The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake

2 stars only for the view. The rooms and restaurant are not worth the money. My husband and I stayed for a mid-​week getaway in August. For the rate we paid I was expecting a special romantic stay. We were so disappointed.
When I made the reservation the resort was pretty full and we wanted a water view so we were given a first floor handicap room, which was fine. We also got the wine package because it seemed like a good deal since we wanted to do the wine bus.
Our stay started out nice with the wine bus the day we arrived. This was before we checked in since it was about noon. Our driver was very nice! Lots of cheesy jokes, but entertaining. We went to a few wineries we had never been to and learned about a very new winery (no buses allowed yet) called Laurentia (which is amazing!).
Once we ended the wine bus tour we checked in to the hotel and made our way to the room. It was nothing special, looked quite used and out dated. Plus our bathroom was not clean! There were hair in the shower and around the base of the toilet. YUCK! I immediately called housekeeping. About 10 minutes later a younger woman came to the door. She didn’t seem happy about working at all. I pointed out the hair and she cleaned it up and left without saying anything. I had to say to my husband, um is she done? We didn’t know if she left to get something else or was done.. .
The rest of the room was ok, but nothing special. Old, used mattress and pillows, coffee styrofoam cups leaked and we couldn’t plug our phones in by the desk (or turn on the desk light) because the fridge and coffee maker occupied the outlet. Also, for «Ohio’s Wine Country Resort» or so they advertise there are no wine glasses in the room to enjoy the wine bottles we bought on our tour. The bathroom towels were so small and scratchy too! The second day we didn’t even get a bath mat, which we so need with the handicap shower. So, I basically wore my flip flops the whole time. Lastly, the little patio wasn’t clean. The little table was sticky and dirty.
When you stay at a hotel a lot of the time is spent sleeping and getting ready, but we just wanted to be out of the room the whole time.
On to our first night, we ate dinner at the lodge in Horizons Restaurant. They were so short staffed, which seemed to be the theme with overhearing others complain. They didn’t have any beers on draft, but at least had a few Great Lakes beers. We were wine-​ed out at that point. We split the shrimp cocktail, a mushroom pizza and cheesecake. The shrimp cocktail wasn’t cheap and was so bad. It tasted overcooked and like it was made in the morning. The pizza was actually pretty good and the cheesecake, like almost everything else, nothing special. While we ate there were many tables around us full of of dishes from previous guests.
Included with our wine package we got breakfast each morning. The first morning we had a choice of buffet or something off the menu. The buffet was pretty much a continental buffet, nothing amazing and nothing too healthy. The second day I wanted to order off the menu, but after we waited 30 mins or so for a table and seated we were told it was buffet only, just another disappointment.
The second day we went to the pools, one outside and one inside with a hot tub near each pool. Again, the towels were so small and scratchy! However, there was a bar open at the outside pool and the girl working it was very sweet. It was a nice treat to sip on a cool drink on a very hot day. Well, the day was hot, but not the hot tubs. They were just warm.
The lodge also promoted that it had free wifi, but it was not so good and kept cutting out. Oh, I forgot to mention the view. The location of the loge is very nice, right on the lake. and a multipurpose trail runs along the lake which is really nice for a walk, run or bike ride.
One last thing, when we checked out I was told when I made the reservation that we could use our AAA discount, but the girl at the front desk said we couldn’t. She wasn’t nice and didn’t apologize about the mixup. Just some sincerity would have been appreciated, but it was just icing on the cake. I left very upset.
To make it even better, after we left the lodge sent me 3 emails within a few days asking (after the 3^rd email it felt more like telling) me to take a survey. I filled out the survey, even checked the box for someone to follow up with me, but funny thing no one ever did.
So, save your money! Do not stay at the lodge. Come for the wine bus, but stay somewhere else.

My sister had her wedding here recently and I have to say we had fun only because we have a fun family! But everything else was horrible! The food was atrocious, I even risked breakfast in the morning and the best thing was the Dannon yogurt! The staff is incompetent and rude and the place is completely over priced your paying Ritz Carlton prices for motel 8 quality! Bottom line I would never return even if it was free!

My wife and I stayed last week at the Lodge at Geneva on the Lake and found it to be a great place for getaway. The resort was very clean, and the staff was friendly. The food at the restaurant was good and priced appropriately. While they don’t offer room service, they do offer to have your meal placed in containers so you can eat them in your room or on the many benches overlooking the lake. The resort is at the outskirts of the Ohio wine country, which is definitely worth a visit; lots of small, interesting wineries which offer some very nice local wines.

I’ll cut to the chase… The Lodge is tolerable. Nice pools and play area if you have small children. Beautiful lake view. The dining rooms can be hit or miss. Take your chances. The BEST part of this place, and really the only reason we continue to stay is the Wine Bus. All of the drivers are knowledgeable and polite. Always willing to snap a picture or point out interesting facts. But, by far, Ron wins the «Extra Fun» contest. He’s funny, gregarious and has a great play list on his Ipod. Picture if you will a group of middle aged buzzed ladies riding through the covered bridges and country roads of Geneva belting out a Kenny Chesney or George Jones song. They don’t pay this guy enough. Bet he has great stories. Hope I’m not in any of them!

After being gone from GOTL for well over 40 years, we returned for a few day wine trip this past weekend. This place is definitely the place to stay in the area. In fact, it’s only 1 of 2 places (the other being The Lakehouse) that I would consider staying. No wonder it’s hard to get a reservation at these places! It’s a wonderful property. Beautiful, well-​kept grounds and a very nice staff. The bar and the restaurant are top notch in terms of ambiance and service. The rooms are spacious and very reasonably priced. They have a wine shuttle – which is exactly what you need if you are doing the wine tour! I’m happy to see that GOTL and this area of Ohio was able to revitalize itself because it is a very scenic part of the Northeast… Lake Erie is gem that sometimes goes unnoticed!

The resort is nice, we were ignored at the bar for a long time. Didn’t feel good to watch everyone else be served.

Good food and wonderful service. We stayed at the hotel and came for drinks each night. Everytime we showed up at the bar the bartenders remembered us and were extremely friendly! Beers were also cheap!

Five stars for beauty! Zero stars for food. All of the food we had was canned or frozen and off the truck. Really a shame because the setting is wonderful.

My family got a few rooms here over Memorial Day weekend, and it turned out to be a great mini getaway! We had both dinner and breakfast (buffet) at the restaurant. I thought dinner was excellent, especially the green beans and local walleye. My sister had a vegetarian stir fry, which she said was not so great. Don’t forget to sign up on their website for their wine club to get a complimentary flight of Ferrante wines ($ 10 value). The breakfast buffet was decent. None of the foods were stand-​out spectacular or anything, but there was a nice variety for $ 12.99 (pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, oatmeal, fresh fruit, pastries, cereal, yogurt, made-​to-​order omelets, etc.). Our rooms were adequate, but the best part were all the activities and grounds. We used both the indoor and outdoor pools, the gorgeous walking path along the lake, the playground, and the beautiful lobby gathering space. We didn’t use their winery shuttle or rent bikes, but those are also available. We did take advantage of the location being walking distance to other attractions at Geneva-​on-​the-​Lake. We would definitely come again.

This review is only for the restaurant inside the Lodge, Horizons. The food was okay, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here. The views of the lake are fabulous though especially as the sun sets.

As a state park lodge I was not expecting much but it is very nice. The staff was very pleasant and very helpful. Rooms were nice and everything was clean. We were here in early May so the weather did not cooperate and allow us to explore the grounds as much as I wanted but the bar was fun. Love that they promote local wines. I bet this place is even more beautiful in the summer.

The rooms are 20 years out of date and the walls are so thin I could hear everything in the rooms all around us which kept me up till midnight waiting for my neighbors to be quiet. There is no way I could recommend someone staying here.
The views are great and the staff was nice but that was it. Consider someplace else.

1.5 stars. My husband and I went here to celebrate his graduation from the Masters program and I would call this a disappointment. The best part of this place was the room and that is because it had a hot tub but it was way too expensive. We went to Horizons Lounge for dinner and it was atrocious. I had the salmon and it was so over cooked that I wouldn’t even have ate it if I wasn’t starving. My husband got the white pizza and I feel confident saying it was the worst pizza I have ever had. It was like eating a cracker with some cheese, no chew to the dough at all. We also had breakfast there the next morning (only bc it was free), and it was just as bad. I think the best thing I had was the bagel.
The only reason why this place gets even 1.5 stars is because of the hot tub in the room. I will never return here and urge you to never go unless you are looking to spend a fortune on the worst food in Ohio.

Been here a few times over the years.
The food has declined significantly. It is very expensive for not very good food.
Also if you set a wake up call you are now warned. The wake up call went off 4 – 5 times 30 min before it was supposed to. Ugh not fun.
If you want a lake view I believe most floors will be an odd number.
The lake walk pretty and nice but I wish it was longer. If you completely follow it takes you back to the parking lot… Boring.
Hopefully they start to improve I believe the price wasn’t worth it. Minor things need to be improved. Aka the elevator, it tried to go down without closing the doors. I wouldn’t mind the price if they fixed a few minor issues.

The rooms were very clean with a decent amount of space, nothing was outdated, and they each had a keuring system for brewing coffee which was impressive. The front desk staff was incredibly helpful (especially Bob!) Really appreciated the hotel staff. Also, I highly recommend the wine shuttle to the local vineyards –makes for a really relaxing day!
While the location is beautiful and the rooms are nice, the food service was not great. Be prepared to wait for an hour if you order something off the menu versus the buffet. I had to go into the kitchen to find the waitress who was on her phone and ask her where the food was. Fifteen minutes later, after everyone was ready to leave, they brought out the food and all she said was, ‘Sorry about the wait.’ No manager visit, no compensation, just whoops! Every time we ate there it was like that. If you go, plan on giving yourself extra time to eat.
Also, and I am literally NOT exaggerating, every single time I got a water glass, coffee mug, wine glass, etc. it had lipstick, food, or what looked like dried mac n cheese on the rim. The really need to beef up their dishwasher or something because that aspect was disgusting. The fact that I could never count on the dishes to be clean, or the service to be timely really put me off to this place. Especially with weddings, timing can make or break the experience.

This is our 2^nd year that we have stayed here during the winter. We come with my husband for a business trip. This year was much better. They had the restaurant open for breakfast, unlike last year where is was just continental. The breakfast buffet this year was very good. They make eggs (anyway you like), pancakes (with fruit or nuts, small or large) and waffles at your request. The cook made my daughter pancakes with fresh strawberries and scrambled eggs and I have never seen my daughter eat so well.
We traveled with my 4 year old daughter and 2 year old son and they love it. They have a fireplace in main lobby and they love the indoor pool area. It is pretty deserted in the wintertime so my kids kind of had free rain of the place. My only complaint really is the fact that this is a family lodge and I wish they had Nick/​Nick Jr., Disney, and/​or Sprout on the TV or at least DVD players in the room. I also feel that they are a little over priced. For a bottle of water is was $ 4.
We are looking forward to trying this Lodge and town out this summer.

Overall a really great experience, and one that makes me want to come back again and again!
My very sweet and thoughtful boyfriend planned this little birthday/Valentine’s Day trip for us here for a few reasons:
1) We thought we’d be able to enjoy the winter outdoor activities, like snowshoeing and cross country skiing
2) The Lodge is close to my parents and all the wineries we love to go to together
3) The was something for everyone, including the mini Murph, who thoroughly enjoyed the indoor swimming pool and having his own attached room.
4) They’re dog-​friendly, so we could bring my fur monster
5) The Lodge is a great place, period.
Well, besides the first reason (since it wasn’t snowing and there was none on the ground) we got all the things we wanted, plus more.
We were on the ground floor with an attached room for my boyfriend’s son, and a sliding door leading out to an open patio with lots of land for our dog to run on. Awesome. The staff is very understanding about dogs, which is why they put you in a separate section. It was perfect.
The rooms are updated, but the décor is not modern. It’s a lodge, not a 5 star, high-​rise hotel in NYC. The bathrooms were sort of small, but very nice. Flatscreen TVs, free wi-​fi and a mini fridge were all great perks, as well.
The actual hotel had a pretty communal lobby with a fireplace and tons of seating. They also have a whole mini-​waterpark, pool and hottub for the warmer months. But we enjoyed the indoor pool and hottub with floor to ceiling windows facing the Lake. The gym room was tiny and out-​dated. Who doesn’t have an elliptical? There were two treadmills for hamster running, a set of free weights, benches, a weight machine and two bikes. Nothing crazy. Although it was very clean and well-​organized – plus the windows also face Lake Erie.
Horizons restaurant and bar, which is attached to the hotel is good, not great. They have very strange hours and are closed during slow times. Odd. They say they source a lot of the food they serve locally. I had no real way of telling if that was true, but the steak and salad I had were good. The salad was fresh, typical and the steak was cooked right, but didn’t wow me. I did try the little man’s freshly prepared fish bites and those were delicious. Definitely recommended.
Lastly, they have a little game room that was closed for repairs and a mini arcade next to some vending machines. The little guy loved that, obviously.
Overall, this was a great experience and we can’t wait to come back for another visit in the summer months. Winery tour, anyone?

My husband took me here to celebrate my birthday this past weekend and we had a really great time. The Lodge is centrally located to all the activities in geneva (though off season it’s all closed).
The rooms and service were great. The room was large and comfortable and the service at the lounge was excellent– food was good too!
They also offer a wine bus here for $ 15 pp and next time I would definitely take advantage. For $ 15 you get 4 – 5 wineries and are there for an hour each. Seems like a good deal to me… and safer!
My only complaint was the kids. They were EVERYWHERE. We later found out there was a soccer tournament but this was really a damper on the stay. They were running everywhere, up and down the elevator, the stairs, yelling, chasing each other, etc. All while the parents were getting lit in the lobby being just as loud. I think both the parents and the kids needed supervision and this was a low point of our stay.

Excellent atmosphere, location and service.
Within walking distance of both GOTL Boardwalk/​Strip and Geneva State Park (check out the gorgeous beach) there is nothing not to love.
We had a Family room — two double beds, a bunk bed, micro/​mini-​fridge, desk and small table area. No balcony but a great lake/​pool view.
Bathroom was handicapped accessible and very spacious.
Perks include Bath & Body Works brand soap and hair products and a Keurig coffee maker and complimentary coffee and tea assortment.
Spotless and well serviced daily with loads of big fluffy towels. I’m not a fan of poly-​blend bedspreads but in a hotel this clean I can deal.
The outdoor pool/​hot tub area is fantastic and well designed so adults enjoying the hot tub are not on top of small children enjoying the sprinkler area (check out the big ring — even some adults couldn’t resist it). Great changing/​shower facility adjacent to pools as well. Ample lounge chairs, shaded patio tables and a poolside bar/​snack area are a nice bonus.
Across the yard are benches with a stunning view of Lake Erie (catch a sunset). There are a set of benches with a fire pit/​grill in the center. We didn’t indulge in a campfire but it seems that option is available and would certainly be a fun experience. (Check with Hotel Staff first, I’m thinking «but some chick on Unilocal said …» will not be good enough if I’m wrong here).
Hotel staff was helpful, professional and kind. When not enough hotel rental bikes were available for our party of six, the front desk Associate did not hesitate to quickly recommend «Adventure Zone» down the street — much appreciated to keep our days plans on track. The hotel is directly on a wonderful paved bike/​walking path that winds around the State Park. We saw a variety of bicyclists, scooters, walkers and golf-​carts (Adventure Zone again) enjoying the paths.
Did not visit the hotel restaurant so cannot comment on that.

Really lovely hotel. Honestly, it has been almost a year since I stayed here. But for some reason, I didn’t review it back in September of 2010.
My husband and I went on a «last hurrah» babymoon right before I was due to give birth. Let me just say that this is a very good idea in theory, but I advise you NOT to travel far. Because your whole trip will be tainted by the fact that you think your water is going to break at any minute and you’ll have to be rushed away to the hospital; you can’t walk anywhere because your ankles are swelling; and you can’t go to any wineries or bars because you can’t drink. But other than that, great idea. Just stay close to home because you’ll be a lot less stressed out about the fact that you could in fact go into labor at any given moment.
Now that we’ve gotten that rather unpleasant part out of the way: the hotel was beautiful. I liked the feeling the lodge gave me. I like how it had that small-​town charm despite being a rather large hotel. The views were awesome, the lake is beautiful and you can (and should) go on many walks to gaze at it lovingly.
There’s a pool or two (didn’t partake because it was too cold).
The restaurant was pretty nice; we ate outside and had a nice meal and a great waiter. It was a good meal, although not too memorable.
I’ll also mention that the town is really cute and quaint, but it’s like a dead zone unless it’s a weekend night. Maybe it’s different in the middle of the summer; I think we went before Labor Day but I’m not sure. We were so confused as to why all the places in that crazy lake strip were closed on a Friday during the day. But then we went back on the weekend and it was very lively. Visiting all the townie places was fun. I even became the Dutchess of Madsen’s Donuts and some coffee place from checking in just once. Now that’s deception.