Lee's Grand Lake Resort — Hotel in Grove

Key/short story: owner is rude, double booked and didnt take accountability or refund. Hazards everywhere that make it unsafe. Pool shut down by health department then reopened when Lee's knew the health department wouldn't show up. Kids got very sick and ended up in doctor's office after swimming in said pool. Rusty sharp chairs near pool.

Long story: Back in February of 2024 we booked the cook house and cabins for a family reunion in July 2025. The cook house was booked for July 5th 2025 and in total 6 cabins and 2 RV spots were reserved for varying times overlapping that date. Lees was aware that we would have guests stay there and locals come im to be there during the day and they were fine with that at the time of booking.

When we showed up we were told that someone else had the cook house for the 5th but that the 4th was available. So we rearranged our plans to have our reunion on the 4th also knowing some of our family would not be able to come now that it had been switched as they were flying in on the 4th from out of state. But we really wanted the cook house- so we paid for the cook house and made further plans to occupy it on the 4th.

On the day of the 4th I came to put food from my home in Grove (im local) into the fridge at the cook house to be consumed later that day to find that people were in the cook house. Lees had double booked the cook house.

The front office lady was extremely rude to us about it and never once said she was sorry. We, this whole time were under the impression that the owner was not on site. However she was the whole time we found out later and she not once helped us find a solution for our apx 60 people there for the reunion.

The manager who was there did try and help us and also told us we would be getting a full refund for the hall as well as partial room refunds. In light of that we opted to use their grass area and table and chairs to accommodate our family. It was not ideal but we were trying to make the best of the situation. I would like to note, she did offer us a separate hall but it was very far from any activities and not what we wanted for our family as we had booked the cook house because of the accommodations such as the play set and the pool (that was shut down by the health department we found out) so we opted to stay in the grass area with the understanding that we would not be charged for it as it was a huge mess up on their side.

Upon checking out by my grandparents there was never any refund. In fact we were told that we took up top much space with our tables (which as of 7/8 when my parents checked out had still not been picked up out of the grass area and were still sitting stacked where we left them) and that other guests were complaining about how much space we took up. I would also like to note that my family helped move the table and chairs along with an employee. And we are buisness owners so we understand mistakes happen. Its the way that they were handled that make this such a bad blunder on behalf of the owner.

During all this the pool was closed except on the 2nd and 3rd when it was opened and my children swam in the pool. Then got extremely sick on the 4th of July and have since been to the doctor for their illness and are pending test results. We found out yesterday that the health department had closed the pool down and that no one should have been swimming in it as it is a hazard. The bottoms of nearly every chair in the pool area is also rusted and spray painted black over the rust, and one cut my 5 year old toe very bad.

There were also people from another cabin who came up to me while I was on the grounds and told me that they had nails sticking out of their cabin deck floors making it not safe for their young kids to play.

As well as another guest was complaining of bed bugs.

All in all this has been the worst experience I have had at any Grand Lake establishment and I am embarrassed that I was involved in the planning...

Before I get into my in-depth review, if you’re looking for a place to bring a large group of people, have space for a party type weekend with your buddies, this place should be in your top 3 choices for Grand Lake. HOWEVER!! read my review so you know what to pack (most important) and be warned you CANNOT trailer your boat onto resort grounds without a major headache.

Review:

First time here, however, we have been to Grand lake prior. If you desire basic, this is the place. Kitchen has no drawers, at least not in the #4 cabin we stayed in. Super tight quarters. Then again, you’re only in the cabin to sleep and prep meals.

We came down during a K-state fraternity formal gathering, so the entire place was packed with college kids having a grand ol’ time. If you ever saw American Pie you’ll get an idea of what our weekend was like. No beef tho. Super fun to watch as all these college kids enjoy life.

I will say tho, the walk down to the dock is not for the faint of heart. I am shocked it’s still in one piece; major structural issues, holes in the concrete walkway, no place to lay out and hang out without being walked over (width is maybe 5’ wide). There are no lights at night to help navigate so bring your flashlights!

For accommodations: bring your own blankets and tower fan, as well as pillows. God knows what bodily fluids are on the furniture… No, that’s no exaggeration either. The AC works great, don’t get me wrong, but the cabin we were in had no ceiling fans. Also pack plenty of either bottled water or a water purifier because if the tap water is anything like Lake of the Ozarks, or Table Rock, you do not drink the tap water unless you desire a colon cleanse.

If it’s your first time driving to Grand lake The drive down is anything but simple. It’s mainly all 2-lane highways with constant traffic lights and stop signs; it would probably be best to take a more indirect route so you can stay on a major highway for as long as you can. The closer you get to the resort the 2-lane roads go down to one lane each way- keep your phone down and eyes on the road. All the stop and go coming from KC adds an additional 30+ minutes to your commute.

If you are like our family and need streaming entertainment, bring your own large flat screen or cheap projector. The tv in the cabin is like 24” large, if that. They did however have good WiFi and a Roku tv that allows you to log into all your streaming services (DONT FORGET TO LOG BACK OUT).

Resort grounds: Everything around the resort grounds are super nice tho. Landscaped, clean. Paved road ways to all the rentals and privately owned campers/single wide trailers. Nice pool, volleyball etc. if you have a large family with lots of vehicles you should have plenty of space to park, however, if you’re trailering a boat with you, DO NOT bring it onto the property, it’s all tight roads and zero clearance to turn. Plus there isn’t a ramp to put it in, you must use one of the ramps at nearby parks- had to do that with my 24’ Cobalt and the place we put it and took out was incredibly sketchy and super steep road to get in and out of. Highly recommend you check out Google maps to research before heading down to this lake.

Overall we had a great time. Would we come back again? Yes for sure, but would pack more necessities and simple luxuries (suction cup hooks for your shower loofas...

I booked a block of rooms last in June 2024 for a family reunion for June of 2025. Communication was a bit iffy as sometimes they would return my calls and emails, and sometimes they would not. When I showed up for my reservation, the office was helpful and pointed out my cabin. Unfortunately, the cabin was not very clean. I set about wiping down countertops and cabinets so I could unpack our groceries. The shower curtain was molded so I asked it to be replaced a well at repair the light fixture over the bathroom sink which was not working. The office and maintenance person (Cameron) took care of the challenges very quickly. Because I had challenges, I asked that my brother's cabin be checked out before his arrival. They assured me this would be done so I did not check it myself. That was my mistake. When they checked in, the cabin was dirty and had spider webs everywhere. The patio was not cleaned and there was a trash can with overflowing trash just outside. They arrived and the electronic door would not work to allow them in. It was a mess, and again, Cameron was running around trying to take care of everything.

The following day, I went again to the office and was very insistent that they check the rooms before my family members checked in, and again, I was assured this would happen. When my nephews checked in their cabin, it was dirty, there was no TV, the bathroom mirror was broken with one half on the wall and the other leaning against the wall and there was a hole in the kitchen linoleum. One of the housekeepers made the comment that the cabin had not been used in two months. I insisted he be moved to another cabin which they did.

The following morning, I went to the office and asked to do a walk-through with someone to insure my sister's cabin was clean. They told me to come back in the early afternoon and I could walk through it. The cabin was clean and in good order. Not sure why this did not happen with the other cabins.

We were there for a week and the pool was out of service until the day before we left. One of the other guest had three large dogs that they allowed to roam the property, without a leach and without anyone picking up after them. I called the office twice about this but nothing was done. Them laundry room had standing water in it so it made doing laundry a bit sketchy.

This place has a lot of potential but the management needs some work. They have spent a lot of money on the outdoor amenities but need to spend it on the cabins. I was given one kitchen towel for my week stay and the kitchen was short on cooking utensils and dinner ware. We had one barstool for our bar seating area and two of the four chairs for the outdoor table were broken.

I was pretty disappointed in the resort as this was a time for our family to be together without the worries and hassles we ran into while staying there. It was also very expensive compared to other places we have stayed. I hope the management can work out the challenges as this could be a great place...