Enchanted Castle Hotel — Hotel in Regent

First, let's discuss the story. Regent, ND is an agricultural town in the rural midwest. Population is around 100, give or take. With the advancement of technology and increase in corporate farming, these small towns have been slowly dwindling out of existence.

One man had a vision (still holds that vision) to attract people to this rural town and bring more economy to the area. Thus, the creation of the Enchanted Castle & Enchanted Highway. The hotel was the old Regent High School.

The hotel was very clean, the standard room was extra large. It included 2 queens, a sitting area with wet bar, mini fridge, and microwave, large bathroom with 2 sinks and shower. 2 TVs, one in front of beds, 1 in wet bar area. There were no "chemical smells" a previous review mentioned. Traditional wall AC unit. The bar area was very warm and welcoming, the dining ambiance wasn't anything special (the castle theme carried throughout), but the food was very good.

The owner, Gary, operates on minimal staffing, so after hours checkin requires going down to the bar and getting assistance. And the wait at the restaurant can be a little longer than usual, but the customer service is fantastic. You can tell how much it all means to Gary. His latest sculpture is a knight and dragon in a battle, just outside the hotel. Upon completion, (2 years Gary said), the dragon will breathe fire!

There is a full sized gymnasium with basketballs/hoops, 2 8 person hot tubs, good sized gym up stairs from the gym (not ADA accessible), sitting area in lobby and outside. Although the warm weather brings mosquitoes, so outside seating isn't really an option in the evening. There is some wear on in areas as it is a converted school, but what has been done is phenomenal. Come here with an open mind, and a relaxed state, and you will enjoy it to the fullest.

There are some wonderful things to do in the area if you love art, history, and/or hunting, but it does require driving. The Enchanted Highway is a must! To see the decades of work by Gary is absolutely phenomenal. There is a beautiful Catholic Church in Loffer, ND, (along the route) almost 100 years old built by Hungarian settlers. There is an area museum in on Main St, but we did not have time to visit it. Lemmon, SD is about an hour away with the World's Largest Petrified Wood Sculpture Park with an attached museum, Kokomo's Gallery (Where you see the amazing metal work of John Lopez), and Grand River Museum (western history and dinosaur fossils from the area, with some displays about Creationist Theory).

The best part of visiting this area is how friendly everyone is. Everyone waves on the from their cars as you pass by each other. All these sites and attractions were created by locals who have a love and passion for their communities! It really shows, and it an experience all in itself.

I highly recommend the Enchanted Castle and a visit to the area. It is a true diamond off the beaten path! Hopefully it will grow and Gary's vision will come to fruition. I plan...

I will start this review with a positive; the concept of this hotel was smart and the advertising to get guests in is very good as well.||Now for the not so positive review.|We arrived around 10 pm and the bar was still open so we dropped our luggage in the room and went to enjoy a drink at the bar.|Staff and guests there were friendly- nice atmosphere.|We returned to our room and pulled back the bed sheets to find bugs in both beds.|There was also blood on the bathroom toilet and hair in the shower.||We brought personnel into the room to view it and were moved to a new room.||The time was now close to 1am.||In the new room, we found clumps of human hair on a chair and when we pulled back the sheets there was hair in both beds- but no bugs.||We were told when getting the 2nd room there were no other rooms available, so we were pretty much stuck with this room.||I was pretty disgusted by the condition experienced in both rooms that I could either sleep in my car or sleep on top of the blankets.|Being so tired and needing an early start - I did not sleep between the sheets, but did sleep on the bed.||I checked out the continental breakfast (room) in the morning.|The first thing I noticed was a dirty fly swatter on top of the table.|The exterior of the garbage cans were filthy- unlikely they were ever cleaned.|The room just showed tired and dirty.||Walking through the place in daylight you notice how unkept, drab and smelly the building actually is. It’s had better days and really needs attention.||It’s really sad that they are so understaffed ( each staff member performs multiple jobs) and whether it’s because there aren’t enough applying to work there or because the owner wants to keep costs down- it’s effecting the potential beauty and longevity of the place.||It is a unique place and the owner really should take the business more ‘seriously’ and hire qualified people to bring it back up to standard….and back to life!||I was really glad I hadn’t eaten there. This experience will be stuck with me for awhile.|I cannot recommend this place unless they do a major upgrade on staff, rooms and building. |Otherwise I see a short life span in its future.||I hope the owner reads this and takes it to heart to drive...

Have to really give them credit for an imaginative business in a remote part of southwest North Dakota. Castle theme is carried through from the front facade to the lobby to the shower curtains. Full size, wood floor gym with lots of basketballs, a Foosball table, a few sets of corn hole to play. Exercise room with nearly ten pieces of equipment. Two hot tubs that work well though a little dated. Continental breakfast was light, but area was clean and well maintained. Rooms are clean and all have a separate bar area with sink and mini fridge. Restaurant and bar look pretty nice. Bar particularly is decorated with medieval theme more than other areas. Throughout lobby and main hallway are many suits of armor the owner has built. His metal work is on display with weapons, shields, other artwork and obviously featured on the Enchanted Highway, and in front of the hotel with a dragon and knight sculpture. Owner is a friendly man and seems to be hands on with his business as he was checking the continental breakfast on a Sunday morning.

Couple of improvements could happen. Some stains on the carpets in high traffic areas, ceiling tiles stained with little water leaks, pillow cases yellowed with age, towels getting thin, paint scraped off walls. All...