Bearskin Lodge — Hotel in East Cook

While the location is perfect, the grounds/amenities are nice, and the lake is great; our first 24 hours have left a lasting impression.

We checked in on a Saturday in December at about 3:30pm. Upon entering our cabin, we noticed it was pretty chilly. So we turned up the thermostat to get the place warmed up while we unloaded the vehicle. By the time we were unloaded the place hadn't budged in warmth. The fan on the furnace was on as was the pilot light, but no heat was pumping. So we decided to start a fire and finishing unpacking our stuff within the cabin.

The note left on the table said our welcome letter would have the Wi-Fi password in case we needed that; we never received a welcome letter. So I walked to the main lodge for the Wi-Fi info and to see if we could have maintenance come and take a look at the furnace. The lodge was closed with a note saying they closed at 4pm (even though published hours are until 6 or 7 depending where you're getting your info {their website or letter in the cabin}) and in case of emergency to use the phone in the downstairs lobby - the no heat thing in December felt like it was worth going to find that phone. Upon trying to use it I was given a 'no service' signal, which was mentioned as their phone carrier is often down. Remember we also don't have Wi-Fi to connect and use our own phones to call someone for help with heat.

We continue to keep warm by the fire for the evening and rigged up a fan system to blow hot air from the fireplace into the bedroom as well as suck the cold air out from the ground level.

During this time and upon unpacking our goods, I noticed a number of things that looked like they hadn't been cleaned in the cabin (some dried dead leaves on the floors, some cobwebs in certain areas) all no real big deal as the beds looked as though they'd been cleaned and remade, it wasn't until I found dirt and debris (including 3 shards of broken glass) around the baseboards in the kitchen that I became uneasy. We swept and vacuumed the entire place, just to be safe.

The heat situation that we rigged up worked until we went to bed... the logs went out, as they do, and couldn't easily be restarted in the middle of the night. So we piled on all the blankets and got real close to keep warm until the staff returned to the main lodge at 7:30am. The next morning we were at the lodge first thing and they sent maintenance. We learned this furnace had been 'finicky' since the end of summer and just giving it a little love tap would give it a kickstart to turn the heat on. All fine and well until, again, in the middle of the night, when the temps have dropped and we wake up freezing cold because the heater needed a kickstart. Then we lay there awake until we were warm again. Lack of sleep at night made for sluggish daytime activities.

We did tell the 2 employees that came to look at the furnace about the dirt and glass in the kitchen, not sure if that made it back to management or not, so I told the front desk at checkout about it and asked that they leave a note for the manager for once they came in. Hopefully they received the message.

I will say the resort was lovely, cabins are a nice size and stocked with the necessities, and the amenities like the private hot tub and sauna were a nice touch (but having the sign up sheet in the main lodge be locked away once its closed makes it a bit hard to know if someone is signed up for a time slot). I loved being able to have birds come eat seed from my hand just out the back door, and lots of nice hiking trail options right from the property.

Ultimately, for the price of staying and what was supposed to be a fun birthday trip, ended up being a lot of money spent for a lot of not so wonderful annoyances. Thankfully they...

I really love this place. It's half-way across the country for us, so we go just once a year. We love to cross-country ski, so we always go in the winter. They do a beautiful job maintaining their ski trails and grooming, even when there is frequent snowfall. The ski trails are very convenient to the cabins. You can walk out your door, grab your skis, and it's just a short walk to the start of their trails. I love not having to get in the car to go ski. On days we don't want to ski, it is so pleasant just to sit in the cabin, relax, read, watch the birds, and enjoy nature. We were in Cabin 11 this year. It is lovely and spacious. We cook our meals up there, and our kitchen was fully furnished, which was great. That included dishes, glasses, pots and pans, a toaster, kitchen utensils, and more. Bearskin is a ways up the Gunflint Trail, and that is a rural area. So, if you plan to cook for yourself, you want to make a grocery list and buy everything before you leave Grand Marais. I plan menus ahead so I can pack and bring herbs/spices with me in little baggies. The cabins have a full-size refrigerator/freezer, so it isn't a problem to buy a bunch of groceries like you would at home. The Bearskin website has very good information about each cabin, including a floor plan and photos. The cabins are different sizes, so if you are traveling with several people, you will want to check those out. The family and staff there are friendly and helpful; when I was coming off the ski trail one day, one of them was getting ready to help a skier get their...

This was our 4th consecutive year visiting Bearskin. We are a family of 2 adults and 4 children (ages 7-15) and we look forward to our "embrace winter" vacation every year. We like staying in the townhouses because of the close proximity to the hot tub and the Lodge where we enjoy lunging by the fireplace playing games and roasting marshmallows. Our time here is spent CC skiing (large variety in trails for different ski abilities), snowshoeing, exploring the woods in snow play, playing pond hockey, lounging in the hot tub, playing games, and eating. The CC ski trails are beautifully groomed regularly. The staff is always very helpful and friendly. They pay attention to details as displayed in the Abdallah toffee that we look forward to finding on our table every year, the free coffee/tea in the Lodge, and the extra bird seed they always give us to feed the birds on our deck outside our large living room window. This year was especially dear to us because we messed up the reservation dates on our end (which we didn't know about until we arrived) and Bob and the staff were gracious and able to "move things around" and still accommodate us. We hope to keep making such great memories here! Thank you to Bob, his family, and all the staff at Bearskin for all that you do to provide this beautiful place for...