Split Rock Lodge — Hotel in Kidder Township

If I could give Split Rock Lodge negative star I would. I booked my reservation with Diego and was told I could stay in the newly renovated Galleria instead of the Willowbrook which is where I normally stay. He said amenities would be the same as Willowbrook.

We were disheartened to find our newly renovated room: • the overall size of the room was smaller than Willowbrook • the refrigerator was probably from the 1970s • there was no jacuzzi tub; • The worst part of the room was the ridiculous brand new couches which looked more like church benches with cushions. The walls had murphy beds sticking out. No one on vacation can relax on those benches that they are trying to pass off as couches. These all need to be replaced with REAL couches. Bel Air should throw them out and start over.

We immediately asked for a better room with the jacuzzi tub and were moved to the outdated Willowbrook but at least we had a jacuzzi tub.

Problems at Willowbrook: • The elevator smelled awful; like something or someone died and they covered it up with carpet freshener • The tv initially did not work; someone came in our room later that evening to reconfigure it so it would work. However, we quickly discovered you only offer "antenna" TV service giving us 5 channels to watch because they don’t have cable tv service. We found out later that week that some rooms at the resort have smart tvs which allow access to Pluto TV. Not the case for us though as we did not have a smart tv. Speaking of tv’s; what kind of resort doesn’t have cable???? This is not 1970. • The couch was so old and worn out; we sank lower than the bar frame of the couch. In order not to have the frame press in our legs, we had to double the cushions to have minimal comfort (see attached picture the one cushion is so low you can’t even see it). The arms of the furniture were so worn, the wood frame could be seen right through the material. We had to ask for extra towels to fluff on the arms so they also had some cushioning. • The jacuzzi tub initially did not work and the faucets leaked when turned on. My boyfriend fixed the circuit breaker so I could bathe and I put towels down to sop up the leaking water from faucets. • The toilet did not flush well; every time I used the toilet I had to flush 2 times for the paper to go down. The next morning; my boyfriend had issues as well and when we called maintenance to have the toilet plunged; the housekeeper brought a plunger and told us he was not allowed in the room because of COVID. This is a lie; confirmed by front desk staff, he just didn’t want to unclog the toilet. Additionally, the guy who fixed our TV had no problem entering the room.

After that; we were moved to a 3rd room. While the third room was similarly outdated; at least it had a newer couch and love seat and everything worked.

Problems with Amenities: • Hot tubs were under renovation and none of them were available to use. • I could not find a working sauna • The pool had debris from the ongoing renovation floating in it. • Fishing option at the lake was not available • Canoeing not offered • A week before our vacation, I called to ensure everything was set for our vacation and was told the gym would not be available due to the renovation. When we arrived we were told the gym was now open. However when we went to use the gym we discovered he gym equipment was dirty and there were no disinfectant wipes available to use before and after use to wipe down the equipment. When I asked a housekeeper to put sanitizing wipes out; she said the person who runs the arcade would have to do that but she would pass a message if she saw her and suggested we do the same. I asked for sanitizing wipes multiple days and no one ever put them out nor did anyone clean the equipment. The machines are dirty from purchase and unsanitary; no one is maintaining them. I am sure this is a health code violation. • We were also not provided a $10 gift card...

The location and rooms were PERFECT, but unfortunately not enough to make up for our awful experience..

We arrived on Sunday, hoping to make the best of the day despite poor ski conditions, so planned to do the resort's water park. Unfortunately, the water was cold and not heated as advertised, all the slides were closed, and the bar was not in operation.

Check-in time was 4:00 pm, and although we arrived at 3:40 pm, we were aware the room might not be ready. We were told we’d receive a call when the room was prepared, but by 5:00 pm, we returned to the check-in line, as we expected the room to be ready by that point. It wasn’t until 6:00 pm, two hours after check-in, that we finally got our room. They mentioned our room still wasn't ready at that time, so they gave us a different one. They did not inform us that this different room was 1 king bed, even though we reserved 2 queen beds. Additionally, there was no staff available to assist at the lodge, and after multiple unsuccessful attempts to call the front desk at the main resort, we decided to let it go.

However, the real issues began later that evening. At 10:00 pm, a man knocked on our door. When I answered, he asked for my name, without introducing himself. When I asked why he needed it, he said they needed to confirm who was in the room. Although I was hesitant, I provided the last name on the reservation. He then asked for the first name, which I declined to give, and he left. I did not feel comfortable opening the door, especially since it was so late and it was an older man with limited English speaking skills, knocking on the door of two younger females. If this was as even a staff member, how did they not know who was in the room? And why were they needing to confirm it so late at night?

Things only worsened the next morning, at 8:30 am, when a woman used a keycard to ENTER OUR ROOM WHILE WE WERE ASLEEP. She knocked but immediately entered before waiting for a response. I jumped out of bed and yelled “excuse me,” and she apologized saying she thought we had already checked out. This experience left us feeling uncomfortable and violated. Why would she had thought we checked out? Why would they just enter a room without checking for a response, two and half hours before check out time?

Overall, the lack of organization and room management is alarming. We have never felt so unsafe at a hotel before. It's such a shame, because the rooms at the lodge are extremely nice... but we will not risk staying again.

I am posting this after emailing them and receiving no response within 48 hours. I will try to edit with their response,...

I was thinking of doing a review for each thing at the lodge but I will just put it all in one. I am giving it a 3 simply for the bait & switch. The rooms are clean and I’ll give it that. Our room tv didn’t work. We called maintenance at 3pm. Then at 8 because they didn’t show. And then at 9 again because I wanted to lay down and watch tv and they still didn’t come. The hotel is a ghost town, only 5 rooms were in use at the lodge “ luxury resort”. I don’t understand why it took 6 hours for someone to come to our room to put the wifi password In. But that’s ok they couldn’t get it working. The water can’t keep its temperature. No matter what you do with the faucet the temp goes from hot to cold every 5 min. The room was clean and bug free but the outside was definitely not taken care of. The website mentioned the amenities being a private beach, spa, pool & hot tub at the lodge. The beach did exist but the water made you question if it was safe to swim. The spa consisted on massage tables stored in a mildew smelling room, I guess it was diy. The sauna looked clean. The hot tub was a cesspool of bacteria. Not sure when it was cleaned last. The pool was cleaned at least. No one there knew how to maintain it that there was so much chlorine in the pool that it bleached my daughter’s bathing suit after one day of use. We also had dinner at the Mexican restaurant. We were the only table there and it took them 45 min to bring out the food. Then I waited another 10 min. For my tortillas for the fajitas. The food was unseasoned and my wife’s Caesar salad was soggy and droopy. That one took the longest to come out. We decided to go over to the main building and there was plenty of warnings from the state saying don’t drink the water. If I wanted to risk my family’s health I would have taken them to Mexico. In split rock town center is where you can find basket ball courts, a gym, indoor waterpark, indoor pool, arcade, bowling, and a movie theater. The pool over here was much better. The indoor waterpark was good as well half of it wasn’t working though so that was a bummer. The gym was fine. Arcade was great and so was bowling. Didn’t use the movie theater so I can’t tell you about that. The pool tables were ripped so...