I've stayed here twice. It is located in an older, industrial part of town and may look like the Bates Hotel from the outside, but the rooms are quite nice, although not spectacular. What sets this motel apart is its location near a ski area for winters and on a great paved bike trail with FREE bicycles to use to go exploring in warmer seasons. There are also some nice hiking trails, the river, and free passes to the zoo across the street besides all the Duluth attractions. The complimentary breakfast is not elaborate, but saves the price of a restaurant meal. Also, they are pet friendly, have nice grounds, a fire pit, etc. Add to that this is a family run motel with historical roots in Minnesota and they have a friendly staff. It is not your typical cookie cutter chain, but has it's own unique charm. I'll be back.

First off I admire Willard Munger and what he did for Minnesota. That's the only reason I even looked at this place. What I experienced can only be described as sad. Yes, there is a great "shrine" to Willard in the lobby with some fascinating photos and news articles depicting political greats from years gone by. Yes, the waffle breakfast was good. Yes, our room had a lock and nobody broke in. Here's the bad: even our newly remodeled room looked outdated and awkward, the night clerk (we arrived around 10pm) had the personality of a snake, and our bedsheets were as thread-bare as I've ever seen. The "ski deal" is no good on weekends. But the coupe de gras was this: at 3am the dog in the room next door started growling, barking, and complaining. I have no problem with pets but old motels with paper thin walls should not allow pets. I hope they remodel and high professional management.

We visited the inn at the end of November. The place was cozy and our suite was very nice. Breakfast was wonderful.

We stayed there with friends in adjoining rooms the last weekend of September. We paid $300 for two rooms for two nights and thought that was a great deal. The rooms were supposed to be a kitchen suite, and a jacuzzi suite. I didn't care about the jacuzzi because I would NEVER EVER use one in a hotel/motel, and hope no one would. That is just gross! The kitchen suite had a kitchen sink, microwave and little refrigerator but no utensils of any kind. So we never used it.

The decor had a cute, cabin feel, but it was somewhat tired, and could have used a thorough cleaning. The backyard was nicely landscaped and we took advantage of the bonfire and also sat outside one morning and played cards. The free was breakfast was fine except whoever was supposed to make it on Sunday - overslept and it wasn't ready until almost 8:30. I would give the place a B. It could get a better score with just some good old fashioned elbow grease in the cleaning department and maybe an alarm clock for the help.