We have stayed or golfed at Thumper Pond a number of times. This year we had a lovely time on the golf course, it was in wonderful condition, the staff were very nice and the carts were excellent. Our room was perfect, clean, big, the mini-fridge was very valuable. My only suggestion is upgrading the TV to a flat screen. The water park was great fun. My three year old loved it and the slides were super fun. It is small, but tons to keep everyone entertained.

Then came the restaurant. Willy T's was the worst experience I have ever had. It took over 2 hours to get our food from when we were seated. We had to request of the host to get a server to our table, we never received refills of coffee or water, to get drinks we needed to each go to the bar directly. Forty-five minutes after ordering we learned that one of the menu items was not available so we had to order something different. Once the food came it was inedible. The eggs were severely undercooked and the meat was tough and to much to chew. Two members of our party developed stomach illness as a result of the food. We did not pay for our meal as it was a huge waste of time and we left hungry.

The resort would have been a 5 rating if it had not been the terrible restaurant. My suggestion would be to stay and play at Thumper Pond but under no circumstance eat there.

I have to say this was a very lovely place and they were very welcoming. I have a 14 year old and a 7 month old. The waterpark was nice and kept us busy while my husband went golfing.
I have really have no complaints...food was excellent (expensive but the quantity was amazing), clean, fresh, modern and perfect for our getaway.
My only issue was the "arcade" they stated they had. It was more like a small room with 5 - 10 games some of which only young kids would like. My 14 year old was not impressed so dont go thinking this arcade will keep your teen busy because it wont.
Room (King suite) was HUGE and had everything we needed!
The atmosphere was wonderful and besides the crabby looking waterpark employees....everyone was warm and welcoming.

My family stayed here about three years ago and there were two main changes since then... They have remodeled and some areas of the hotel, such as the restaurant/bar, have a very nice look to them. However, the other main change is a significant price increase that will probably prevent any future stays for us. They are priced like a resort (which makes sense with the water park and the golf course) but the service and overall experience is that of a decent hotel.

Generally, very nice staff, with a few exceptions (as is to be expected in any service setting.) The front desk staff were surprisingly less-than-chipper. Not rude, but just not as welcoming and friendly as you often find at hotels. (Especially in Minnesota!) Snack bar staff was just unmotivated and unsocial -- not mean, but certainly not friendly. The restaurant staff is either really over-worked or under-staffed because they could be pretty inattentive and absent. Several of our meals were very slow! But, when they were around, they were very friendly. Only went to the bar one evening and the woman working the bar that night was very nice and social -- probably the nicest of all the staff members we met.

As for the food, the restaurant was good, though not outstanding, but the portions were very generous and we felt like we got our money's worth. (Sitting on the patio was wonderful -- great view and a lovely way to enjoy the Minnesota evening!) The snack bar food is WAY over-priced...medium fountain soda for $2.00?? (And their medium cup is the size of a small at most fast food places.)

The rooms are nice and roomy. We really appreciated having a refrigerator and microwave to re-heat those leftovers from the large restaurant meals. Only complaint about the rooms is that half of our party was in rooms that faced the back of the hotel. These rooms have a view of the trash dumpsters, which were overflowing onto the ground for the three days we were there. (It was truly a mess -- boxes, trash and food all over the ground surrounding the dumpster! Made me think of years ago when I was in New York during a trash strike. But this is Minnesota, and as far as I know, there was no strike. Just poor attention to the details.)

Last note on poor attention to details... Some of the employees parked their car outside my window and then sat there and smoked until their shift. They were not rude or especially loud, but just seemed like the smoking location could be moved to a less obvious place.

Generally, our stay was nice and we had a fun time. Someone in our group commented that they needed to take some lessons from Disney. The general quality of the hotel, the service, the food, etc. was all fine, but nothing outstanding. They need to learn to go that extra mile and pay attention to those little details that really make a resort special. Until then, they need to charge hotel prices -- not resort prices.

OH, and one major note is that I didn't have any children with me, but other family members did and the kids all LOVED the swimming! That is certainly the biggest draw and, for those who take advantage of it, the pool can probably justify the over-priced rooms.

p.s. Thumper Pond actually put a note in the room asking people to review the hotel on here, which I appreciated since I rely heavily on TripAdvisor reviews. It also suggests that they are open to feedback and I appreciate that too.

Thumper Pond is located in a demographic that will not support the new higher priced rooms and with no guests that is why the hotel went into bankruptcy and was recently purchased by the interim company managing it. These prices will not work in Ottertail, MN. Nice hotel, restaurant is never consistent, overpriced now. Kids did run the halls all night, sounding like they were right in our room.