Reviews for Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge in Bemidji, MN

We ate at the restaurant for dinner, it was all very good and atmosphere was really nice, private and warm. Lakeview is amazing.... Drinks were really good. Dinner was great, prime rib and walleye! Local walleye. So fresh. Had a chocolate martini fordessert... Very good. But you can't get this view anywhere in Bemidji. Read more

I am writing my review as I sit in my bed listening to every single person on this floor breath through these paper thin walls.... My original reservation was for the cedar lodge. It literally looked like something from a 1970s horror movie. The door lookedlike it had been kicked in, nothing had been cleaned or updated since 1970. There were 40 flies I literally took 15 minuteskilling with my shoes while I tried to talk myself out of a panic attack. There was 2 options, call and get an updatedroom...that I now have to pay for or drive 4 hours back home. We are now in the renovated main lodge with no jacuzzi tub. Atleast it doesn't smell like dead animals and the carpet isn't sticky and crunchy. I'm still not thrilled and wished we would'veopted to finding somewhere else. Food tonight was great though, would recommend the restaurant with the lake side patio. Let'sjust hope nothing else goes wrong tomorrow... Read more

Spent the week experiencing life at Rutgers and it was absolutely wonderful!?my husband, our three daughters (4 year old, 2 year... old and 6 week old) had a phenomenal time. The cabins are a bit dated, but the beds are comfortable, space was clean and theservice was genuine/heartfelt from all staff (resort and restaurant). Beautiful beach with stunning lake views. My onlyrecommendation for those with young families is to pack toys and activities as the resort had plenty of space to play, but noplayground or hosted children activities ? they have an amazing beach water park, but our kids were a tad little for that ? soagain for littles, bring the toys as the space is great to throw a beach ball around/play in the sand/ride bike. Had a greattime and will be booking for next year! Read more

Rutger's needs to step it up a bit if they'd like to maintain any position in Bemidji. There's no polish..... It's a bit worn... out/run down. Advice? Spit shine every inch. Remove outdated, tawdry accents and really put some thought into what makes anenvironment top notch..... Wood polish? Spotless lighting? Wipe down all mouldings? Clean every corner. Wipe down every table,chair, table legs .... The entire bar area needs a full cleanse..... I know you are highly trafficked yet ..... the place justfeels grubby..... Don't modernize. Keep the family/beachy feel. Just scour the place. Every wall, light fixture, doorknob,ceiling if possible..... You'll all see, feel and smell the difference....??????????????? Read more

Stopped in for dinner. It was prime rib special so we decided to try that. They both came out undercooked for what we ordered.... Overcooked and unseasoned zucchini and a smashed baked potato (what they called mashed potatoes) were the side dishes. Noseasoning at all on the food and no seasoning provided on the table. My wife found hair on her dish. Just all around notgood. Very disappointing, we won't be back. Read more

Just had lunch there and looked in the shop. I was inquiring about a sweatshirt and as staff was willing to check to see if they... had other sizes. A coworker that was on the phone grabbed a piece of paper and wrote the word NO on it and handed it to the nicestaff who was willing to look. It was an experience that left a bad feeling about the shop they have. The food and drinks wereamazing and I loved that they tended to my dog just as they did for us. Read more

I want to like this place, but I can't. Our experience at Ruttger's was poor. We came during a busy time, so I'm guessing that's... why it was so expensive, but >$1000 or three nights?! This stay wasn't worth half that, and that's not the biggest issue. Westayed in the Cedar Lodge. When you first arrive you'll notice how dated the room is (if you look at the website, notice thestrategically angled photos). That's acceptable, but then you're hit with a smell of wet sulfur (rotten eggs) you know you'vemade a bad choice. Upon exploration of the room, you'll see the laundry list of issues beyond the dated decor and smell. Ourbeds were made, but the room wasn't clean. Scraps of trash on the floor, dust and residue on surfaces, odd little flakes thatlooked like poppy seeds in the bed sheets, freezer in need of defrost, dents scrapes and holes in the walls and furniture, and ahalf broken futon as the couch. The water also smelled awful. I took a shower and my entire body itched afterwards. It's worthnoting that I told staff, and the manager that handles housekeeping did her best to make it right. But even after that, therewas still scraps of trash in places and some surfaces still dusty/sticky/grimy and the room smelled bad the entire stay. Theonly reprieve was to open the windows but two of the three days it was in the upper 80's. The lake is fun, and the restauranthas good food. We didn't use the pool but it also looked very dated. They have fun water toys kids can use. But all the goodhere was overshadowed by our awful room. TLDR: Overpriced, dirty and smelly, not thoroughly cleaned, dated, poor quality offurniture. Fun lake and good restaurant. Read more

The server did not check if we wanted more coffee or tea. Basically, doing the one stop "how was the food" and payment of bill.... Also, forgot the order of tea until we tracked her down. I have seen the hotel rooms. The rooms are small but very, very nice. Read more