Best Western Plus White Bear Country Inn — Hotel in White Bear Lake

BRIDES TO BE/LARGE PARTIES DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS POOR EXCUSE FOR A HOTEL. Last month, I got married at Kellerman’s Event Center in Downtown White Bear Lake. My fiancé and I booked 15 rooms at Best Western Plus White Bear Country Inn because it was very close to our venue and we wanted to end the night with our family and friends at Rudy’s Red Eye. We contacted the hotel on October 11, 2016 AN ENTIRE YEAR BEFORE OUR WEDDING. We signed the contract with Ashley Grongert the Director of Sales on October 17, 2016. Our guests were informed that the last day to book a room in our block was July 18, 2017. A month before that due date, my fiancé’s mother called to book another room but was informed that the entire block was full as well as the hotel. When I called to confirm if that information she was given was correct, I was told by Ashley that 11 out of the 15 were booked. This was the first red flag. They must have been giving our rooms away WELL before the July 18th deadline. We reached out to Ashley again on July 28, 2017 to get a list of who was going to be in the block. She sent us the list and everything looked good to go.

THE DAY BEFORE OUR WEDDING, I received a call from one of Best Western Plus White Bear Country Inn’s Front Desk staff that our entire block of rooms had been damaged by water and they would be moving our entire party to the Best Western in Shoreview. After speaking with Ashley, I told her that I needed to see the rooms because I personally didn’t believe they were being honest. She “assured” me that they indeed were damaged. Still not believing their story, my mom, aunt and I took a trip to Best Western to get a look ourselves.

When we arrived, I demanded to see the rooms. Ashley Grongert and Bill Foussard said we could not see the rooms and FINALLY came clean that they had double booked. Neither of them offered me ANYTHING to try and rectify the situation. They didn’t apologize for lying or waiting until the day before my wedding to let us know of the problem. I had to take it in my OWN hands to demand that all of our rooms be comped. I had to demand for a free meal at Rudy’s Redeye for me and my bridesmaids for the troubles. Bill Foussard who is the owner of the hotel and restaurant was reluctant to give me any of that. It wasn’t until I threatened a lawsuit that he gave in. I had to ask for a shuttle to get our guests to and from the wedding.

I asked Ashley who would be taking care of contacting all of our guests of the change. She assured me that Best Western Plus White Bear Country Inn would be contacting them. At 4:41 p.m. my guests still didn’t get a call from them. I sent an email to Ashley informing her of this. It wasn’t until 7:30 p.m. that my guests started getting calls. If I didn’t inform her of this, I don’t believe my guests would have ever been contacted.

Bill Foussard shared that he would be sending up a bottle of wine to our room, that bottle was never delivered. When I called the Front Desk, there was not a manager on duty that was aware of our situation. The day of the wedding I called the Front Desk and asked if the cleaning staff could go through our suite (that luckily didn’t get double booked) so the room looked nice for my fiancé. They came through the room when my bridesmaids and I were gone and made the bed (crappily) did NOT clean any of the breakfast tray we left or trash.

If I would have been treated with respect and kindness right off the bat and Best Western Plus White Bear Country Inn (Ashley & Bill) owned their mistakes, I think I would have been a lot more forgiving.

Bill Foussard, you may be the “face” of your business, but you DO NOT have a clue what it takes to truly be a successful and respected...

I’m going to try to write this in the most respectful manner possible but, I am very disappointed in this location. My girlfriend reserved a room for us on February 7th, 2024 for a friend’s wedding taking place near the hotel on June 8th, 2024. The day she reserved the room for us she spoke to an employee named Sarah who told her that we could get a late checkout time closer to the wedding time which is 4pm CST. Sarah said that we would just have to inquire about this at the time of check in and they will grant us the late checkout. Keep in mind that checkout time is normally 11am. To us, this means a checkout time later than 11am which is what any rational person would assume. We show up here on June 7th around 8:19pm CST to check in and the two employees (who were very kind) working at the front desk immediately tell us that checkout time must be at 11am. We kindly inform them about the conversation we had with Sarah and they say that the latest they could do is 2pm. We agreed and went up to our room to finish out the rest of our night. Around 10:40am on June 8th (the day of checkout) Sarah calls the hotel room phone and rudely insists that she never said anything about a late checkout time and that we must be gone by 12pm. We should also keep in mind that my girlfriend took very meticulous notes about her call with Sarah on the day of reservation. Whilst being on the phone with Sarah, we inform her that we were already told that 2pm is our checkout time. We also asked Sarah how they can just change it the day of so sporadically. Sarah insisted that we speak to the manager (Megan) about the issue. After a brief hold, we speak to Megan and she exclaims that she does not know why we’ve been told three different checkout times already and that we must be gone by 1:30pm. We have now be told four different checkout times at this point and it is frustrating. I personally ask Megan what would happen in the event we need to stay the extra thirty minutes (till 2pm) and she aggressively met me with “We’re going to call the police!” then slams the phone to hang up on me. Needless to say, I am very displeased with the miscommunication and lack of communication amongst the employees at this location as well as their customer service skills, specifically Megan and Sarah. I am typically not one to fight tooth and nail over slight inconveniences but, me and my girlfriend drove almost four hours from our residence to stay at this hotel near the wedding venue and we did not like the idea of being kicked out so much earlier than the wedding time after being informed on so many different checkout times. The way the situation was handled is very distasteful and unacceptable. We were also told that we would be charged an extra stay if we stayed past 12pm before speaking to the manager. Again, I’m not one to make a big deal over minor inconveniences but, wrong is wrong and we did not receive one apology for the miscommunication on their part throughout this incident. I feel like it’s also needless to say (but still needs to be said) that I will never be staying at this specific location again and will most likely never stay at a Best Western again. I do not want anyone losing their job over this disagreement but I do think some retraining would be...

My wife and I had a bit of a catastrophe which resulted in a need for us to take up residence in a motel for 44 days. The good news is that we stayed at the White Bear Lake Country Inn, a Best Western Plus motel. The “Plus” was an understatement.

We had a wonderful room overlooking the indoor pool area. This was not a typical pool area in that in addition to excellent pool features with tables and lounge chairs, a level above the pool offered seating for lunch, dinner and reception. It was noteworthy that these same table were used weekly for duplicate bridge and mahjong for White Bear Lake neighbors.

The Country Inn was a bit hampered by the covid situation, but they still managed to serve hot scrambled eggs and meat in addition to a variety of cold cereals, muffins and juices for breakfast. But that was only a bit of dining offerings.

The Inn offers two wonderful restaurants. The Rudy’s Redeye Grill is a very extensive menu with an excellent range of prices. When staying 44 days, we could not always take advantage of the outstanding high end entrees, but a wide range of moderately priced dinners were more than satisfying. (The prime rib is on special Thursdays.)

We had the good fortune to be at the Inn during the summer season when Rudy’s Rooftop Grill is in operation. The rooftop is not an adjunct to the main kitchen, rather it has its own kitchen and its own personality. Sharing many dishes, the rooftop also has its own items. It was noteworthy to me that the both restaurants featured bars that do not use shot glasses. “We don’t like the look.” One night I ordered a piece of chocolate cake. It took two people two days to eat it.

As a retired business analyst, I was taken by several details. The spirit of the staff was a standout that I learned came from the top. Leaders in each area were very attentive to their guests, but they were also attentive to their staff. Each seem to encourage their staff to learn and excel. Each encouraged a strong spirit and work ethic. I can’t recall seeing any staff just standing around. Each showed pride in their work and the house.

Staying so long, I of course became acquainted with the owner. He never failed to greet us and stop for a few words. Sometimes he would take a seat and to hear our story or discuss our daily plans. Always, if he stopped by while we were eating, he would bus our table. I learned there was no job in the house that he would not do.

My experience at the White Bear Lake Country Inn compels be to thank them for a wonderful experience by writing this review. White Bear Lake is a special little city in Minnesota. The Country Inn is a special...