This lodge is located within the limits of the Starved Rock State Park and it's within walking distance from the river and the numerous mini-canyons that the park is famous for. It is surrounded by a forested area marked with numerous trails. We walked along one of these trails to find out that the place is full of wildlife. At one point we saw two deer grazing no more than 10 feet from where we were standing. You can also see eagles flying over the river hunting for pray. The lodge is quite nice too. The rooms are somewhat dated but of decent size. The walls however were rather thin so we could hear our neighbors chatting quite clearly. The staff was really friendly which was nice. If you are coming here by car (which is the most likely) there is a ton of free parking. All in all, this is a decent place to stay if you want to explore the park.

My husband and I stayed in a King sized room in the older part of the hotel. The room was dark - very small windows - but comfortable. It was nice to wake up in the park and go for an early morning hike. The sink in the bathroom was one of those tiny sinks were you can't put a lot of toiletries on, a pet peeve of mine! We slept very well, it was in the high 90s outside and the room was cool. Bed was comfortable. We had a nice table and chairs and ate our breakfast there that we brought with us. I liked the historical furnishings but feel that the bathroom could use updating. The indoor pool and hot tub were both a very good size for a hotel. However they had kind of an institutional feel to them. Kind of like a rehab feel.

Stayed here for a weekend getaway. We stayed Friday and Saturday night (they do have a 2 night minimum on weekends). This place is really the only lodging option in the area, there is a more kid-friendly place down the street. With that being said, I don't feel that our room was worth $130 + tax a night. The room was nice and clean but seemed to be more in the $80/night range. Also, nothing is included in the room fee (i.e. free continental breakfast). There is free wifi, which is spotty and there is an indoor pool and hot tub. I did not use the pool/hot tub because it was always so crowded. It seemed once the sun went down, everyone went swimming. There really isn't anything else to do in the area...no joke.

We had a room with a king bed (lodge wing king) which was nice and comfortable for the most part. The rooms have also had makeovers with new wood furniture. If you are planning to stay soon, you might still catch the wood smell in your room. The bathroom is super tiny though. The shower is a decent size but the toilet placement was weird. The toilet paper roll was almost in your lap so maneuvering was a bit tricky. Our room also had a newer flat panel tv (no cable channels, just basic stations) and a DVD player (which we did not use...wondering if the hotel had DVDs available for rental??). You can also open the windows in your room which was really nice. Most places don't let you do that. It was nice to let the fresh air in.

Biggest complaint was the noise. The walls/ceilings/floors are paper thin. You hear EVERYTHING that your neighbors are doing. We had the pleasure of being next to the loudest people in the whole lodge. They loved just hanging out in their room talking at the loudest volume possible at all hours of the night. At one point I yelled "INDOOR VOICE"...I think they heard me :)

The main dining room had really yummy food. We ate there once for lunch (chicken cesar wrap and taco salad) on Saturday and then ordered a plate of nachos (Gorgonzola Nachos) to bring back to our room Saturday night. We wanted to participate in the Easter Brunch but I didn't make reservations in advance and we were told they were all booked up.

There is also a café that sells your typical panini sandwiches, ice cream, coffee, bagels and sodas. They also have a few gift items for purchase as well. Beware though, the service is SUPER slow. Many times there was only one girl working. She worked the cashier and made the food. Right outside the main dining room there is larger gift shop that had a lot of clothing items and tchotchke type stuff.

Overall, the stay was nice. It would have been awesome if the lodge offered activities for adults at night (i.e. bingo, charades, checker tournament...anything!!). Once it is night time, there is not squat to do. The downtown Utica area is all closed up and you can't hike the trails at night.

Oh - I think it is good to know, the rooms do not have a microwave or fridge. Fridge would have been nice since we did have leftovers from a dinner that ended up being tossed out.

We pulled up to the lodge just as a falconer was beginning a free one-hour tutorial on the art of falconry. We quickly parked and joined about 50 other people sitting in a small outdoor arena for the exhibit. The falconer was interesting and his three trained birds of prey were fascinating to observe up close. We hoped to see them fly but that didn't happen. Unfortunately, the falconer didn't have a microphone and, with all the noise of cars, lawnmowers, etc., it was hard to hear him. The extreme heat and humidity caused a woman sitting next to us to faint. An ambulance was called, the woman was revived and we headed into the lodge to check in.
We'd booked three rooms at $125 each. The rooms were all adjacent to each other with two of them connected via an interior door. Check-in was quick and easy. We were sent to the old, original wing of the hotel. This is the lodge I remember going to as a kid. Long, old hallways with wooden doors and trim. We peeked into open rooms and saw lots of paneling covering the walls. The rooms were fairly small with dated furniture. Pictures from yesteryear hung throughout. As we neared the end of the hall, we noted that our room numbers didn't exist here. A housekeeper informed us that we were in the wrong wing and sent us back down the hall and into the "new" portion of the lodge. Dating to the 1980's, this "new" wing was adjacent to an indoor pool. One of our rooms had a window that looked directly over this enclosed pool area. Interesting. The rooms were very cold when we entered. The air conditioning worked well, which was great as it was 100 degrees in the shade outside. That was about the only positive aspect of the rooms. None of the bathroom doors in any of the rooms closed all the way and the bathrooms were in need of TLC. The exhaust fan in ours was filthy and the tiles were in need of repair. The decor was weary with rectangular shadows above the beds where pictures must have once hung and bedspreads in need of cleaning. There were no blankets on the beds and we cringed at the thought of using the dingy bedspreads for warmth. That said, we all slept well in these rooms and didn't hear any outside noise. Not even from the pool area right below us.
We headed out for a hike to Starved Rock. The trail to Starved Rock is just behind the restaurant. It isn't really a trail but steps that initially go down to an open area. In the open area was an array of emergency vehicles. An injured, bleeding man sat on the back of an ambulance. We hurried our kids past the commotion and headed up a number of flights of stairs to the top of Starved Rock. There is a platform that circles the top of the Rock and we walked around it taking in the scenic views. It was nice. Our journey back down the stairs offered a new dramatic view. Police were handcuffing a young man and escorting several other young adults to various squad cars. Not exactly the kind of activity we wanted our kids to witness while on vacation. We soon learned that a group of highly intoxicated hikers had wandered off-trail. Two individuals had fallen off a cliff, one was critically injured. Welcome to Starved Rock!
This incident did make our children much more cautious on the trails, which was good. But the trails are well marked and you'd have to make an effort to venture off of them. So we felt very safe. In fact, the area where the hikers fell was one of our favorite trails. It's called French Canyon and while the lack of rain meant that no water was cascading down the walls, the canyon was truly amazing to view. The day was extremely hot and that shortened the amount of hiking we did but we enjoyed the trails we did venture on. One disappointment, though, was the amount of garbage left everywhere. Very sad that people are so disrespectful of nature.
We did make use of the pool. The kids enjoyed it though the room was really hot and the water was warm. Not so much fun for the adults in our party who were looking for a refreshing dip.
We took the trolley tour, which was air conditioned and enjoyable. The trolley stops at the visitor's center, which we had fun walking through. Less exciting was the very hot and fairly dull river cruise. Not much to see and, sadly, the shores were littered with garbage.
If you have kids, they'll be able to stay entertained on the trolley but they'll hate the river cruise. It's super slow and boring. Plus, you have to stay seated as there is no room to walk around. This is a senior adventure and even tedious for many in that age group.
We loved the dining experience at the lodge. The rustic main dining room is beautiful and the food is good. The service was attentive and special diets were handled with ease.
Overall, we were really glad we visited Starved Rock. If we went back, we'd go at a cooler time of year and, perhaps, make it a day trip rather than an overnight. The history of this national park is fascinating and deserving of preservation and proper care.