River Hills Hotel — Hotel in Mankato

DO NOT STAY HERE. The hotel is beautiful but the manager/owner is extremely rude and incompassionate. Highly recommend to avoid! We brought a young family there who was waiting for their home to be ready in the middle of a harsh Minnesota winter. We booked online and the website we booked said that early check-in was allowed but when the family arrived, this manager would not allow early check-in even though we were told by the workers that there were plenty of rooms available. The family stayed two nights, they were quiet and respectful and were able to get out of the cold. When the second night came around, I was there in person with my ID and multiple credit cards but the (very friendly) worker at the front desk was having trouble with her computer system running the cards. She said that the system was running very slow and the issue was on her end, not ours. She said that there would be no problem to call tomorrow to pay or come back later tomorrow and that the room was available in any case so it wouldn't be a problem for them to stay another day and then call in or pay in-person the next day. When 11:00 the next day came around, the manager/owner kicked the family out on the streets. She wouldn't reason with us at all about the night before, or the payment issues, or give any flexibility for allowing them to stay, despite calmly explaining the situation. She stuck strictly to her "rules". She came close to accusing me of credit card fraud. I help families frequently and travel frequently, but I will not be going back to that hotel, or sending any families to that hotel, and I recommend everyone to avoid the hotel. The manager has no compassion or reason or flexibility for humanity. The inside of the hotel is nice, although their computer systems suck. In general, the manager has no compassion for others and I highly...

DO NOT STAY HERE. The hotel is beautiful but the manager/owner is extremely rude and incompassionate. Highly recommend to avoid! We brought a young family there who was waiting for their home to be ready in the middle of a harsh Minnesota winter. We booked online and the website we booked said that early check-in was allowed but when the family arrived, this manager would not allow early check-in even though we were told by the workers that there were plenty of rooms available. The family stayed two nights, they were quiet and respectful and were able to get out of the cold. When the second night came around, I was there in person with my ID and multiple credit cards but the (very friendly) worker at the front desk was having trouble with her computer system running the cards. She said that the system was running very slow and the issue was on her end, not ours. She said that there would be no problem to call tomorrow to pay or come back later tomorrow and that the room was available in any case so it wouldn't be a problem for them to stay another day and then call in or pay in-person the next day. When 11:00 the next day came around, the manager/owner kicked the family out on the streets. She wouldn't reason with us at all about the night before, or the payment issues, or give any flexibility for allowing them to stay, despite calmly explaining the situation. She stuck strictly to her "rules". She came close to accusing me of credit card fraud. I help families frequently and travel frequently, but I will not be going back to that hotel, or sending any families to that hotel, and I recommend everyone to avoid the hotel. The manager has no compassion or reason or flexibility for humanity. The inside of the hotel is nice, although their computer systems suck. In general, the manager has no compassion for others and I highly...

NOT the safest place to stay during COVID OUTBREAK...

During our 3 day visit, not a SINGLE ONE of the employees was wearing the face mask that is mandated by Minnesota Emergency Order and has been for some time now. Manager did not even wear one and did not have a good excuse on why he wasn't. Construction outside front entrance with glass on the ground near trash can (if you have a pet or small children, this is dangerous!).

No ice available to guests and by the time you try to make your own ice using an ice tray (per their suggestion), you are checking out and don't need it! Our TV’s didn’t work and took 2 staff two trips to fix them. Mattress and couch were both of poor quality (hard mattress and awful sagging futon/couch). Cobwebs in corners with a spider that became active at night. Dining area chair was grossly stained. Toilet seat was in poor shape and there was no oven at all even though there is one in hotel stock photos. Apparently, there is only one hotel room in the entire place that has an oven in the kitchenette and this made our Thanksgiving dinner very difficult. Hotel room had the feel of a cheap, truck stop motel. Grout between bathroom floor tiles was black and (per the outer edges) should have been off white:/

Indoor pool was drained/closed so overall value of room was way less than expected. Could have stayed at another hotel for much cheaper. One star was due to lacking COVID precautions, high price per night (over $100) for outdated room, poor quality furnishings, and much needed deep cleaning.

Positive: Beautiful lobby area and easy parking. Very nice and friendly staff. Also appreciated the complimentary coffee, dish soap, paper towels...