Margaritaville Lake Resort Lake of the Ozarks

The resort, employees, food and amenities are A+ fabulous but there’s one thing that needs attention. There is a man that rides around on a turquoise scooter pretending to be Jimmy Buffett. We saw him minutes after arrival. He doesn’t verbally claim he’s Jimmy but that’s what he’s going for. I have been a parrot head since 1978 and I’m not amused. He approaches groups of girls hoping to get their attention and sometimes it works. They giggle and feed his ego and take photos. I find it cringe especially since Jimmy has passed. I inquired and he does not work there. He lives nearby. People watch your teenage girls there. I saw him approach a group of teens and give them lays and take pictures of them in swimsuits.

Probably Not a Resort Be aware all of the outdoor pools are open to the public so if you're looking to relax with a book and a drink by the pool this is not the place for you. We were put in one of the cabins which was dated but comfortable. There was trash and cigarette butts outside our cabin. In addition, there was a ton of foot traffic as the front of our cabin faced the sidewalk to one of the pools. Everything seemed to close early. Overall odd experience for a 'resort' stay.

Depressing, Checking out Early Stayed at the resort for a conference. The entire place is badly in need of a major gut job. Our room has filthy carpet, depressing bathroom, loud room air conditioning unit and a balcony where you have to dodge overhead dripping. No housekeeping unless you call and ask for it. Pools are beyond filthy. No towel service at the pool closest to our room. Also no food/beverage service. Larger pool has drink service but does not allow you to charge to your room, even though they hold a deposit on your credit card at check in. No landscaping, just weeds. This hotel is a definite pass for us.

Good but not outstanding We had high expectations for a Margaritaville resort. This is actually the old Tan-Tar-A resort that has been remodeled. They did a great job with the lobby/check in areas. It was inviting and very Margaritaville. The check in staff were helpful and courteous. Sparkling clean. The rooms were clean but ours had a musty odor. Was obviously an older room with a difficult squeaky balcony door and peeling paint in the bathroom. The TV didn’t work. Was told by the phone operator it was a system wide problem. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was assured he or she would contact me but it never happened. The TV problem persisted our entire stay. Not a problem during the day but at night it was an issue as the bars and pools shut down at 9 pm. We ate at Landshark bar and grill twice. The burgers were very good but the jerk chicken wrap lacked jerk sauce leaving it very bland. Service was super slow but we understand it’s the high season. Dinner at Windrose Marker 26. Again, service was super slow. Ordered the lobster bisque and was told it wasn’t ready? How do you run a restaurant, knowing what time it opens and not have your signature soup ready? I had the filet. It was way over cooked bordering on medium well when I ordered medium rare. The only thing that saved it was the compound butter and wine reduction sauce. Overall the flavor was very good. My wife had the salmon which was also over cooked as she ordered it medium. Again the topping saved it by adding flavor. Overall we enjoyed the grounds and pools. They were clean and had good staff that were helpful. We would probably look for a different resort next time.

Overpriced, not worth-it, resort with a great view. The concept of Margaritaville Lake Resort at Lake of the Ozarks is appealing-everything in one place with a lake view-and that is one of the main reasons why we chose Margaritaville over the long 4th of July holiday. However, we were quickly disappointed for the amount of money we spent. Our room location was perfect. Right on the lake with a perfect view of the firework show. However, the room itself wasn't that great. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by dead bugs on the floor and all over the curtains. Smeared bugs all over the walls along with living spiders and their webs hanging from the ceiling. The outside deck was also covered in spider webs but expected that since it was outside. The toilet was disgusting and didn't look like it had been cleaned in awhile. We also found the previous guests sunglasses that were on the floor. We chose not to say anything and was going to enjoy our stay regardless. The next day however, we received a text asking us how we would rate our stay so far, from 1-5. I responded with a 3. I received a response back asking for a reason and I gave my reasoning. They were quick to offer a credit and asked if housekeeping could come and address the issues. I responded with yes, and figured I would let them try to make things right, since they offered. I did let them know that we had the "Do not disturb" magnet on the door but gave them permission to enter as we were not there. We came back to our room 4.5 hours later and nothing had been cleaned. We told ourselves that maybe they got busy and proceeded with getting ready to go to the pool. We then received a text stating that housekeeping could not enter our room since the "Do not disturb" magnet was on the door and that they heard a dog barking. The message then proceeded to threatened to charge us an additional fee if the pet remains on property. WE DO NOT OWN A PET! We only had an upstairs neighbor and I didn't hear a dog bark the entire time we were there, their baby screaming constantly, but no dog barking. I went up the front desk and they said that legally they couldn't go into a room with a pet present, and "thought" they heard a dog barking. We were assured that no additional fees would be charged after we had to convince them that we didn't have a pet in the room. Resort guests are also charged a resort fee. This is typical and I would expect secluded guest only services/amenities for this fee. NOPE! All of the outside pools are opened to the public. So paying guests have to overpay for disgusting, outdated rooms and a resort fee so others can use the resort for FREE. I was told that only guests could use the indoor pool which is away from the music, food and drinks and not outside to be able to enjoy the summer weather. The pools were crowded, especially since it was over a holiday. Our room keys were bracelets so we could tell who was a guest and who wasn't. The pools and chairs were over taken by others who were there for FREE and not resort guests. We purchased breakfast with our rooms. The first morning we ate at JB's Boathouse and the food was good and the service was GREAT. We at at Landshark twice, and both times the food and service was GREAT! The last morning we chose to use our breakfast voucher at the coffee shop. The breakfast sandwiches were cold and tasted like plastic. The employee/cashier complained the entire time about having to be there and got upset when I accidentally pressed the wrong button and she couldn't use the remaining balance of our voucher for a tip. Needless to say, if you're wanting to get away to relax and get what you pay for, Margaritaville Lake Resort Lake of the Ozarks is NOT the place to go.