Maumee Bay Resort

I brought my kids here for a long weekend mini-​vaca in the fall. They both had the time of their lives but I wasn’t all that impressed. I feel 3 stars is a good compromise. Our room was nicely decorated, clean, and had a lovely view. The food choices in their dining room were ok, although on the pricey side (not unexpected) and the service was decent. We enjoyed walking along the lake and exploring the grounds, which are beautiful and well maintained, including their golf course which has a nice pro shop. My older son played 9 holes and had a blast. The outdoor pool was closed for the season, but they have a decent indoor one. It’s rather small, but does have a splash zone for the wee little ones. During peak times the area was full of unattended bigger kids who were pushing, shoving, doing cannon balls and using really bad language. No clue where their parents were. Granted, this wasn’t really the resort’s fault, but I wished they would enforce some rules in an area where young children are playing around water. There were some scary close calls before I yanked my two out of there and took them back to our room.

Every year for Mother’s Day (and we’ve been doing this for well over 10 years), my Mom likes to be joined by her 3 children and our father, at the Maumee Bay State Park Lodge for their Mother’s Day Buffet. Over the years, the buffet has consistently gone down hill and yet, Mom likes being near the lake and the fact that afterward, we can go walk the boardwalk trails and see the wildlife. (this year: frogs, a muskrat, deer, an owl, and plenty of birds). We actually walk a little over 2 miles. Some years, it’s been cold. some years it’s warm, last year we were drenched by a sudden downpour. But, it comes down to our Mom asking just one thing for Mother’s Day, and this is it… so we won’t begrudge her this trip, though we have suggested other restaurants and other parks for the hike afterward. This year… well. even Mom said it’s time to go somewhere else next year.
Let me first say that I mistakenly typed up a lengthy review of the buffet and put it on the Maumee Bay page, only to find out that the Maumee Bay «page owner» will review my post before sharing. Um. it won’t be seen, there’s no doubt about that.
But.let’s just talk about it for a moment. I am not overly fussy… and I understand it’s a state park and they probably hired the low bidder to run their kitchen. But, this is Birder Weeks out that way and there were tons of people. but you know what? They weren’t in the restaurant. They were all over the lodge and grounds. but not in the restaurant.
We used to have to wait, even with our reservations, back in the beginning. There would be lines of people in the buffet lines. And. the food was good. Now, it’s just a disappointment.
Starting off in the salad line, you’re greeted by a stack of wet plates that are still warm from the dishwasher and some with food still on them.
There used to be a large fresh fruit, cheese, and roasted and marinated vegetable area. The fruit tray has shrunk, as well as the cheese, and the roasted veggies are gone.
Dinner rolls are down the table, but the delicious croissants are gone. There’s «Cajun» shrimp in the shell. but I have no clue what makes it «Cajun» as there was no spice to it. The «Smoked» salmon, was definitely not smoked. and why accessorize with the capers, cream cheese, diced egg, chopped onions, etc. and not have the bagels that were always at this station?
When you hit the hot food table.well.that’s just a hoot. Two highlights, the baked cod and what appeared to be real mashed potatoes. There was a sign next to what appeared to be a steam table pan of some soup — looking entrée and it said «turkey and dumplings». There was corn floating on top and as I dipped into it, I discovered some extremely small pieces of turkey and in place of dumplings, there was Italian gnocchi (a potato dumpling/​pasta). Oddly, it looked better than the gravy to me, so I poured some over my potatoes.
Another interesting dish was the «roasted carrots, with cranberries and almonds». Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? But. what if the carrots were sliced super thin and cooked until crisp and then put into a dry pan with some cranberries and sliced almonds? Even a little seasoning could have helped. but it was unlike anything I have ever seen.
There was a dish they called «Thai» noodles. that I didn’t try, but was told it would offend anyone that has ever eaten Thai food as it was bland, flavorless and definitely not a true Thai recipe.
A surprise to the buffet was the elimination of the chicken Marsala which was replaced with the honey miso chicken breast with cilantro. There was potential here, had it not been cooked hours ahead and left to dry out in a hot steam pan.
At the end of the hot food station is the «carving table» where we were to be treated to hand-​carved prime rib (to order) with roasted garlic au jus. In the past, there were always at least 2 other meats being carved… such as ham, turkey, or pork roast, but this year. just the «prime rib». Well. it was beef (as best I could tell) and it was cooked well done (don’t even think of asking for med-​rare) and our «chef» at the carving table was slicing it with the grain and lining up slices on his cutting board and then dumping the gravy-​like au jus over the slices, so that it didn’t have to be carved for each person. It was tough, bland, and disappointing. When asked about ham or another meat, he said, «we never have another meat on Sunday».
On a somewhat positive note, the dessert table wasn’t a total disappointment, but, it too, has suffered from the hands of those running food service and many of the things of the past were gone. Oh. and worst of all, the cost is $ 29.95 per person. I think it’s one of (if not the) highest priced Mother’s Day Buffet in the Toledo area.
Next year. we will visit a different restaurant for a Mother’s Day Buffet and we’ll find another park to take our walk after dinner. It’s just a shame to have this beautiful park and lodge and watch it go down hill.

I thought this was a newer lodge, but you’d never tell given the state of deterioration. The furniture, tables, chairs and flooring inside public areas are virtually destroyed. The paint is falling off exterior walls, and the place appears rather poorly kept albeit in a beautiful area. The lodge has no rules or policies, you can just show up and ride a wild African elephant through the place if you like. We found the place very noisy, bearing hoards of unparented, screaming children running down the hallways. The pool was a spectacle, mercilessly bathing 50 children at a time from dawn until late dusk, rarely ever letting up. Groups of aggressive adolescents filled the pool at various times throughout the day whipping footballs around, sometimes slamming into and injuring other patrons. Ironically, they have an OCD ranger who hides his truck behind a tree all day, every day, deftly protecting the eighth mile or so entrance parkway. Don’t be fooled though, once you get past the false security, absolutely anything goes. The lounge was fun, the pizza was good, and the wife and I had a nice evening drinking wine and playing cards. The room was small, but clean and had everything we needed during our stay.

A great state park resort. I’ve stays here a handful of times including the past five New Years Eve’s in a cabin or the lodge. As far as state parks go, this is a good one. If you are expecting a five star resort, keep looking for a Hyatt, Hilton or Marriott. Good spot for families to connect with the local nature, play some golf or hang out on the lake, during the summer. I’ve done all these here and enjoyed it. We also enjoy connecting with friends on New Years Eve in the cabins. Again, not a luxury cabin but kept clean and the grounds are nice. The food in the restaurant is decent and the New Years Day brunch is pretty good. The bar is a fun place to grab a drink, play pool and even dance if you like. Will return again for NYE and maybe even the summer for some golf.

Had a great time with my family for very low price. We had problems with our reservation but the staffs were nice enough to help us out! I will definitely come back.

Adequate, but charges for internet among other nickel and dime charges to make it a poor choice for a conference venue.

My family did a multi-​general weekend at The Lodge at Geneva on the Lake last summer, and enjoyed it so much we decided to try another state park lodge this summer. While I was greatly impressed by the Geneva lodge, I must say that the Maumee Bay resort was even better.
I have never stayed at another venue that was so toddler friendly. They have an indoor play area (similar to what many malls have) where kids can run/​jump/​climb and burn off some energy. They also have a mini spray park with their indoor pool facility that my son loved. The best part is that the pool opens at 7:00am. We’ve had difficulty at other resorts trying to get my early-​rising toddler to understand that the pool doesn’t open for 4 more hours. They loan pack-​n-​plays (sheet included) and high chairs at no charge.
We had a two-​bedroom cottage that came with beds for 7 people. We were told the 4 bedroom cottages don’t actually provide any more space or beds, they’re just a different layout (more privacy). I loved that the cottage had 4 porches and lots of natural light. It wasn’t fancy or luxurious, but it was clean and functional. We also had a king suite in the lodge, and it was enormous. Two additional king sized beds could easily have fit in the room.

I have been coming to Maumee Bay since I was a kid. We always stayed at the marina and used the resort facilities, but this was my first time staying at the resort. We stayed in a king suite, which was very nice. My six-​year old slept on a rollaway for a $ 12 charge. The blanket on the rollaway was very scratchy, but we replaced it with the soft, extra blanket provided with the room. We could hear the conversation of the people next door at various hours throughout the night, and doors slammed into the early hours of the morning. There were two weddings this weekend, but I would have assumed they would all be in one area of the hotel. Aside from the noisy, belligerent drunks from the wedding, we had a good time. The pools are nice, then activities offered for children are awesome, the restaurant has excellent food, and the snack bar offers ice cream and other yummy snacks. There is a lot to offer here at Maumee Bay, and I would return again. I might try to request a room that is more quiet if it is a possibility.

We were at Maumee Bay Resort for a wedding. Grounds were very nice. Great for those who like the outdoors and nature — but might need a few modern amenities. Rooms were pretty standard and modern — but could use a little more attention to detail on big cleaning things (update fixtures, cracked tile, patio door didn’t slide well, etc.) but daily cleaning was done well (clean sheets, no stains on carpet or walls, clean bathroom, etc.) Front desk staff is wonderful! Cute lil gift shop. Nice areas to sit, chat, relax or play games. Pool looked awesome! I would like to visit again with my family as a group — seems more like what I would visit for. But that’s IMO :)
Wedding was very nice — again perfect for those who want a pretty but not formal wedding. Also there were other weddings that day as well and none of them interfered w/​the one we were at. It was 80* and direct sun — but we weren’t hot as there was a nice breeze coming off the lake. And the following could be because of the bride and grooms choices — but the wedding could have benefited from a wedding coordinator. No matter how many times you attend a wedding you still would like some guidance. (getting people to sit in their seats, releasing and directing people from the ceremony site to the reception, organizing the dinner staff, etc.). And unless we were all missing it — the bathroom is quite a bit away from the outdoor tented reception.
Over all a great stay, great wedding and a great time But being the organized freak that I am — could have used a tad more attention to detail.

A few weeks back my family and I stayed a couple of nights inside the Maumee Bay State Park at the Lodge. Maumee Bay is located in the northwest corner of Ohio near Toledo. The park features fishing, bicycling, wildlife viewing, and plenty of swimming.
It seems that the Lake Erie beach often has high bacteria levels, so swimming is not advised here. The only time we entered the water of Lake Erie was to go on the banana boat or jet ski rentals. Instead there is the Inland Lake, which has a wide swimming beach, plus another area for canoeing and fishing.
We brought along a couple of bikes to enjoy on the numerous paved and unpaved biking and hiking trails. Biking is not allowed on the boardwalk around the wetlands surrounding the nature center, but it is well worth checking out on foot.
The Lodge was a great place to stay with both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, multiple dining options, every sport court imaginable, and tons for the kids to do.
In addition to rooms in the Lodge, cottages and cabins are also available for rent. We are already talking about going back up for another visit in November for Thanksgiving with my in-​laws. They came along on this trip as well, and everyone seemed to love our stay. Maumee Bay has easily become my favorite state park resort.

Met some friends here for a golf day and spent the night.
It is only 60 – 90 minutes from most Metro-​Detroit areas, right on Lake Erie Nice pools indoor and out, lots of things to do like walking and biking trails, basketball courts, raquet/​walleyball. Very nice golf course. Very family oriented. If you are looking for a party you will have to make your own. Rooms are very standard but clean and comfy enough,
Even though you have views of Lake Erie in the distance all you see are smokestacks pumping all day. If you look hard enough you can see Fermi 2 in Monroe. The restaurant is OK for breakfast, below average for dinners. Anything at Leos or Big Boy would be better than the 25.00 perch or steaks there. The best thing about the dinners was the fresh bread. Everything else was very bland and average. Probably would have been better off ordering pizzas from an off resort place.
All in all I did enjoy myself and would go back. A weekend is more than enough though.

My husband and I came here for Christmas to get away from the family. What a great decision. It’s not exceptionally luxurious, but it was clean, modern, and all of the expected amenities were provided. The pool and hot tubs were very nice, it would be a great place to bring a family as there are cabins to rent and lots of things to do. Gorgeous view and access to Lake Erie, beautiful hiking trails, and a great nature center.
But the service! The service was excellent. The girls at the front desk were friendly, and accommodating. We ate in the restaurant on Christmas day. The food was excellent and the service was great. I got the pear and walnut salad and my husband got the perch. Both were great! Our server was Tina. Tina obviously loves what she does. She makes great recommendations and is one of the sweetest people I’ve met in my travels. By the time we had finished, we felt like members of the family.
10 for 10 would do again.

I stayed at the resort while on a work trip with a group of coworkers. Being a hotel in a state park I wasn’t expecting much. But I was pleasantly surprised. The room was modern with a nice flat screen, a large clean bed and nice furniture. Of course some people will see the word resort and expect a robe and slippers with a luffa in the shower. It’s not that kind of place.
I’d say it’s «Hilton to Best Western with a touch of state park institutional». That said I loved it there. Every employee that I encountered was wonderful.
The food was amazing, Maybe the best part of the resort. We had 3 meals there with 12 people in our group and everyone loved everything they ordered.

Not fancy, great place to bring young kids, clean, good service and nice staff.
Think the boy scouts, meet the YMCA who meets a Holidome.

This place is what you make of it — there’s lots to do, and provided your company is right, you can have a great time here. The restaurant is acceptably good, the pool area is nice, and the indoor sports are well-​maintained and available.
That being said, for as much as they charge for a room, I’d expect some updates. The rubber shower curtains are too industrial, the TVs are still CRT, the furniture looks like early 80s décor, and the common areas are starting to look like dorm lobbies. A nice update (not even a complete reno) would do wonders.
That being said, it’s one of the best State Park resorts here in Ohio, and easily has the best environment around it. I just wish it felt a bit more of-​this-​decade.

I was planning on rating this place four stars until I crawled into bed my last night there and found a spider in my bed. I then completely freaked out and stripped my bed to find what I initially thought to be bed bugs but was quickly determined to be chocolate sprinkles. There is virtually no mattress pad to protect the mattress. I was annoyed about the lack of outlets which were not near the bed where most people like them. There was also this nifty nook bench type thing which was great for putting your suitcase on but there was no lighting over there. I did enjoy our second floor balcony. We ate two breakfast and two dinners at Water’s Edge. I had the Asiago Chicken both dinners but the second time substituting mashed potatoes for the pasta. Yum! For dessert I had the Buckeye Pie… also tasty and each breakfast I had Maumee Bay which was virtually everything you could ever want for breakfast. I was there with a group of over 20 so service was expected to be slow but when we had one particular server it seemed to be slower. Allison, however, was awesome! We spent a lot of time at the pool which was nice and there are a ton of lounge chairs. We spent one evening in the hottub but one of the two hottbs were broken. The children in our group seemed to enjoy themselves and a number of men went golfing. We took a walk around the grounds which also seemed nice as well. I would most likely go back, depending on the price.

Friendly staff but the food was not very good. I would look for another place for a dinner innthe area.

I received a call from my brother about playing golf at Maumee Bay. I went and played a beautiful course designed by Arthur Hills. It is a very difficult course if the wind is blowing off the lake. Narrow fairways on some holes there is plenty of water in play. The staff was very nice and courteous. I even received a ruling about a situation that happened on the course. That ruling helped me out in a friendly game of bets. After playing, I had dinner at the lodge in the Icebreaker Lounge. Fantastic place to unwind after a long day on the links. The menu is mostly appetizers and sandwiches, but the food is prepared very well! The lodge has many choices for accommodations, plan early for a room. I will be going back to this resort on Lake Erie whenever possible.