Fillenwarth Beach Resort, Arnolds Park

I was fortunate enogh to be introduced to fillenwarth by my husbands family many years ago. We then rented a cabin with friends annually. Now we take our son each year. We llove it. Its always the same red and orange and kind of old fashined but its familiar each time we visit just the way we like it.

We have been staying at Fillenwarth Beach Resort every few years since we honeymooned there in 1973. We have never had a bad experience. Our latest stay, the 4th week of August 2010, was absolutely wonderful. Even though it was the first week of the off season, there were still plenty of boat rides available and the service was great. We really enjoyed the cocktail cruises along with the History cruise and the Million Dollar Home cruise. I was impressed with how clean and updated our room was and how comfortable the bed and pillows were. I'm hoping we can get our grown kids and their kids there sometime in the near future. Fillenwarth is a great place for family get-togethers and I know our kids have some wonderful memories of staying there.

We used to visit this place when I was growing up and now that I have my own children we are starting the tradition again of going up in the summer. Its absolutely wonderful! They totally cater to families and children-they have arts and crafts every morning and a "get to know one another party" with a live band and boat rides and free movie rentals, you name it!! This place is perfectly located within walking distance to just about anything! I would have to strongly disagree with a previous entry about rude staff and the daughter being rude. While we were staying there we had a small emergency and she made sure we had everything we needed and even stopped by our room after it was all said and done to be sure everything was fine!! She is a very helpful and friendly person! Can't wait to go back next summer! Also, they work very hard to accomadate you if they are full!!

Rooms are way outdated and filthy. Service/staff rude .. Problem is not a whole lot to choose from near or on the lake.. Find a place away from the lake and drive... Do not stay here!!!

There is something about this place that keeps us coming back. It is not the price as it is pretty expensive for what you get. It's not the cleaniness as we usually spend the first hour we get there knocking down cob webs and cleaning the gas grill. We usually go over Labor Day and the weather this year was beautiful. We love the booze cruise! Most of all we enjoy sharing good times with the folks! They really like it too!

Fillenwarth is the only place you can go in Okoboj that has everything you need. There are family cruises daily which include pop, beer, wine, and mixed drinks, cheese and crackers and the family is welcome, later in the day their is a adult cruise, every thing is the same it;sjust longer and NO kids allowed, We've been coming here 10 years, now my kids are coming up on their own. The activities start every morning with crafts for the kids and adults, then swining, ski lessions. Their is tennis, volleyball, paddle boats, row boats, basketball, ping pong, pool, and over 500 movies in DVD or VHS to take back to your room and watch on a flat screen tv. Monday's are the best when you end your afternoon with a live band and open bar with punch and popcorn for the kids. Your greeted by the owner and his big smile and with 1000's of guest per year Ken makes you feel like one of the family. Cabins or beach front, walking distance to Arnold's park. Friendly service keeps us coming back year after year. We tried others but came back here. Every year there updates and something new this year i noticed New gas grills at each deck, new paddle boats, new docks and walkways. Only thing is... it's alway full, because once you get here you book again for next year. Got to love it.

The breathtaking view of West Lake Okoboji from our room was enchanting. Our unit was stocked with everything we could possibly need to cook a meal in our room. The pull out bed from the couch was amazingly comfortable. This is not like most hide a beds that you feel the bar in your back all night long. We shared a unit with my in-laws. We have a Temperpedic bed and they use a Select Comfort. We were both very pleased with the comfort of the Queens beds in the rooms. You can definately feel the commitment of this family onwed/operated resort to your stay being comfortable, relaxing and worry free. The staff was very polite and eager to assist in any way. The only "spoiler" to our vacation was the amount of gnats that seemed to swarm everywhere. I beleive this comes with the lafefront territory, however I would reccommend the brush in front of the units be cut and treated to minimize as much as possible.

Very expensive, hot water did not work, "maid service" did not clean anything, had to call for towels numerous times. Staff (including owner and daughter) were rude and did not belive their services were not up to par and even called me a liar. NEVER stay at this place, EVER!!!

Fillenwarth was a family tradition for years. This was our last. Old, dirty, way outdated and the staff is barely going through the motions. The first two days of our stay I was greeted by an overflowing/reeking trash dumpster outside our room, Once it was emptied a dirty diaper sat atop the dumpster for two more days before I pushed it in. The owners allowed a huge group, many more than the rooms allowed, to pack into a few rooms near ours, they were loud, rude and took over all the amenities, tossed beer and pop cans down onto guests on the first floor and when we complained, we received a surly response from the management. Way too expensive to tolerate this sort of treatment and lack of service. Now we have to convince the kids to try someplace new next vacation.

This resort is in the perfect Okoboji location and has lots of great amenities, like the cocktail cruises that are included with the price of the lodging. The problem is the lodging. Very dated, even renovated rooms need a serious overhaul (our lakefront hotel room had the most crooked floor I think I've ever seen). The decor is incredibly dated and mismatched, and while I wouldn't say the room was dirty, it was not super clean. If you're looking for privacy or a romantic weekend, this is not the place. The lakefront hotel rooms' only entries are sliding glass doors facing a communal deck. People walk by and look into your room if your shades are open. You'll want to keep the shades open, however, for the great lake view. I give this a mixed review. If you stay away from your hotel room or cabin, you'll probably have a great time. For the price we paid (close to $250 a night with taxes), I expected a much nicer room.