Omni Viking Lakes Hotel — Hotel in Eagan

My wife and I have enjoyed the Omni Idlewood Spa in the past and have recommended it to others. I would have never thought about writing a negative review, but given our last two experiences, I wanted to let people know that things have changed. Highlights. We were planning to enjoy a prepaid massage for two that was gifted to us. Upon arrival we were greeted by Sarah. We let her know that we had a massage for two scheduled. Sarah got on the computer and let us know that she could not find our reservation. From that point forward, the niceties of the initial greeting faded quickly. We were told that there was no record of us having a massage. Hearing that, we mentioned that our daughter had given us a gift certificate and had confirmed the time and date. After showing her the confirmation voicemail and providing her with our daughter’s name and phone number she left the counter to talk to her manager. When she came back, Sarah got back on the computer to search her system. She found the prepaid reservation and confirmed that a second person was listed as well. We were relieved, but then Sarah told us that there was only one slot open for a massage. She offered my wife the massage and said that I could enjoy the facilities at “no charge” while the massage was being done. We were becoming frustrated because we had driven to the hotel and planned on having two massages done at the same time. To add insult to injury, this was also the second attempt to get a massage together. The first time it was scheduled, we found out that it was double booked by the Idlewood due to an overlapping confirmation. Another note - One of Sarah’s colleagues at the counter mentioned that the Spa made the national news recently because their computer system went down and that a lot of customers were impacted. You’d think there would have been an apology. You’d think that the tone and the way we were being handled would be different. We were given certificates for future massages with no apology and no other consideration for our time. As we headed out of the hotel, we talked about when we’d come back to use the gift certificates. Once we got back home, I received a call from Jayden at the Omni Spa. I thought they must be calling to apologize and offer an explanation. But no, Jayden let me know that we did have an appointment for two at the time we reserved. Jayden went on to say that it was our mistake in that we didn’t provide Sara with the correct phone number. My frustration was increasing as we provided Sarah with every piece of information requested and then some. I told Jayden that Sarah found the information but was only offering us one massage slot. I also provided Jayden the facts of what was said, what was offered and the poor customer interaction. Jayden didn’t acknowledge anything that I said, nor did she offer an apology or a solution. She continued to repeat what she said at the start of the call. At that point, my wife took the phone and provided the same information to Jayden again. Jayden then put us both on hold. After returning to the call, the first thing she said in a serious tone was “Its clear that you aren’t aligned to the way we do things”, and “you don’t have to come back, or you can use the gift certificate”. At this point, my wife wanted her to clarify what “alignment” meant. She said it again, suggesting that we were no longer welcome at the Spa. It also sounded like they wanted to keep the value of the $500 gift certificate because they had to pay the therapists for their mistake. We were in disbelief. We said goodbye and hung up. I hope that hotel management will take some time to investigate the way things are done, address the issues and improve training or make changes. If the Spa is a third party leasing the space and not associated with the Omni brand, you should want to investigate things even more as guests of the hotel will associate the two. We recognize people make mistakes and technology can create issues, but we should not be made to feel like we were...

I am writing to express my deep disappointment with the experience my wife and I had at The Omni Viking Lakes Spa during our recent anniversary celebration. We had high expectations for our visit, but unfortunately, the experience fell far short of what we anticipated, leaving us extremely dissatisfied.

We had booked massage appointments for our anniversary, and when we made the reservation, we were informed that we could use the gym prior to our spa appointments. We arrived at the spa at 9:00 AM, only to find it closed, with no access to the gym, as the spa did not open until 9:30 AM. Despite waiting for half an hour, the manager, who saw us waiting, did nothing to acknowledge our presence or assist us in accessing the gym.

When the spa finally opened, we were greeted with a dismissive attitude from the manager. We inquired about using the gym before our appointment, as promised, but were rudely informed that gym access was not available until the spa opened—something that was not disclosed when we booked our appointments. This resulted in us being unable to use the gym as intended before our 10:00 AM massage appointments.

The manager’s conduct during the intake process was unprofessional and discourteous. When I asked to speak with a manager, she claimed she was the highest authority present and refused to escalate the matter. I then went downstairs to the front desk, where another individual, claiming to be the manager, offered a complimentary soda as compensation, which I found to be an insult given the situation. I requested that the general manager contact me, but this request was not fulfilled.

The issues did not end there. When it came time to check out, no one was at the desk for 15 minutes. When the spa manager finally appeared, she checked me out in an aggressive manner and refused to provide a receipt, leaving me uncertain about what was charged to my card. Later that day, I had to call the spa as the promised phone call from the general manager never came. Once again, I was assured a call back, which never happened.

To add to our distress, the steam room had a foul odor, reminiscent of mold, and the shampoo and body wash dispensers in the showers were empty. Most concerning was that my wife lost her diamond necklace during our visit. When I inquired about it, the staff displayed a complete lack of concern and made no effort to help retrieve it. The next morning, after yet another unfulfilled promise of a return call, I had to contact the police. Miraculously, the necklace was "found" shortly after the police reached out to the hotel—a troubling coincidence.

Finally, after the police got involved, I received a call from the general manager. However, his response was equally disappointing, as he appeared indifferent to our experience and offered nothing to rectify the situation.

Our experience at The Omni Viking Lakes was far from what we expected for a special occasion like our anniversary. We will not be returning, and I sincerely hope that regional management takes notice of this situation before the team’s lack of professionalism drives more customers away.

I would appreciate a response and hope that measures will be taken to address these...

I visited the Omni Idlewild Spa when I was 38 weeks pregnant. My husband gifted me a massage and pedicure for our anniversary. To start, my pedicure was cancelled last minute due to a staff issue. The robe and sandals they assigned me to in my locker did not fit my pregnant belly or my swollen feet. “No big deal” I thought, “I’ll just go ask for a bigger size of each”. I got re-dressed and went to the front desk. The ladies at the front desk told me this was the biggest robe size they had (it was a XXL) and then they proceeded to make negative comments about my body. I was shocked and responded saying I was surprised they would not have larger sizes on hand, as I had been to other spas where they had many extended sizes for all bodies, up to 5XL even. They criticized my reaction asking where these spas are, or if they are local because that wasn’t the “norm” I guess. And then they continued to compare my body to “HUGE nfl players” and said their robes fit HUGE football players so why would they need bigger sizes. They also said I could just wear my clothes since I “couldn’t do any of the other things there anyways since I was pregnant”. I was so looking forward to my spa day, that I got the activities there cleared by my doctor, she said I could do the things there for 15 minutes at a time if I felt alright. I ended up not being able to because I couldn’t stop tears running down my face from the comments made by the staff about my pregnant body. Already feeling uncomfortable in my body from being so pregnant, and now made to feel even worse by the staff, I went and cried in the changing room until my massage appointment. I had to wear my clothes into my massage and although the massage itself felt nice, I silently had tears running down my face the entire 50 minutes so I couldn’t fully enjoy it. I then shamefully left the facility and didn’t get to take advantage of any of the other amenities. I cried to my husband and for a lot of the afternoon. This experience was almost 2 years ago and I still think about it often as I have to drive by this facility and hotel multiple times each week. Each time it reminds me of my painfully emotional experience here. I would urge anyone to go elsewhere and spend their hard earned money somewhere that can treat their patrons with respect...