River Hills Motel — Hotel in Algoma

Staying here felt like entering an episode of the “Twilight Zone.” You drive up to a one-story 1970s roadside motel, with small rooms that each open to the exterior. But no one greets you. There is no front desk in the office. No one is present to welcome you or ask for your ID. You punch in a code that was texted to you, and a small door pops open in an array of small doors on the wall, giving you access to your old-fashioned metal room key. Instructions tell you to leave your key in your room when you leave. No need to stop at the office in the morning: No one will be there.

Need help with something? You can push a button on a computer tablet in the office. We tried that. We felt like we were knocking at the door to Oz, hoping to see the mysterious Wizard. Our face suddenly appeared on a screen, letting us know that someone, somewhere, would be able to see us when they answered. But we were never sure if we would be able to see them. We waited some minutes; no one responded.

Despite getting an email when we booked that said “we look forward to greeting you,” and a text after our stay that said “it was a pleasure having you with us,” we never interacted with a single person at this motel, except for saying hello to cleaning staff we happened to see as we loaded our car in the morning.

The room was clean and everything worked properly. We even liked the dated, pink tiled bathroom. But for a hospitality business in a small town, it’s disappointing and a bit eerie that there was absolutely no administrative staff present, no human hospitality, no small-town friendliness.

No breakfast either. And for ice, you open a chest freezer in the unstaffed office and pull out an ice bucket containing a tiny, rationed bag of ice, enough to fill two cups, if you’re lucky. Another oddity: a “night stand” and light on only one side of the double bed, because space is too tight for two of them. What the motel calls a “night stand” is a wood cutting board anchored to...

This motel is the best motel that I have ever stayed in. I haven’t stayed in anything less than a 3-star hotel in over 15 years and I was very pleased with our accommodations. We made last-minute reservations on a holiday weekend and this was the only pet-friendly place anywhere close to Sturgeon Bay that still had a room. We are both glad we stayed here. It’s CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN. Plenty of towels, plenty of room, updated motel, excellent water pressure, plenty of hot water, and friendly staff. We couldn’t ask for more. We got the 2 full bed room and there was plenty of room for our chihuahua’s over-sized kennel that she sleeps in. We are used to sleeping in a king-sized Serta memory foam hybrid mattress that raises and lowers. We both have joint pain. These beds are comfy and we both woke up without being in pain. Pillows are real pillows and not those flat cheap things typically found in motels. It’s a quiet cozy little town and I felt very safe with the area; however, security is the only weak point. I would have been apprehensive if I were staying alone. The room door is just a simple door handle lock (see pic), and the sliding glass door on the other side of the room that leads to a porch had no extra security. Any amateur thief could lift the sliding glass door out and make effortless entry if they wanted to do so. We didn’t bring valuables and I wasn’t alone so it was perfectly fine. The area seems like a good low-crime area from the looks of it. I would definitely recommend this place for being an extraordinary value for the money. Also, the self-serve lobby is not for extra towels and such. You must text management before taking more according to the posted sign or receive an extra charge to your room. Apparently, guests must steal those sort of things. Really sad people do things like that. A motel towel? Really? Lol. Thank you for the...

I think you’re just a little but hurt cuz I was not afraid to say the truth. Your virtual method is not only “stupid” as I stated earlier, but a waste of time over an hour to be exact. I do not have high standard when traveling and do not complain about the other places we stay at, but I seriously would not be defending mold as an issue of being by a lake. I am staying at a hotel by a lake right now and guess what have no mold and no moisture, absolutely no issues with anything. So sorry that the truth of your unclean and disgusting motel was posted as a truth full review for others to see. And ya I will put it on blast because it needs to be known for people I can absolutely guarantee that is somebody had posed about that I would have never in my life even considered staying there. I will also be reporting it to the health department now because people can get very sick from breathing that in. Also hope you like this other 1 star review. Also to be fair you did give me a refund after about an hour + of back and forth because of your stupid virtual thing that is not effective in any way. But I was then in a pinch to find another place to stay for a few nights (that I had ABSOLUTELY no issues with I just left them a truth full 5 star review along with the place we stayed at prior to getting to your mold filled motel) and I was going to get a refund either way weather you gave it to me or not black mold and moister in a room can be disputed with your bank who I already had on the phone and filed the dispute in about 4 minutes compared to over an hour of back and forth over text with you. I also have many more email accounts to leave google reviews with, just so I can make sure I can respond to your responses cuz somebody is a just a big baby who had their...