I actually waited a few weeks to write this review so I had time to calm down. I will be as objective as I can. I booked our room through Booking.com. It was a situation where you had to pay for the hotel the day you booked it to get that rate and I booked it several weeks before our visit to the Dells using a debit card. On the day we arrived, it was about 80 degrees out. We got to the hotel at approximately 5:00. My husband went in to check us in while the rest of the family waited in the car. When he came out he said, "Well, it just cost us $24 more." When I asked why he said, "The guy said that when the debit went through it had not taken the tax so we owed $14 of room tax - and then he said there was an additional $10 fee for a second kid." I do remember something about the original price only covering 1 child (why I don't know), but okay. So he paid the $24 and got our key. We were in room #4 - literally a few doors down from the office. When I get to a hotel I like to unpack and "put things away," so I emptied the suitcase - put clothes in the dressers, unpacked the toiletries in the bathroom, set up my computer, etc. While I am doing this, I notice that there is only a top sheet and light bedspread on the beds - as well as only 2 bath towels and 1 washcloth. I ask my husband to go get 2 blankets and a few more towels while I am getting settled. All of a sudden, my husband comes back from the office and says, "We're leaving!" I immediately start throwing things in the suitcase while asking what the heck happened. He said the owner refused to give us any more towels or blankets. I was dumbfounded. "What do you mean, he refused?" "He flat out looked me in the eye and said, "no!" By this time the owner was headed to our room and was standing in our doorway while I am re-packing. He did have 2 bath towels with him and he set them on the bed. He was screaming at me that I did not need 2 blankets as it was 80 degrees out. I said, "yes, it is - NOW - but it's going to get colder overnight." He said, "But you are running the air conditioning!" I said, "Yes, I am. My family likes it cool in the room for sleeping, but I get cold so I would like extra blankets." "He looked at me and said, "No!" I have never had anyone do that before. We were just surprised and angry. If I need blankets to make myself comfortable, isn't that part of the hotel service? As I am packing up, my husband is asking for our money back as we are going to leave - and of course, Mr Owner guy refuses - He called the police. So, we decided to wait - if we just leave will there be an APB out for us? So - we wait. The police come. One officer talks to the owner and one talks to us and they compare notes. Basically they tell us there is nothing they can do - they cannot order Mr Owner guy to return our money - we will have to sue him in small claims. We ended up driving across the street to the Travelodge and had an uneventful stay - and I did get my 2 blankets there - and yes, I used them. I feel this whole experience left us no recourse. I could not cancel my credit card or dispute it as I had paid with a debit card - never do that again. I am still upset about this incident and the feeling that we have been cheated. Hotels should (and do) offer blankets, towels, toiletries, etc. I could not believe he expected 4 people to get by on 1 washcloth and 2 bath towels. Like I said, he did finally bring 2 more bath towels but that was a bone of contention, too. And the fact that I could not have any blankets pretty much meant I was going to have to sleep with all of the clothes I had with me - ON - overnight - so I wouldn't be cold. That still astonishes me.

While planning to take our 10 year old for a winter skiing and waterpark trip to the Dells, we came across the Malibu Inn. The low price had me a bit skeptical at first, but after reading so many positive reviews, I went ahead and booked for 2 nights - and am so glad that I did. As others have said, the owners Joseph and Medina were very friendly and made every effort to assure we had a pleasant stay.... even going so far as to offer some of their homemade fried bread to us (which I now regret politely declining, as it smelled amazing). When we travel as a family, we do not spend a lot of extra time at our hotel - so we are mostly concerned with the basics. The rooms are very simple (if you are looking for 5 star amenities, this is not the place for you), but they are clean, roomy enough, and had a decent-size mini-fridge and microwave. As other reviewers have noted, the free daily Chula Vista waterpark passes made this an unbelievable bargain (in the end we estimate that we saved over $350 vs staying at one of the resorts). I encourage anyone who is looking for simple, clean accommodations to stay at the Malibu. There is a shortage of "mom and pop" hotels these days - and it is so much nicer to stay with folks who really appreciate the business, make you feel at home, and go the extra mile so you will come back again.

Malibu Inn is a great deal. It is in a good location if you don't mind driving a bit to the attractions, it is clean, you can adjust your own heater to make it warm or cool, the shower is hot, the wifi is ok (won't be able to stream video, but works fine for basic surfing), and the owners are nice and very accommodating. For me the best thing was free passes to Chula Vista. Very good deal. We had a good time. In the morning we got some free coffee and croissants in the office.

Only cons are: Walls are really thin, wifi is not spectacular, and make sure to bring your own shampoo/conditioner because they don't have any. Beds are firm, but I prefer them that way so I was fine with it.

Call them to book! It's best not to use a website to book with small, local businesses like this since those sites take a big cut.

We spent the night at The Malibu in January during a festival we attended nearby. Enough cannot be said about the owners Joseph & Madina; they were so personable and made us feel right at home. Upon check-in we had a great visit with them and they answered all of our questions about the area. The room itself was very clean.

Another festival is coming up in the area this weekend, and of course we called The Malibu. After just seconds, Joseph remembered my name and our great conversation from our last stay. Very highly recommended for an affordable stay in the Lake Delton/WI Dells area!