Just had a ski weekend at Chestnut Mountain. Did not encounter one bad staff member. From ski instructors to equipment rental to bartenders, all were very polite and eager to please. If you are going to eat there, stay on the second floor. Did not get to the Sunset Grille, but spent considerable time (and $$$) at the Summit. The Summit has bar food, plain and simple. But it got old fast. With no specials to offer, the entire menu is on both sides of an 11x14 laminated card. I mean, how much nachos, wings and burgers can you eat? Lots of room for improvement here, like a soup and sandwich deal or a small buffet from 4-6pm? The only redeeming value of the Mountain Top Cafe was that you were robbed without having a gun pointed at your head. It is cafeteria food, wrapped and sitting on heated trays (like McDonald's) waiting, waiting, waiting. For this product expect to pay only a dollar less than the Summit, for much less in quality AND quantity. If you are coming out for the day with a bunch of kids, pack a cooler with sandwiches, but don't waste your time or money at the Mountain Top.

Hotel room are dated, but ours was clean, and there appears to be an on-going renovation.

I recently spent my Galena weekend at this resort. It was a very pleasant surprise nestled in the rolling curves and hills about 20 minutes from Main St. Galena. If you like scenic countryside and interesting farmland with plenty of animals to spot you will even enjoy the harrowing ride through on the roads of rolling curves and hills to get to this place (I wouldn't recommend this drive in the icy winter!!) Once you get to the resort you will immediately notice the grand view of the Mississippi River from the hill that your resort sits atop. And if your lucky your room will also face this view. The staff was immediately friendly as we arrived and we could see that the Summit restaurant was hopping right off the lobby. We decided to dine at the lower key Sunset Grille though instead because they offered faster food and we were tired. My boyfriend and I chose to both have the chicken sandwich with fried green tomato. It was very tasty, the drinks were good, and it was not that pricey. We finally got to our room and it was tiny. My only complaint is that the room was not really up to par with how nice everything else was. The TV was old, the remote was missing, and the bathroom was too small. We did have a fantastic view of the Mississippi that made up for it though. In the morning we took advantage of the resort's Mississippi Adventure Cruise which took us down the ski lift (which is an experience worth it all it's own, trust me) and to a pontoon boat where we had almost a private tour of the Mississippi. The guide and captain was very knowledgeable and gave us great views and explanations about all the wild life we saw. He even took us past a huge eagle's nest with eagles flying around it. It was beautiful! After the cruise, we went down the resort's Alpine Slide. This is a waterslide-esque treat that instead puts you into a sled and let's you race down the hill through winding curves and high speeds. The sled has a mechanism to slow you down if you get scared and the track is monitored so this is a perfect ride for kids and parents alike. We had breakfast at the hotel twice and one of them was paid for by the hotel. The buffet was ample with a selection of pastries, fruits, meats, and biscuits. The only thing it was missing was maybe cereals for the kids since most breakfast buffets usually have it. Overall our stay was wonderful. I liked that the resort offered activities on site that you could take advantage of right away before going to explore downtown Galena. It allowed us to pack more fun into a more stress-free experience (no parking, no freaking out not being able to find a place). I would recommend this resort to people who like outdoorsy things (the resort also has bike rentals and trails to hit) or people with children and I will be back!

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.