GrandStay Hotel & Suites Becker - Big Lake — Hotel in Becker

We stayed at GrandStay in Becker for a volleyball tournament in Monticello. There aren't a lot of options in the area, and GrandStay was middle-of-the-road in terms of price and had some amentites we were looking for, so we chose there.

The hotel was middle-of-the-road in a lot of ways.

The parking lot is very small, and we we're lucky to find a spot to park our vehicle.

The front desk clerk did their job, but didn't seem super enthused - maybe they were just bored on a slow evening? I'm just saying I've stayed at properties where we're greeted with a big smile, and asked if we needed anything like restaurant recommendations, etc. We didn't get that. The lobby was clean and cutely decorated for the holidays.

The room was fine - pretty clean, if a little dated. The bed linens were clean and nicely pressed, and the beds were reasonably comfortable. Our room faced the highway, so if road noise is an issue for your sleep habits, ask for a room on the other side of the building.

But the small details were definitely missing. Our sink was very slow to drain, and the mini-fridge was not turned on. We had a bunch of food for our tournament the next day that we needed to keep cold or frozen, so not having that as an immediate option was a little frustrating.

Also, as every hotel has, GrandStay has a folio with hotel policies, as well as a bunch of advertisements for local restaurants and attractions. We decided to go to a Mexican restaurant (Los Ortizes), primarily because their ad in the folio offered 20% off if you show your room key. However, after we were done eating, we found that Los Ortizes no longer offers the promotion. When we returned to the hotel, we let the front desk clerk know about the discrepancy, and they said "yeah, we know... we just haven't got around to changing that." I'm guessing the restaurant stopped the promotion due to the pandemic - and if that's the case, GrandStay has had years to fix this issue.

We did not swim in the pool, but it smelled HEAVILY of chlorine - much more so than other hotel pools. That's probably just how it is, but if you're sensitive to it, just know it's a thing.

We did not use the exercise room. They do have a small conference room, which we used for about an hour of board games. They did not seem to have a computer or printer like other business centers do at other hotels (but I can't say for sure).

I will say their breakfast was pretty good. Hot options like fresh waffles, eggs, sausage and potatoes were plentiful, and the normal cold options like cereal and baked goods were there as well. It was definitely the best part of our stay.

Considering the lack of options in the area, I'd probably stay there again due to price and proximity to the venue and feel fine about it, but if you have other options in other cities like St. Cloud or Albertville, I'd probably...

Jennifer is Awesome at GrandStay Hotel in Becker, MN

My grandson Skyler and I have stayed at the GrandStay Hotel in Becker, MN a few times - late April or early May, last September, and December 2023. We're planning to come back in September and December 2024. Every time, Jennifer, who works in the evenings, has been amazing.

Jennifer always goes the extra mile to make our stay great. She's super friendly and helpful, making sure we have everything we need. In fact, when there was a mix up for how many beds in our standard room, I stead of giving us the correct room, she upgraded us to the # 1 Suite in the hotel, which had 2 full bedrooms, with a living room and kitchenette area AND a Jacuzzi. She gave us a sample of Mr. Bubbles for Skyler to use in the Jacuzzi and that just made his birthday weekend, he was so happy. Not only that, we decided to stay a second night, and unexpectedly, the manager, whose name I don't know, gave it to us for the same rate, even though Jennifer wasn't working the second night, which was a surprise and he even traded us cash for coins, (or vice versa I can't remember), so that we could use the vending machine.

Oh, also, for Skyler's birthday, she even got out some extra pool toys and said we could keep them, which totally made his day. She rang up to our room to let us know there were a whole bunch of kids Skyler's age, 12, down in the pool and that was the total too for him. He had so much fun and even made a new friend that they exchanged numbers and have hung out together since! So cool..

Jennifer made sure we had a great time and was always there to help with anything we needed. She really made our stays special and memorable. She told us the best places to get food, how to get discounts for ordering from Doordash, and even gave us some of her personal coupons for 50% meals, saving us over 100$ on things we were purchasng anyway. I tried to tip her but she declined, I assume they can't take tips. I honestly would have given her every penny that we saved just because she went above and beyond, so really, she deserved it for the extra hard work.

Anyway, If you're looking for a place with awesome hospitality, whether you're visiting Bescker for a local event, business, or like me and my grandson, a planned getaway every April, September and December for as long as Skyler has lived in Becker, then GrandStay definitely is the place to go, but especially if you're lucky enough to have a Front Desk Professional like...

We checked in, that was fine. We left for dinner before entering our room. Upon returning, a new staff (overnight person) was on duty. We carried our first load in the room, door worked fine. Upon leaving and returning with our 2nd load of stuff for our stay, the door wouldn't open. We got a 2nd card made from the desk, and that had the same result. The overnight person helped us and communicated to us that the door lock malfunctioned and a card will not work any longer. I asked about the Key hole and can't we just get the key? He stated that he'll have to call the mgr or owner for that. I communicated that it's deer opener in the morning and I'm with my son that has never been on an opening day hunt. This is important that we get into this room since in our first load, our hunting clothes, licenses, and guns for the hunt are in there. He gave us another room and said he'd continue trying to call the manager and/or owner. I continue to check in with him. At 5 am, he told me the mgr would be there at 7 am (going to miss opening hunt). Checked back at 7:30, no mgr. At 9:30 am, a locksmith showed up (still no mgr) and after a bit we got in the room. Missed the best morning to hunt in the entire year. Later that day (early evening), I confronted the mgr, Sarah Morgan (didn't come to me), asked her why she wasn't able to help out with a resolution sooner. She said she was at a wedding, and the overnight person messed up and should have called a locksmith sooner. This is were she started lying to me. She wasn't even aware that the overnight person took it upon himself to call the locksmith, wasn't her idea. And she blamed him for everything. She was rude and didn't care at all. She is not a mgr at all, and I'd fire her if I managed her. I've never experienced the treatment like she did. In the end, I paid FULL price with ZERO discount, kickback, etc...NOTHING. She didn't even offer a single thing. If I wouldn't have confronted her, she would of ignored the whole thing. In fact, the "Key" was locked in another room because of the same malfunction...