry/housekeeping crew were quick and very helpful at getting our towels and garbage every day, and the boathouse boys have an easygoing way of helping with watercraft and beach toys for all of us. Our kids had fun on the beach and we ate very well at the restaurant. VERY well. :) But the villas have not aged well. They're falling apart! The shower is so worn out that I expected the faucet to come off in my hand. The floors are spongy under the shag green carpet. We had keys to the front door, but the door frame was cracked and the handle didn't latch anyway, so the keys were kinda useless. The bathroom door handle is so old that the knob doesn't pull the latch all the way back and I almost locked myself in the bathroom accidently. Some of the power outlets were so worn out that they wouldn't hold a plug. And the water! So much iron in it that I think I could pick up a gallon with a strong magnet. Not everything was in original-to-the-1950s repair. The couch/recliner/TV were new and in good condition. Matresses, pillows, bed linens were good and comfortable. The A/C worked like a champ, the oven/range were old but fine, and the dining furniture was appropriate for a lakeside cabin. The fish house was perfect for cleaning fish, with big sturdy cutting boards and a well-tended guts bucket, though someone needs to fill the sanitizer bottle with some sanitizer. We rented the "fishing pontoon", which was an aging 20' boat without a roof (the sign carefully duct-taped to the wheel console said to lower the canopy under bridges, but that was a totally academic argument, because there was no canopy to lower. I have the sunburn to prove it!). A 35 HP engine was fine for fishing, but without a trolling motor, it's hard to call this a fishing pontoon. I guess it's so-named because the boat has a live well. We found the best fishing in Lake Irving (walleye) and in some reeds (perch) on the west side of Lake Bemidji. But these are some humbling lakes to fish, and if we come back, I may not even bother to fish here. Had a good time going up the Mississippi to Stump Lake, though. I tried to convince my kids that they should call me a "riverboat pilot" like Mark Twain, and I'll report back if that catches on. :) But pack a lunch for just getting across Lake Bemidji, because a 35 HP engine tops out at 12 MPH with a stong tailwind. All in all, we had a great week and my kids had the time of their lives. I think our 7-year-old is imagining her future life as a future resident of the North Woods. Oh, to hike in the woods every morning and play on the beach all afternoon! What a life! But honestly, without some serious upgrades to the villas, I'm not sure we'll be back very soon. There's rustic and there's Rustic, and these villas are RUSTIC. Thanks Birchmont staff for the kind treatment and expert care. And best wishes to the Nelsons with the Birchmont. We had a great week. read more

They are terrible to work with. My mother accidentally booked a room of a Wednesday night stay and tried to cancel less then 24-hours later and they had not only ran her credit credit for services not rendered but told her she needed to pay the refund credit card fee for running the card again. We live in town and will never support their business again and will be sure to direct anyone else from out of town elsewhere!! read more

Service is outstanding!! Owners are so nice. Main lodge rooms are perfect, beds were comfy, very updated! Front desk staff are super helpful. Had an amazing relaxing weekend. Thank you!! read more

Our room was small and the bathroom was very tiny with no space between the toilet and bath tub. However, the bed was amazing. Very friendly staff. Food was okay, the burgers are really good and fries are amazing as well. The resort reminded me of being on the set of Dirty Dancing old skool and cozy which I loved. The resort offers a variety of activities and I will definitely return. read more

What a fabulous place! After driving for eight hours, we were ready to relax and Ruttger's sure delivered. A beautiful spot on the lake to sit, drink, eat and feel the breeze on your face and listen to the waves crash on the shore. Add a discount for Canadians, plus half price bottles of wine on Wednesday's, what's not to love? I could stay forever! read more

I was expecting so much more. Ruttger's had come highly recommended, so we made a family dinner of the evening. The decor was quite dated, and the food was only warm when it reached the table (our family only numbered six). The Hostess was less than hospitable, but our Server was quite attentive and very pleasant. read more

Has the most wonderful dinner on the patio. Fabulous food wonderful service and amazing atmosphere. Found out that we open for the winter. My new go to place to eat. I had the Halibet with wild rice. hubby had the sirloin with Gorgonzola cheese read more

Today, We had a late lunch here with two boys. The foods are way terrible from last time we had in 2 weeks ago. We ordered appetizers but they came the same time as the main course. The burger for our boy was so hard and a bit burnt. Our drinks came so late too. The serve, she was unfriendly and so slow. After finishing lunch , my mother in law asked if there is any discount for military. She said I can asked my manager and she came to us that we don't offer military discount but I can give you 10% of one meal for kid menu($6.99). Thank you lol! The bill was over $100. Anyhow, we let the kids walk and play at the beach after finishing foods. The Manager lady, Karrie Nelson, came to us and said you need to leave now because you didn't pay for using beach. I didn't see anyone wear wristbands at all. We used to like this place 3 years ago with old owner, we will never come back this place again if Karrie still works here. read more

We (2 adults, 4 kids) ate lunch at the lodge on Monday, June 9th. The setting and food were both fantastic. We had a lovely table lakeside. Well-tended flower gardens added to the considerable charm of the lakeside setting. Everybody loved his/her food choice. One kid had the pizza burger with side of wild rice soup, two kids had cheeseburgers, one with fries, the other with a side of fresh fruit. (The fries are divine! Perfectly seasoned and a very generous portion.) Other kid loved the walleye fingers and fries. The adults split the hummus platter and walleye cakes. Feta and olives came with the hummus platter. Food was brought out quickly and service was excellent. I can't imagine a nicer place to eat lunch or dinner in Bemidji! read more