Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort (Utica, IL) - Hotel Reviews

Also Known As:: Grizzly Jack`s Grand Bear Hotel; Grizzly Jack`s Grand Bear Hotel Utica; Grizzly Jacks Grand Bear Resort; Grizzly Jacks Grand Bear Hotel; Grizzly Jacks Grand Bear; Grizzly Jacks

Address: 2643 IL 178, Utica, IL 61373

Region: United States > Illinois > Utica

Amenities:

Business Centre Fitness Centre Free Parking Restaurant Suites Swimming Pool Wheelchair access

Hotel Style:

Ranked #2 of 3 hotels in Utica

Price Range: €€

Official Description (provided by the hotel):: Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort offers skin-drenching fun all year long right in the beautiful setting of Starved Rock State Park. Located just 90 minutes from Chicago or the Quad Cities and an hour from Bloomington or Rockford, our 60 wooded acres offer all of nature's wonders, featuring 60,000 sq. ft. of Indoor Entertainment! This includes Grand Bear Falls Indoor Waterpark and Enchanted Forest Indoor Amusement Park, beautiful lodge accommodations, as well as our 1800 sq. ft. vacation villas and luxurious 2800 sq. ft. cabins. Enjoy a variety of dining options, including BBQ ribs, hot sandwiches and made to order pizzas at Lumber Jacks Pizzeria and Sports Bar. During the summer months guests can enjoy a cool refreshing drink at Bandits Bar, which is located on Bear Island next to our very own Curtis Canyon. Next to Bear Island enjoy our “Castle in the Woods” playground area and test your skills at our 18 hole Canyon Creek Miniature Golf Course (an extra $5.00 charge per person for guests of the resort; $6.00 for the general public). All lodge rooms include a microwave, mini-fridge, coffee maker, hair dryer and free wi-fi internet access. Our Vacation Villas are a 2-story townhome with a fully-applianced kitchen (basic pots and pans and place settings are provided), 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Our Log Cabins offer 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a fully-applianced kitchen (basic pots and pans and place settings are provided), 3 fireplaces and a plasma TV in our oversized Great Room. Other resort amenities include the Cave Arcade with over 60 games, the Wave Cafe Snack Shop, the Honey Pot Sweet Shop & Grizzly Bean Gourmet Coffee Shop, the Moose Crossing Convenience Store and the Northwoods Niche Gift Shop. Our Grand Bear Conference Center includes over 8000 sq. ft. of meeting space, including 6000 sq. ft. of Grand Ballroom space to accommodate your larger functions such as weddings, family reunions, etc. ... more less

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844 reviews from our community

See which rooms travellers prefer - 92 traveller tips

bocas2007

Normal, Illinois

1 review

22 helpful votes

“Definitely not worth the money”

Reviewed 20 May 2013 NEW

We stayed here this past weekend, May 18-19 (checked in on May 18 and checked out May 19). I called to make the reservations on the morning of May 18th. There are several reasons that I feel the facility is not worth the price that is charged for your stay. We have stayed at other water park hotels before and... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 23

Problem with this review?

We appreciate your comments. It is important for us to be aware of any issues that you experienced during your stay. We deeply apologize. Please be assured that your comments have been shared with management and will be addressed. If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at bsullivan@grizzlyjacksresort.com More

kquinn596

Addison, Illinois

2 reviews

Reviews in 2 cities

10 helpful votes

“Disappointing”

Reviewed 19 May 2013 NEW

Pros- Villas are spacious. Plenty of room for Pack N Play and luggage with room left over. Beds are quite comfortable. Showers have good water pressure. Trolley comes quite frequently; however, you may call if you want to make sure it stops at your villa. Short drive from Chicago & suburbs. Cons- The floor on the main level was filthy.... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 10

Dear kquinn596, Thank you for choosing Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort! We are sorry to hear that your stay was anything less than perfect. Our ultimate goal is that all of our guests leave with a smile on their faces and the feeling that they want to return. Please contact us at bsullivan@grizzlyjacksresort.com with any questions or concerns. More

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leoandmk

Saint Louis, Missouri

Contributor

13 reviews

3 hotel reviews

Reviews in 6 cities

2 helpful votes

“Decent Villas”

Reviewed 17 May 2013 via mobile

The Villas are nice and spacious. Terrible Mosquitos! Waterpark was nice. Amusement Park was barely an amusement park at all. The food at Jacks was aweful for the value. It was ok if you have a Groupon Special!

Was this review helpful? Yes

Dear leoandmk, Your feedback is important to us. Thank you for your comments. We are sorry that you were not completely satisfied with your stay. However, we are pleased to hear that you enjoyed the waterpark. Please contact us at bsullivan@grizzlyjacksresort.com with any additional questions or concerns and we hope to see you in the future. More

Sue M

Rockford

Senior Reviewer

10 reviews

1 helpful vote

“nice surroundings but lacking some basics...”

Reviewed 28 April 2013

the building and rooms themselves are very nice..had a room in the main lodge... no coffee maker in the room the water smelled like sewer-made me throw up after I tried to brush my teeth with it no fitness area even though there was a sign for one..not even a basic treadmill... they should make guests aware to they are... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 1

Dear Sammi M, Thank you for your valuable feedback. We do apologize for any inconveniences that you may have experienced. We do have complimentary coffee at the front desk and we are in the process of turning our fitness center into a business center. Please feel free to contact us at bsullivan@grizzlyjacksresort.com with any questions or concerns. More

Pam N

Chicago, Illinois, United States

“Our stay at Grizzly Bears”

Reviewed 19 April 2013

Stayed in vacation villa. The villa had everything and more. Very clean. Enjoyed it very much. The water park was decent. Hot tub was closed during our visit. That blew but water park was clean. Restaurant was a little slow. Sat 10 minutes before anyone greeted us.. Food was ok.

Was this review helpful? Yes 2

Dear Pam N, Thank you for choosing Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort! We are pleased to hear that despite a few issues that you experienced you still enjoyed your stay in the Vacation Villa. We appreciate your comments and hope to see you in the the near future. More

Brian_Schoppe

Wauconda, Illinois

Senior Contributor

39 reviews

18 hotel reviews

Reviews in 22 cities

142 helpful votes

“A Shame for a Place with Such Great Potential”

Reviewed 16 April 2013

We stayed at the Grizzly Jack’s over two nights in September of 2012. Since it was our first waterpark stay, I decided to wait to review it till having visited Wisconsin Dells. The experience between the Dells and Grizzly Jack’s is night and day. We stayed two nights in one of the three room family suites/cabins with Grandparents, other family... More

Dear Brian_Schoppe, Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with us. They are greatly appreciated and will be passed on to department managers on property. Please feel free to contact us at bsullivan@grizzlyjacksresort.com with any questions or concerns that you may have. More

KimmieG74

Melrose Park, Illinois

“Waste of time and money!”

Reviewed 10 April 2013

We wanted to get away for a few days for my daughter's Spring Break and Grand Bear sounded like the great place! Boy, we're we wrong!!! We were completely disappointed in out entire stay! We booked a villa which was nice and spacious but they didn't have enough towels and only had 1 roll of toilet paper in each bathroom.... More

Dear KimmieG74, We are very sorry that you were not completely satisfied with your stay. Your feedback is valuable to us and gives us the opportunity to improve for the future. Please contact us at bsullivan@grizzlyjacksresort.com with your concerns or questions. More

Mkoch1974

“Not a great experience”

Reviewed 8 April 2013 via mobile

For the price there were way too many issues to ever want to go back. Chlorine burned everyone's eyes, water too cold, only certain rules were enforced in the hot tub and pools. Service in the restaurant was HORRIBLE! When we asked (literally had to get up to find a waitress) for drink refills she rolled her eyes at me..... More

Dear Mkoch1974, Thank you for your comments! Please be assured that we have informed all of the appropriate departments of the issues that you experienced during your stay. We want to provide you and your family with a grand experience. Since we were not able to accomplish this please feel free to contact us at bsullivan@grizzlyjacksresort.com More

KimD43

Matteson, Illinois

“Service and Management Unacceptable- Please look elsewhere”

Reviewed 7 April 2013

I took my mother, my two sons, nieces and nephews for a weekend getaway. We booked a villa that cost us over $720 for the weekend which is not cheap. My expectation was that since we were paying for resort accomodations this "resort" would be adequate or at least at par with other family vacation places I've been to the... More

Dear KimD43, We extend our deepest apologies to you and your family. It is a great disappointment to us that we were not able to make your stay grand. Wonderful customer service should be given throughout property and we will not accept anything less. Please contact our General Manager, Brett Sullivan, at bsullivan@grizzlyjacksresort.com at your earliest convenience. More

BarbS229

Laporte

“Fun Family Trip”

Went to Grizzly Jacks (even after all the bad reviews) with 2 other families. Between the 3 families, we had 7 kids, ranged from 4 to 10. This place worked out really well for us. I did not notice the strong chlorine odor in the pool area as other people did. The waterpark was on the smaller side, but perfect... More

Dear BarbS229, Your feedback is greatly appreciated! It is wonderful to hear that you and your family had a grand time at our resort. We strive to make everyone's stay equally as wonderful. Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you in the future. More

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Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort Hotel Reviews, Utica

Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort

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