Grand Bear Resort at Starved Rock

Nikki Torkelsen

2024-05

These poor reviews are funny to me because this is a resort in Illinois. It's definitely up to par. The food was good. I had an issue with the pull out couch being broken and it was fixed within thirty minutes. My kids loved the water park. It's not the cleanest I've ever been to but also felt fine getting into all the water. The proximity to beautiful parks are a great bonus. Had a great experience.

Audrey Albano

2024-04

I think the staff here was excellent. Some of the reviews though are very concerning. Luckily we were only staying to visit someone who lives nearby. My child surely would have spent hours in the water park had it been open. And I am now thinking it was a blessing they were not. If not for the people getting sick/extreme health issues reported, we would have definitely stayed here again. Now I am thinking we will be staying elsewhere. But if not for that issue this would be a 10/10 stay.

Jill Rockrohr

2024-05

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Jolie Cox

2024-01

Not too shabby for a quick weekend trip. Very affordable. Water park is decent (needs some repair but overall decent) the arcade is really nice, the restaurant in the building is really good, the food was great! I liked the little ice cream donut and coffee area. The kids watched a movie upstairs at 7pm and really enjoyed it.Next time I’ll come when the weather is nicer so we can hike. I noticed they had several outdoor play areas and mini golf too! The reviews are mixed here but—I enjoyed it.

dcarlson

2024-04

DO NOT STAY HERE!!! Understaffed. Unclean.It is apparent that the owner of this hotel does not value their employees. If they were valued, there would have been at least ONE employee that did not obviously dislike their job and very clearly did not want to be there. And not once did we see a Manager working.We paid far too much money to stay here and have such a low value experience, service and accommodations.On our first night, there were zero life guards on duty and so the lazy river, the wave pool and the slides were closed. Not to mention that it was a free for all and people were doing whatever they wanted regardless of other people around them and the safety of others.On the second night, people were feeling skin and eye irritations and finally got someone to test the water. Turned out that the chlorine was too high and they had to close the waterpark for the night.It is so unfortunate also. This hotel could be really nice if it was properly managed. But until this changes - save your money and look for someplace else!

Xochitl Stafford

2024-04

Would we stay again? Probably not. For the amount you pay for a 2-night stay is the same for a resort at the Dells. Use your $$$ somewhere else.Did my kids have fun? Yes. But the way I would describe the waterpark is like the Super 8 or waterparks. When was the last time the pool had any maintenance or a good cleaning? It’s incredibly dingy and I prayed we didn’t walk out of there with a skin infection.Our room was nice, it was really clean and I had a sigh of relief given previous reviews.The staff was not very friendly and almost seemed annoyed when you needed help or had a question. They all looked miserable and the place seemed to be understaffed.I’m sad that I wouldn’t consider staying again because it’s so close to home. If it had a little more TLC it could be a great place.

M0th_Wingz

2024-04

CHOOSE SOMEPLACE ELSE. Save your money!My experience was awful.The rooms are barely cleaned, the couch smells, and the dishes were dirty. The service was horrible and staff were quite rude. We paid for early check in, but we didn't get our room until 5:00 pm. We did nothing for over 3 hours just waiting for our hotel room, which turned out to be disgusting and unsanitary. kid ran up and down the hallways above us and on our floor. It was loud and obnoxious.The waterpark was extremely run down and the water was tinted a strange brownish color. Children pooped in the pool extremely often. The arcade was unbearably hot. Games rigged and a waste of money. For whatever reason, you are unable to get food after 8:00pm.Worst part? This all happened on the first day of our visit. We left the next day and went to a different hotel.I will not ever be visiting Grand Bear Resort ever again.

schaenon denum

2024-02

This was a perfect get away for our family. The water park is geared toward younger kids, and my 3yo LOVED it.Our room was great- no complaints. Service from employees was satisfactory. Everyone was friendly and doing their best.The wrist band situation was irritating- each day is a different color wrist band and you have to get the wrist bands yourself each day.Overall, we will definitely go again!

Toni Holder Flanagan

2024-03

Besides problems with room reservations and billing, the resort is very nice and offers rustic lobby areas and a very nice indoor waterpark area. We attended a wedding upstairs, which was a semi private area. It was nice, however noise from the lobby area was loud with few people... I can't imagine hearing much of a ceremony if there were many people in the lobby.Otherwise the banquet room where the food, bar set up and dancing was was a great space, very large and the buffet food was very good.Beautiful building and beautiful grounds. Ample parking.Once at the resort you must drive to get to anything surrounding.Nearby activities: Cute downtown Utica area with many new wineries

Mari Valery

2024-01

It was alright I guess don't know how to describe. When we came in into our rooms the bathroom toilet and shower don't work well but the rest of the room was fine. The water park pretty fun great place for everyone of all ages. Arcade was okay could be better with better games, very small space, also they're was a lot of games out of order we lefted early. Food was good I'll say, the parks outside and near more activities it's the best place for the kids also the staffs do be good at their jobs. It's a three since I'm an adult but could be a 5 for the kids point of view

Chase O

2024-04

We have been going to Grand Bear Lodge for the last 4 years. It was a good place for a weekend trip with our son.Unfortunately, I must strongly recommend NOT going to this place. There has always been a lack of staffing since we began going here, but it has never been a glaring issue. The last 2 times we have gone, multiple parts of the park have been down for maintenance or lack of staffing. This last trip was almost humorous with the number of issues we witnessed. We stayed Thursday night 3/28 through Saturday night 3/31We drove there late Thursday 3/28, double checking the website for any issues the hotel might have, and feeling somewhat comforted they had a special Spring Break schedule during the time we were going. Weekdays, the park was scheduled for calm waters, during the day, with wave pool and slides turning on at 4pm. The water park is supposed to be in full swing on Saturday and Sunday. In reality, there was only one slide that was on for a day and a half; and the wave pool was on MAYBE 4 hours of our stay..The first night, we watched as 20-30 kids lined up, excited for the slide to open. We only learned they didn’t have the staff, to open the slide or activate the wave pool, after multiple parents went to the lifeguard desk. Not even the front desk knew of the situation. I couldn’t even get the Thursday manager to look me in the eyes or talk to me about the situation. She had the front desk give me a $10 arcade card which I didn’t even ask for, but thanks I guess? All these kids are lining up, waiting in line for 25 minutes, for something that isn’t even opening. Not sure if the staffing or lack of communication is worse.Over the next 3 days of our stay, the wave pool was only on Saturday morning for 4 hours. The slide was on for part of Friday and Saturday.In addition, we made 6 trips to lobby to fix our key, there was a quarter inch gap in our room door you could see through, the room isn’t that clean, there was no tv remote, there is only one working ice machine, and one night the restaurant was open but out of almost everything INCLUDING PIZZA.There are good people that work here but unfortunately this place is quickly getting run down and seems very poorly managed. We payed the hotel for 3 nights in a water park hotel. We were not given one warning prior to checking in that we would not be getting our money’s worth. If I wanted to swim in a normal pool, I could have gone down the road and paid a lot less.

Eva P

2024-04

This resort must have been quite the destination one upon a time. Now all that’s lefts is a run down shell is its former glory. There is so much potential here being so close to the chicago suburbs under the right management it could become a great destination.Villas- Pros- very spacious, large kitchen, jacuzzi tub and fireplace in master.Cons- everything is old and falling apart, a lot of it could be fixed by simply deep cleaning the condo. Simply washing the walls would go a long way.Water park- had some fun features but is small for the amount of condos and rooms the resort has, so is always over crowded. It would be great if they opened up the indoor amusement park across the road to spread out the guests.Water park is also filthy and the pool itself needs a drained deep cleaning.Watch your kids closely because there are not enough lifeguards, during calm waters there were no life guards at all.The arcade was fun for the kids, and the restaurants on site actually served ok food. Perhaps apart from the pool maybe the main building is better maintained?Did our kids have fun here? Most definitelyWill we be back? Absolutely not, we will be sticking with Timber ridge and Great Wolf lodge.Would love to see this resort be revamped, there is so much potential here.

Douglas Torbeck

2024-04

We had a nice vacation here. I love that it's so close to several parks. Also some good fossil hunting nearby. Kids had a good time at the waterpark. And the open alcohol rule from the bar was definitely a plus . . . The food at the resort was ok. Needed stronger flavors. Anyways, we will definitely be coming back.Nearby activities: State parks and museum. Fossils.

Brittany Sonntag

2024-03

Just don't! My husband and I rented one of the "Vacation Villas" for a quick getaway weekend with our 13 month old. We were looking forward to a relaxing weekend away from home. What we got was a dingy DIRTY room and a Waterpark that was shut down (they call it calm waters)for the weekend. I literally pulled all the bedding off and washed it before we could sleep in it. The floor in the kitchen had a giant crack in the tile that had ants crawling out of it, the ceiling in the kitchen was cracked and leaked water when we took a shower in the upstairs bathroom. The carpet was FILTHY, I found an old vacuum in the closet and used it downstairs so my 13 month old could be on the floor. The jacuzzi tub was so gross that my husband went and bought bleach to clean it all out before we could use it. There was so much hair all over the bathroom floor upstairs and in the large bedroom. The walls were literally turning black from so much dirt. And when we went to leave, we moved the couches to make sure my son's toys weren't under there, there was so much old food under them, like they've never been moved. And this was the room they gave us after we complained about how gross the first room was when it had no bedding on the king bed and the comforters on the queen beds had white crusty stuff all over them and the floors were filthy. They said "oh this one is so much better" I think it might have been worse! Just save your money. We will never be back! Ever.

Jake

2024-02

First off, we paid extra so we can check-in early but unfortunately when we arrived, Cabin wasn’t ready yet so we waited for 2 hours in the lobby. When we finally got in the cabin, floor was dirty. Sticky and wasn’t swept or mopped. The couches are super disgusting. The color of the couch wasn’t brown anymore it’s black because of the dirt. I don’t think it hasn’t been cleaned in years. Bathrooms were outdated and needed maintenance. Paint chipping off and stains. Rooms smells moldy. Our entire stay there wasn’t comfortable but we drove two hour so we had no choice but to stay. I know it’s cabin but at least clean it thoroughly make it look presentable if you want people to continue to stay there. Waterpark is disgusting. Very outdated, rusted and too much chlorine that will hurt your eyes. I’m really surprised that people still continue to stay there. Go somewhere else or find out for yourself. I warned you. I’m sure the other reviews that gave this place a 5 stars are hired to give good reviews.

Kendra Sheppard

2024-04

Super friendly! The water slides wasn’t on the whole time we were there, we stayed Saturday-Wednesday! The website said everything would be on and working! Cabin 24-4 basement floods when it rains so we had to move cabins, they moved us to cabin 24-1 the room with the bunk beds downstairs has bed bugs. We were refunded only half our money back!

Blonde. Bomb

2024-04

The pictures are deceiving on their website. My son in law got a villa for our family for my daughters birthday weekend and I flew in. It was in a beautiful location away from the city but the carpet was torn up and we had 90"s tv. The water park was shut down the second day we were there they said scheduled maintenance or something like that. If they just do a little upgrading it would be great.Rooms: Needs to be updatedFood & drinks: They have a restaurant.

Kayla Austin

2024-03

The waterpark in this place is a joke. Swim here at your own risk. The employees along with higher management do not care about the safety or overall health of guests at all. The water can make you and your family physically sick, with upper management admitting that chemical levels may not always be correct but it's "not their problem". I've seen multiple families leave the park with partial blindness, coughing/wheezing so hard it's hard for them to breathe, extreme vomiting and much more. You won't be refunded for your stay if you have any issues and corporate will do nothing with complaints. If you become physically sick from the conditions they make sure to right reports wording it as if it was the guests fault so they won't get in legal trouble. Please save your money and save your children from getting violently sick. Not to mention the guards/supervisors in this place are far from properly certified and barely do their job to ensure you and your family will be safe. They even fail to do regular safety checks that they are legally required daily. Go to pirates kay in Sheridan instead.

Davin English

2024-02

We went to this resort last year and had a good time. It was great for a quick getaway and our kids had a lot of fun. The only issue then was that there wasn’t much around there, so the only food options were to eat at the incredibly expensive restaurant or plan ahead and bring food in a cooler with you. We reserved a room again for a weekend as a Christmas gift for our kids and they were very excited. The morning we were supposed to leave, our daughter woke up with a fever. I called to cancel and was told since it was less than 72 hours until our stay, we forfeited the entire $180 deposit. I asked if we could reschedule instead of losing the deposit and was told that money now belongs to the company and if we want to reschedule, we have to put down another deposit. We did not want to bring our sick child to the resort and expose the staff and guests to illness, there was nothing we could do about that. Instead of letting us reschedule and getting any future money from us and being the place we go to for our annual trip, I will now be looking for other resorts who have better customer service.

Tierra

2024-04

The rooms ran down and just out dated the lights in the rooms are really bad. The carpet and couches stained. Stayed for Easter weekend 03/30/24-04/01/24 the restaurant one the grounds was closed Easter Sunday. The game room is really small but possibly the best thing about the place. The sitting area for the snack shop is nice but that’s about it. THE WATERPARK IS A JOKE!!!!! Rust all over water/pool is brown (needs to be cleaned BADDDDDDDDD)The water temp was lukewarm but the air inside was cold, Like a fan was blowing. Chlorine levels are high. This place NEEDS TO BE UPGRADED on every level not even worth it for the money. Wanted to do something nice with my 2 year old for Easter was definitely looking forward to the non-existing water park because I’m not sure what I’d call what they offer. Just don’t even waste your time or money.Rooms: Ran Down needs upgradesNoteworthy details: Just don’t DO IT!!!!!

Tara Davies

2024-02

You get what you pay for! This place is half the price of a name brand water park, BUT definitely needs maintenance. The actual water park is in sad shape. Rust all over, bottom of the water/pool is brown (needs a DEEP scrubbing), wooden stairs water rotted near the last river, rusty nails/screws popping up near the lazy river. The water temp was lukewarm and the air inside was chilly. Chlorine levels are way high - my kids definitely felt the effects of it after 2 days of swimming. The lifeguards were very friendly and good, and staff overall was good. Rooms were ok, clean enough and no bugs. Bathroom was needing some cleaning and repair - chipping and peeling paint everywhere in the shower. No toiletries provided and no towels replaced at all even when we requested. The restaurant was expensive for the quality. The breakfast buffet was very lacking for the price. BUT I guess you get what you pay for here!!!Safety: Be careful with the rust and nails in the waterpark

Jordan Mehling

2024-04

We chose between here and Great Wolf Lodge. We chose here because it was a little closer to family and a little cheaper. Next time I'll definitely spend the money and travel time to stay at Great Wolf Lodge.When we checked in there were multiple people at the front desk complaining about different things so I wasn't optimistic. Some of the staff were nice, others lost their cool with the people complaining. They definitely need more staff and better training.Our room seemed fairly clean, but wasn't stocked with any towels or toilet paper. The patio door lock was broken and the main door was jiggly.Our first night they were supposed to show a movie at 7:30. The concession stand was closed. We waited until 8 and no one came to start the movie so we decided to watch a movie in our room instead. They don't have regular TV set up. Only streaming services but the WIFI was so bad we couldn't even do that. The movie would stop every minute and load. So we ordered a pizza from the restaurant in the hotel and it was actually really good. We all enjoyed it.The next day we decided to do the "breakfast buffet" which is an absolute joke. I didn't eat but I paid $40 for my 3 kids to eat and it was literally the same breakfast that we have gotten free at every other hotel we have stayed at. Cereal. Muffins. Toast. Scrambled eggs. I couldn't believe that's what I paid $40 for. We decided to eat breakfast off property the next day.Then we did the water park and arcade. The water park looked super dirty and run down. The waterslide was randomly closed in the afternoon without an explanation as to why. My kids enjoyed the arcade. They had a good variety of games and prizes.All in all, our stay wasn't terrible, but I wouldn't recommend this place. We definitely won't be staying here again.Noteworthy details: Stay somewhere else!

Carrie Riesselman

2024-05

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Honey Jordan

2024-03

We've been planning my daughter's birthday for 2 weeks. It was absolutely terrible trying to get information from anyone about passes to the water park. We were told day passes are sold for the weekends when we finally got ahold of someone after calling repeatedly for weeks. Her birthday is today and we were just notified after being told yesterday that everything is fine that the water park is now not open. I do not recommend depending on this place if you're trying to celebrate anything. We live locally and we're looking forward to family being able to get together and now we have to cancel my 8 year olds party and call all the parents.Nearby activities: McDonald's

deaira richardson

2024-04

Do NOT i repeat do NOT come here. This place is a joke. They have a 2 night stay policy however if you reserve the night before then you can stay 1 night. So my friend and i reserved the night before for a 1 night stay. Made sure the waterpark was fully functional and received the confirmation email. Well…. After driving over an hr away we get there the next day only to find out our reservation was canceled 🤨. Supposedly the waterpark is down and they “called” everyone who had a reservation to let them know it would be down. Not only did i not receive a call but THEY canceled my reservation and tells me they don’t give refunds. I have never in my life been so lost and mad because you canceled my reservation then tell me no refunds???!! Save your time, money and energy. I will be contacting corporate!!

Alex Bwins

2024-04

Edit: They turned on the water park features in the evening of our second day.Almost every single element of this place was broken or shutdown during our stay - except for the price. It was impossible to find an employee with a straight answer (likely part of their training).No wave pool.No whirlpool.No water slides.No mini golf.No restaurant ("short staffed with limited menu and over an hour wait...")No Wifi in eveningsNo ATM.---All out of orderTIP:Don't drink the water or you will become the Lizard Queen.

Jeni Slaight

2024-01

Highly disappointed. Don’t waste your time. We do a family trip every new year weekend, to bring in the new year. This place was not what we were expecting. We arrived here after check in time to avoid lines and tons of people. We were told our room wasn’t ready and to have a seat…fast forward to an hour and a half later. No one at the front desk acknowledged we had even been standing there!!! Then we found out our room had been ready the entire time!!! It wasn’t only us this happened two…several other families were experiencing this as well. Next up, the rooms. Those actually weren’t bad. They were clean, plenty of room and the beds were actually nice. Now, on to the water park. Nasty. I’ve never been to a waterpark where the water and bottom of the pool/lazy river/hot tub were brown. Not sanitary. Looks/smells moldy. Just don’t.

Sherman Gilbert

2024-04

Our family drove 2 hours to stay here 1 night. We arrived at 4pm, waited in line for 15 mins, room was not ready so we played in the arcade. Went back to the desk 30 mins later room still was not ready. We went to Jack's restaurant, we were the 1st ones in there. We didn't have a waitress come to the table for 10 mins, we ordered food and waited around 45 mins. Part of our order was 2 grilled cheeses. One came out with the rest of the food. One came out about 7 mins later and was not melted at all. We did get a slight discount. While we waited for food we were able to get room key. Room was fine. Went to pool. No towels were available as we were told they are behind on washing them. The pool water was green and disgusting looking. We did not feel safe going in the water. The slides we shut down also. We went back to the front desk and asked for a refund and we were leaving. The lady apologized and said they are very short staffed in the entire place. We found a hotel down the road with a pool and jacuzzi instead. I would not come back to this hotel at all.Rooms: Rooms were decent. They have the cabin feel but outdatedNearby activities: Other than the parks there is not much else to do around this areaFood & drinks: Food at Jack's was not good. It was Luke warm when received. The pasta dish was small for the price you pay and the grilled cheese was not melted.Noteworthy details: We felt that it was unsafe to go into the water. It was green and cruddy looking.

abigail morris

2024-03

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Marta Predko (Clean Time INC)

2024-05

Don’t be fooled by the nice and clean reception area, this place is filthy! 2 moms with 2 kids each desperately needing a nice time with the kids. We were not expecting miracles, but a nice clean place would be nice.We went there to use the waterpark for the day and we were actually hoping to stay the night, but they require two night stay, so we decided against it and went with just the water park passes. I bought them at the front desk and we went to eat at their overpriced restaurant. During lunch our teens decided they will not go to the water park but will go to the arcades instead. The front desk would not refund their day passes even though we have not left the front desk/restaurant area when the teens changed their mind. They said that it says online that day passes are non refundable, but we did not buy online and nobody at the front desk had informed us that the passes are non refundable… That is a big red flag in itself.After entering the women’s bathroom that leads to the pool I know why they do not refund. They are scared you went downstairs and saw what is going on there and that is why you want a refund. The bathroom reeked of urine. I mean it smelled like the walls and floors were mopped with urine. I am not exaggerating. We only entered the pool because we had a 7yr old who was really really really excited about the waterpark and waited the whole week. Otherwise we would have left immediately after entering this bathroom.The waterpark is old and dirty. Has not seen Clorox and good cleaning in years. Broken windows fixed with tape, scrapes and scratches, old dirt, health hazard at best. Chlorine in the water and air penetrating every cell of your body. My eyes were itchy and I did not even enter the pool.We were there for 3,5 hours (1,5 for slowest lunch, 30 min trying to get a refund for 2 passes, 1,5 hrs at the waterpark) , 2 adults, 4 kids spent $240 for 6 waterpark passes, $150 for lunch, $10 for 3 ice cream and $12 for canned mango margarita and $5.00 White Claw at the pool store. $417 we will never see again.I hope my kid doesn’t get sick.WHY CAN’T I ADD PICTURES TO THIS REVIEW?! I HAVE A TONSafety: FilthyFood & drinks: Overpriced