Kalispell Grand Hotel

What would you expect of a hotel room priced at $345 per night ( one queen-sized bed) in a small town in Montana during the summer? Central air? A really good included breakfast? A closet or clothing rack? A bathroom vent fan? In room coffee maker and mini-fridge? A desk or table for writing or for placing your”stuff”? Or perhaps a telephone to communicate with the front desk in case of emergencies or particular needs? Well, if these are even some of your expectations, avoid the so-called “Grand” hotel in Kalispell! I spent two nights at the Grand in early August. I was told there was AC in all rooms and, indeed, online pictures of certain rooms showed mini- split AC units had been installed in this circa 1912 hotel. Upon arrival I was shown to a room with a large portable window AC unit right next to the bed! I noticed a mini split unit near the ceiling and asked why the extra AC unit was in the room. The answer was that none of the rooms actually had working mini-splits— they were in the process of being installed! What? The next problem was the “view”, or more accurately, the lack of one. One small window was occupied by the AC unit and looked out onto a rooftop; the other small window was half frosted glass and looked directly into another room! Two bedside table lamps were the only light source in a very dark, small L-shaped room. I had to turn on the bathroom light and leave the door open in order to see the contents of my suitcase. Which brings up another issue: there was no closet, no rack, no hooks or hangers for clothing! I decided to call the front desk and request a lamp and a clothing rack, but, you guessed it, there was no phone in the room! I had to use my phone to call the hotel number directly and request the needed items. That was Saturday afternoon; when I returned Saturday evening neither the lamp nor the rack had been put in the room. I called the hotel again and was told the items would be in the room the next morning because there was no one to assist the front desk person in fulfilling these requests. I also requested an iron and an ironing board. After a miserable night with little sleep due to the noise of the AC right next to the bed, I hoped that the breakfast would at least be pleasant. Not so. The offerings were slim: a picked over quiche of some sort, some stale muffins, a nearly empty bowl of yogurt with a much-used spoon dangling from the edge, four or five squishy blueberries in a bowl… gross! The tables had not been cleaned and guests’s leftover dishes, half-eaten food , and coffee cups were still on tables. Before leaving the hotel, I again requested the items I needed be put in the room while I was out for the day. When I returned to shower and change for dinner, I found that none of my requests had been met. I went downstairs and asked the woman at the front desk why my requests had not been fulfilled. She seemed totally clueless and acted as though I had never made such requests! I also mentioned to her that the bathroom became totally steamed up because there was no vent fan in the bathroom. She said there was definitely a ceiling fan in the bathroom; I had her come up to the room and look in the bathroom for the imaginary fan— all she saw was a hole in the tile where a vent fan should’ve been! She had no explanation. I again requested the needed items, and she summoned a person who was cleaning a room across the hall and asked him to bring the ironing board, the iron, a lamp, and a clothes rack. The young man could , of course, not do anything thing about the noisy AC, the missing vent fan, or the no-view windows! Finally on the second night of my two-night stay I had the requested items. I accept the fact that this is an old hotel and things might not be as modern as one is used to in big , modern chain hotels. However, the lack of attention from staff to repeated requests, the lack of common hotel room amenities, and the general state of the room ( no fan, no lighting, etc) certainly show a need for more managerial oversight. If you decide to stay here , make sure you get a view of your room before you arrive and plan to eat breakfast elsewhere.

We had a wonderful stay at the Kalispell Grand Hotel! Mitch, the General Manager, was great! Very helpful, professional, and personable. The hotel is more like a bed and breakfast. The delicious breakfast each morning included items like quiche, baked oatmeal, sausage/bacon, yogurt, fresh fruit, coffee, tea, etc. There was also fresh baked cookies and popcorn each eventing. Our room was comfortable and clean, and the bathroom had a big, walk-in shower.

The location in downtown Kalispell is good, although after touring Whitefish we preferred that area. The breakfast was okay. Very much like a Hampton Inn. The bed was comfortable, and the front desk people were nice. On the negative side, for over $400 a night we had a tiny, cramped room which faced a brick wall. When we opened our luggage on the floor we had almost no path to the bathroom. The room A/C unit was about 2 ft from the head of the bed so the air was blowing in our faces.