The Lodge Hotel and Conference Center

My husband loved this place! We got good service here. He loved the old fashioned ornate bar. We ate supper in the bar area and our stir fry was good. We had an adequate bottle of wine. My husband talked about how he liked everything so well we got a discount on our food. The pool was okay, it is decaying somewhat. The hot tub was always warm and the water was always moving. The Victorian furnishings were nice and interesting. We can’t afford to stay in really classy places usually so this was fun. We paid only $ 50. I guess what do you expect for the price.

This place is only for the very adventurous.
We paid $ 50 per night, so the price was excellent.
But when we arrived there was no one there to check us in because the person who did this was «at the bar.»
The size of the room was huge, easily as big as three average hotel rooms put together. There was a wedding each night, with the guests drinking out of their cars in the parking lot (?). And I cannot emphasize how much it looks like the Shining: run down, long hallways, weird, ghosts, etc.
We did eat brunch in the dining room, which is filled with taxidermied wolves and deer, etc. The food was okay. The staff all wear tattered tuxedos and openly argue with each other, because it’s apparently where aging food service folk go to work their sunset shift in lieu of retirement.
I posted several photos that capture some of the weirdness. The library is dark and creepy; the hallways are filled with dusty sleighs and paintings and old post office boxes; the elevators are lined with rusted mirrors; and there are oil paintings of sinking ships. Who wants to see a photo of a sinking ship in the hallway of their hotel? The windows are all stained glass.
We had a joke that many people had lost their virginity on prom night in this dimly lit and weird place. I would have checked out the gym, but was sort of afraid that the doors might lock behind me while in the sauna because everything was so old and sticky, and no one would hear my screams. Then there were the parking lot weirdos to worry about as well. #womenproblems
The only time I was really annoyed was when we came back to the hotel to order room service – expansive menu. We called down and they said the restaurant was no closed on Sundays. Why wouldn’t they just update all the menus to indicate this? Or at least put a little flyer inside telling people this. The same applied to the room service for breakfast. They weren’t doing it anymore. So… for the evening meal we ordered in.
All that said, this place gets 10 stars for «character.»

5 stars for cool hotel; 1 star for upkeep and cleanliness.
Very interesting hotel for the adventurous (as another Unilocaler put it) I thought it was a fun place to stay but is so neglected dirty and falling apart.
The staff tell me the hotel was recently bought by the hilton and there are papers around that say it’s going to get a $ 17 million renovation starting this fall. I’d love to come see it after that’s done but I probably won’t be able to afford it then.
Certainly was nice back in its day. Just don’t expect any kind of service whatsoever. I paid $ 49 plus tax.

Dirty, old, how can they look anyone in the eye and take their money for this? Every piece of furniture and inch of carpet is shredding, it doesn’t appear that they vacuum. I don’t want to know how old those bed pillows are, yikes. I survived it tho, swearing to never endure another night at Bettendorf’s tower of terror!

Fortunately the busy carpet in my room hides the fact that the carpet hasn’t been vacuumed, let alone cleaned in AGES. Crumbs and grimy stains all over– my bare feet won’t be touching the floor this stay!
Cheap bedding and linens, two tears in my bed sheet. This building is tired and in need of a revamp. Management needs to pay better attention to detail and cleanliness. Would not willingly stay here again– the overlooked issues are skeevy. This area must have other better options in this price range.

We had a couples night out and stayed here. You feel like you are stepping back in time to an inn in Europe. However, the years are showing on this property. It was nostalgic and horror movie at the same time. For the price it is what you would expect. Hard to believe that in the hayday, big names stayed here. The bar area was dark and dingy. The service at the bar was horrible. The décor needs to be refreshed and lightened up to get rid of the creepy feel. This is an unique place for the QCA, but it needs to be updated and more inviting to travelers in the 21^st century.

I can tell this hotel used to be a cool place to stay, but it is showing its age and there doesn’t seem to be any noticeable efforts to make improvements. It is a huge and unique hotel wherein character is one thing it is not lacking, giving it something better than the typical chain hotels in the area, but it has way too many issues to give it the benefit of the doubt. The whole hotel is dark, much too gloomy. Missing light bulbs all throughout the hotel, shut down outdoor pool that is used as a storage area looks horrible, spa area is left to rot and in no way is relaxing or enjoyable, men’s sauna wreaked of untreated wood and urine. Downstairs by the conference rooms wreaks of mold and water, restaurant is outdated along with the lounge that has not been cleaned in years. Rooms are gloomy and extremely outdated, regardless of their unique German style. The TV’s haven’t been upgraded since the 90’s, nor has anything else in the room from the bathroom to the beds. We had 2 rooms during our stay one of which had a microwave and fridge, the other had neither. One of our rooms also had a broken A/​C unit and a cracked sink vanity. Lets put it this way, for the price, if I had a choice I would stay somewhere else and pay a few extra bucks. This place is in rough shape, it’s unfortunate because it could be unique and successful, poor management at its best.

Older hotel that is showing it’s age. Service very nice. Very good internet service which is important. Clean rooms.

Other Unilocalers mention this place reminding them of Disney’s Tower of Terror or The Haunted Mansion. I’d more than agree to both of those, but I think this place might even be more authentically creepy and dreadful.
The entire place is in various states of disrepair, it was dark and dreadful the entire day and night I was there; and I hated having to host a meeting in a place where I felt my customers might not make it out alive.
As an amateur photographer, I had a grand time photographing all the nightmare-​inspiring (some may say «kitschy,» but I’d disagree) décor and furnishings. I got a sleep room with this dirty canopy hanging above my head and drapery instead of a headboard… I couldn’t keep my head from rubbing against it, and I know it isn’t washed between guest stays.
The only two good parts about my stay here were:
1) The banquet/​event staff were courteous and very helpful
2) Now I have a travel horror story that my coworkers will be hard-​pressed to beat

I’ve been coming here off and on for the last 15 years, but it’s been about 5 years since my last visit to «The Lodge». I love kitsch. I’ll take a neat kitschy hotel over a boring «nice» one any day. The Lodge has SO much potential. So on my arrival, I was discouraged by the neglect that the facility itself shows. This could be a really neat and fun place!
So there was the room. Oh, the room.
Stains and dark scuff marks on the ceiling
The carpet was oily and sticky (no barefeet allowed!) with pieces tearing apart and threadbare at the door jambs.
The mattress had several suspicious dark stains (and I could feel each and every spring when lying down).
The bathtub fixture was falling off.
All of the furniture was in a severe stage of neglect.
Wobbly tables, major chip and ding marks on everything and stains on the seats.
I requested some extra hangers. Which I got. At 8 AM. On *Saturday*. Despite the «do not disturb» sign hanging on the door.
After two nights, I couldn’t do it anymore and asked for a new room. The very polite and friendly staff gave me some options. I chose a room where the only oddity was the queen sized bed in the king sized canopied space. *shrug* I’ll deal.
When setting my room service tray outside the door (at their request), there appeared to be dried (dog?) feces stuck to the carpet. I can provide pictures for this one.
By this point, I’d only had one night left, and it wasn’t worth the time to switch hotels. I cannot believe I paid what I did for this dump. Never again.

So weird. Clean but so weird

Sad to say it has fallen into disrepair. Much maintenance delayed /​overlooked. Lots of scuffs, nicks, gouges etc in furniture, hallways. Upholstered chair in our room had a large area of the armrest missing with batting exposed. Cords for hallway light fixtures were draped on the floor. Tripping hazard. Whole place needed a coat of paint. It was just sad.

A hotel can’t live on prom parties and wedding nights alone…
First the good: Our room was clean. The décor was fun — with French tester-​style headboards, intricate floral carpet and ornate, gilt-​framed mirrors, it was no bland white box of a hotel room. I peeked into one of the suites as the maid was cleaning and saw it had a fun sleeping loft. This is a great place for after-​prom parties (several of which were going on the night we stayed there), anniversaries and wedding nights.
The not-​so-​good: This place is old-​fashioned and not in a good way. Yes, a coat of paint and new sofas in the lobby would do wonders. But the old, creaky bathroom fixtures and most importantly, cheap, uncomfortable mattresses and linens meant we weren’t able to get a good night’s sleep — an absolute must for a businessperson or serious traveler. My husband woke up a few times hearing music from some far-​off party. I didn’t hear that, but I couldn’t get comfortable on a mattress that sagged in the middle. Some of the public areas showed extreme neglect to the point of being creepy. I was reminded of the Tower of Terror at Disney.

I visited the Lodge for business. It’s different. I thought it would be super charming; I like the antique feel of the place, however, I think for my purposes I need a hotel for business travelers. I renamed the place the haunted mansion because this is what it feels like to me. The restaurant, well, I’m a vegetarian, and sitting in the restaurant with stuffed animal heads just really did not do it for me. The food was not impressive to say the least, so I’ll just plan to stay somewhere more modern next time.

I’ve been coming to this place since ’97 when we were first moving into the area. This has been a trustworthy place for fun décor and atmosphere in the bavarian style. The food is to die for, particularly the brunch.
We’ve had some memorable family celebrations here, and I hope folks give them a chance. I know they’ve been changing hands a bit through the years, but it’s still pretty good. I am planning oncoming on my next QCA visit, though since now I’m a vegetarian I’ll have a harder time picking something delish, but I’m sure I’ll find it!

The environment is a critical factor when writing a review. For example, what other opportunities are around, and what’s the opportunity cost of patronizing the establishment.
So.
For the Quad Cities area, I will say that the Lodge is above average. It’s no longer owned by Jumer’s and is under new management. So if you’ve ever stayed at a Jumer’s, you know the drill: kitschy, faux German décor, some antiques, the odd feeling of being in another country and yet being in rural America.
The room we stayed in was clean, quiet and comfortable. The shower worked well but wasn’t as hot as I’d like. The pool area was clean, but the exercise room was a bit, well from the 1970s. I was worried my elliptical would tip over while I was using it, and the cycle had a flywheel. Very old school, I wanted to wear legwarmers while using it.
The meal we had in the restaurant was an excellent value, even if they were out of sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. boo. That said, the service was very friendly, even if the waiter was exhausted from serving folks on a holiday.
For this area, this is an above average establishment. But for those of you who on the coasts (and you know who you are), this isn’t a place I’d go out of my way for.