Oglebay Resort — Hotel in Martins Ferry

[[Thu.19.Dec.2024]]

Was our first time staying at Oglebay Resort, really did not know what to expect, by the look at the images, reviews iwould be nice place. Arrived there earlier this week the view of the resort as pulling up was Magnificent, Huge, Great Views, went into Front Desk checked in which was very nice lay out indoors, check in went easy, quick. Was given a map of resort, showed how to get easy to our room, the entire area from resort was Beautiful Views and we loved seeing the Wildlife out (Deer) and about roaming around. Once to the correct wing where our room was located, hallways was very nice setup what we noticed with the amount of clients vehicles parked outside you could not hear one customer in there room while walking by ((most places you can hear customers laughing and talking)). Once in our room, OMG!!! Wow, very very nice we loved it so much and the Balcony outside was perfect even tho it was lil breezy and cool out it was perfect, room was very clean, bed made very nice and room was spacious, we loved how the bedside lights had adjustable arms on them, just Awesome. We took a walk through the Resort, it defiantly was huge, we loved seeing the Older Pictures and Information on them, we explored the Coffee Gift Shop got us both a drink each and purchased some items from there, then we headed up to second floor ended up at Bar area (which we are a non alcoholic couple for last 34yrs) and we wrapped around corner to a Beautiful Christmas Holiday Hallway, had to have few pics here, then arrived at Restaurant which was huge, spacious with Great view, we had lil later lunch there, the Servers was very nice, food was excellent tasting, once done eating we headed back through the bar and around checked out the Swimming area and Game Room we had Great Time in game room (First thing, i Won a Squawking Chicken lol) we just had straight out Fun. Headed back to room for lil relaxation before heading down to lobby about 9:30pm we paid $20 each for Christmas Light Trolley Tour when we checked in, we arrived at lobby area about 9pm some others came to lobby as well for Tour, we did notice something that just did not sit with us at lobby was while sitting there we seen a few clients sitting down there glass cups from bar on chair tables in the lobby that still had alcohol in them and kids was around and the cups was just unattended just think alcohol drinks should not leave the bar area and end up in lobby sitting on a table unattended. The next thing was the Trolley Christmas Tour, once we get aboard the Trolley the driver stated there were only to be 4-6 individuals on board as what his paperwork stated but there was like 14-16 on board, but driver said oh well ((i do think front desk at resort should know who all has tickets to help driver with this matter, since front desk is charging $20 person)) while out on this Trolley Tour the Driver was having trouble like talking through the Mic cause could hardly hear him at all at times, then there was few times driver came up on other vehicles which was close call accidents waiting to happen cause neither Trolley Driver nor other Driver was going to give the other wright away around certain areas and curves, then there was issue with the Trolley windows they were so so Smeared and Dirty you could hardly see out of them let alone take pic out of them of certain Christmas Displays, about half way through tour i told my wife stop taking pictures its waisting your time cause there going to come out smudged looking and told her after this tour is over her and i would get in our Suv and i would re-do this same Christmas Light Tour in our Suv that its not wright to pay for something and not get what you paid for, so we did re-do the exact same tour back over in our Suv. I do recommend if doing the Trolley Tour for any sort Display Outing take look at inside windows to see if there clear n clean cause if not might be best ask for $20 back and do the tour in your own vehicle. All n All its still Great Place to come to and relax and take in...

While traveling solo, I decided to check out Oglebay Resort as a possible future vacation stop with my husband. Overall, pretty disappointing. To be fair, I was here on a gray day (no real rain but everything was dripping), which didn't help. But I had booked two nights instead of one so that I could check out the Good Zoo at the resort. BIG disappointment. Hardly any animals were out/visible, so I mostly only saw the ones inside the building with the ticket office. The one that bothered me, though, was the serval (cat). It was pacing back and forth on a small ledge in its indoor enclosure, which usually indicates extreme boredom and/or restlessness - not a "good" sign for an animal. And even the larger outdoor enclosures (such as the one with a lone Grey's Zebra and an ostrich) that mimic a more natural habitat are still too small, in my opinion, to prevent the animals being negatively impacted. So, one star off for the "Good" Zoo.

As for the room, I booked a Lakeside King, which included a gas fireplace (very nice!) and a (shared) outside balcony with chairs to look over into Ohio (also very nice). The bathroom was quite large with double sinks on a very roomy vanity, as well as a soaking tub and a shower, plus a towel warmer -- a pleasant throwback that you rarely see in hotels anymore. But that speaks to the age of this place. Although they do have high-speed Internet, that's as far as the technology goes. There are no USB ports, so make sure you bring chargers/adapters that plug into a wall socket. In fact, they still have what I'm guessing is about a 1990's-era retractable Ethernet cable set up at the desk. There are several restaurants located right within the lodge, but this is where I was disappointed not once, but twice. I had dinner Saturday night at the Skyline Kitchen & Bar - the fish and chips were great, so no complaint that time. But I was really looking forward to a particular item on their breakfast menu on Sunday morning, only to discover that breakfast was buffet only. I'm an extremely small eater, which never justifies paying the price for a buffet. So, paying $21 for just coffee and a small pastry is ridiculous, and I skipped breakfast. By noon, I was really hungry, so I went back to Skyline for lunch. The place was practically empty, which is why I was pretty miffed when the pizza I had ordered came out barely even warm. I thought it was taking an awfully long time to get my order, but apparently it had been sitting out (and not even under a warmer!) because the cheese had completely congealed already when my server brought it to me. Considering there was hardly anybody in the place, there was NO reason for my pizza to show up cold. I considered asking if they could rewarm it, but I was afraid they would just shove it in a microwave, which ruins the pizza as far as I'm concerned. So, another half-star off my overall review for poor restaurant service (although you can't give half-stars, so my review looks like a 4 but I consider it to be a 3.5).

I finished my stay by having dinner at Trase Chophouse. As I mentioned earlier, I'm a very small eater, so I just had soup (lobster bisque - delicious!), a beet salad (also delicious) and ended up boxing up the better part of the crab/ham appetizer. Felicia (Phylicia?), my server, was perfectly attentive, just as you'd expect at a high-end restaurant. She's obviously a pro at this level of service and was very pleasant to talk to.

The grounds of the resort are beautiful, but there are other resorts with the same sort of views that are much more modern, with better restaurants, and that's where I'll be probably be spending my money on my next trip. This will probably be my first AND my last stay. BUT...it might just be your cup of tea if you've got kids, and/or like to golf or swim. It IS very pretty here, and maybe I was here...

I can only speak for this experience during December winterfest which is when our party of 10 including kids stayed in a cabin.

Kid Friendly: Great location for small kids. Pool. Easy outdoor things like the zoo, the paths, the carnival, the lights. Lots of wintery themed stuff for two 3 year olds to enjoy. Made the options easy being a parent. Great option for small kid entertainment, although you have to pay extra for things like the carnival rides or a trip to the zoo. But the hot chocolate and candy canes in the lodge are awesome at night and thats free.

Cabins: The cabins were perfect for our party of 10 ( 4 adults, 2 grandparents, 4 kids). We lived comfortably and not on top of each other, the rooms all had their own bathrooms too WHICH WAS CLUTCH. The kitchen was great, full fridge, stove, all that.

We used the outdoor charcoal grill once for burgers, worked great. Also, the guys come around and pick up trash every morning from your place, which is also awesome.

Decor: 7/5 stars. PERFECT PLACE TO TAKE FAMILY PICS BRING OUTFITS. Instagrammers and influencers will love it. All the trees and holly and decorations and scenic idyllic stuff, so many options for that cute young person santa hat with a peace sign by an iconic building/sunset/coffee shop with the Tennessee filter picture.

Seriously beautiful.

Price: its not cheap by any means. The room prices are what i would consider expensive for the average middle class to lower income unless this was their one yearly vacation.

Also, it has that extra “resort” charge vibe where everything thats normally cheaper is alittle more expensive without necessarily an increase in the quality of what you are getting. So youre gonna need alot of cash to absorb that. Its not the worst ive ever seen but it is noticeable.

Food Options: They werent anything special, the concession stand type establishments were 3/5. We did both options inside the Wilson Lodge. The Glassworks grill casual dining was my favorite, 4/5, recommend the garlic wings, needs more seating. The Ihlenfeld buffet was good but not great, i thought expensive and kind of a thing for a special night only unless you wanted to spend alot.

Also with only those 2 sit down options close to the lodging it was packed at dinner times so make reservations.

Nature: Excellent. You’re right in the ridges of WV up here and the complex is idyllic. The paths are all paved for the most part, if your looking for more rough hiking trails or off the beaten path type outdoor experience this probably isn’t enough for you. But its great for encouraging easy outdoor activities.

Dogs: lots of people had dogs and were walking them about, super dog friendly.

Deer: Wow. So many deer. And obviously fed by humans because they will come RIGHT up to you. People stop cars to feed them. People invite them around. So they have 0 problem being around. Like a herd of 50 of them throughout the place scattered about. Just be aware.

Museum and Established Old Stuff: its pretty cool. I love that they kept it up, the mansions got lots of great antiques.

In all, its a cool place to stay, definitely fun for a winter get away with kids in a place thats cold, its hard to find that up in the north. Im more of a national park person so i want more wild adventure in a location and this is more conventional but its worth a look around for sure.

Also, the 65+ crowd loves it so...