They bill themselves as a resort, but if you hadn't been told that, you'd believe you were at a motel. There's nothing "resort" about it. A number of us stayed there for a wedding at preferential rates that were still way too high for what the hotel delivers. I was already unhappy - at full price, I would have been livid.

Though the staff is very nice, this is an $85/night hotel at best. This is our experience over four nights:

- a barren (though serviceable) lobby
- hallways that smell like an old apartment building
- shabby furniture
- paint peeling off the bathroom doorframe
- plastic cups (not glasses) wrapped in plastic wrap
- pillows that *all* had round, hard balls in them, like hailstones the size of dimes
- old, thin, threadbare towels
- a broken iron
- no room service
- overpriced, mediocre food
- a dirty pool with things starting to grow in it
- no towels at the pool over two separate visits

The pillows were so bad that after two nights, I went to Wal-Mart and bought a new one - best $6 I've spent in a long time. The ironing board had a cover but no pad. You ironed on top of hard metal, which means you can't actually get the wrinkles out of anything. The only solution was to put a damp towel between the ironing board and cover.

The three rooms I saw were the same. I've traveled a lot, and usually stay in Westins or better. Based on their web site, I wasn't expecting high-end, but at $150/night (discounted, no less) I *did* expect good pillows, real glasses, an ironing board cover, and a pleasant atmosphere. This, instead, is a run-down property that is suffering from years of neglect. I would absolutely not stay there again.

We made our reservations back in Feb for an August stay. We specifically asked for a smoking room king bed. When we heard that Iowa had gone non-smoking in July we called and reconfirmed that we had a smoking room still. When we got there they said they only had five rooms and they were all gone and there had been no requests made for one. We repeated that we had asked and had even reconfirmed and then she noted that yes it was in the computer but they still didn't have one available. At that point another woman came over and said that there was no request. Another couple we were with who also made a similar request were told the same thing. First that they hadn't made the rquest, then that it was there and then again, that there was no request. The rooms had patio doors so you could step out but the funny thing was the smoke was drawn back through the open doors so I don't see what the point was.
The room was nice and clean and the ammenities were also nice. The area itself has plenty to do so we were busy our entire stay. I would however like to make one other comment. The restaurant onsite is not only pricy but the food was not good. Several of us ate there and we all had similar complaints. I was disappointed in that as I had been looking forward to eating there

My husband and I stayed at Arrowwood on a business trip and found the hotel to be one of the nicest in the area. The rooms were a good value with free wi-fi and we got a really reasonable rate because it was the off season in this lake resort community. The only complaint that I have is that the beds were hard. The resort itself is clean and every staff member of the resort that we talked to was extremely helpful. While in town, my husband rented a bike from the local expedition shop and rode around beautiful Spirit Lake. We also visited a great cookie place called "Hey! Good Cookies". Definitely worth the calories! Usually hotel restaurants are average, but the restaurant on the Arrowwood property, Minervas, had great food - go for the lasagna!

My king-sized business room featured a beautiful view to the golf course, a comfy bed with great pillows (and 3 decorative pillows), desk with executive chair (reading light could use some upgrade for occupants who plan extended use), small refrigerator (the rooms next door at the AmericInn provide a small microwave), new carpet, comfy chair/ottomen with tall lamp (the chair upholstery was rather worn), mammoth 27" TV with remote that malfunctioned, sufficient supply of coat hangers, pleasant stone-tiled shower but with a shower head located too low for anyone beyond "dwarf," nice bath configuration (vanity is private from the room even though it is outside the toilet/tub room) and good grab bar in the shower/tub, no slot in the wall for the box of tissues - so those were, unusually, sitting on the countertop, ironing board, luggage rack, coffeemaker, great hairdryer, beautifully scented Australian bath gel and "just ok" shampoo provided, silk floral arrangement on desk.

The room was quiet and comfortable (with the exception of the bathroom exhaust fan) and I recommend this hotel.

However, if you want to swim indoors, be prepared for a long hike up and down a few sets of stairs (it seems the building was built in stages) and be sure to take your towel since the pool area lacked both towels and a changing area!

If you choose to eat at the in-hotel restaurant, Minerva's, be prepared for slow service and some inconsistencies (our table of 8 received 2 big family-style salad bowls; the group of 8 at the next table were each served individual salads). The food ranged from okay to good (nothing was noteworthy); prices were a bit high.