We actually did not stay at the resort, but dined at The Summit Food and Spirits, which apparently is relatively new. The dining room was airy and light with a fabulous view of the ski hills and the river. We ordered prime rib. I chose the soup and my husband chose salad with the meal. I had their homemade cream of mushroom soup, which was out of this world and would have been even better if it were not lukewarm. My husband's salad was plated beautifully, but a very, very small portion. The prime rib was at best cool . We advised the waiter and he said he would take it back. Anticipating that they might nuke it,I told him that I wanted the food warm/hot but still wanted it medium rare. It came back nuked and well done. A hostess stopped by to see how are food was. I told her my prime rib was overcooked. She seemed taken aback and said she had really only stopped by to see how we were enjoying our meal. I was confused. She apparently did not want to hear any complaints. In any event, she did get me another portion of the prime rib (smaller than the first serving). The baked potato was overcooked and looked liked it had been sitting in a warmer too long. The manager came by later and apologized for the food. He said desert was on him and also asked if we would like a complimentary glass of wine. We declined the wine and said we would take coffee instead. He did not charge for the dessert, but did charge for the coffee. I felt we should not have been charged for the prime rib, oh well. For the price, I would not dine there again unless they stepped up the food. For the ambience, most definitely would stop by again for a drink and perhaps an appetizer.

What we could see of the resort, it looked like a great place for family fun and it appeared that they allowed pets, which is a plus for those of us who would like to bring our small pets along on short jaunts.

Nice place to stay, friendly staff, clean hotel, many activities. I would have rated 4 but the hotel does need some updating. The room was spacious and clean, but decor was just "tired" looking. The a/c was under the window and the curtains were blown about which was very annoying in the morning when the sun was coming up. Very uncomfortable sofa bed, but aren't they all. No peep hole on the door and old fashioned key locks. In the morning housekeeping cleaned the room and made the beds, but didn't empty the old ice bucket and leave a new plastic bag. When you make reservations ask for the river side view, which I didn't do so we had a parking lot view which was OK. The restaurants were very nice, great river views, and a good buffet breakfast. The bar menu needs a few more lunch sandwich items, the dinner menu was great and I had the salmon which was really really good. The alpine slide was fun as was the mini golf course. I would recommend the hotel and will stay there again. Hopefully the economy will improve and the hotel will be able to upgrade the rooms. No elevator in the main building where we stayed, had to walk up a flight of stairs. Good complimentary coffee in the lobby in the morning.

Staying at Chestnut Mountain is an adventure in and of itself. My wife and I stayed here recently following a severe rainstorm that flooded the town of Galena. The road leading up to the hotel (Blackjack Rd) was damaged and we had to take an alternate route just to get to the hotel. We did, however, get a room with a view in the Chalet section of the hotel. The rooms are smaller on this side of the hotel as opposed to the Edelweiss side, but they cost a little less. Getting a room with a view of the river is an absolute must - when you make your reservation, be sure to call ahead and request this.

Now for a couple of pronounced cons - all of the hallways and stairwells in the Chalet section of the hotel smell terrible. I'm not sure if this is because of the pool in the lower level or the humidity or what, but the smell was just awful. Thank God this smell didn't permeate our room, where the smell was very neutral. Also, the Chalet rooms are tiny, just enough for a queen size bed, crappy TV, chair, desk, and tiny bathroom. On the plus side, the bed on the Chalet side seemed to be more comfortable than we remember them being on the Edelweiss side; not sure if they upgraded the bed in the room we were in. . .

But we didn't spend much time in the room, as the hotel restaurants, with sweeping views of the river were spectacular. The Alpine Slide is also on site which is a plastic toboggan type slide down the ski slope. Hiking and bicycling trails are plentiful here. And this hotel has a pool, which despite the hotel being crowded for the weekend was never very crowded. Along with the pool, a hot tub and sauna (which was out of order during our stay) were present.

All in all, my wife and I enjoy our time at Chestnut Mountain - we love the isolation the hotel provides and the wide variety of things to do while staying there. Just check your expectations at the door about the rooms, because they are average at best.

The rooms were spacious, clean and inviting. The views from the rooms and the resturants were great! The resort made arrangements for a terrific boat tour. It was an effortless weekend-relaxing with friends in the bar or in the resturants. The Chestnut Mountain Resort was all we could ask for!