Hidden Moose Lodge — Hotel in Whitefish

I was supposed to go on a trip on 8/30 (last Wednesday) to Montana, but due to Hurricane Harvey this became impossible as the airports out of the city were closed. Without any question the airline refunded my money, as they should.

While on this trip I was going to be making a 2 day trip to Glacier National Park where I planned to stay one night at the #HiddenMooseLodge. Prior to Hurricane Harvey making landfall I called the hotel to see what my options were as it appeared this was going to be a catastrophic storm. They couldn’t give me a straight answer. On 8/28, I had my friend contact the hotel to see what my options were because my flights had been canceled and I had been stuck at work. They told me that they would credit my deposit towards a futuristic stay, which I was happy with.

On 8/31 I looked at their website as I was now able to sit down and try to replan this trip. I noticed that the rooms were nearly $100 cheaper a night than they were when I booked my room. I proceeded to call the hotel to simply ask them if I would be able to be refunded the excess money due to there being a difference in the room costs. When I called, I spoke to Kent Taylor, the owner of the hotel. After I tried to explain to Kent my whole situation he was very abrupt with me, stating that it was breakfast time at the lodge and he was “too much to talk to me right now”. This rubbed me wrong! I was very upset that a simple question could turn into this. Kent later told me in an email that he had guests standing in front of him and they took priority over my phone call.. this fine, I get it. However, why don’t you answer the phone and say “yes ma’am, I’m helping a guest at the moment could I put you on hold or give you a call back?” Rather than “I’m too busy to speak to you at the moment.”

After Kent hung up the phone I attempted to call the toll free number listed on their website in attempts to speak to someone who could give me the time of day, possibly someone not located at the actual resort so they weren’t too busy. Well I had no such luck. I got ahold of Kent again.. once he realized it was me he laughed at me and told me again that he didn’t have time for me.

From here, I contacted my credit card company to see if there was anything I could do since I was getting any respect from the hotel.

We (the credit card company and myself) called the hotel the following day and spoke to Kent again. Kent was still rude, insensitive to my situation, and had zero empathy. At one point I was trying to explain to Kent again my situation with the Hurricane and everything being flooded and how I would be there if I could... his response to this was “I know, you’ve already told me 3 times..” Also, several times during our conversation the credit card representative had to ask Kent to please be quiet and let me finish talking.

With all of this being said I proceeded to file a dispute with the credit card company because I do not want to give this man or his business any of my money. I followed up by emailing the company and letting them know I would be filing a dispute, writing his company a bad review due to the way I was treated over a simple question, and I was sincerely disappointed in their lack of customer service. Kent’s response was as follows “Slamming me every where you can is definitely your right and keeping your deposit is my prerogative.  However,  I really don’t want the money therefore, I am making a donation to the Harvey hurricane relief fund in your name.  For the greater good.”

Not only will he not give me my money back “because he had to turn away customers due to my reservation” that he had no problem rebooking on 9/1 (my reservation date). He has no lost wages in this situation due to being able to rebook the room, he still won’t give me a refund.. instead he’s going to “donate” my money, which I doubt...

I just had a fantastic three night winter stay / couple's getaway at Hidden Moose Lodge. It was evident throughout our entire experience that the lodge is expertly maintained and operated. The staff were attentive, and friendly. We enjoyed a hearty, nutritious breakfast made from scratch every day in the large dining room, and freshly brewed coffee, included in our room rate. We stayed in the 700 square foot ‘Big Sky Suite’, which offers the 'log cabin in the mountains' feel that I was going for. It is thoughtfully designed and built, very spacious, but also cozy, and flooded with natural light all day and evening. We got lots of use out of the sitting areas, and high-quality natural looking gas fireplace in the suite. There’s a huge private south and west facing deck off the suite. There’s a TV and cable too, if you need it. The king bed was very comfortable. We also enjoyed the hot tub, tucked behind the main building, with a nice view of the forest. Hidden Moose Lodge has a solid location as a base for activities in the Whitefish area. It is walkable to a good range of restaurants, is an under 10-minute drive to the base of Whitefish Mountain Resort, and it’s easy to get to Glacier Park and many other recreation areas within a pleasant and scenic drive. The only slight downside (and this is not the fault of HML), is that the south and west facing suites and rooms have considerable road noise from heavy pickup truck and full-size SUV traffic during the evening/night and morning hours. Cars were noticeably not the problem. After our first few hours, we mitigated most of this for the rest of our night times with a Bluetooth speaker playing white noise. If a quiet sleep is your top priority, I would recommend one of their rooms on the quiet east side of the building facing the forest instead, but the Big Sky Suite is more my style. Kudos to the owners; it’s an awesome business and property you have! We have recommended HML to family and friends, and I’ll be back...

We got married in Glacier National Park in Sept 2023 and stayed here with some of our wedding party. We absolutely loved it here! The log cabin and decor was exactly the aesthetic I was looking for. The staff were all very nice and welcoming!

Worth the money! Complimentary beer/wine upon check in. Room rates include fresh cooked breakfast every morning. This was a booking factor for us so we could spend more time with our friends without having to leave the lodge and try to find somewhere to park and eat without a long wait time. **also helpful on wedding day as my makeup/hair was from 7am - 10. I was able to have my maid of honor run up and grab me some food and coffee!

Pet friendly! This was a huge plus for us as our dog was part of our wedding. Be sure to bring your own doggy waste bags.

Clean and comfortable! We stayed in the garden suite and it was perfect for us to hang out outside with our friends and our little dog was able to run around and have fun too. We had our own entrance which made it easy for our hair and makeup artists to come in and out without disturbing other guests. The room was clean and the bed was really comfortable! The hot tub was clean and the grounds are well cared for. The lodge was completely booked during our stay but we never noticed. The lodge was really quiet and relaxing during our stay.

Location. The lodge is right off of a busy road but we didn’t notice any roadside noise. The trees help block the road from your balcony. 5 minute drive to downtown Whitefish. We ate at Jalisco Cantina and Piggyback BBQ down the road and both were really good! The parking lot can fill up quickly at night. We carpooled with other people so it wasn’t really an issue for us.

We plan on staying here again for our 1 year...