Outdoors Inn at Balsam Lake

The room was really small. No closet. Hooks on the wall but no hangers. Very few electric outlets. No phone. No attendant. On the plus side, very clean and quiet. Owner answered promptly when I sent a text. I felt the price was too high for this bare minimum but I expect it is so because this is summer, the high season.

It was fine - the bed was very comfortable, and shower had great pressure. The room had been cleaned, but there were little piles of what seemed like sand in various corners. If it were cheaper, I would have been fine - it just felt pricey for what it was. There is no on-site service; but when the code I was provided didn't work, I texted the number they gave me, and got a fast response. Location was solid - just a few minute walk from the main area of Balsam Lake.

We had an excellent weekend stay. It was quiet and close to town where we had nice dinner. Also went hiking and had plenty of places to site see.

CUTE ROOM.

This property was perfectly located so that I could tackle additional sections of the Ice Age Trail (Gandy Dancer) as well as heading to Straight Lake State Park and Balsam Branch for snowshoeing. The staff, even though not onsite, were very responsive! When I arrived, I had difficulty with the key code for the door and they responded immediately and got me into the room. Then when I accidentally left behind some personal belongings, they responded to my text promptly and got them shipped out to me the next day. I loved that there was a full size refrigerator and a nice large work cart with shelves. This made meal preparation so much easier. My only suggestion to make this room (#9) more convenient for the next guest, is to move the table and chairs that sit out on the porch into the room so that you can have a place to sit and enjoy meals and catch up on social media. That is what I did upon arrival and it worked out great since I was at this property over the New Year's holiday when sitting outside really isn't feasible. I look forward to staying here again later in May when I return to complete the remaining Ice Age Trail segments in Polk county.

No housekeeping staff on site to address customer service and support. Room didn't have adequate bedding and the heat did not work. Temperature outside was 30 degrees and no heat in the room. Had to sleep in our vehicle. Several calls were made to an off site representative and no one was available to provide the requests for additional bedding. Very expensive rates for such poor service.

First impressions are everything.

We enjoyed this little roadside getaway. It was clean and quiet. Check in and out is super easy and done via email. Only a few small things that could have been better. More plugins would be helpful. We had to move the coffee cart across the room to plug in the coffee pot. We stayed 2 nights so it would have been nice to have our coffee and cups replenished for the 2nd morning. Otherwise everything was very cute and quaint. Love the Plaid Decor!

I hd trouble getting my room key, first time I've ever checking into a motel with no one there. Otherwise the room was fine, very comfortable bed. The only complaint I have was the shower head needs to be replaced.