Birchwood Lodge, Sister Bay

My husband and I stayed at Birchwood for our honeymoon this past September. The rooms were great and the service was super. They offer different romantic packages, we had the Magic Delight, which included a horse drawn carriage ride, a gift certificated to Al Johnson's restaurant, chocolate fondue that was brought up to our room and a bottle of champagne that was in the room when we got there! It was a great experience and a great time. The location of Sister Bay was great, we were able to drive up and down the peninsula with out going to far!

I will definitely go back to the Birchwood, but I don't feel that "love of place" that some people have for their Door County hotel. Location was great for us. I love Sister Bay and we walked easily down the hill into town. Condo was very clean. The decor was nice but sparse, and the furniture was of mediocre hotel quality. Swimming facilities (indoor and outdoor) were spacious, clean, and excellent overall. Upon check-in the front desk clerk was very helpful and succinct, but not super friendly or welcoming. Guests are required to check towels out with the room number for pool use. This struck me as odd for a nice hotel. The free continental breakfast was adequate and appreciated. Most of the products are Otis Spunkmeyer which are very high in calories. A couple of days is about all one can handle.

Last year around Christmas time about December 17, 2007, I was looking for a gift certificate to buy my parents for their Christmas/Anniversary Celebration. I called the Birchwood Lodge Facility and asked that if I purchased the certificate if they could promise that I would receive it by December 21. This date was important as I needed to leave Milwaukee for home, and I wanted to use the certificate as a Christmas present. It had not come by the time I had requested, and it stressed me out. I called and asked that they could overnight the certificate. Again, it did not arrive by the time requested. I called again and asked if they could email it to me, which they did. It was about August of 2008 and my parents wanted to use their certificate and called to make reservations. They were told that they couldn’t make their reservation until after Labor Day. My mom called again in September, after Labor Day, and was told she had to wait after October because everything was blocked out because that was their festival season. Who knew there would be black out days on a gift certificate since there were no blackout dates on the certificate? My parents called the Lodge and found out that it was a non-smoking facility. My mom wanted to get a refund so they could go to another establishment, as she is a longtime smoker. Roman Collack said “Why don’t you just use the balcony?” and that he would not allow a refund. So, my parents were quite reluctant to stay at the place, but they decided to go. In preparing for the stay, they were not able to find the certificate. They called the Lodge. Roman Collack informed them that if they were unable to find the certificate they would have to pay for the stay themselves. My parents were confused, as was I, as the Lodge had the reservation number. They were also stressed out. This was unbelievable to me!!! I paid close to $300 for a relaxing getaway and all we dealt with was nonsense. I was able to find the reservation/certificate number from the email I received from the Birchwood Lodge (after their third attempt to send it to me). Finally, my parents were able to find the certificate. On the weekend of November 14, 2008. They finally stayed at the Lodge and had a nice time. They even left a nice tip. A couple of hours later, my parents received a call from Roman Collack. He said that he was going to charge my credit card $100 because the “room was filled with smoke” and there were cigarettes butts in the garbage. The allegation that the room was filled with smoke was a flat out lie!! It was true that there were cigarette butts in the garbage but my mom did NOT smoke in the room. She smoked on the balcony/patio as the manager, himself,SUGGESTED! My mom took the time to go outside, stand in the cold 30 degree temp-erature so as to respect the premises. I called the Birchwood Lodge and spoke with the manager. I began to tell him that this whole experience has been a nightmare from the beginning. He said that is not the issue. I said no, it is the issue. I told him how difficult it was from the beginning even to get the certificates and that I only ordered it because I was promised that I would get the certificates in time. He said that was not his problem as he does not control the post office. I then was talking about the $100 fine. I said it was a poor decision as a businessman, and I thought he had shitty service. He then hung up on me. I called back. I told him that I would like a copy of the contract that was signed referencing the fine and he said he would mail it to me. I said I wanted it within 7 days. He said I would get it after he sent it out. I would note that his tone and attitude was snotty and rude. What should have been a stress relieving weekend getaway turned into a nightmare because of ROMAN COLLACK. I will make sure that I tell everyone and anyone of what a horrible experience it has been to work with this Lodge, and particularly ROMAN COLLACK.

the location is good indoor swimming pool is very nice and well maintained. Safe for small kids too. Grounds are neat and well spread out . The condos are away from the main building so breakpast trip can be little hard so early in the morning.

My mother, a friend from work and I stayed here the first week in October 2006. We stayed in the 2-bedroom unit and loved it - the equipped kitchen meant we didn't have to eat out every meal, the 2 beds and sofa bed gave us each our own bed, the bathrooms were huge and well laid out, and the decor was lovely, relaxing and inviting. Housekeeping kept things tidy for us and the towels were thick and absorbant. The exercise room was great as were the hot tub, sauna and pool. The rooms were very quiet except for some heavy-footed guests in the room above my bedroom. Since the Lodge is right at the intersection of Routes 42 and 57 it is convenient to everything. If we ever go back to Door County, we would definitely stay here again.

We've stayed several times and the beds are so comfortable. The staff is very helpful and friendly. We also think it is at a reasonable price.

We were there for the big Lighthouse Walk weekend and had a hard time finding a place to stay that didn't cost an arm and a leg. These are basically "mini-condos" and some are even for sale. Even with a standard discount with a national organization we still had to pay $100+ per night. I suppose that's Door County for you. The place was great, but when all you're looking for is a place to sleep, there are less expensive choices I'm sure, I just had a hard time finding them on the web.