Holiday Inn Resort Deadwood Mountain Grand by IHG — Hotel in Deadwood

I've thought long and hard about whether to write this review or just let it go. Informing others has won out.

I booked the Deadwood Mountain Grand in August 2021 for a wedding in May 2023. It was a stressful and not pleasant experience. I heard through the grapevine that the resort was under renovation in March 2023. I sent an email to the sales and catering manager and she confirmed this information. This is the first problem, at no point was I contacted and told that a renovation was going on or even going to take place. I was not given the opportunity to move dates, find a different venue, etc.

1 week prior to our wedding is where the real fun began. I inquired if I could get our suite, it had been booked since May 2022, for an additional night earlier than we had originally planned to arrive. I was informed that the entire 3rd and 4th floors were under renovation and our suite was not going to be available for our stay and they they were moving me to the only suite they had which is called The Big Time suite, not even close to "Big Time" and significantly smaller than the Mountain Harmony suite which I had reserved. I was now at their mercy of staying in that room or being homeless. I do not believe that the hotel was ever going to contact me regarding the room prior to my arrival. I believe they were going to wait until I showed up. They also did NOT keep me informed on the renovation and it is their job to do so. HUGE FAIL!!!

Next, we rented that suite to hold a welcome reception for our guests which were around 50 people, they had to work to come up with a solution to solve this problem and a conference room was not going to be acceptable. They did finally come up with a space for us to use. Following the event the casino staff were very rude to myself and our guests. We ended up having to go clean up the space later that evening and put everything into our tiny room. We were cut off from drinking at the craps table so we pulled all our money and moved to another casino. I will say the gaming manager Bruce is an awesome guy, however, his staff at night is something else and South Dakota gaming laws are ridiculous. They're not Las Vegas so everything is a problem. Be warned, South Dakota casinos think they're a big deal when they're not.

Moving on, the original rooms we booked not being available on the 4th floor was a real problem. We had specific people in specific rooms, for example, the MOH should've been next door with her room adjoining to ours. Since we were moved to the 2nd floor this was no longer an option (for adjoining rooms) and all the people that should've been nearby to support and assist me were scattered throughout the floor. The MOH was actually at the other end of the floor. In addition, her room had water issues to which the switchboard night person told her to wait until the next morning. This is a newly remodeled hotel! She had to argue with him and he finally sent security up to assess and they realized this was a problem. Thank heavens she stuck to her guns or I have no idea where we would've all been moved to since the place could've been flooded!

Now let's move on to the wedding reception. With the renovations, there was an open-top dumpster off the event center patio that caught on fire during our wedding reception. The patio was the designated smoking area and there is speculation that the fire was started by a cigarette. One would think that if you're going to designate that patio as the smoking area you would ensure that construction materials weren't nearby in a dumpster and that ashtrays would be placed on the patio tables vs. having one snuffer as you walk back into the building. In addition, there was NOT a working fire alarm in the casino, hotel, or event center. I would think that is a violation of the city code, but the City of Deadwood can look into that along with how far away a construction dumpster needs to be from an existing structure(s). Security guards walked through and evacuated floor by floor and area by area. Since alarms could not be triggered, not even the front desk hotel staff knew there was an evacuation until two of our guests went to get their dogs from their room and told them! The fire department arrived and we were let back in within 30-40 minutes, however, all of our food was cold so they offered to order pizza. We still had to pay for the cold food that was part of our dinner. As the bride I never did eat any of our reception food, I was getting something when security evacuated us and my plate was in the same spot as it was when I returned.....cold. I have no idea when the pizza arrived because I was so busy saying hi to our guests.

The pool was closed the entire time we were there. Dales's stopped serving food early and room service wasn't available. Significantly different from Las Vegas where it's a 24/7 operation. The resort is a prime location with everything easy to walk to and they have a parking garage.

I will say that the overall remodel of the resort will be fantastic when it's complete, however, I did ask them to comp us a few nights for our 1 -3 year anniversary which the GM and Sales team didn't even acknowledge in my negotiation email. Clearly, they don't want us there ever again! 95% of the staff we talked with were fantastic, helpful, and very pleasant. The door guys are awesome, Chris was a hoot and very helpful! I do understand that project timelines get pushed back, and I deal with that in my everyday job, however, communication is the key and this was significantly lacking from the DMG team until it was D-day. They tried their best to make things right, however, it could've been better handled through some phone calls to me for a discussion vs. letting what transpired happen. That is what I'm most disappointed and...

Location is the primary reason you would want to book here. It is about a quarter mile walk to Main Street and provides on site private parking in their parking garage. With parking a challenge in deadwood, this is a treat.

Accessing the hotel through the Casio is a long walk though the casino and up an elevator. If you have kids, you will want to consider staying elsewhere since they are very strict about the path you must take to access the hotel due to gambling laws and minors. Minors are NOT allowed anywhere near the slots or tables and with all the excitement, they are going to want to be.

The rooms are about what you expect for a Holiday Inn. Very clean, but showing some signs of wear and tear.

I did have one major problem during my stay. Cleaning staff left my door ajar while I was away and I returned to an open door with no cleaning staff around where anyone could have walked in and stolen my belongings. Hotel staff quickly addressed the problem and assured me it would never happen again.

The restaurant in the hotel is decent. Standard fare, nothing that will wow you but a good bite never the less. I would recommend eating at one of the many restaurants on Main Street that offer more charm and history.

There is a concert venue on premises and you can definitely hear the performances from your hotel room. So if noise is a concern for you, don’t stay here on the night of a concert. There was a rock concert during one night of my stay and while it was noticeable in my room, the concert ended by 11PM and it was dead quiet after that, both that evening and the rest of my stay.

The hotel does have beautiful views of Deadwood if you stay on the city facing side.

The staff are friendly and accommodating, even with handling the open door situation. They took it very seriously, handled the situation with the responsible employee and provided me with fair compensation for the inconvenience.

All in all, I had a good time here and...

First, let's start with the positives, and there are many. Most of the staff was extremely polite and friendly, all throughout the place! Julie, one of the Day-Time Bartenders, was about the nicest, most polite Bartender I have ever seen anywhere. Give her a Raise! The Pool was awesome, nice place to relax. I only wish It was open more Hours (especially since Pool is umanned, should be able to be open all Night, or maybe until 12 AM). Room was nice too.

A few areas for potential improvement: Although we are platinum elite members, we were not (to my Knowledge) given the upgrade we are supposed to get. Also, as a courtesy, when Checking in, they gave Coupon for Drink, but they could have given 1 for my wife too.

The front entrance to Casino has manual, pull-to-open doors, and Im not seeing how this is ADA compliant. My wife and I are not part of the disabled community, but we Know many people who are, and I don't see how someone in a wheelchair would be able to pull those doors to enter, especially when they don't have the automatic pushbutton that just about every place has to have these Days. Just a bit odd.

The Bar should sell food later. After all, if they sell Drinks until 2 AM, why not also sell food past 9/10 PM? That is too early for a town with 24 Casinos.

Also, Tom, the Bartender 1 Night, was not that friendly, personable, or outgoing. We bought burgers 1 Day, and even though we asked for rare, they seemed dry or perhaps reheated? I did ask (via Facebook) if the Bar shows PPV Boxing but I was Told they don't.

Roulette Table was almost never open (other than for a brief period Sat. Night). That is my favorite Game, yet I couldn't Play all Week.

Event center Bar should be open even when there are no events, as it's a pretty Cool setup upstairs!

These are minor complaints, and I'm sure they could be addressed. All in all, I enjoyed this place, and can't wait...