Galena Log Cabin Getaway — Hotel in Galena

Similar to others, I was aware of the mixed reviews but decided to give the cabin a go. The cabin itself is OK but the price is astronomical for what you get.||||We spent a little over two weeks touring Wisconsin and Illinois staying in fancy hotels, budget motels and camping. This was the most expensive accommodation of the entire trip and, sadly the most disappointing.||||Positives:||It is close to Galena||It is rustic||The owner Ruth, is very friendly and helpful.||The cabin was air-conditioned||||Negatives:||For the price I would expect a better standard, for example the TV is ancient and the sound was distorted making it uncomfortable to watch||The cabin was quite fly ridden (which I realise can happen in the countryside) but old fly paper next to the window was full of dead flies and appeared to have been there for some time. Iris also quite difficult to sleep with flies buzzing around and landing on you as you're trying to drop off||The cabin is very dark and the lighting isn't great. Just felt a bit depressing returning to a dark room with no view. There are odd touches like an old Christmas tree, dusty teddy and frilly over the top shower curtain across a stained bath adding to a feeling that things are more run down than shabby chic||We were given a breakfast basket and water when we arrived. I didn't realise this would be the only coffee, water and plastic disposable spoons we would be given as we were there for 2 nights. We had to ration drinking water on morning 2 and recover spoons from bin to wash.||Breakfast was very sugary - highly processed muffins/buns - no choice which again at the price was more of a cheap motel breakfast. (Don't get me wrong I like a cheap motel, you get what you pay for) not here!||The grounds are not landscaped in any way. We were provided with two camping chairs to use outside the cabin. There was no where obvious to sit, we looked out on the alpaca enclosure which was really a muddy bit of ground with a large murky puddle. ||||Had I paid half the price I think I would still have been disappointed, but it was the cost which really made it difficult for me. I don't think it would take much to make the experience much more pleasant - better lighting, a bit of TLC around the site and some home comforts like a TV which works and free access to drinking water and food that isn't going to turn you diabetic in a mouthful. I just feel I was ripped off, especially as we went on to a 5 star Chicago hotel for which we paid less and checking prices around Galena whilst we were there I think we would have had a much more positive experience. As it was we avoided the cabin as it wasn't a pleasant place to spend any time in or around.||||Sorry - I try to be balanced in my reviews. Some people may love this, but I think for the money there are much better...

We went here Valentines weekend. I like the rustic, primitive life so the thought of an 1800's style log cabin was intriguing. I made reservations online easily. We were spending the weekend in Galena, so I wasn't sure exactly when I was going to show up when the reservations where made. The day of our arrival the owner was in communication with me so we knew what to do and where to go upon our arrival.

They have multiple cabins on a circle drive. In the middle is the pens for the Alpacas. Some of the cabins are single cabins, others are dual, meaning two separate cabins are conjoined sharing an entrance walkway. The Cabins are exactly how I imagined them. A primitive looking exterior and a rustic interior. We loved it. some of the cabins look like they're aren't currently in use.

Being a rural part of the country, they rely on well water. Anyone that has lived in a house on well water knows what this means. There can be discoloration and an odor to it. There's not really much that can be done about that.

Overall we loved our stay. There were some things that were a little off putting. They really could use some maintenance in the cabins. In the one I stayed in two of the chairs were broken, one was taped up to fix it. The other chair had a broken stay on the back that left a sharp point, that could be an injury hazard. The bathtub needed resealing and and grout touched up. However, my biggest concern was the lock on the door. The door would lock, but the latch wasn't firm. There is a deadbolt, but the bolt wouldn't seat in the frame. It stopped on the face of the strike plate. Even if you thought bolt was set, the door would open. The cabin itself could use some sealing. There where gaps where you could see outside. The weekend we were there it got into negative temperatures, and the wind would cut through adding a chill to the cabin.

If you're looking for a ritzy, modern, fancy place to stay, look elsewhere. They have an old CRT TV, which we never turned on. We're in a cabin. You're in a cabin, I would have preferred if there was no TV, but I could see where someone else might want one. However, if they put in a large modern flat screen with a modern entertainment center would ruin the aesthetics.

Overall if you want a rustic, pioneer feeling weekend. This is the place to go. If you want all the modern amenities......

This is a difficult review to write. I must first state that our encounters with Ruth, the owner, could not have been more positive. Ruth was very, very nice and she provided us so much information about local attractions that she felt may have been of interest to our family, as well as discounts we could find on Groupon. She also insisted on providing extra bedding for our comfort even when we did not ask. With that being said, I feel that Ruth and her family may not be able to care for the property and provide needed repair and upkeep.||||Please note that our family tents camps and have stayed in cabins before. This is a cabin and we expected a rustic setting. However, when you are paying the rates charged, and when you read the description and look at the pictures, I was expecting more of a B&B experience. On the contrary, what we experienced was a cabin that was dusty, the floors were also dusty and grimy, there were piles of dead bugs in corners, there were cob webs hanging from the ceiling everywhere, several spindles on the rocking chairs held together with electrical tape, and the bathtub was dirty with very poor upkeep. The toilet and sink were old but clean. You are provided with a gallon of water to make coffee and brush your teeth as the well water smells very, very strongly of metal which lingers in the air and on your skin for about 10-15 minutes after washing. The continental breakfast is delivered to your cabin and consists of packaged yogurt, packaged fruit cups, and pre-packaged cinnamon rolls. The landscaping was overgrown with weeds and there were several wasp nests on our cabin. The Alpaca's were there but the owners no longer breed goldendoodles.||||I hope the owners are able to find away to turn this property around. The cabins are very cute and the property is beautiful. My feeling is the owners have come on hard times and have not been able to put money into the place, not that they do not care. I just wanted people to be aware of what the property was like for the money...