Red Door Resort — Hotel in Aitkin

We were very disappointed in our recent stay at the Red Door Resort. Our family reserved the Motel Suite as it was the largest accommodations available, 4 bedrooms. From the moment we walked in the door we could tell the property is not maintained as they advertise. The screen door into the property was dirty and apparently not cleaned for some time. The dead mayflies were caked in the screen and on/under the entry mats (we swept under the mats so as to not track in any additional). Once inside, we noticed the appliances were in poor condition. The refrigerator inside had no rails on the door rendering it useless as food would fall out, the rubber seal was loose and every time you would open the door, it would flop, the burners on the stove were not the right size and pans could not sit level or food would fall out. There were no kitchen towels provided. The A/C barely worked. We did notify the office that our A/C was not working as it should, no one ever came to look at it. The floors were absolutely filthy. If we took off our shoes, either your feet or socks were black. We asked for a mop and offered to clean, but that was not delivered either. Tiles in the bathrooms were falling off. The master bath toilet continued to run unless you jiggled the handle. There was no charcoal grill for the unit, we asked about that as well and they were going to check into it; that was not delivered either. When they reference a “sandy beach” we definitely did not find that. The beach that was there was rocky, dirty and smelled of dead fish (perhaps because there was a dead fish off to the side that no one bothered to pick up). There was one particular Ice Castle that was parked amongst the cabins, by no means did they care about the “family friendly” atmosphere. We had young children in our group and went out of our way to get to the beach as every other word out of their mouths was vulgar. This certainly is not the fault of the resort, but if they cared about their reputation, a little more patrolling would be beneficial, especially in the evening hours. Will...

These are relatively new owners who do not have their customer service/ ice road management dialed in. The male owner was disrespectful and accused us of intentionally leaving bait in the cabin and charged us $160 extra without authorization and would not provide an itemized list of what cost $160 to clean above and beyond what is normally done. We came with a group of 7 adult ice fisherman. Six were relatively new to fishing but were excited to come back to the resort some day. The cabin is advertised for seven people. We left in the dark and returned to the cabin in the dark. Cabin Lighting was barely adequate for cooking and there was something wrong with the thermostat because it was hot in the rooms when set to what should have been a comfortable temp. They never came to collect trash (we stayed for 3 nights) and didn’t provide trash bags. I have been going to this resort for over 35 years, I am very disappointed and insulted that he would accuse a long time customer of intentionally leaving behind live bait on the floor. Unfortunately, he lost this customer, many of my family and will unlikely get the other 6 guests I was with to come back after this experience. It is too bad, the cabins are nice and the price is reasonable despite some minor issues with poor lighting and ice road preparation/ management. I hope they get it figured out or fisherman will lose another Mille Lacs...

Stayed in August of 2022

After reading all the reviews and seeing the pictures on their website I immediately made a reservation ahead of driving over 1000 miles to bring my dad to Aitken High School All Class Reunion Check in was quick and easy; phone call to a very friendly lady and that was it. "Pictures are Reality" The large room was extremely clean with plenty of room for 2 people to move around in. It had 2 twin beds that were beyond comfortable as well as the pillows. Best sleep I've had in years. The room came equipped with a good sized mini fridge w/freezer, microwave and single cup coffee maker. A table with 2 comfortable armed chairs sat in front of the window. Plenty of room for clothing and belongings; closet, 6 drawer dresser, tv armoire with 3 large drawers. The bath and hand towels and wash clothes were large and soft. Plenty of hot water. AC/heater placed on wall by ceiling with control on wall kept the room at consistent temp and was so quiet when running it didn't interfere with hearing the tv or sleeping. It's a short walk from the room to the lake. The view is incredible from the shore or sitting on the bench at the end of the walk out (no railing to hold on to so watch your step unless you want to end up in the water) If I'm ever in the area again I will definitely make a reservation so as to enjoy all the comforts and beauty this place...