The photo to the left shows the front of the hotel. The Lodge of the Ozarks is located on the Strip (Hwy. 76) across the street from the Caravelle Theater and the old Jim Stafford Theater, which is now closed and is for sale. The hotel is in a great location on the Strip and is within walking distance of two of The Tracks locations, Andy's Frozen Custard, and several theaters. There are also a couple of restaurants nearby.
The lobby of the hotel is decorated in rustic lodge style Here are two photos of the lobby:
Registration was an easy process, although a bit confusing. On the right as you enter the door is a show and attraction ticket sale counter, also known as the concierge. Some people thought that was where you checked in. The registration desk, however, was straight ahead. There was a registration sign, but it was hard to see. The young lady at the registration desk swiped my debit card for incidentals. This is the first time I've ever had to do that at any hotel in Branson. When we completed checking in, I asked about the Golden Corral vouchers and The Tracks pass that were a part of the Groupon deal. I thought they would be given to me with our room swipe cards. She said that you had to ask for them as some of the Groupon deals for the Lodge didn't come with vouchers. I found that strange, since the only Groupon deal I saw for the Lodge offered the vouchers.
The hotel has a workout room and a nice, large indoor pool. There was unfortunately no hot tub, although I saw on one of the doors of the pool a sign with spa rules and the switch to operate it. If the hotel isn't going to offer a hot tub, then perhaps the sign and the switch ought to be removed. The pool is only 4 foot deep at its deepest point. Here are photos of the workout room and the pool:
The hotel has interior corridors, which were nice and quiet. We stayed in room 416, which was a value double queen room. Refrigerators are only available in the premium rooms, so it was a good thing we had our small cooler. The ice machine on our floor was out of order, however, so we had to go to another floor to get ice. Soda vending machines are available on each floor and snack vending machines are available on the first floor. There were two sets of elevators, one near the lobby and one halfway down the long hallways.
If you didn't want to walk too far or drive to get dinner, the hotel has a restaurant called the Rafters. We didn't go to this restaurant, so I can't give a review of it. The hotel also has a lounge where you can purchase alcoholic drinks and limited food items.
Breakfast was served in a room called the Club. It was a good hot breakfast with bacon, sausage, Irish potatoes, scrambled eggs, and biscuits and gravy. There was orange juice, milk and coffee to drink, and cereal and fruit were also offered. The hot breakfast attendant was very efficient and gave large portions. Friday's breakfast, however, wasn't the hot breakfast we were accustomed to the rest of the week. It was served in the lounge and consisted of donuts, oatmeal, cereal, and toast. There were two toasters and they kept tripping the power strip. I wonder if there was something else going on?
There is also a theater at the hotel and you have a choice of two shows - Club Mario, a lounge singer/comedian, or Kirby and Bambi Van Burch, two magicians.
The hotel also has several nice sitting areas to sit at and visit. This would be a great hotel for a family reunion or a wedding. Each floor has a small sitting area with 4 highback chairs. The lobby also has comfortable seating. And there are 2 nice outdoor seating areas, one of which is pictured below:
The hotel only has 3 luggage carts, which are located at the front entrance. You would think there would be more than 3 luggage carts for a hotel with over 400 rooms. All in all, we had a very nice stay at this hotel. If we could afford it, we would stay there again next year.
Thanks for reading! See you next time!
Diane
