River View Lodge — Hotel in Aitkin

We were recommended here by family who live in the area. They told us it has been recently remodeled.

Which it definitely has. When arriving you can tell that it is an older property, it gives you the nostalgic feel of arriving at an old school motor lodge. But it has been well taken care of. It was very clean outside.

Being that we were some of the first guests since the remodel Jackie the manager knew us by name when we told her we were checking in. She knew the room number that she had assigned us to.

She gave us a code for the door lock and walked over to show us how to use the lock, which we didn't need since it was the same digital Schlage deadbolt I have at home. All I needed was a simple code and didn't have to worry about keycards.

Once we got into the room it was obvious how new everything was. It is styled very modern, but still feels comfortable. I was very happy that they installed good bright overhead lighting in addition to the standard bed side lights. I am so used to hotels, even the newest ones always being dimmly lit.

They had a normal sized coffee pot with excellent tasting coffee. The refrigerator was a typical for a hotel in the fact that it is small. But not typical in the fact that it actually has a separate freezer compartment, not just a little shelf inside that never actually freezes anything.

The TV was a Roku Smart TV that was setup with a guest option. The guest option allows you to login into your own streaming apps and then on your checkout date it will automatically sign you out of your accounts so you don't have to worry about the next guest having access to your account.

The Wi-Fi was extremely fast.

Normally I stay at hotels that give me an employee discount for the chain that I work at. But that chain doesn't have any locations in this area. So I was some what skeptical in what I would be getting at a small independent operator like this. But they exceed my...

What an absolute gem of a place! The lodge is under new ownership and the rooms have been completely redone and remodeled. The room was perfection! Extremely clean and had everything we needed - comfy bed, fresh towels, blow dryer, great soaps and shampoo/conditioner. There was also a mini fridge and coffee pot with a tasty coffee selection. The furniture in the room has been hand crafted and you can tell it's been made by an experienced craftsman. The remodel work includes tile in the shower and on the bathroom floor and it's clear the workers were experienced and the remodel was well done. A lot of thought and time went into the planning of the rooms.

The property is large with the Ripple River running behind it. We were able to bring our kayaks along with us and easily launch behind the hotel. The river flows quite a ways and we could kayak for some time.

The property also has a cute firepit area with new benches and firepit. There is firewood available on the premise for purchase. The firepit sits in a quiet area behind the hotel, besides the river and offers a great space to end your day.

We met one of the owners and also the property manager while on site and you can see they're excited to host folks. Would definitely recommend and will stay here again when we're in the area.

There are a few areas on the property still undergoing renovations, but it in no way detracted from our stay. Excited to see the lobby area when it's finished - it sounds like it will be a great spot to sit and...

It really starts out with the communication from the lodge. I received a call early in the day with my room number and code number for the door lock. I was arriving after hours and this was the best way to get in. During this call, I received a couple of recommendations for dinner and then a room upgrade as well. When I arrived, the area in front of my room was shoveled out for my car. The room? Wow, modern and contemporary while being extremely comfortable. The view from the windows of the snow by the river, the comfortable chair or watching a little TV. Refrigerator and Microwave in a little separate section of the room that had like a bar with two stools. Did I mention the King Sized bed? Oh yes. Coffee and all the fixings didn't hurt either. The best part!! The bathroom. Seriously nice shower with a rain shower head, but more importantly there were real soft, large towels.. Take that Hilton Garden Inn. IF I had an issue, it would be the table that i was using as a desk didn't have an outlet to plug in my laptop and a lack of lighting. I made it work.|Bottom line, I don't understand how this property is only #2 in Aitkin. When I'm back in the area, this is were I'll be staying. If you like quiet comfortable, it will be your place to...