Silver Reef Casino Resort — Hotel in Ferndale

What should have been a delightful experience was marred by management's inattention to some important details. I can report three positive aspects of this casino. The associated gas station has prices for regular gasoline that are dramatically better than area stations -- nearly $1/gallon cheaper. There's no surcharge for credit card customers. The casino is non-smoking, which is unusual for a tribal casino.

Typically with tribal casinos, we need to shower and wash our clothes after a visit, because of the pervasive cigarette smoke. The rewards program for new members is very attractive, and makes it worthwhile to join. After the initial application is completed at the rewards desk, the remainder of the process is completed at one of two electronic kiosks. There should be more, as we never saw them without a line of customers.

The completion process, which included selecting from several reward options, appears to be clear, but was in fact confusing. Even better, some parts cannot be completed at the kiosk, but require standing in line once again at the rewards counter. That silly arrangement would have been a bit less disgusting, if the ticket from the machine had mentioned the requirement. It did not.

I learned of the requirement when attempting to use the food credit to purchase a meal at the Pizzanini restaurant. After enduring a long and painfully slow-moving line to order food, I was told to return to the rewards counter to trade the discount ticket for a voucher. That requirement was not disclosed in writing on the ticket, or mentioned at the rewards counter. Also, it's a spectacularly stupid requirement!

Returning with the required actual food voucher, I was rebuffed when I moved around the line to pay for my order with the voucher. I was required to wait through the agonizingly-slow line once again, before the cashier would accept my voucher. When originally placing my order, I was told that my desired ribeye steak sandwich was unavailable. When I finally received my order, I learned that the potato salad that I'd requested was also unavailable.

Our food was finally made available a little more than 30 minutes after ordering. The person preparing it was clearly not the best person for the job. She moved at glacial speed. Her PA announcement of the order availability was unintelligible, due to a combination of her soft voice and ambient casino noise. Ordering soup (I did) involves a leap of faith, because nowhere was the type of soup disclosed. It was actually a tasty chicken-mushroom soup, though too salty.

The food was placed into very nice takeout boxes. That's good, because the seating was inadequate, consisting of four small tables with two chairs each.

My wife attempted to use her food credit ticket at a different location, to purchase two cookies. The counter person insisted that it could be used for only one item. As it was not disclosed on the ticket, it appears to be a secret policy -- much like the ones that I encountered.

My wife wanted to use our courtesy gaming credits at some slot machines. The first two machines reported that the machine had been "locked by accounting" -- after the player card was inserted and an attempt to play the machine. A third machine operated properly.

In the way of background, I recently retired from a side-gig career of mystery shopping. With my wife, we've completed two-to-three-dozen assignments at a variety of casinos, ranging from local non-tribal casinos to three-day-long assignments at luxurious tribal resort casinos. We are very familiar with performance standards for both management and employees. We've also visited a number of other casinos as patrons, not mystery shoppers. It's unfortunate that this wasn't a mystery shop assignment, because tribal elders are probably unaware that the casino's management team is limiting the potential of this casino.

Many aspects of the casino were clearly given thoughtful consideration. It's sad and unfortunate that inattention to detail by the management team is limiting...

I was going to write a somewhat positive review after staying here, however, due to the way I was treated at check out I will be bringing light to all the negatives I was originally going to overlook and not mention. Firstly, I would like to admit that I slept in a bit. I called the front desk upon waking up to apologize and asked if they could allow me an additional 30-45 min to pack my things and check out, of which they granted me without any problems. Not even 20 minutes go by and I get a call from someone I had never spoke to before front desk telling me that I need to be out of the room and they are sending security to “help” me check out. I told them I still have another 15 min at least to check out and they replied in a very rude tone that they are sending security up to my room and then they hung up on me. A security officer arrives and starts banging loudly on the door yelling “Security open up!” I was almost done and then another loud pound on the door and more yelling like it was some kind of police raid. I have stayed at many hotels over the years and not once until now have I felt so disrespected as a guest! Furthermore, I would like to add that there are parts of the room that need some aesthetic maintenance — there was a large unsightly tear on the leather headboard of the bed on the right hand side. Also my towels smelled like mildewy cigarette smoke and I had to request new ones. The sink drain was stuck shut and I had to pry it open myself to drain the waste water as it was nearing full capacity. I also found a torn hole in one of the corners of the room that looked like rats had chewed through. Don’t even get me started on the fiasco on the casino floor my first nights stay… basically if you cashed out your ticket in order to redeem it for cash you had to wait in an extremely long and arduous line forever at the cash cage… EVERY TIME. It heavily discouraged cashing out to change machines if you were losing on one machine. However I quickly found out that quite literally everyone around me were losing and could not even win one single red cent while this problem persisted up until closing. Mostly everyone in the casino were in an outrage and the staff kept reassuring that their “systems were down.” Down for 4 hours until closing and all the machines refused to pay out anything? Yeah alright. Sounds like a crock of spit. Very suspicious. This place overall is on a heavy decline, a far cry of what it used to be before the pandemic, even then it had its problems. Even after the pandemic now in the current day they still have not amended their open hours back to 24 hours. This place is in trouble and it probably wont last when you have all other casinos in the surrounding area open 24 hrs and they maintain a class above that puts the Silver Reef to shame. Canadians just opened up casinos across the border recently too so they’re going to need to figure out how to manage and bring things up to par in order to stay in business because that influx of Canadian customers is dwindling. This place has become an embarrassment and is on a downward spiral. Would not...

A Mixed Bag: Disappointing Front Desk, Tight Slot Machines, and Stellar Café Service Rating: ⭐⭐ I recently visited and stayed one night at Silver Reef Casino. Unfortunately, my experience was a mixed bag of highs and lows. While the café provided exceptional service, the front desk clerk's dishonesty and the tight slot machines left me feeling frustrated and disappointed. Let's start with the front desk, where I encountered a significant problem right from the beginning. The clerk I dealt with was not only unhelpful but also dishonest. I had a specific request regarding checking in an hour early, and the clerk assured me that it would try to accomodate me. However the woman standing right next to me was able to check in early and when I asked why I couldn't he said my room specifically wasn't ready. I asked how do you know that when you haven't even asked me my name or reservation number ? It was very clear he lied to my face. The clerk's dishonesty left a sour taste in my mouth, as I value transparency and honesty when dealing with service staff. Moving on to the casino floor, I was excited to try my luck at the slot machines. Unfortunately, the experience quickly turned disappointing. The slot machines were exceptionally tight, making it incredibly difficult to win anything substantial. It's understandable that casinos aim to make a profit, but the lack of even occasional wins made the experience less enjoyable. It felt like the odds were stacked against the players, dampening the excitement and fun that should accompany gambling. Amidst these frustrations, the one shining light of my casino visit was the café and the exceptional service provided by one particular waitress. The moment I entered the café, the waitress greeted me with a warm smile and a genuine desire to make my experience enjoyable. She was attentive, knowledgeable about the menu, and went above and beyond to ensure my satisfaction. Her exceptional service made up for the disappointments I encountered earlier. Despite the outstanding café service, it's disheartening that the front desk clerk's dishonesty and the tight slot machines overshadowed the positive aspects of my visit. I believe that honesty and fairness should be the cornerstone of any service-oriented establishment, and these areas fell short. I hope that the management takes note of these shortcomings and strives to improve customer experiences. Enhancing transparency at the front desk, loosening the slot machines, and fostering exceptional service throughout the casino would undoubtedly make future visits more enjoyable for all patrons. In conclusion, my recent visit to the casino was marred by poor service from the front desk clerk and tight slot machines. However, the exceptional service provided by the café waitress stood out as a positive highlight. I hope that the casino takes necessary steps to rectify these issues and ensures a more well-rounded and enjoyable experience for its guests...