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Remember those vacations you experienced as a kid? You can find them again at Fair Hills Resort. Dive into the many exciting activities on one of the finest recreation lakes in the state, or take a long quiet walk along a scenic trail. Fair Hills combines the comforts of a world class resort with the fun of a classic Northwoods vacation. Since 1926, families have come to the shores of Pelican Lake seeking a quiet, relaxing place where resort recreation and friendly hospitality are served up special everyday. Generation after generation comes back to dip their toes in the waves and wash their cares away. At Fair Hills we know the importance of a personal touch. How a knowing smile and simple attention to detail can turn your time with us into a special memory. We know your family will feel right at home with at your new summer vacation home. Our simple motto reflects the spirit of a place where folks are genuine and friendships are made that last a lifetime. Fair Hills Resort is recognized as one of “America’s Best All-Inclusive Resorts” by numerous national publications including Travel + Leisure, National Geographic Traveler, Lonely Planet, and Southern Living. We also host lakeside destination weddings that provide full accommodations, meals and beverage service to you and your guests.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Family Resort
Romantic
Location
24270 County Highway 20, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501-9411
My husband went to Fairhills as a child, and so we took the family this summer. It is a step back in time to the simple days of kids being kids, playing in the water, learning to sail, golf, swim, and live without screen time. The lake is gorgeous, the water is clear and clean and the cabins, though rustic feel like home. Beds are comfy and clean. Staff is super friendly and accomadating. If you want a fancy resort with attitude, don't come to Fairhills, but if you're looking for a place that is stress free and magical come check it out. Our youngest grandson actually said he prefers this place to Disneyland!
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Date of stay: July 2024Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Our family has been coming to Fair Hills for almost 40 years. I came as a child and have loved introducing it to my wife and our children. If you need luxury accommodations and 5 star cuisine, this isn't your place - and we don't want you. Cabins are clean and food is good (and plenty of it) but this is about unplugging for a week with extremely friendly people - staff and guests - and feeling like you've gone back in time 50+ years. Nobody locks anything; you don't even get a key to your cabin upon check in. They have the perfect golf for beginners as well as people who know what a handicap is. The pool is awesome for a quick dip to cool off. The lake is great swimming, boating, fishing, skiing, tubing, and relaxing. Music happens from staff and guests every day! Kids love their independence with free reign of the entire resort and parents love it too! Most families agree that their kids who have experienced Fair Hills and Disney will choose Fair Hills for their preferred vacation - but they're completely different. If you want serious quality time with your family and aren't a vacation snob, come join us!
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Date of stay: July 2013
Value
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Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:You'll probably have to take what you get, because most cabins are used annually by returning...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This place is tops in my book. My fiancé and I were fortunate enough to spend a long weekend at Fair Hills for a wedding in late August this year, and honestly I don't think it could have been more relaxing. First of all, the resort itself is beautiful. Right on the Northern edge of Pelican lake, it offers great views of the water, and it was clear they take great care of the grounds themselves, even raking the beach multiple times a day.
We really enjoyed the hammocks sprinkled throughout the property. Swinging away with a book and enjoying the cool breeze off the lake was wonderful. If you feel like heading out on the water, there's no shortage of canoes, kayaks, and other lake toys freely available, which made for some great early morning adventures. Finally, the staff were extremely friendly, and the family vibe of the place is evident. All-in-all it was a wonderful time at a beautiful place and I would definitely come back.
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Date of stay: August 2015
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Let me begin by saying I'm not from the area, so the concept of Fair Hills was unfamiliar to me. Let's be clear: this is NOT a "resort" in the luxury getaway sense of the word. It is a summer camp for families, complete with modest cabins (clean, but somewhere between a Motel 6 and a La Quinta Inn in quality), camp food (yikes!), and organized activities that you may remember from going to camp as a kid (slip n slide, arts and crafts for the little ones, a talent show, etc.) If you're looking for some Americana, camp nostalgia, or a Dirty Dancing-style vacation, you're in luck. If you are looking for luxury, this ain't it.
Once you have the right mindset, it's not so bad. It's really easy to hop in a kayak or on a stand-up paddle-board, or to borrow frisbees or tennis racquets. There is a daily raffle for lessons in sailing, tennis, golf, and water skiing, all of which were pretty fun. Be warned, though: the food is abysmal (think airplane food or even camp food from when you were a kid). Definitely bring your own hot sauce; they seemed to have never heard of the stuff. Budget some cash for necessary trips to Zorbaz (pizza and nachos) down the street. I didn't try to use the stove in the kitchenette, but it looked a good 30 years old, so those with the 1-meal plan may want to stick to easily assembled snacks and cold meals.
Overall, I had a fairly enjoyable time, but for $3,000 for the week for two, I couldn't help but think of all the other places I could go instead that would be nicer or more exotic.
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Date of stay: July 2016
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My wife and I were here for a wedding of Labor Day Weekend and we were very disappointed. We arrived later on Friday night and the first thing you notice is that there are hardly any lights around the resort, which makes it hard and dangerous to navigate, especially in the rain.
When we checked in, they gave us a cabin but no key. I get that is rural Minnesota, but I definitely did not feel my belongings were safe in an unlocked cabin with over a hundred or so guests (strangers) around. We came back to our cabin twice and the door was opened, thankfully nothing was stolen, but a bit unsettling and the reason I kept my golf clubs locked in our vehicle. I know the cleaning staff didn't come in because there were no new towels, beds weren't made, and nothing was clean.
The rooms are very poorly kept up. I didn't see a single cabin that was in a good shape. Every room had paint chipping away, mildew in the bathrooms, broken trim/fans/doors, and overall not great considering they charge $65+ per person.
The staff was for the most part, very unfriendly and not very helpful. There were only a select few that were kind to us. We used the recreation room under the front office, which was cool because it had pool tables, ping pong tables and a nice open area to talk and have fun. The pool and hot tub were nice. Although the golf course is free, you tee off from the rough no matter were you are because they don't even mow a small section to tee off.
It was quite a hike from the cabin to the wedding ceremony and back to the patio reception. Thankfully they had some gentlemen on golf carts taking people back and forth, before everyone got soaked. I was a little discussed, again, with the resort staff at the reception. They never smiled, they were not helpful, and were very rude in several instances.
Needless to say, we didn't enjoy our time here at Fair Hills. I will say, it really does have an awesome opportunity to be a really nice resort. I just wish the staff would put a little more effort into the place and the up-keep was, well, up kept. Overall, I do not recommend this place.
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Date of stay: September 2015
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Go somewhere else
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My family of 7 from grandparents to granddaughters stayed at Fair Hills in August. We were led to this place because we had stayed at another wonderful family resort in Minnesota years ago (since closed) owned by relatives of the owners of Fair Hills. We were not disappointed! Everything was perfect, including the weather. Lots to do if we wanted to, from kids to adults but also a great place to just relax and choose your own level of busy-ness. All staff and employees were friendly, helpful, and welcoming. Each evening there was fun and family friendly entertainment. Larry was particularly awesome as a leader of much of this entertainment - we loved the sing-a-long and s'mores one evening. Our sides hurt from laughing And who wouldn't love the Hootenanny, celebrating its 50th year. Our cabins were very comfortable, food was great; we loved our servers at mealtimes. Many guests have been going to Fair Hills for 40-50 years so that's quite a recommendation! We hope to go back.
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Date of stay: August 2014
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:We had cabins 16, 19 and 20 and they were perfect for us. Close to activities (but quiet enough...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Emily S, Manager at Fair Hills Resort
Responded Oct 7, 2014
Carol, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience at Fair Hills. We were so delighted to have you and your family visit us this summer. It is families like yours that help make Fair Hills such a special place. We certainly hope that we will have the chance to make many more happy memories with you in the future!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I first visited Fair Hills Resort in 1938 at the age of 4. Last July (2002), I returned for perhaps the 40th time. The resort accomodates about 250, and every week, more than 200 of them are return visitors. Family reunions--2,3, even 4 generations--are common. This is the ultimate downhome lots-of-fun family resort, owned and operated by the Kaldahl family for seven decades. Warning: Once you take your kids to Fair Hills, they'll never want to vacation anywhere else. It's American Plan; the weekly rate includes 3 meals daily, evening entertainment, daily kids' activities that free the parents for a few hours, use of the golf course, tennis courts, lake and pool, rowboats, paddleboats, sailboats.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
While there is wifi, there's no TV. Wise parents who collect cell phones and electronic games are giving their children an extraordinary experience: Fair Hills will take them and all of us back to a simpler time where you communicate and enjoy life on a level not possible back home in the world of constant electronic noise. My husband and I were children in the 1950's and last week we felt we were able to reach back in time and not only visit those simple pleasures again but also share it with our grandchildren. Fair Hills has captured the magic of that 1950's "going off to summer camp" feeling -- boating around the shore, swimming in the lake, the sweet feeling of morning grass wet with dew on bare feet, the evening stars and call of the loons, it's all there for the taking. We (our troop of grandparents, parents, nieces, nephews, lots of young cousins) just got back from a week's stay yesterday. The Minnesota weather was cool and pleasant and Fair Hills, since it's beginning in 1926, is dependably wholesome offering many dollops throughout each day of old fashioned pleasures and camp activities -- from group activities for young children (4 to 8) to pre-teens to teens there's something interesting going on (arts & crafts, tennis, golf, boating, lots of etc). And moms, No cooking! The bell ringing at the dining hall signals another bountiful feast is ready -- usually a little menu is presented at each sitting for individual selections but there are also good surprises like a fantastic grilled picnic outside one day, a smorgasbord another day -- always fresh fruits, soups, lots of breads to go along with the entrees and Fair HIll's famous cinnamon buns (don't get me started on how melt in your mouth those are!). The lake is beautiful and inviting, there's lot of watercraft to use, some to rent (can be reserved ahead) -- there's just so much to do (or not, just relax and read by the lake, listen to the chirping of many birds, rabbits coming out early morning and evening, chipmunks skittering, red squirrels hopping) -- the staff is phenomenal, they are from different countries as well as nearby, multi-talented -- the cellist at happy hour you might encounter running the lobby desk, that marvellous singer at the Hootenanny, wow today he's cleaning your room! There's a lovely playground for little ones, a sparkling swimming pool, a meadow where our grandchildren made new friends throwing a frisbee (they ran til their sides hurt with joy). I hope I've painted the picture I intended -- the only thing that's keeping me from being sad about leaving is the reservation we made for next year!
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Date of stay: July 2018
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Cabins are "summertime camp" like -- not fancy. Can choose lakefront or in woods or up...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fair Hills Resort was a dream vacation for our kids (10, 8, 6, 3) and my husband and I. Our family visited in August 2014 and we loved it so much that we are hoping we can make it a annual summer vacation tradition.
The activities for all age groups were so much fun! The staff provided the perfect blend of planned activities and downtime. Our kids were outside from sun-up till sun-down swimming, playing on the floating water toys and diving board, fishing, sailing, water-skiing, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, playing in the sand, going on a pirate cruise, having tennis lessons, making fun snacks, enjoying campfires, going to talent shows by the guests and staff, and making some really fun friends! My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed watching our kids have a blast. The staff and all the amazing activities made the vacation extra wonderful!
In addition, the meal plan was DELICIOUS! It was so fun to eat in the dining hall family style with all the other guests. Everyone in our family (even picky eaters) loved every meal! And, it was so nice not to have to plan and cook meals for the week. The staff even treated all the adults to a date night which was AMAZING! We have a child who has Celiac disease and they accommodated her dietary needs so wonderfully!
FAIR HILLS is full of what matters most - AWESOME FAMILIES, NEVER-ENDING FUN, BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDINGS, FRIENDLY AND ENERGETIC STAFF, AND AMAZING FOOD!
We can't wait to come back next year!
The Aney Family from Rochester
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Date of stay: August 2014Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fair Hills is a real gem! We took the family for a visit in August and absolutely loved it. The cabins are cozy and are a throwback to the family cabins from the 1950s. True, they don't have TVs, Wifi, or AC (those things are available in parts of the resort), but what they had was beautiful lake views, lots of fresh air, a quiet nights sleep and a chance to connect with the family. We loved it so much that we extneded our stay.
The activity program for kids and adults was great. Every day Fair Hills offers a range of things to join in. Golf, Tennis, Pickle Ball, Swimming, Skiing, Biking, kids games, bingo night, the hootenany (a hilarious variety show), and a talent night. The best part is that kids/teens can self-entertain around Fair Hills all day long. There is so much to do.
Also, don't miss the ice cream they serve in the pavillion - we loved getting a treat to share at some point every day.
I would recommend Fair Hills for anyone looking for a very laid back Minnesota summer experience. Beth, the owner, and her team will do a great job making you feel like one of the family - they sure did for us.
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Date of stay: August 2019
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Detroit Lakes area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
fair hills hotel detroit lakes, fair hills resort mn
LOCATION
United StatesMinnesotaDetroit Lakes
NUMBER OF ROOMS
107
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