The Naniboujou Lodge & Restaurant — Hotel in East Cook

After 8" of rain fell in the Arrowhead Region of NE MN, every waterfall from Duluth to Grand Marais was roaring down the ancient lava floes plunging to Lake Superior below US Hwy 61 on our six-hour drive from St. Paul, MN. Beyond Grand Marais on your way to the Canadian border you will find Naniboujou Lodge, listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings that opened in 1927, snuggled in a grove of birch and spruce trees on the shore of Lake Superior. ||The lodge is famous for its Art Deco interior, not to mention the unique Mansard roofed second story. The two story lodge has two wings offering views of Lake Superior. The rooms come furnished with Sleep Number beds, private bath and some rooms with fireplaces. The second floor outdoor deck faces the lake and a telescope is available for excellent star gazing in an area with no light pollution.||This lodge prides itself in being a retreat from media with no internet service, no TV and no radio. The solarium has a small library and movable ceiling panels to let in daylight or to close off the ceiling for winter energy conservation or to provide a more intimate atmosphere. The room has a small library and many board games and puzzles to amuse those not dependent on the internet for entertainment.||The Art Deco depictions cover the ceiling and walls of the spacious dining room and were painted on large Celotex panels (an early 20th century building material) inspired by Native Cree mythology, and are as vibrant as they were in 1927. The dining room has a massive stone fireplace, largest in Minnesota and the the furniture is mostly original. The 12' windows framed by Art Deco decorations are draped in floor to ceiling drapes and the original sconces create a very intimate experience. ||The lodge is famous for both for its century old entrees as well as new creations; whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner. The spacious hall with vaulted ceiling provides an evocative experience as the mythological spirits in the artwork gaze down to your tables. The gift shop markets their cook book and includes beautiful photos of the unique landmark and Cree inspired Art Deco interior.||For the adventurous, the Judge C. Magney State Park is across the highway just minute's walk from the lodge entrance. Unique among the park's attractions is the Devil's Cauldron beneath the waterfalls. The exit point of the swirling cauldron is unknown despite many efforts over the decades to learn of its subterranean exit point assumably to Lake Superior.||The best part of Naniboujou Lodge is the serenity and location to Lake Superior, the excellent meals, a well stocked gift shop, and the proximity to Grand Marais for shopping and other dining options. Take the plunge (metaphorically speaking) into the uniqueness and historicity of Naniboujou Lodge on the shores of...

The Naniboujou Lodge is a charming place in a magical location on the shores of Lake Superior. We stayed there on our honeymoon in 1997 and then came back a few years later for another visit. This was our first time back since the late 1990s but it was oddly and beautifully almost the same place. The rooms are spotlessly clean and absolutely charming with handmade quilts. Many have views over Lake Superior. The historic painted dining room from the original men's club of 1929 is unique. I've never been a space quite like it. The staff are friendly and I love the low-tech atmosphere. There's little cell service in this location, no televisions in the rooms, and no wifi. It was like stepping back into the 1990s. But...the place is suffering from staffing shortages and have made some choices to cut costs that made our experience not quite what we were expecting given the price tag (over $600 with tax for two nights). To save on staff, they are offering two-night packages that include four meals (two dinners and two breakfasts). In the old days, the restaurant served really great regional food that was wholesome but distinctive. Now, one goes up to get served a pre-set menu at a buffet table and the food is good and nourishing, but not really special. And not what one might expect for the price. The other problem is communication. In our email confirmation, we were told that dinner was served from 5:30-7:30 pm. On the website, it said 5:30-6:30. In reality, when we came at 6, we were the last seated and they were packing up the buffet by 6:15. We also followed instructions to "sit at a table" but no one actually told us that we had to go up to the buffet. So we sat for 15 minutes with no food until we asked some other guests what the procedure was. By that time the lasagna had cooled and we felt wrong-footed. The final choice that they are making to save money and staff is that they have no one at the desk and no one to contact if you need anything from 7 pm until 7 am. They have a sign that says, "if you need help, call 911." I get that if the building was burning down. But what if a toilet overflows? There was literally no one around. And this also make a mockery of the advertised 24/7 coffee and tea availability. Even if the coffee pot was filled up at 7 pm (I don't think it was), it was tepid and bitter by morning. And breakfast wasn't served until 8. I really love this place and I want it to survive. I hope that they can get through this year and be able to get back to a more full-service operation in the future. I'd give it another try if they can figure out their business model and get the amenities to come in closer to what one expects...

Table of 12, stopped in for late lunch 5 of the twelve were small kids, 2 were 3 year olds between 2-4 in Sunday it’s a simple menu of soup and sandwiches

We stopped in asked if they were fine with a party our size and that we had young kids. We were assured no problem and they set a table up for us.

Once ready we were told we could sit.

Waitress did not come and place menus for 20 minutes. At 30 minutes, the owner noticed we still had menus and told our server that this was unacceptable and she’d comp our drinks. At this point she took orders and we thought things were back on track.

Our drinks came out, then we waiting 45 minutes for food to arrive (for soups, sandwiches, salads and Mac and cheese). Owner disappeared and our server was no where in sight.

During the 45 minutes, we were not checked on once. No refills offered on drinks, no sorry for the delay. Fresh coffee was brought out by our sever to tables around us. Kids are getting really grumpy by this point - most family friendly restaurants would have seen this and offered to bring out the Mac and Cheese earlier.

After the long wait for our food, server asked if we needed anything else. We advised refills of our drinks would be good. She left, worked the other tables, FILLED their drinks.

By the time she came back, most of us were done eating. Then asked if we needed anything. We just asked for the check at this point.

The building itself was amazing and we’ve always wanted to go there - now we are very bummed to have this awful experience. Really...