The Inn on Lake Superior

The Good: Location, free breakfast
The Bad: Needs updating, pool area dirty, rude front desk staff

We were taking my sister to UMD so we decided to stay the night at this hotel since it’s a long drive from the cities. My kids loved it. The room was spacious with a couch and table. It also had a mini fridge which was nice. We had no problem parking on a Saturday. It’s close to Lake Superior which is awesome because we didn’t have to go very far to see the lake or walk on the boardwalk. It’s a bit pricey but I’m assuming it’s due to the location. We would stay there again.

We stayed here on labor Day Weekend had a balcony room over looking the lake. the view is spectacular ! The room just like any other hotel room for the money I expected a little more. The hotel needs to be updated. The service was great! all customer service people very nice and helpful. We would come back again.

Rude inept staff. Breakfast is pretty unappetizing. Management is inattentive to details and unresponsive. Cleanliness of breakfast area is very very low.

This place is NOT worth the money. Even with the wedding block «discount» I overpaid.
When we arrived to get checked in it took almost 30 minutes. The person behind the counter had a hard time understanding that there were similar names on a block of rooms for a wedding. Since it was mainly family, the last names were all the same. Before leaving for my room the girl very nicely exclaimed, «all the beverages in the fridge are complimentary!» How kind!
Once I finally got checked in I went into my room to begin getting ready to head out for the evening. As soon as I walked in I was greeted with a nasty white stain on the carpet (see photo). I didn’t have time to deal with it so I planned to just avoid it. Not happy. I went to turn on some lights and tried the lamp and didn’t work. I checked the light bulb only to find it was broken and nearly cut my hand wide open. It was quickly changed with a call to the front desk.
I had some bottles of water I wanted to chill and opened the door to find the generous drinks from the hotel… a Pepsi, a Diet Pepsi, and two bottles of water haphazardly thrown in the refrigerator (see photo). Don’t bite the hand that feeds you I guess… but very tacky.
After the drive from Edina I was ready for a hot shower to get ready for the evening’s events. The shower was aesthetically pleasing but fell short when it came to water pressure. It started off ok, then there was very little water pressure, and then it would kick back up again. It was never consistent.
After returning on Friday night we went to the parking lot to find NO parking spaces available. We circled a few times and then decided to go inside and see what the solution was. I was quickly told, «Yes, there is one left.» Someone working there said they were leaving so I was to follow her and able to park. The lack of parking was a bit inconvenient.
I LOVE my coffee in the morning! On Saturday morning I went to make some coffee with the coffee pot provided in room. I went to fill it up with water and noticed the pot was very dusty and dirty or burnt inside. I also noticed that water had already been put in the pot. When did hotels start filling that for guests? How long had it been in there? What kind of bacteria are now growing in there. No coffee for me.
While checking in we were reminded of the free breakfast in the morning. I didn’t eat it on Saturday but came down Sunday morning before we were to leave. I heard they had eggs, potatoes, sausage, make your own waffles, juice, coffee, etc. The eggs were your standard powdered eggs there were poorly prepared. Their sausage were more closely related to nasty hot dogs than breakfast sausage. The potatoes had some sore of orange coloring tot hem with absolutely no flavor. Children were running around unattended, dishing up food, getting their drinks, spilling and making a mess as well as trying to make their own waffles. Though, the ability to make your own waffle sounds appealing it’s nothing but a problem of people not knowing what they are doing.
The children. Oh God, the children! This is NOT a great hotel for adults wanting to escape the petri dishes with legs. Children were constantly running around, unsupervised, soaking wet from the pool, getting food for breakfast or running through the hallways. The floor around the front was wet and absolutely annoying and disgusting.
My $ 205 a night could have been spent much more wisely.

The Good:
We stayed three nights and splurged on the balcony room facing the lake. Good call! The view was stunning!
They served hot and cold breakfast: eggs, waffles, breakfast burritos and the best ever oatmeal! Yum! Many Juices, coffee, milk, etc they had trays and a rail system next to the counter so you could set them down instead of balancing them like so many hotels have. There was seating inside and outside on the lakeside patio off the boardwalk. Hotel staff removed dirty dishes when they could and even refilled coffee! All in all, a cut above for breakfast plus there was plenty of walking room in the food area so you weren’t «asshole to elbow» as my dad used to say.
The rooms were good and the beds great. I’m a princess and the pea type of person so the bed matters. This one was great.
The balcony was just what we wanted and looked out over Lake Superior, the boardwalk, and the entire area shoreline.
We had a fridge (we used it) a microwave (didn’t use) and a coffee pot which was nice.
Each night there were s’mores on the patio from 8pm until 10pm. My son loved this and ate three!
Our room was above the fireplaces (there are 2) and I worried about smoke flooding our room since my son has asthma. Management assured us that the fires were gas and wouldn’t be a problem. They were right! No problem, in fact it was cozy at night to sit on our balcony and see the fire immediately below.
We didn’t get a chance to swim but we did scope out the roof top pool. It’s small but looked clean and relaxing. Great view of canal park up there.
Postcards at the front desk and they’ll mail them for you. Not all hotels will.
Cute little store with snacks and a few souvenirs. Coffee ²⁴⁄₇.
The Bad:
The pillows needed some tweaking. We all fought with those. The toilet was wayyyyy to low. It was for little people I think. Not only that it was very close to the wall on the right side. Most people are right handed and it was dicey reaching back to finish our business without feeling like the offending arm was in some kind of restrictive device. One word euwwwwwww!
The ugly:
The toilet. The toilet. The toilet. Two nights profits would pay for a comfort height stool (I’m only 5’7″, imagine if you were over six feet!) one star off for the toilet!
A final word: we will probably be back but may bring our own pillows and a donut that raises the height of that doggone toilet!

The bathroom was full of hair and the beds were squeeky. The front desk could care less about the hair issue.

We have been wanting to stay here for awhile. We have walked by and have seen the guests gathering at the fireplaces on the patio and making s’mores.
The hotel has exceeded our expectations with our family of four. The pool area is nice, the rooms are clean and comfortable and making s’mores on the patio was fun.
A nice added touch was Pepsi and water in our fridge.
The staff were also very nice.
We would like to stay here again. But we will have to book well in advance because the rooms fill fast.

We had a wonderful stay for 3 nights in July. The rooms were nice and the location was perfect.
First off, the hotel is located right off of the lake. In the morning, if you go down to their free breakfast (more on that later), you can sit out on their patio that looks out to the lake. It’s beautiful and it is very relaxing.
As for the breakfast. For once, I think the breakfast description on the website is understated. This is the real deal. We wanted to go to Amazing Grace’s for breakfast, but the breakfast setup the hotel provided was so robust, we couldn’t justify it. They always have a couple of hot items (one is usually eggs), Belgian Waffles (make your own), a variety of cereals, hot pre-​made oatmeal, yogurt varieties and more. There is something for everyone here. In fact, we had a couple of 2 year olds with us that we had no problem feeding.
The pool is decent, the hot tub was fine and they have a sauna. We didn’t try out the upper level pool.
My one tip for future guests would be to spend the money and get a lake view room. We were in one of the bridge view cabins and had some trouble with «traffic» very late at night. Some people think it is hilarious to rev up their engines nearing bar close. On two nights, we ran into this issue. The only option to avoid that would be to stay away from Canal Park, and even then, you can’t guarantee that wouldn’t be a problem. So, spend the extra cash and get the lake-​view. And that way you can get the balcony that overlooks the lake. While the sun goes down, it is pretty awesome.

I’ve stayed in almost all of the hotels in the Canal Park and downtown area in Duluth (because I’m incredibly wealthy). The Inn on Lake Superior has nice staff. The few times I’ve stayed here I have been impressed that they have treated me much better than some of the other hotels.
The free breakfast is fairly well stocked with scrambled and boiled eggs, [meaty] potatoes, create-​your-​own waffles, donuts, bread and bagels, yogurt, apples and bananas and a variety of hot and cold cereal.
There is free wifi, free parking and complementary beverages in the rooms (diet *and* regular Pepsi). If you didn’t get enough Pepsi in your fridge, you can always buy more in one of their vending machines (and not much of anything else…) or grab a FREE cup of coffee in the lobby at anytime.

Stayed this past weekend (Easter) for a friends’ wedding — the block of rooms she reserved was $ 125, but I found a deal on the Inn’s website for $ 113 — bonus! I know rooms get more pricey during summer season, but this was perfect for us.
Room was clean, and VERY well lit (we visited other guests at The Edge and could barely see anything!) I checked in in 30 seconds, and rumor has it that they were letting people check in early as well.
Breakfast was great, standard cereal/​waffle/​bagels/​yogurt/​fruit/​etc buffet, but to our surprise a lady came around passing out hot mini-​donuts each day!
The ballroom where the reception was held was beautifully decorated, pasta buffet was a hit!
Can’t say enough good things about our stay — thank you!

We stayed here over the weekend. We got the two queen beds and a view of the lake. It was pretty nice. The room was clean and the staff was polite. They even do have a little s’mores bar where you roast your marshmallows outside and put them together inside. The only reason I didn’t give it a five was the pool area was small but I’ve seen smaller. It was clean though and towels were stocked pretty quickly. We liked it for our family

View is great, rooms are clean and large. Best off all they are a green hotel. Was here for a wedding and they were great to all of us!
EDIT: Didn’t realize I had this draft saved. This review is from ⁷⁄₂₀₁₁

I have stayed at this hotel for an EMS conference for the last 16 years. The conference is in January so it is a bit nippy out.
Always a pleasure, nice rooms, friendly staff. Can’t wait to come back
P

Stayed here on a family vacation (my first time to Duluth) and had a great stay.
The Inn is located right in the heart of Canal Park and has great access to everything in the area. Definitely a good choice for a trip to this lovely city.

I always stay here while in Duluth. Service has been very reliable, rooms are in good shape, nice amenities, and great location. Breakfast buffet is weak. The place can be very crowded during busy seasons, call ahead to secure reservations. Lake view rooms are definitely worth it, IMHO. Make sure to get 2^nd or 3^rd floor for less noise. On my most recent visit, I had a 1^st floor handicapped room near the lobby, it was noisy. I asked for a switch, and they promptly moved me to a very nice, and much quieter part of the building, no hassles. Fix the breakfast and you’ll get five starts :)

A Real nice hotel with a View big comfortable rooms, Dogs are Welcome, the breakfast isn’t as good as you are made to believe it is but it’s not bad, lake side rooms are great for watching Ships and people! the Rooftop Pool is Open all year it’s a Fun place to Stay for a Weekend, EVERYBODY that Works there are Helpful and Friendly!

Best place to go with kids or family. They have a pool inside and a heated hot pool on the roof that is open year round. They have a great breakfast buffet, more food selections than most hotels. Every night they have free smores and a fire outside to make them on. The staff is super friendly and they have free games (board) you can check out at the desk and play in your room or the lobby. They give you the little extras for free, nice soap and lotion in the room, as well as free pop and water in your fridge. They also have free tea and Starbucks coffee ²⁴⁄₇ in the lobby. This is the only place I stay when I am in Duluth. Its also right on canal park so you can see the boats come in and go for a run right from your room in the hotel.

Time for an update!
I still love this hotel. It’s not the cheapest and the $ 25 per day dog fee is ridiculous, but it is still my favorite place to stay in Duluth.
We always get the lake view rooms and the view is spectacular. The lake on one side and great galleries and shops on the other. What more do you need?
They have a much nicer breakfast staff so that is a big improvement. The main entrée changes each day and ranges from biscuits and gravy, sausage patties and english muffins to scrambled eggs with peppers and onions. You also have the make your own waffles, fruit, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, etc. It’s a pretty nice spread!
I am also a big fan of 24 hour free coffee, cappuccino, tea and hot chocolate!
The pools are good and the s’mores are fun no matter what the weather is.
This last trip we felt the mattresses needed to be replaced but the bedding is such a great quality that snuggling up in bed while watching the view from the window is one of my favorite activities.
We stay here in several times a year and never leave disappointed.

But of course we had to try the dog-​friendly hotel on the Lake. The place is a bit dingy and could use some updating, but it served us just fine for our needs. Hubby was also able to negotiate the pet fee — $ 25 per day for «pet cleaning»? Preposterous — we got charged for just one day.
I am not 100% sure but the rooms for pets must be on the east side of the building, so if you’re not into hound dogs howling, try to get something on the other side of the hotel.
The breakfast is fine, if you’re into malted waffles and biscuits and gravy in chafing dishes. We tried the ‘Smores bonfire one night… it’s just alright when it’s 20 degrees out, but I can imagine that it would be utterly wonderful on a warm summer night.
Didn’t even try the pool… I’m not sure there was enough chlorine in there to counteract all the kids and their tinkles…