The Great Bear Inn — Hotel in West Glacier

Though the accommodations are nice and the location is close to the West Entrance of Glacier National Park, the new owners are not hospitable people and seem a bit unhinged.... For example, we arrived late one evening from Glacier Park, around 9:00 pm, and I was planning to make some spaghetti for a later dinner for my two kids. When I looked for a pot to boil the noodles, however, I couldn't find one, and then I saw the sign by the phone in the cabin that read "If|you need anything," to call their service number. When I called the number, there was no answer, and since I had stayed at the Great Bear Inn before, I walked over to the main building, which was always open for guests, to find someone to help.||When I found the place quiet and the manager's office closed, however, I went into the public kitchen area and took a pot, walked back to my cabin, and made the spaghetti. After my family ate the food, I washed and cleaned the pot and returned it to the kitchen.||The following day I called the landlady, named "Bunny," and asked what I needed to do to check out the following day. When she asked me why I had called the previous night, I explained I needed to borrow a pot to cook spaghetti, but after I tried calling and then walked over to the office and found no one to help, I borrowed one from the public kitchen area, used it to boil the noodles, and after eating, I had cleaned the pot and promptly returned it to the kitchen.||Bunny was irate and scolded me for doing this, insinuating that I had broken some sort of unpublished rule that the kitchen was off limits to guests. When I objected and said that I had both called and walked to the office for help, she was became rude to me, saying that she had an early bedtime schedule and could not be bothered after 9:00 pm. When I expressed my dissatisfaction at this blatant disregard of the customer's need, she became hostile, and when I told her that I had paid over $1500 to stay in the supposedly furnished cabin for three nights and therefore had a reasonable expectation to have the place furnished as was stated in the advertisement. When Bunny insisted that the pot I had needed was included in the kitchen area, I looked once again and finally found it -- but it was stored behind a wooden panel that was stuck due to poor maintenance of the property. When I explained this to her she was entirely unsympathetic and cold toward me... Honestly she seemed a bit unhinged and unstable....||I have no ill-will toward Bunny and her husband Larry who manage the new version of the "Great Bear Inn." I had stayed at the resort twice before in previous years and under the former management my experience then was happy and the service was excellent. However I can no longer recommend the Great Bear Inn because the new management apparently has no idea of what decent customer service means.||Let me close by saying that on the day of our departure, Larry, the husband of Bunny, aggressively came to the cabin and pounded on the door telling us to get out because it was almost 11:00 AM. At the time I was washing dishes we used there because there was a sign posted that said that all residents must wash the dishes before leaving, but Larry told me to just forget it and get out... He and Bunny then sat in their noisy ATV jeep in front of cabin until we finished packing the car and we drove off.... Disgraceful and childish behavior, to say the least, and I will NEVER stay at the Great Bear Inn again.||For these and other reasons, not the least being the $500 per night price for staying there, I EMPHATICALLY DO NOT RECOMMEND THE...

My husband and I travel quite frequently and I do not usually do reviews on TripAdvisor, but in this instance, I absolutely cannot tell you what a wonderful time we had here. I could go on and on and talk about the accommodations, the location, and all of that, but you can easily just read about it yourself, and it will all be accurate. But what you don’t know and what I am more than happy to express are the proprietors of this quaint Lodge, their names are Bunny and Larry. Staying here was like staying at your favorite aunt uncle‘s house, they made you feel so welcome, they were so warm and inviting and extremely personable. Such down to earth people that exuded kindness and sincerity. So many times you travel and you’re doing all kinds of fun stuff and then you kind of grown thinking you gotta go back to your hotel where doors are slam shut in just the overall coldness in Impersonal nature of a hotel, and this place is exactly the opposite. I never slept in a more comfortable bed. You wake up in the morning, and the smell of breakfast freshly made from scratch is being cooked by both bunny and Larry together upstairs in their kitchen and having it ready for you almost in a cook to order style fashion. Food isn’t just sitting there on Heating elements. The charm and the love that Bunny and Larry have not only for each other, but for their guests is insurmountable . I truly felt like I knew them all my life, they are always readily available to answer any questions or if you have any concerns about your room or where is the best place to have a beer and burger in town, they could give you all the advice you could ever need about what trails and hikes and stuff to do at glacier. Staying here was the most welcome respite from a long day of hiking and sightseeing, etc., I really looked forward to coming back to the lodge every evening just knowing I was going to be well rested and ready for the next day ahead. Everything from all of the decorations inside the lodge to the beautifully well groomed grounds outside, with the occasional deer and lots of hummingbirds, and just the sounds of other birds in the background and the hum of the train coming through just really made you feel like you were somewhere extremely special. If you want a special place to stay, that’s off the beaten path off of State Road two but still extremely close to the little towns and to the entrance of West glacier, and want to feel like you’re staying at a well loved relatives house, this is the...

Terrible customer service. We planned to stay here as a good jumping off point for GNP adventures and to partake in their 'reputable' hospitality. Except all of our additional lodging and excursions for the long labor day weekend are closed due to current and ongoing fire, Lake McDonald Lodge for the rest of the season as a case in point. Yes, you have a strict no-cancel policy, but acts of nature and special circumstances should prevail, especially when all of this fire is essentially 7 miles away. Sorry, not interested in just spending all my time in your Lodge, suffering through poor air quality with our toddler, and not being able to partake in other thrills. You're a lovely location, but... our call to cancel was met with 'we'll refund you half of your 2 night stay as a credit, good for 1 year' and well, 'it's supposed to rain soon, it's not really that bad here, and we're a desirable place to stay'... sure that fixes nothing for us, but if true you should have no issues finding a replacement for our vacated reservation, making your policy an even more robust smack in the face. Terrible customer service which creates just the right amount of friction for us to never want to stay there and take advantage of our extra special credit. So after you fill our vacated slot with a waitlist patron, you'll be sure to earn not just 1.5 times the price on the same room, but double. Ugh!!! 1 star because I have to choose one. Beware patrons, acts of nature (which are growing in severity in this area) are sure to mean this lodge will earn your money, pigeon hole you into a no refund policy, and then ensure they always stay fund positive when you have to cancel for natural...