Name: Aspen Inn
Address: 1711 West Hwy. 61á, Grand Marais, Grand Marais, Grand Marais, 55604, United States of America
Rating: 6

Smoke-free property

No elevators

Reception desk

General

Accessibility features

Wheelchair Accessible

Accessibility

Breakfast

Breakfast/lunch to go

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Free parking

Parking

Pets allowed

Pets

Extra decontamination measures

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

Individually packaged food

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the mini-hotel

Grand Marais Golf 'n' Stuff

Cook County North Shore Hospital & Care Center

Cook County Court House

Grand Marais Art Colony

Cook County Public Tennis Courts

Sivertson Gallery

Aspen Inn

Grand Marais

Dirty. Bad smell. Dead bugs, hairs and food on the floors. The front desk staff was very friendly, I will give them that, but I was too tired to complain. This the worst place I have ever stayed since my travels in Bolivia. AVOID!!!

Stay Away

This review is complicated as the title and score show average, but this hotel is average in nothing.  As others have said, there are deficiencies in that the property is old and well depreciated.  As another review said it is tired.  It is also kind of creepy.  All interaction with staff is via phone and camera and while they said fully booked, I rarely saw another person the 2 nights I was here.  

With that said, the hotel definitely has pluses.  First, the price is very affordable especially when compared to the properties around Grand Marais.  This is why it is the number 2 value for the area because at the end of the day, when you are visiting a beautiful place like the Lake Superior shore, the only thing you do at the hotel is sleep. Finally, as others have said, despite being worn, the property and my room were clean.  Additionally, while you are not in the heart of Grand Marais, as long as you are in Grand Marais, you are not far from everything which is why if you are planning to stay on the North Shore, Grand Marais is the best place in the middle.

If you are considering a stay here before a trip, this is a no frills or amenities step back to the 1980s hotel that is the cheapest and a clean stay in the middle of Minnesota's North Shore.  For all those complex reasons, the hotel is adequate.

Adequate

Overall not what anyone would expect from the website info.  Check in is at 4:00 not one minute before.  Arrived to our room to find someone else's clothes still in the dresser.  Went to office to see if room was double booked the clerk said no and walked to our room and gathered the clothes.  I suggested based on the look of the room cleaning was lacking, AC didn't work and could we get a refund she said she could not authorize that.  The entire place needs maintenance and repair windows barely shut, door lock difficult.  Toilet had a plunger next to it and upon using toilet we found we had to flush with the tank mechanics as it would not flush otherwise.  GFI outlet in bathroom didn't work so we had no hairdryer as it was attached to the wall near that outlet.  Microwave in the room did not work.  Don't stay here!

Don't stay here

September 2023- Read new reviews! This hotel is completely fine with new ownership.  The place is clean, the beds are comfortable, and the plumbing works.  Flat screen TV has Roku, wifi worked.  The wall art may be dated, but I'm not staying in a hotel on vacation anyway. 
The breakfast is generally prepackaged foods to microwave but has a great selection of Kcup coffee/tea.  It's free and filling if you want that.  The price is amazing with a location 5 minutes to most everything. 

Sep '23 - great value

I didn't see all the reviews from this website until after booking! We totally had plan B ready but were going to look at the room first for ourselves. We were SO relieved to find new carpet and everything clean, pleasant, and quiet thru the night. Puzzled by the contrast, we now go to check out. We were greeted by a very pleasant lady behind the counter. Her and her husband became the new owners 3 weeks ag! They have made all the positive changes, but understand it's a work in progress, as they have plans to continue. With all this said, I just want to reassure anyone who hesitates to book with Aspen Inn, Grand Marais, the bad reviews are no longer the case! :) It was a good room for a reasonable price.

After Reading All The Reviews!!!

Kudos to the housekeeping staff for doing the best they can with what they’ve got. The bathroom was clean and something had been sprayed to make our room smell fresh. Then there were the bugs, lights not working, flat pillows, roaring loud a/c and the filter was filthy. The carpet felt sticky and I wondered if I should keep socks on. There were holes in the curtains (see pic) there was rust over the Kleenex holder. The hallway needed vacuumed, the door to the parking lot was broken and didn’t even shut all the way. Anyone could just walk in. Grand Marais is crazy expensive, but if you’re staying there, don’t pick this place. I don’t think I’ve ever posted a negative review, we’re easy going folks that don’t need fancy. This was unpleasant to say the least.

Chasing Waterfalls

This is not the nicest motel as it has seen a lot of years since a Reno. However we found our rooms to be clean and the location is good for enjoying the area. The breakfast will sustain you until a real meal comes along. Kudos to the housekeeping staff. 

Tired, Clean, Quiet

This is a very dated motel. We had contact with only one person working there, who I’m sure was doing her best, but wasn’t the most positive person I’ve dealt with. (Where would you suggest for dinner? Answer: Just find a place that’s open and has the shortest line.”) whole place needs a lot of love.

Picture is very deceiving

First night of our mini vacation in Grand Marais, MN. Very dated motel. Made reservation for two rooms. Checked in.  Because of the Covid, they were not serving breakfast.  But they gave us a bag of fruit cups and muffins for the next morning. Very nice.  One room was comfortable and nice but dated.  The room was clean. We hit most of the room with disinfectant wipes and they were white when we were done. Our room a/c wasn't working and they had a fan running with the windows open.  Musty.  Stains on the furniture and carpeting. Very dated and in need of upgrading.  Mattress was worn and box spring was completely ripped apart on the side that you could see the inside. Bathroom dated. Location was good but not worth what we paid.

Not worth the price.

Found the room to be small
TV was not much bigger than my computer screen....Walmart has 42" TVs for less than $200.....buy some bigger TVs.  Not there to watch TV BUT a good TV would go a long way at night.
The exhaust vent in the bathroom was disgustingly dirty.That really should not be allowed as it is a health hazard. Obvious it had not been touch in quite some time. 
Exposed, wired capped electrical under the wall unit heater. 
Place to hang clothes was over the fridge and the coffee maker???
Cramped area in front of the bathroom door...
Bed spread did not look like it had been laundered in some time.
There was an "odor"  in the room, not sure what it was, cleaning solution or something else.
Pillows were FLAT.
The light on the wall outside my room was missing parts and held on with a wire strap.
I did leave something on the floor by the stool and by the bed and it was there when we left after three days.......???????????
The outside landscaping and grounds needed attention; overgrown and ill kept. 

Breakfast area was not conducive to comfort or enjoying the "selection of breakfast options".....which left a lot to be desired......we went into town. 
          Knock  out the wall into the next guest room to enlarger the office and make the office and breakfast area bigger and  more welcoming. 

I did like the easy access to the room with the outside door. 
I liked being on the back side of the area where we stayed .....away from the highway.
The lady at the front desk did make some great suggestions for places to go for dinner or drinks and shared information about the Gunflint Trail and information center....that was nice. 
The "odor" seemed to dissipate with time but still evident. 
It appeared we came at the peak of the colors so that was wonderful. 
Easy drive down the hill to town and all it had to offer. 
Love the area.

I can see where it could be nice but not so much this trip. 
We will check it out again when we return and maybe some things will have changed.

Aspen Inn

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