Some okay... some bad...
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 2/29/08
The hotel was okay.
In terms of service, not everyone is on the same level. The front desk staff was okay. When we checked in, the lady who greeted us was friendly... but not professional at all. She continually complained about her problems, and then started to badmouth her own management! We had travelled a long way to visit Glacier National Park, and the last thing we needed was this woman putting down her own hotel! The young man who checked us out was very nice... and VERY professional. Also, the gentleman housekeeper who delivered our rollaway was incredibly nice. The rollaway was delivered minutes after we called, and the man was cheerful and friendly. These men really redeemed the hotel in terms of customer service.
The restaurant was HORRIBLE. It took over 5 minutes for the waitress to even know we were there! My husband actually had to knock on the back kitchen door to find HER! She gave us a bad attitude too when we caught her talking on the cell phone in the back. All we wanted was a salad... they only had two salad dressings left... and no cheese! It took almost 45 minutes to get out salads out... when there were only 3 other people eating in the restaurant. Some of the veggies looked like they were rotting! We paid for it, but didn't eat it. That night, we ordered a pizza.
The location is great! Kalispell itself is in the center of some huge tourist attractions like Glacier National Park, Big Mountain, and Flathead Lake. It's got enough civilization for us city-folks. There are some incredible restaurants and stores here.
The Red Lion is located downtown right in the middle of all the action! It's even attached to small mall.
The rooms were nice. They just did a renovation recently, and the new rooms were great. The only complaint... there are no tubs in the new rooms, only showers. My friends got one of the older rooms (still renovated), but had a tub in theirs. I normally have a hard time sleeping in hotel rooms... but not here. The beds were pillow-topped. After a nice warm shower, I crawled into bed and just melted! It was hard to wake up in the morning.
We came in the summer time, and the hotel was on the expensive side ($180 per night), but all of the hotels of this calibar were in the same price range. If you know for sure that you're going to be there, we would definetely recommend booking online for cheaper. One thing. Book early! At this time of the year, the entire area for 50 miles is completely sold out! Also, don't arrive too late. A lot of hotels oversell because they expect cancellations, and if you're one of these unlucky people, you'll be sleeping in the parking lot because there are no campgrounds, hotels, motels, or ANYTHING left.
So, in conclusion, we would definetely stay at this hotel again. Do NOT eat at the restaurant. Instead, try one of the many fine restaurants within walking distance. You won't be sorry!