O’Brien’s Inn & Resort

Stayed over Fourth of July weekend, we booked late so we had limited options. Staff was kind & helpful. Our room was not completely clean, dirty towels in bathroom, desk clerk got us way more than we needed which was nice. Hotel was over all clean & well kept, pool was nice but you could tell nobody was picking it up or watching it because towels on chairs didn’t move at all. A bit pricey for my taste, but we wanted to go to St Joseph for two days.

This place almost ruined our wedding weekend. We love the New Buffalo area and were excited to have our wedding at a vineyard there, but the high hotel prices in the area had us worried that friends and family might not be able to make the trip (seriously New Buffalo, I love you but you are NOT Napa Valley).
When we checked out O’Brien’s NINE MONTHS before our wedding we found the place a bit run down and musty. We chatted with the manager who assured us that they were «updating» and everything would look nicer, and they would be hopefully be updating to city water and would not have that musty smell. We decided to take a chance and booked a large amount of rooms at a discounted rate which required us to put down a 30% deposit. We were assured that no matter how many rooms were booked the deposit would be returned minus our personal room costs. This was outlined in a contract drawn up by the manager.
In the next few months our manager was fired, we dealt with two other managers, then our original contact was rehired. Total chaos. When our friends and family called to reserve rooms they always got different answers.
Fast forward nine months. NOTHING LOOKED DIFFERENT TO ME. I think maybe they painted a few hallways but the hotel still looked way outdated, still smelled musty, and STILL had well water. Very disappointing.
But the worst was yet to come. Apparently the owner of the hotel decided to make an appearance that weekend because of the large group we had there. However, he did not introduce himself to any of us, he lurked in the lobby looking extremely unhappy which was strange and uncomfortable for the staff and for us. When we checked out Sunday we found out that he decided he did not like the discount that we had worked out with his hotel NINE MONTHS prior, fired the manager (again), and refused to give us back the deposit. Refused.
We spent a lot of time talking to the new manager trying to get this worked out. When I called the owner he was so extremely rude, disrespectful, and unprofessional, actually yelling at me on the phone, I was blown away. He said the woman we worked with was NOT a manager (even though her card says «manager») and she had no authority to give us a discount. Apparently nine months was not long enough for him to review the contract and come to us or his manager with any concerns.
After more painful phone calls we got a portion of the deposit back but he refuses to pay it all, which I still cannot believe. We considered going to court but just don’t know if it will be worth it. It has seriously been a nightmare.
Aside from our own personal situation I strongly advise you skip this place. The price seems right but the place is super neglected, so not worth it. Just feels old and dirty and the staff tries but there is no organization and everything is chaos. Spend a little more and find a chain nearby, it’s worth it. Trust me.

Definitely NOT a resort– also, the website seems to indicate a restaurant/​bar on site– there is not– got into the room, but did not stay– room seemed clean, nothing more– the kid at the front desk was very nice, though– other than that, spend your money elsewhere…

As Dan G. pointed out, you can do a lot better for your money around New Buffalo. This place has a really old feel and is reflected in the rooms. The beds, frankly, are horrible; outdated TVs; bathrooms are OK. The staff was nice but they needed more than one person at the front desk. There were two wedding parties and one graduation so the line was painfully long to check in.
This place is NOT a resort.

My goodness did I try to buck the trend, and stay at this once-​upon-​a-​time-​other-​2-​star-​national-​brand-​motel-​now-​local-​1 and ½ star-​hotel, and I almost succeeded.
The employees we encountered here were all VERY nice and very helpful. Also, this place for a small fee will let you bring your dog, which is a huge plus for us.
Everything is just clean enough, very easy to get to, and within OK driving distance to downtown New Buffalo or where ever else in the area you want to go to.
Here’s the thing, and I know it’s not supposed to be a 5 star hotel and I’m OK with that, really, all I want is a clean room, which I got, a comfortable bed and a decent shower. Well, they are a solid 1 out of three. Yes it’s pretty clean, but the beds are REEAAALLY bad, I mean if you have a bad back you will be on the floor all night. And the shower, well, take a look at the picture of the old nasty shower head that only worked on one side and was clogged on the other.
It’s funny that this place lists itself as a «resort» I mean it’s physically laughable so we wont get into that, but guys, ALL YOU NEED are a few new mattresses and new shower heads you would be OK in my book.
One last thing, on the sign out front it advertises «rooms from $ 69 a night» but I don’t know what rooms those are. We payed almost twice that, and was the LOW for the area! New Buffalo Merchants, read this carefully: You can stay in Downtown Chicago, or NYC, or Vegas for less than you can stay out by you! Are you all sitting on huge natural gas or petroleum reserves but don’t want to sell, so you charge per room what you would be making per barrel of oil? What gives? Where is the value for dollar here?
So until they drop the «resort» from their name, get new showers, and new beds, and reevaluate their pricing, I would not add this to my favorites. If it makes a difference I got a distinct impression that the employees on the ground level do really care, and maybe someone higher up just has to take notice that he/​she has paying customers and this isn’t just a cash cow.