Honey Creek Resort

As a resident of NE Missouri, I wish I would have known about this place sooner! The building is beautiful, as are the details in the décor. The lake views are wonderful, as is the Iowa prairie surrounding the property. Here are my thoughts:
Room: Well decorated and cozy, very comfortable beds, clean, and spacious. We had a ‘resort view’ (meaning parking lot view), but the trees and prairie surrounding everything made up for it. Newer TV with plenty of channels to choose from. Wifi was free and fast. Downside: no microwaves, refrigerator, etc. if you want to bring leftovers into the room. Bonus: the hotel is dog friendly (for a small, very reasonable fee), so we brought our pup along!
Grounds/​Hotel: We loved the décor, great room, fire place, and everything about the outside. There are adirondack chairs overlooking the lawn and lake. There are plenty of walking paths and trails, both short and long, to choose from. They wind down to the lake, through the prairie, and you can also hike into the woods. There are computers for use, and free coffee (good coffee!) available in the morning. The lake seems lovely, and if we had more time I would have liked to rent some paddle boards or kayaks to explore it. There is also a nice beach.
Food: I noticed others rating the food poorly. I had a pasta dish here, and it was excellent! It was priced about the same as any other sit-​down restaurant, but in my opinion was on point with any upscale Italian restaurant (flavorful, fresh, and plated beautifully). The atmosphere is very classy. Salad was small and plain, but the dressing tasted homemade. If the weather is nice, sit outside and enjoy the view.
Staff: Friendly and helpful. They were very accommodating with late check-​out and answering questions.
Pool: We did not use as our stay was short, but all the kids around seemed to love it.
Overall this was a wonderful, relaxing stay (with bonus points for being dog friendly)!

Such a beautiful place and I really enjoy coming here. The restaurant service is usually slow but other than that it is a great place to vacation. The lake is beautiful and great for boating.

Beautiful place! We golfed 18 holes on their gorgeous course, and stayed in one of their one bedroom cottages. We loved it, all the comforts of home with a bbq, fire pit and picnic table. I only gave 4 stars because the heat didn’t work and it was freezing cold in the cabin. We do however look forward to staying again.

Nice hotel, nice big lake caters to any lake-​ey type activities you could ever want, very nice cabins. A fun place to have a family vacation. Towns with restaurants and shopping are close by. Not as much nature stuff (trails, variety of landscapes) as I’d expect from a large state park. All the amenities, the beach, the playground, the waterpark, the entire lake surface, are always crowded; except for the restaurant.
The restaurant is going to be a bad experience for about ½ of your party. Interesting menu items will come out not as described (the breakfast burrito with poblano chiles inside and green chile sour cream on the side will be nothing but egg and sausage). It will take an hour for you to get scrambled eggs and toast when they’re not busy. One of my fried green tomato slices came out still frozen, in a time when green tomatoes are in season and there’s really no reason to freeze them in the first place. Go when you’re not in a hurry, be prepared to go to the bar to get your own drinks, order something simple from the menu, and you’ll have a good experience.
I’d recommend this place for a family vacation once or twice if it’s not too far for you to travel.
In the survey I’m mentioning that wifi is free, but it’s pretty slow. it was too slow for google maps to work on my laptop, for example.

The resort is in a beautiful setting. We went for the Valentines weekend. The facilities are very impressive as you drive up. The cabins, golf course and main building. We arrived about an hour before check in time and decided to checkout the facilities and get a late lunch. When we entered the lobby we were greeted by a wonderful aroma. As we wondered thru the spacious lobby area we found the source. The master chef was cooking and serving food «samples». It was wonderful and generated high hopes for dinner. I stopped at the desk and asked where the restaurant was. We were directed to the bar. They said we could get some lunch there. We placed our order, actually asked for a small substation which was granted at no extra cost, a good sign. My wife was chilled and asked for some herbal tea. «I don’t think we have any, but I’ll bring the tea box», was the reply. When she returned there were two herbal teas. It turns out she didn’t know what we meant. After lunch we checked in. I asked if they had a layout of the facility so I could find the pool. It turns out they didn’t have one. Okay. We had reservations for dinner at 7:00 pm. They start serving at 5:00. We were seated very promptly. We got the same waitress as for lunch. When my wife ordered the Chicken Fontina, which the chef had recommended we were told they were out of that. My wife said for me to order while she checked the menu again. I ordered the Steak de Burgo. My wife then ordered the Smoked Duck Breast. Guess what, they were out of that as well. She finally settled on the Walleye. They forgot her wine till reminded a second time. We were served our salads which were okay. I asked if we could get some rolls, they were in the description of what came with the entrée. We were told they were out of dinner rolls. Oh guess what, they ‘have been extremely busy’. Three couples were seated near us. They were told when ordering that they were out of all the steaks on the menu. This was at about 7:45 maybe 8:00. Remember they started serving at 5:00. I have worked at restaurants before. This kind of thing is inexcusable. At 2:00 in the afternoon the waitress didn’t know what the soup of the day was, didn’t know what herbal tea was. At dinner she didn’t know what was in several of the menu standards. 2 hours into the dinner shift they were «out of» at least 5 menu items plus bread. The Walleye was great, the Steak de Bugo was not. I did get about 6 thin medallions of beef tenderloin but they only got the sauce on one of them, and it was more of a paste then a sauce. In the morning we went down for breakfast and tried the buffet. The sausage and bacon were, you guessed it under cooked. The fruit was ok. The biscuits were great. I had a made to order omelette good. I tried a waffle again under cooked. I tried a pastry, yes under cooked.
Everything I saw points directly to the management. Sending out wait staff not knowing the menu is management, running out of menu items is management. Under cooked food at the buffet line is management.

Giving it an average rating because:
Confusion about our reservation; had us staying an extra night (before we even arrived … luckily I called to verify my reservation). Then I was told we could get in to use the water park as early as 9:00 a.m. (before checking into our rooms); however, then I was told «oh, it’s Friday and the water park doesn’t open until 4:00 p.m. … what to do with a 7, 5, & 2 year old for 3 hours! (it was chilly outside!). When the water park was «open» at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday the slide didn’t open until 11:30 due to lack of staffing. Seemed the slide was open/​closed on a whim. (difficult enough for parents to understand let alone children).
The front desk staff, housekeeping, and waitresses were all friendly and generally helpful.
Rooms are spacious & beds very comfortable.
Went for dessert & coffee with my aunt in the afternoon and the coffee was barely warm. I asked if we could have hot coffee & the waitress thought she could microwave it! I then asked if we could get a fresh pot of hot coffee & she explained that their coffee machine wasn’t operating right so she wasn’t sure! However, she did bring back steaming hot coffee in the mugs and the pot. Of course, by now we’ve eaten most of our dessert (without the coffee) … the Lava Cake is delicious! :)
Dinner was acceptable as we ordered steaks and the children had mac & cheese. Again, nothing to write home about but it was much better than Louie’s Bistro & Grill by the Marina! The applesauce was fermented tasting and the waitress said they make it themselves; if so, they didn’t thoroughly cook it to kill the bacteria since it fermented!
Breakfast was priced fairly but I suspect they are using lower quality food as I absolutely loved their breakfast 2 years ago when I was staying and I’m not eating it again. Bacon was terrible tasting, sausage was greasy, & scrambled eggs were flat, greasy, browned. Two of our party of 13 had Eggs Benedict and it was cold so we asked it be redone/​heated … we suspect they microwaved it. We also guessed they put cold precooked poached eggs & cold sauce on it. The good: coffee was hot & pancakes were the best of everything our party ordered. The waitress was excellent … and she wasn’t responsible for how the food tasted.
Summary: food not so great (not worth the $); has definitely went downhill in past 2 years. Rooms still nice & beds are comfortable. Pricing acceptable if you can get a discount.

Nice hotel and friendly staff located in a beautiful state park setting. We were here in the winter and it was extremely cold out so we weren’t able to be outside and enjoy any of the trails. The indoor water park was fine. It’s fairly small and better suited for kids under 10. It isn’t a place you’d stay all day, but is definitely a step up for a hotel pool! Free wifi was nice. I wish they had free refrigerators and microwaves in the rooms. There aren’t a lot of options for dining close by. The on site restaurant was fine for a meal or two but a bit overpriced and limited selection if you’re eTing there for multiple meals. We’d like to come back during the warmer months to enjoy what Lake Rathbun has to offer.

Honey Creek Resort is a very nice, upscale resort located sort of in the middle of nowhere Iowa. The building is impressive in both style and scale. The rooms are clean/​functional. The food at first left a lot to be desired… but has improved dramatically.
The waterpark is ok, but I’m not into indoor waterparks much. The hot tub, sadly, is an alcohol free zone. Booo.
If you can get a discounted rate (which are common), I’d say go for it! I don’t think it’s worth the full price room charges, however.

just spent 3 days and 2 nights at Honey Creek Resort August 5−6−7− 2012. Have been there many times before Will not return except to play golf. Honey Creek is a destination resort. There are no other restaraunts close to the hotel. We played 36 holes of golf on Sunday. We wanted to relax in the hot tub. Did not happen. Hot tub was out of service. We decided to eat early 5.30 Sunday. Waited 45 minutes for an unfriendly waitress to ask us what we wanted to drink, throw a menu at us and immediately as us what we want to order. We told her we needed time to look at the menu. She returned in 15 minutes. We ordered an appetizer, never got it, no explanation, I ordered ribs and was immediatley told they were sold out, Restaraunt was nearly empty and I did not see anyone eating ribs. Oh well. WE ordered steaks medium rare. The were served to us mostly burnt, the vegetables were cold. We did no receive any bread with our meal. WE had to ask for a desert menu.
Monday morning we tried the restaraunt again for buffet. It has always been good in the past. The hostess could not or would no smile. My son ordered milk. He was told they did not have any. The menu states there is a station for omlets and waffles. There were no omlets and waffles, There were cold scrambled eggs, The sausage could not be defined. I think it was a thick skinned skinny hot dog. There was no bread for toast. There were no bannanas or apples. Th e bisquits and gravy were horrilbe.
Tuesday morning wer traveled into Moravia ten miles away to get breakfast in a gas station. It was much better than at the resort
We did not get an apology from one single person. Will never recomment Honey Creek Resort again.

We took our young kids to Honey Creek for Spring Break and got a great deal on the room. The lodge is very inviting with a large cozy fireplace that greets you immediately in the lobby. Those warm fuzzy feelings were gone instantly when we were «welcomed» by rude and untrained front desk staff. We waited ten minutes although there were two available staff members just standing behind the front desk looking confused. The one staff member that was actually assisting guests acted like our arrival was an inconvenience. Hey buddy — guests arriving are the reason you have a job so slap a smile on it!
The hotel is nicely constructed with natural materials that fits very well into it’s surroundings. The doors and furniture are actual hard wood which helps keep the sound of tiny pitter-​pattering feet outside to a minimum! All areas of the lodge were very clean and well-​kept.
It’s a good thing we packed a cooler with lot’s of food because there is only one restaurant on-​location and nothing else around for miles. We did venture off-​site to eat dinner each night but nothing worth mentioning. I don’t think you’ll be finding any local «hole-​in-​the-​wall» gems around here folks, so stick to the resort. The food was descent, portion sizes were large, and pricing as-​expected.
We visited in the Spring time so we couldn’t enjoy any water-​related activities on the lake so there was actually very little to do. The indoor waterpark is a nice ammenity but our kids got bored eventually because they couldn’t use the big fun-​looking slide showcased on the website. My son is tall for a 5 year old so I’m guessing this is a 7yo+ slide. Nothing against the resort here — but parents be sure to fully disclose the height requirement to your young kids so they aren’t disappointed. The lifeguards were very attentive and didn’t hesitate to keep the kids in line.
Aside from the waterpark, there are trails to walk/​ride but not around the lake which is kind of the whole point of the resort. With few options, we did rent bikes and rode the one trail we could find which was just along the main entrance road so it wasn’t very scenic. I was impressed that there were a lot of bikes to chose from, all kinds and sizes, including carriers to haul a baby. The layout of the resort isn’t ideal. The playground is over a mile away from the lodge and there wasn’t even a walking path to get there if you wanted to try. You either walk in the street 2+ miles round trip or you drive there which is what everyone did.
We were hoping to use their fire pit in the common area to make s’mores but they didn’t provide wood or anything else to start a fire. So BYO wood, I guess.: /​
I appreciate that this resort is un-​commercialized so it’s naturally beautiful unlike the other lake communities in Iowa. However, they need to come up with more activities to continue to draw new and existing guests to the area. By the end of day 2 we had done all the same activities multiple times and were ready to check-​out. Waterpark, bike, drive to playground. Repeat.

The property is amazing, of course it’s in a beautiful location.
Unfortunately service all around was less than desirable. From the restaurant service that refilled coffee and water only when asked and then still a wait, to bike rentals unridable, no staff at marina to rent canoes (front desk said to go to marina, sign indicated back shortly, only to find out, on last day, rentals were by reservation only because out of season) and finally to staff who were untrained, unfriendly and appeared put out for having to deal with customers. Never saw any management to pass on constructive criticism.
Of course this was not all of the staff, the (new) clerk at gift shop was very apologetic for not having laundry detergent and one of the cleaning staff went out of her way to check if there was any detergent left from former customers. These two were, unfortunately, the minority but hats off to them!
So, I’ll give them another opportunity and hopefully will be able to improve their rating… maybe it was just bad timing.
Good luck honey creek resort, think it’s a great concept, need to incorporate customer service to ensure success, IMHO.

I traveled to Honey Creek this weekend for my family reunion which happens once every three years. My experience here was phenomenal. (I will explain the 3-​star rating momentarily.) My family stayed in a cabin which was luxurious and HUGE. I would imagine they sleep 10 – 12 comfortably and much more than that if you want to pack in. There were two tvs, both flat screens and mounted. The grounds were beautifully maintained, as was the golf course. The «waterpark» is not much of a water park for adults, but definitely a blast for the kids. The food was fabulous and the restaurant and catering staff were extremely accommodating.
3 star rating: A woman at the front desk was extremely rude to my aunt (~80 years old) because she wasn’t understanding what the woman was saying to her. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s frustrating sometimes when older people aren’t quite understanding, but that is ABSOLUTELY no reason to be rude, especially with the amount of money that we all paid. I was truly appalled and hurt that there could not have been a little more compassion involved. If it was not for this incident, Honey Creek Lodge & Resort would have received 5 stars.

The Honey Creek Resort is something of a surprising find for rural south-​central Iowa. It includes a large national parks-​style lodge, cabins, a (small) indoor water park, a decent bar and restaurant, and a golf course. I hosted a small family reuinion here for a total of about 35 people, and I was very impressed with the conference and catering staff. Even though my group was fairly small and we had to make many changes during the planning process, the sales manager was always extremely courteous and helpful. We had a buffet dinner, and the food was generally very good and the wait staff was great. We also had a few meals in the restaurant, where the food was pretty good, the portions are generous, and the wait staff again very helpful and friendly.
The lodge rooms themselves are pretty basic — fine, but not what you would call luxurious. Some of our group have previously stayed in the cabins, which look pretty nice but are a bit of a walk from the lodge and restaurant. The water park is pretty simple, but it kept the younger kids entertained for hours, and the lifeguards are very well trained. When we lost sight of one of the kids in our party, a lifeguard knew immediately which kid we were missing and where he was. That was actually one of the most impressive things I encountered.
Despite all the good things about this place, I can’t give them 5 stars just because of the physical setting. It’s a nice lodge, but it’s on the shores of a pretty small lake in Iowa, with not much to do for miles around. It’s really kind of an odd location for something of this scale. But it’s probably by far the best place to stay and to eat if you’re visiting south central Iowa.

Full disclosure — I did NOT stay here or even step in the door.
However, I did have a reservation for the holiday weekend. Unfortunately, the roads in Iowa did not cooperate and were icy and snowed in, so I had to cancel due to weather. Honey Creek still charged me the no-​show fee. Also, full disclosure, they do make their 14-​day cancellation policy clear at the time of reservation. I just thought that, perhaps given the situation, they would waive the fee.
Nonetheless, if the airlines, who are well-​known as terrible at customer service, are willing to issue travel waivers during major weather situations, Honey Creek is scraping the bottom of the customer service barrel if they won’t waive the no-​show fee due to weather preventing customers from reaching their front door.
I figure for nearly $ 100, I’m at least entitled to review them.
**UPDATE**
The manager saw my review and refunded my no-​show fee and sent me an apology message within days of this review posting. He said the correct process wasn’t followed, so my negative experience was an exception to their normal process.
Gotta say, that’s some pretty excellent customer service! Looking forward to actually staying at Honey Creek on a future trip to Iowa.

I was here for a wedding and it was a lot of fun. The resort itself is great. The food was good and the staff was friendly. We also played some golf at the golf course had a good time. The biggest problem with this place was the location. If you don’t get food by the time the bar/​restaurant closes good luck. There are a few crappy places around but all a hike from the resort. Come prepared with snakes and drinks!