Wilderness Resort Villas LLC — Hotel in Pequot Lakes

My family booked Villa 17 this past weekend and it was a disappointment from the moment we arrived. We have been doing these weekends twice a year for the past 30 years and this is the first time I felt the need to express our anger/disappointment in the property we rented. I'm not sure if the bulk of this falls on the fault of the management company or the unit owner but either way the overall impression on this customer was a lack of customer service and attention to detail. It did not meet the expectations of a high end resort. ||When we arrived and opened the garage door to unload our bikes, coolers, and lawn games we were shocked. The garage floor was very dirty with leaves and gravel that had accumulated since last fall. Our first order of business on our "vacation" was to sweep out the garage so we didn't track it all in the Villa. We did not take the time to clean all of the cobwebs and "stuff" hanging along the ceiling but I have included a picture to show you what welcomed us. We actually had to put the rug that was in the garage on the doorstep outside because it only added to the kitchen floor dirt. ||Once inside the Villa the floors didn't get any better. We had to request a mop and clean the kitchen floor before we even felt comfortable unloading our food. There was spilled "bean-dip" in the living room carpet that clearly had not been cleaned or vacuumed since the last renters. There was dust (and not just a little dust) on every picture frame in the place and we could write our names in the dust on the coffee table. Clearly, NO attention to detail and this wasn't just a one time over-look of the dusting. It is months of dust build up. Pictures to show you what we saw. The ironic part of this is that the 4 people who cleaned our unit actually asked for a "tip" for their cleaning services. Isn't that what we are paying for when we rent it???? ||You have a 5 bedroom villa that sleeps at least 10 people. Wouldn't it be logical that if it sleeps 10 that there would be enough silverware for 10 people? There was only enough silverware for 8 people. When we called the office to get an additional two place settings we were told it wasn't your problem and that it was up to the Villa owner to provide those. What kind of service is that???? So we ate in shifts for our first meal and then it was off to Pequot Lakes to buy two sets of silverware so we could eat as a family at the next meal. However, we had another "surprise" before we could eat our next meal. You advertise "gas grills" but when it came time to eat dinner and start the grill, there was NO propane. It is so nice going door to door to see if we could borrow a propane tank so we could use the grill. We eventually got the grill going but when it came time to serve the meal we found out there were NO serving bowls. By the way, if you are going to be a resort that doesn't have ice makers that work you should at least have ice available at the office for sale. Running to town to pick up ice is not convenient. If you are keeping track there were at least 3 trips to town to get items that should have been stocked in a resort of this caliber. ||On Saturday morning the sun was shining bright. We wanted to close the shades a bit so the people on the couch weren't blinded. Low and behold there were only about 6 vanes left on the blind and all the rest were broken and/or missing. The kitchen table looks more like a workbench in a garage than something we should be eating on. It is also too small and had limmited chairs for a cabin that is 5 bedrooms and accommodates 10 people. ||We paid a lot of money to rent a nice Villa and we were shocked at the condition of the unit. We learned quickly that there is no satisfaction gained by calling the office for help. It was clear that the management company did not care one bit if our stay was good or bad. || We still managed to make the most of it and enjoyed time with family but I felt that we needed to let you know that compared to other resorts we have stayed at this one falls far below the reasonable expectations of a resort...

My family booked Villa 17 this past weekend and it was a disappointment from the moment we arrived. We have been doing these weekends twice a year for the past 30 years and this is the first time I felt the need to express our anger/disappointment in the property we rented. I'm not sure if the bulk of this falls on the fault of the management company or the unit owner but either way the overall impression on this customer was a lack of customer service and attention to detail. It did not meet the expectations of a high end resort. When we arrived and opened the garage door to unload our bikes, coolers, and lawn games we were shocked. The garage floor was very dirty with leaves and gravel that had accumulated since last fall. Our first order of business on our "vacation" was to sweep out the garage so we didn't track it all in the Villa. We did not take the time to clean all of the cobwebs and "stuff" hanging along the ceiling but I have included a picture to show you what welcomed us. We actually had to put the rug that was in the garage on the doorstep outside because it only added to the kitchen floor dirt. Once inside the Villa the floors didn't get any better. We had to request a mop and clean the kitchen floor before we even felt comfortable unloading our food. There was spilled "bean-dip" in the living room carpet that clearly had not been cleaned or vacuumed since the last renters. There was dust (and not just a little dust) on every picture frame in the place and we could write our names in the dust on the coffee table. Clearly, NO attention to detail and this wasn't just a one time over-look of the dusting. It is months of dust build up. Pictures to show you what we saw. The ironic part of this is that the 4 people who cleaned our unit actually asked for a "tip" for their cleaning services. Isn't that what we are paying for when we rent it???? You have a 5 bedroom villa that sleeps at least 10 people. Wouldn't it be logical that if it sleeps 10 that there would be enough silverware for 10 people? There was only enough silverware for 8 people. When we called the office to get an additional two place settings we were told it wasn't your problem and that it was up to the Villa owner to provide those. What kind of service is that???? So we ate in shifts for our first meal and then it was off to Pequot Lakes to buy two sets of silverware so we could eat as a family at the next meal. However, we had another "surprise" before we could eat our next meal. You advertise "gas grills" but when it came time to eat dinner and start the grill, there was NO propane. It is so nice going door to door to see if we could borrow a propane tank so we could use the grill. We eventually got the grill going but when it came time to serve the meal we found out there were NO serving bowls. By the way, if you are going to be a resort that doesn't have ice makers that work you should at least have ice available at the office for sale. Running to town to pick up ice is not convenient. If you are keeping track there were at least 3 trips to town to get items that should have been stocked in a resort of this caliber. On Saturday morning the sun was shining bright. We wanted to close the shades a bit so the people on the couch weren't blinded. Low and behold there were only about 6 vanes left on the blind and all the rest were broken and/or missing. The kitchen table looks more like a workbench in a garage than something we should be eating on. In case you are thinking that I have overreacted or that I embellished our experience I have included pictures. The picture looking out the basement patio door is a bit hard to see but you can see the fingerprints or pet prints on the glass that were not cleaned before we rented it. We still managed to make the most of it and enjoyed time with family but I felt that we needed to let you know that compared to other resorts we have stayed at this one falls far below the reasonable expectations of a resort...

This was our first and last visit to this resort. We met up with my brother's family from OH, and we traveled from WA. We chose this resort b/c of the space provided in the villas, and the fact that we could rent a boat for fishing onsite. While we had a good time, and enjoyed our time with family, we will not return to this property. I am listing below the good, bad and the ugly. With some improvements, this resort could be a stellar property.||GOOD:||(+)villa is very spacious, perfect for large family gatherings, excellent view of lake from deck, and has its own firepit, kids loved the pool table downstairs||(+) reasonable rental rate; we got a special "stay for 7 nts, pay for 5" rate||(+) gym onsite is good size, husband used this almost every day, one of the reasons we chose this property||(+) only a 10 min drive to Nisswa, an adorable small town||(+) Dee dee in the office had great customer service skills - very personable and friendly||(+) new playset by beach area was great for our 4 year old - great view of lake||BAD:||(-) beach area is unkempt, with equipment strewn about; sand never raked, so old bandaids and bird poop are found in mornings; used diaper left for 2 days near ||playset area; an employee needs to be assigned to manage/ tidy up this space daily||(-) nice to have free use of kayaks, but equipment is all broken (no backs in kayak), and don't count on lifejackets - few that were there were in very sad shape||(-) property is advertised to have a "lodge" but this is a building near beach area that has ice creams and apparel locked up - to get access you must call the already over stressed front desk staff to come and unlock for you||(-) the pontoon we rented was in rough shape; the shifter handle looked as if it would break at any moment||(-) several of the front desk employees seemed very stressed out, like there is not enough help for property (which is also visible)||(-) pool was not in operation until our day of departure, due to a child pooping in pool (obviously not resort's fault), but it took from Mon- Fri to get pool up and running, so we didn't get to use it||UGLY:||(-) (-) Bruce, the grounds keeper/ maintenance man/ jack of all trades was VERY RUDE to us - came to our villa door and yelled at me b/c he couldn't find the key to the pontoon boat we used the day prior; I had returned it to the front office the evening before (Connie, the front desk worker, told me to do so), but it couldn't be located the next morning. He threw up his hands and yelled "the keys stay in the boat!!! why did you take it out????" . He then stormed off, shaking his head. We did not know this rule and were trying to prevent someone from taking off with the boat. This was all very upsetting. Especially since this man lives on property. We tried to steer clear of him the rest of the trip.||||Overall, you can see this place has some great qualities, and ones that need improvement. If you bring your own fishing boat and don't plan to use the beach area, you are probably fine. The cabins are in rough shape though (according to other guest I spoke with...