The Waters of Minocqua

Huge disappointment I was prepared to love The Waters after the recommendation of a friend and visiting the website. She said that my daughter who loves to swim would really enjoy it, and on the website it looks great. I was sorely disappointed. The term “resort” is just an excuse to charge higher fees. The hotel looked dingy, old, and rundown. It smelled bad upon entering, I’m guessing because dogs are allowed. It is in dire need of updating and deep cleaning. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a sign apologizing for staffing shortages. Another sign informed us that there would be no housekeeping offered during our stay. There was a long wait to check in, as well. I was hoping that the “waterpark” would make up for some of this, but unfortunately it was even worse. There was no lighting to speak of in the pool area, so it was quite dark and somewhat depressing. It was actually brighter outside, where it was a cloudy day. There was a bad smell in the pool area which was not chlorine. The pool area also appeared dirty and rundown. I was honestly afraid that we might catch some kind of skin ailment from the pool. Most of the pools are 3’6” deep or less, which is great for little kids and non swimmers, but my daughter tired of it quickly since she couldn’t do much. We didn’t stay in the pool long, and headed up to our room when it was ready (4 pm check-in instead of the standard 3 pm). I was looking forward to our room, but I should’ve known better. We got a double queen fireplace suite, which was a nice size, but very beat up. The fireplace was nice but was on a short timer. Our second floor balcony overlooking the forest was a lovely view. The sofa was really bad—it had been re-covered, and was still threadbare and broken down. The beds were soft and comfortable—no complaints there. The bathroom fan came on with the light, and sounded like a jet engine, as did the air conditioner fan. The air conditioning was not working properly—we tried turning it down to 64 degrees, but it was hotter than 70 all night. The refrigerator door was difficult to open, as it was scraping the floor. The breakfast had a nice variety of items, but unfortunately they ran out of most of it before breakfast time was over. The guests were swarming like vultures, and the poor older woman trying to restock the food was getting run over. We had to take the food back to our room because there was no breakfast seating. The most irritating part of our stay, however, was our attempt to get a noon checkout time instead of 11:00 am. I asked at the front desk the night before, and was told I would have to come back in the morning to check. I stopped by the front desk again at breakfast, and the young lady said that she would have to find the head housekeeper to ask her. I didn’t hear anything, so I called the front desk (I had to use my cell phone, since there was no room phone), and when I finally got through to them, I was assured that we could check out at noon. I had just gotten out of the shower when someone knocked on the door. It was housekeeping asking if we were checking out. I explained that we had a noon checkout, which obviously had not been passed on. We had planned to stay and swim after checkout, but the pool was not worth the effort of having to change clothes and dry off in the restrooms before getting in the car. I definitely would not recommend The Waters, especially at the room rates that they charge.

The Waters of Minocqua Disappointment The hotel is very inviting when you enter the lobby. Upon entering our room, we were greeted by torn carpet in front of the door, and an odor. Not sure if it was dog or what. Our room had 2 queen beds with a sofa sleeper- we opened that up to find a very worn thin mattress and broken springs. One of which fell out. The bed pillows were hard- we asked for more, but were told there were more in our room (there were none) and they were out of them. Behind the headboard of the bed we found socks from a previous occupant. It was obvious that space had not been checked or cleaned. Two of the 4 drawers could be opened but not closed. There was a mirror positioned behind the tv, that rendered it useless. The TV is one of the smallest we have encountered in hotels- our room had 2 queen beds, so it was not easy for everyone to watch. The hotel boasts having an arcade, when in fact it is nothing short of a rip off, Between the price of the games, and the few points you get, let alone the prizes- the number of tickets pales in comparison to what is paid out by the machines. The pool area is another thing. Upon entering there was a strong odor- we couldn't tell what it was (not chlorine). The facade around the pool is falling off. The nightly room rate pre AARP discount was $289- we paid $260 per night with that discount- we stayed 3 nights and wound up paying close to $800. The room, despite the time of year was overpriced given the overal condition of it. We make yearly trips to Minocqua- our girls weekend. Prior, we have always looked forward to staying at The Waters. We have made the decision to spend next year elsewhere. Some of the things we encountered at the hotel seem like nobody has been paying attention to the aging of this hotel- things not being painted, repaired, replaced., yet the price has been jacked up.

Great place and location We recently stayed at the Waters of Minocqua for five nights. Upon our arrival, we were told that the room type we requested was not available on an upper floor, which we had noted on our reservation request. The receptionist worked with us and we were upgraded to a much larger room, in fact, a two bedroom suite, for approximately $100 more for our entire five nights stay. The facilities are very clean. We brought our granddaughters to the waterpark for one night and they had a great time. Very kid friendly. I would definitely go back again. The hotel was also approximately 1 mile from the downtown area and there were two restaurants very nearby.

Pool area smelled like gas We were at this hotel because we came to visit my Father-in-law, who was in his final hours. When we took a break from the hospital, the kids wanted to go swimming. When we got into the water park, the eating/seating area smelled like gas. It made my stomach upset, and gave me a headache. And, I couldn't sit where I wanted to watch the kids. I went to the front desk to inform the person on duty. The lady on duty replied that she had noticed the same smell the past couple of nights as well. She said it was the chlorine. I asked if there were fans or ventilation that could be turned on. She point blank said no, and that was the end of the conversation. This left me feeling upset, and like she didn't care about our experience at the hotel. And, she was was going to try to find answer to my problem. On a good note, the wonderful older lady the next morning was very sweet. My FIL passed away in the night, so it was a rough morning. We asked for an extended check out. She was very sincere, and caring. She offered her condolences, and connected with us. She was great! We have decided though, that when we come back to Minocqua, we will pick a different hotel to stay at. We can find a different pool with better care and ventilation. We don't need to be sick when staying at a hotel.

This place needs love This hotel needs some love and investment. Whoever owns it needs to renovate the rooms. The beds are uncomfortable and lumpy, the air conditioning is super load and old, the ANNOYING light from the hair dryer is super bright, and you can't turn it off. The TV is old and channels don't match the sheet provided . The couch is old and smelly and the carpets are stained. NO HOT breakfast. You could make money by having that option.