The Original Springs Hotel — Hotel in Okawville

Giving one star review because I am very upset with our service. My husband and I booked a room along with several of our friends for October 28th. We booked the rooms several months in advance and when booking our rooms we specifically asked to use the gazebo area near the pool. We were told it would be available and no problem for us to make use of the area. We checked with the hotel several times prior to our arrival and were assured each time that all was ready for us to use the gazebo area. The hotel staff knew we were planning to have a small Halloween party in that area. Check-in went well and we easily went to our room to drop off luggage and went to find our friends. As we were all meeting up in the gazebo area, a staff member (we later found out she was actually the owner) approached us as she was leaving through the back doors and in a very rude and combative attitude proceeded to tell us that we weren’t supposed to be setting up in the gazebo area because we did not have a reservation. We attempted to explain that we did have permission and that we’d asked several different times prior to arriving. However she didn’t want to hear what we were saying. She basically called us all liars and said she was the only one who booked the gazebo area and she didn’t reserve it to anyone for the night. She allowed us to continue but only after a “whatever” attitude and telling us to move some lighting we’d set up and demanding we not block the door access and that we close down at 11pm. We had a great time with our friends. Fast forward to 11pm. We had the area shut down and cleaned up on time and most of our group proceeded to the hotel bar. My daughter and I decided we wanted to try out the pool. The gate was open and no where around did we see any type of sign designating pool hours. As there was another guest already in the pool, we assumed it would be ok to get in. It’s approx. 11:45pm at this time and we just barely gotten in the pool and a staff member came and very rudely demanded that we get out of the pool immediately. Her exact words “you need to get out of the pool now. It closes at 11pm and you can’t be in here.” We proceeded to get out and were simply drying off. She came back and said “leave the pool area NOW!” So we left and trialed water all the way back to our room. Fast forward to about 2am. The bar had just closed and we had a friend who got a little tipsy. My husband and another friend were trying to get him to his room when the same rude staff member approached them and told them our friend was being too loud and to get him to his room or she’d call the police. My husband was trying to explain that that was exactly what they trying to do and she got confrontational with my husband, to the point my son in law felt he needed to step in. Staff member then turned on my son in law and told him to go back to his room or she’d call police on him as well. They were able to get our friend to his room without incident. Needless to say the whole experience left our whole group of 21 people feeling like we were treated very poorly. Considering how much money we spent on rooms, restaurant, and bar…a little respect would have been nice. Considering our first negative encounter was with the actual owner, we didn’t even feel as though mentioning the other experiences would have been worth the time. We likely won’t be returning even though I thoroughly enjoyed the mineral bath that came with our...

We were celebrating our 10 year anniversary. We started with camping, but after getting poison ivy and being rained out, we decided to switch gears and called to reserve the Couple's Package which included a night's stay, a mineral bath, a 30 minute massage, champagne, dinner, and breakfast. When we got there, they had us fill out health forms for the bath and massage. My wife had picked up some poison ivy while hiking the day before and disclosed it on the form. We both knew that would probably keep her from the massage, but we were OK with that. We went to our room and lounged around for an hour before our bath/massage time. When we went to the bath house, they told us that we needed to go to the hotel front desk. When we got there, we were told that the manager had said that not only could we not get the bath/massage, but that we could not stay at their hotel or eat in their restaurant (note that the manager didn't have the integrity to tell us, but instead had the front desk person do it). The woman at the desk then insinuated that this was all my fault because I didn't disclose that my wife had caught some poison ivy when I called to make the resurvation, to which I responded firmly that such an expectation was absurd.

I didn't have my credit card or or the other room key with me, so we returned to the room, me to get my wallet, and my wife to pack up, which she did tearfully. When I returned to the front desk, there was an Okawville police officer standing next to the desk. He was not there three minute prior when I was last at the desk. By no means was I happy with what had transpired, but never did I raise my voice or did anything else to warrant the presence of a man with a gun to supervise my check-out. I don't know for certain if he was called because of me, but when I was finished, the officer left.

Needless to say, they have forever lost our business. I shared this story with my dad who has been there several times before (he took me once when I was suffering from some really bad gouty arthritis), and he said that he and his wife will not be returning.

On a somewhat related note, when we told my in-laws we were going there, they shared that my wife's great great grandfather was one of the men who started the hotel and bath house. When we told them what happened to us there, my father-in-law said he hopes his great-grandpa haunts them for their behavior! (The hotel is supposed to be haunted).

As far as the building is concerned, our room looked like it had been updated sometime around 1985, one lamp didn't work, there was a dead power outlet, the lampshades for two lamps were torn, there was no toilet paper on the holder, and the sink was coming off the wall. Also, the outside of the building is desperately in need of a fresh...

This was the grossest trip I have ever been on. I seriously wanted to cry. Never in my life have I stayed at such an awful place. I thought the health department had to shut down places like this. Dead cockroaches on the pool deck, dead cockroaches in the pool. Gross. Pool bottom was never cleaned. The floor in our room felt grimy. I did not feel comfortable walking barefoot. Smoke detector in our room was hanging from the wall. Trash container in the pool area was never emptied during our stay. Bugs were hatching from the container. Gross. Floors throughout the hotel were extremely stained. Some wood was so soft, I was afraid of falling in (I'm not a big person). The hotel smelled so bad. My clothes stunk when I got home. Cobwebs in our room and in the bathroom The spa was seriously scary. Clearly the place had never been vacuumed. Peeling paint was just sitting on the floor. Multiple buckets on the floor to catch the leaky ceiling. It's clear they never empty the buckets. The massage was the worst one I have ever received. I would never pay what I did just to have someone barely rub me. The room also needed WAY more essential oils to cover up the gross smell of this hotel. The price of this place was insane. For half the price, you can stay almost anywhere and it would be cleaner. I mean, a Motel 6 would be a much nicer place to stay at less then half the price. Buy some minerals and put it in your bathtub. You'll have a better experience then this dump. Nothing to do in the area. Not even a nature trail. The only nearby grocery store was filled with expired food. The "bath" was seriously just a bath with "minerals." Not even a good tub. I have a nicer one in my house. The bath area was dimly lit. Felt EXTREMELY unsafe. Towels have bleach stains. I've stayed in MUCH better places for half the price. There is some cool history to the place, but that just makes me sad. This place is falling apart and the historic charm has not been taken care of. I love little Victorian B&Bs, this was not it. For now, I won't even bring my bag in the house. I'm parking my car in the sun. I'm afraid that I brought back cockroach eggs. I really could list way more here. Do not stay here. I'm convinced these positive reviews are from people who either work there, or who are friends with people...