Grand Bear Resort at Starved Rock

The customer service is awful. Obviously the manager nor the front desk staff is educated enough to read their own website! Shawna or however you spell it because why would you wear a name badge or state your name when you are rude and hateful! She should never work with the public! The manager never bothered to follow up on my email. I have stayed at this resort over 50 times but I will not again under this manager and front desk staff! The front desk staff not only can’t read their own websites graph let alone their 3rd party agreements that are advertising that a waterpark is open when it is not. She proceeded to tell across the lobby when let me state this again has no clue how to read a graph on the company website she works for, oh let me also say she only cared about being on her phone, being in the back room, and being disrespectful to all the customers! The big issue the next day is the sewer was backing up in the cabins that were being rented. How disgusting, nevermind the pubic hair in the bed in my room! Oh did I forget to mention I have an autistic son that was devastated after traveling for 2 plus hours not even to be able to swim in the pool area. She was completely rude and hateful again towards my child nor did she mention the arcade in the lower level to me, luckily I knew. By my own fault I left my cell phone on the counter at the Dollar General in Tonica, but she refused to call me my room or transfer me there to communicate with my friend that was with my son trying to console him after not being able to go swimming, nor could she walk to room 205 which is literally so close to the front desk that she could of walked and knocked on the door in 30 seconds to let them know I was okay after going to another town due to the receipt stating that and I had my friends cell while trying to drive to a Dollar General to find mine. I also forgot to mention that the manager last time I was there put up a gold cross that was found in my room for me to get when I returned the next time, Shawna was annoyed that I requested for her to look as if she wasn’t being paid to work! This business has literally moved to the bottom of my list for customer service. After renting rooms from three different owners and being a returning customer one would think that I should be treated with respect! The disrespect I won’t tolerate is one towards a child and especially one with a disability! Shame on your business! I will always boycott anyone staying at your resort for the discrimination! I will be cc the bbb and dept of disabilities for the discrimination towards my child! Shame on your business!

Left a review on their website and they changed the 1-10 scale choices just as I hit submit. We stayed in a villa an the accommodation was great, but plan on bringing all.your toiletries as the supply a bar of hand soap and nothing more. Several things were broken but the worst part was that we purchased the VIP wrist bands for the waterpark and the water was freezing. And didnt improve at all. They didn't have enough lifeguards on duty until 11 so it was just a giant pool until then. The hotub was colder than the main pool one of the days .
The location was great that's what sold us to stay there. Atmosphere was ok

Extremely Disappointed – Serious Cleanliness & Safety Concerns

We recently stayed at Grand Bear Resort at Starved Rock and paid extra for early check-in and late check-out, expecting to enjoy a relaxing family weekend. Unfortunately, we didn’t even stay 24 hours before deciding to leave.

Upon arrival, we were excited and headed straight to the pool. The water was not warm at all. Within 30 minutes, my son’s lips were blue from how cold it was. We had to leave the main pool and stay in the infant pool just to make it manageable.

When we returned to our room, the real issues began. I looked down at the floor and immediately saw a fake nail. As I looked closer, I found multiple nail clippings, pieces of food, and later found another fake nail. This was extremely alarming, especially because we have an 11-month-old daughter who could have easily picked one of these items up and choked. The lack of proper cleaning is not just unpleasant — it’s dangerous.

It didn’t stop there. There were pieces of hair on the bed cover. When we opened the pull-out bed, the mattress was black and had visible holes in it. For a non-smoking establishment, there were multiple cigarette burns in the carpet, and the guest staying below us was actively smoking in their room. We couldn’t even enjoy fresh air from the balcony because of the cigarette smoke.

To make matters worse, there was no manager on site to address our concerns. We were still required to pay in full. We were given a phone number and email address to send our complaints and photos to. After leaving three phone messages and sending three emails with photo evidence, we have received no response.

We are extremely disappointed. This was supposed to be a family getaway, and instead it turned into a stressful and concerning experience. We deserve a refund and, at the very least, a response. We are still hoping the business will step up, take accountability, and honor its commitment to guests.

It cannot be possible that we can do reservations and the pool is close and they be getting customers in to check in. Everything is closed. Everything around there has bad reviews. (No shade)

Don’t waist your money! Room wasn’t “clean” I had to request new bed sheets. I had a hair in my bed then my kids had crumbs!

POOL was absolutely freezing! Couldn’t even enjoy the water because it was SO COLD! We reported it and was told several times there was nothing we can do. The heat is on.
Lifeguards were wearing hoodies!! If that doesn’t say anything I don’t know what will. My kids literally broke out in rashes after the pool visit.

The room was FREEZING when the heat wasn’t running! It was miserable. I will never go back! I hope others learn from these reviews before paying all this money!

Also if you do stay bring pillows because ours were flatter than a pancake!! It was miserable!

I should have took pics of the other dirty parts of our room but didn’t.

Went on a weekday, took time off work for my daughters birthday. Went from Mon- wed and water park was closed because it was “off-season” & “kids were back in school” was so upset! My daughters birthday was on a Tuesday and everything in Utica is literally closed! I checked out early and they wouldn’t consider a refund for the 1 night i didn’t stay. No empathy, no options, no nothing. Aside from this I paid for a breakfast package. When I asked at my check in they said I have to ask in the morning and they will give me a “box”, NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING!!! when i checked out in the morning, they didnt offer my breakfast for my family. The sheets smelled like feet on one of the beds and the toilets were very loud when flushing. Nothing what I expected. Who takes reservations for a waterpark resort when everything is closed? They said “because it is also a hotel”… ok, well say something at time of reservations on what is included! They advertised the waterpark, I reserved thinking it will not be so crowded since it was a weekday and to my surprise no activities were open… ya’ll really need to consider on refunding for certain situations instead of being greedy!

We stayed in cabin 22-2 and it was ok, not good for the price it was and definitely not resort type of place. The cabin was dirty, still had New Year’s Eve confetti in the floor from previous guests, no soap, towels, toilet paper in the bathrooms, no extra trash bags. The trash can was broken no lid, overall no attention to detail, food was alright at tha Jack’s Restaurant, the pools are very cold. Wouldn’t go back.

Used to be awesome resort, we went there many times and apparently management changed. Water park was ice cold, jacuzzi green and smelly. Hotel was dirty, not vacuumed nor mopped, garbage’s were overflowing. Bar and restaurant closed on New Years. Breakfast buffet very limited, cold and out of food constantly, area was very dirty. This place need a new management.

Unit 3-3 had bugs, floors were dirty. The unit was poorly supplied. Not a good experience, especially for the price. Hopefully this review causes a better cleaning.

We’re on a family vacation and began our trip with two nights at the Sable on Navy Pier, which was an excellent experience. Unfortunately, that made the contrast with our stay at Grand Bear Lodge very clear—and not in a good way.

Check-in was fine, but issues started almost immediately. We booked a kids’ suite with bunk beds and there were not enough blankets for everyone. When we contacted the front desk, we were told there were no additional blankets available. We also did not have enough washcloths or soap and had to go down and ask for basic supplies.

For a resort that’s only about 20 years old, the property feels very worn. The overall atmosphere reminded us of an aging carnival cruise ship—busy, chaotic, and poorly maintained. Kids running around is expected at a family resort and isn’t the issue. The issue was cleanliness and staffing. Trash, towels, clothing, and other items were left in hallways for extended periods with no visible cleanup.
That lack of attention extended to common areas. The lobby fireplace area was left in disarray with puzzles and debris spread across tables and the floor, and no staff addressing it.
Our room had consistent problems. The sheets were scratchy and uncomfortable, the room lighting was very poor, and the faucets and toilet handle were nearly frozen stuck and difficult to use. During the stay, the heater stopped working entirely. Several electrical outlets did not work, and as a result, none of our phones charged overnight. On top of that, our key cards deactivated twice, requiring extra trips to the front desk.

The pool water appeared murky, which made us uncomfortable using it. On the food side, the café did not have anyone available to make food one morning, so we couldn’t eat at the hotel at all. There was also no coffee maker in the room, which feels like a basic miss—especially when on-site food service is unreliable.
There were very few positives. The arcade was decent but expensive given the overall cost of the stay. One bright moment was spending New Year’s Eve together as a family playing Go Fish and Texas Hold’em in the lobby. The hotel’s official NYE event was exclusive and $40 per person, and given everything else, we chose to opt out.

Ultimately, the issues felt systemic rather than isolated. Because of the cumulative problems, we checked out a night early. We asked for a refund for the unused night and were initially offered a two-night gift card instead. Since we do not plan to return, we declined and ultimately received the refund.

This stay did not meet expectations for a property marketed as a family resort, especially at this price point. Based on our experience, we would not return or recommend it.

The water is ICE and I mean ICE!!! They have a sign that reads the water is 86 degrees and it’s a FAT LIE! My kids couldn’t even enjoy the park because of the freezing temperatures! so ridiculous! They must want a lawsuit because a toddler in freezing water faces immediate, life-threatening risks like cold shock (gasping, panic, heart issues) and rapid loss of movement, leading to drowning, even for strong swimmers, with hypothermia setting in quickly due to their small body size and less fat insulation, causing confusion, fatigue, and eventual collapse!! They DO NOT care about their customers and even WORSE they DO NOT care about about children! when I called to get an explanation on why the water was so freezing I just got a run around! I hope this place goes bankrupt, cause they deserve it! come to our waterpark, pay all this money and not be able to swim!!!

Hotel was pretty clean but shows its age with some staining. Our shower didn’t work properly and they had it fixed in 20 min. Lifeguards were pretty attentive to the pools.

Arcade attendant wasn’t the best with the kids, and didn’t want to put in much effort. Told my kid they didn’t feel like digging for a red toy so he had to choose a different color.

Overall it was a decent experience for the kids as a one time trip.

DO NOT STAY HERE IN THE OFF SEASON.
This place shouldn’t be open in the “off season”
Staff was completely unhelpful. Person checking us in was paying more attention to the football game and his friend than checking us in.
Later in the day, we forgot our room keys and went to the front desk to ask for a key- the person there didn’t even ask my name or for an ID, just gave us a room key (hi, major security issue there).
Only one place to get food and I’ve never had a worse meal in my life- we were the only people in the restaurant and it took close to an hour for our food. The food was basically inedible (rotten lettuce, rock hard pita bread, chicken so salty I couldn’t eat it), mushy French fries, some weird mystery substance on my husbands burger, every drink we tried to order was “sold out”, food made my child double over in pain.
Water in the water park was frigid.
Tried to get coffee in the morning (no on site breakfast in the “off season”) and the coffee dispensers didn’t have pumps to get the coffee out so my husband was told to just try pouring from the coffee urn into a cup which spilled all over.
Thin sheets for blankets.
The absolute worst. Close the place down in the off season if you’re going to treat people like this.

We had a wonderful experience at the resort! We stayed in one of the villas, which was beautiful. My grandkids loved the waterpark and arcade. Breakfast buffet was very good. We got to see the visitors center and do some hiking. I would highly recommend going for a fun filled family vacation.

Originally booked to celebrate my birthday with my wife and 6 year old son so he could enjoy the in door water park and arcade to find out upon arrival that everything was closed. Terrible customer service provided by the manager working on October 21st , 2025 in the morning, didn’t want to provide me with my check out paperwork stating my charges. Very disappointed!!

Don't go there. It may have been a nice place at one point- but now it's really a dump. We rented a Family Deluxe Cabin- this is their highest-end accommodation. The 1st one we were in was a dump. The room smelled old and musty-the carpet was FILTHY, the paint was peeling. If we plugged something into both outlets- the electricity went off, But the biggest complaint- there were 4 bathrooms- all with showers- but if someone was taking a shower in one- the water in the rest of the house didn't work- not low pressure- NO water- sinks, toilets etc.- didn't work- only 1 person at a time could use a water outlet in a 3 bedroom/4 bath cabin.

The next day, they moved us to a "brand new" cabin that had been "inspected" by the manager- besides the trouble of repacking everything and moving, there were many issues with this one as well. Peeling paint, dirty carpets, and the toilet in the upstairs room-the handle that lifts the clapper was rusted away and didn't work. But- on the plus side- the manager did give us free mini golf passes - So the mini golf place was worse than the rest of the "resort". Also, the waterpark is pretty small, and half of it was closed off- don't know why.

I will never stay here again-

Small problem
I booked and paid for a room with a king sized bed
And am staying in a room with queen beds.

The cost was $70+ more for the room I paid for than the room I am staying in.
Hope this can all get paid for.
The room I am staying in is in a room below ground. I am on guest WiFi that is insecure so I can’t check my bank online to see the charges. I will get a bill in the morning and/or will check with front desk.
I hope this gets resolved easily.

This was a great affordable-fun-trip for the whole family. Very close to several hiking parks. North Utica was right down the road and they have a beautiful town with shops and food and coffees.
We stayed in a Villa/Cabin. It was wonderful but could use some updates (linens, carpet, sofa, etc.) Nothing that would keep us away though. We'll definitely be back.

All activities closed no food or restaurants on property. Out date place can here when it has open not the same place.

Good