Kelleys Island Venture Resort

Before I write this review, I do want a preference by saying that for 15 years now my family has come To Kelly’s Island every single year and we have stayed in this resort for 10 years of those 15 years. This hotel is not the same as it was when it first opened When It first opened the owner seemed to have taken really good care of it, I remember there always being groundskeepers and maintenance people always constantly working on the beautiful landscape, cleaning and just overall providing comfort and cleanliness. The landscaping was so beautiful there was A spectacular garden where butterflies would nestle, and as you walk to the pool, it was like walking into a greenhouse. I don’t know how long the front waterfalls have not been running for, but that was always a staple to take pictures in front of because of the beautiful flowers and the creeks coming down in front of the Kelly’s Island sign. It was amazing to just be here. It almost felt magical, The place was so well kept and just felt like a getaway. However, as it was continuously being sold, each owner just got worse and worse they started taking away the beautiful landscaping, and you can tell that the staff here has just gone down the hill. The pool doesn’t get cleaned as much, and I just felt like the magic has slowly been stripped away from this gorgeous place. Each year there’s just something that has taken away when we came here this year unfortunately there was always the free coffee and tea that was always provided up until 2025. It’s just the little things that they change and take away that we always would look forward to every single year. I can understand why people are opting for an Airbnb experience on Kelly’s Island. This place just doesn’t feel the same and I wish that everyone would be able to experience the magic that was here when it had first opened. I have included before and after pictures below.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE !!!!!!!!!! Very dirty stained carpet marks on the bathroom ceiling burnt out light bulbs both tvs not working dirty coffee maker worn out bed woke up sore. THE BATHROOM exhaust fan was broken and unplugged you can see it’s been that way for awhile by the cob webs on it. Furniture worn out for the money not worth it at all. I sure they are short staffed you had to call the for the front desk because the girl was also cleaning the rooms. And to top it all off we got locked out of our room at 9:30 am thank god we already took our stuff out to the car. We went back to use the bathroom one last time before the farrier and check out but the card keys would not work any more. There was no one on site to check us out so I just slid the card keys in between the doors. This place need lost of help !!!

The room was nice and worked well with the loft upstairs for adult kids, but they are SO short staffed. One person seemed to be doing everything except on the weekends when they had 2 others who were friendly and helpful but pool was dirty as were the chairs and trash was overflowing, ice machine and pop machine were broken. Had to go to office for ice and they were often not there so you have to call and wait for them to arrive. I know it’s not the workers fault- the owner needs to invest in workers as it has so much potential like it used to be. I’d not recommend it!

STAY AWAY NOT WORTH THE MONEY !!!!!! This place was run down and very dirty !!!!!! Both TVs are broken the vent fan in bathroom is broken. Stains on the carpet the beds are worn out. The whole outside is just filthy you can tell this is just a money maker and the owners don't care about anything but making money. The staff is over worked they are cleaning the rooms and running the front desk. For what you pay it should be nicer. They do not even have any staff on the grounds at night so you are on your own if you need any help so sad was expecting so much better for the money we paid.

This place was horrible. It's dirty, the grounds are unkempt, wifi was poor at best. There is a waiver that must be signed saying no smoking/vape inside rooms or there is a $250 fee. That's acceptable BUT our room had a broken door, 2 holes in the wall, stained carpets, broken TV, and cracked sink in the bathroom. The pool is NOT heated as advertised and the jets in the hot tub barely work. By the 2nd day we were all sick and checked out early and of course were not offered any refund. Save yourself the time and disappointment, don't go there.

My wife and I were very disappointed on our recent vacation to Kelley's Island Venture "Resort". The location and potential are amazing and the front desk staff were nice and helpful, but many areas fell short based on what we were expecting from the website pictures, description, and resort level pricing. The pool was dirty and not vacuumed during our 3 day visit. Poolside furniture was old and worn and loungers were especially filthy. The grounds were not well maintained and flower beds were overgrown with weeds. None of the flower pots had flowers. Room and bathroom were clean but very worn and dated. The couple staying in the next room told us how surprised they were in the decline of quality since their last visit.

I have never been to Kelly Island but will definitely be back and will definitely stay at this resort again. It's very clean. The place and room were beautiful. But best of all was Jake from Venture Resort -not State Farm. He was so friendly and accommodating. We got dropped off the ferry and started to walk to hotel. It was a long long walk. So when dinner time came Jake graciously dropped us off into center of town. I definitely recommend this quaint place.

We have been coming here since the year this hotel opened and the cleanliness and quality have seriously declined. CLEAN YOUR POOL! It was filthy and needs paint and power washing. The hot tub was green. The railings are covered with bugs and cobwebs. I have photos of the barbecue/ deck area from years ago when the flowers and roses were gorgeously in bloom and now it's full of weeds. What a shame. Get this place back to the way it was!!!

The room was fine, however... This is advertised resort and the price certainly reflects that of a resort but the pool was dirty and low on water. The landscape had no flowers just empty containers The place has so much potential but just not taken care of.

Friends stayed here last night during a big rainstorm. Their ground floor room flooded an inch deep, the water flowing as far as halfway into the third room of the shotgun-style layout. Not only did management text them at 2 am to say 'we are aware of the problem, don't call us' they were not moved to a dry room nor offered any compensation. Manager claims this has never happened before, despite the prominent rock-lined drainage ditch installed along the flooding side of the hotel, which was completely full this morning. A nice clean attractive hotel, but get a 2nd floor room and be warned that management is hands-off in a crisis.

My husband and I stayed here during our first trip to KI for our first anniversary. I'd give it more of 3.5 stars if I could. The front desk ladies were very polite and helpful and I'm pretty sure they stayed late for us to check in because the ferry line was backed up on a Friday evening. The location on the island is great, I think maybe the only hotel/resort on the island? That we saw anyway. And the free bike usage was amazing and we took advantage and rode them to the public beach and glacial grooves. We had lucky weather for mid September and were glad the pool was still open. You're allowed to bring down your own alcohol and drink it poolside, which was great on the hot day we had. The few downsides would be one, our room felt pretty outdated. There were several large stains on the carpet upstairs and downstairs. Two, the description for the Iroquois room boasts a private balcony and while there is a balcony overlooking the beautifully kept grounds and lake, it's not private. It's the entire front walkway connected to every other room so people walk through your "space". That was one of the reasons we chose this room option over a smaller, less pricey one. So definitely misleading. I would return because our overall experience was great and the pool and free bikes were big perks, but we'd probably opt for a smaller room!

non-smokers beware! My wife and I were charged $576. When we got there we were very concerned when we saw ashtrays outside of every room. Clearly people have been smoking in or literally just outside these rooms for years and they spray heavy cover up chemicals which gave me a scratchy throat after a few minutes. We tried to tough it out, but the chemicals/years of smoking in that room, was giving my wife quite a headache. We made several attempts to talk to the personnel there, but they would not offer us any kind of refund and they couldn't move us to another room. We had to just leave, and eat the $576 charge. if you are a smoker you will love this place, but if you can't stand cigarette smoke and don't care to repeatedly hear the word "unfortunately," then avoid this place.

We were on a girls' trip and stayed at this hotel 11 years ago. We had a wonderful experience at that time so we decided to return this year. It was a very disappointing visit this time. The outdated room, although clean, had extremely low lighting so you couldn't read or play games. The mattresses were very uncomfortable. The toilet seat really needed to be replaced or at least tightened. Communication by the office staff was lacking. The office closes early and we were not informed how to get help should it be needed. We were given wristbands for the pool and hot tub and we were to return them if we didn't use them. Upon checking out, when we did not turn them in, we were told it would be $35 each. We went back to search for them and luckily found them and returned them to the office. At that point, the staff remarked "Oh, you have those!", inferring that those were not the ones that would be charged. Clearly, there was a miscommunication mess!! Although the grounds were beautiful, our stay and the fact that it was quite pricey for the accommodations was disappointing.

This is a beautiful place. Unfortunately, I tried to go to the pool in the morning, half an hour after they said it would open and it was closed. I went to the lobby to ask some questions in the man was on the phone, so we eventually just left. One of our key rooms wouldn't work, but not a big deal until we tried to get into her room and neither one would work. The lobby was closed, so no one could help us. Around that time, our child had to use the bathroom, so as you can imagine, it became a big deal. We waited about 20 minutes before someone came to help us. I don't understand why they don't have people doing their jobs here. We paid almost $300 a night for this ridiculousness!

Impeccable views and garden display is amazing. Rooms are nicely done however tv listings are not accurate at all and we missed Game 1 of the 2017 NBA Finals. We left message with hospitality and they never fixed tv or even responded to us. When we brought up the issue in person the man working the desk was rude and turned off that I had the gall to bring this up. He told me that he doesn't watch tv so he wouldn't even know about it. Also, there is no continental breakfast each morning. I was surprised to hear this after paying a substantial amount of money to stay here. This is nothing more than a motel with a pool and nice groundskeeping! Update: 2 days later and they still haven't addressed the tv issue......#disappointed.

This review is actually 3.5 stars rather than 4. Positive things: - Proximity to downtown and lovely water views - Comfortable accommodations - Very nice pool - Free bikes to use around the island Negative things: - Strange suite design--if you close the curtains so people on the walkway outside the room can't see you changing, the room is very dark. Some more lights need to be installed. - Many of the bikes are broken. They are free, but if you are making people sign a waiver, the bikes should at least be in working order. - Extremely strict about check in times, pool usage, and usage of the bikes. - The maintenance staff uses a very loud leaf blower in the early morning to blow dust or leaves (or whatever) from the evening before off the outside walkway directly outside your room. No one can sleep through it. NOT good if you are trying to sleep in on your hard-earned vacation.

Beautiful landscape and garden area. The rooms were clean and spacious, but they were dark (especially in the bathroom) because the lamps only use low wattage bulbs. The people were super friendly and tried to make our stay better by letting us take the lamp from the lobby. The beds weren't the most comfortable but for the price we couldn't complain too much.

We have been coming to KI since the mid 1970's so we've seen a lot of additions to the island. We were happy to see a hotel and have stayed here before which was 5* that time. I don't know if there has been a change in owners or what. Since we're not a complainers & usually easily satisfied, I'll go thru the positives first. We stayed in the Glacier room The king size bed was comfortable as was the pull-out couch. There was a microwave, regular size coffee pot (filters & coffee if you want to bring extra), & dorm size fridge. Good water pressure in the bathroom. Ok here goes. We made reservations & sent confirmation for an Iroquois & then the Glacial suites-with a request for Glacial both nights of it became available. I never received an addition confirmation for a room change. Silly me assumed we still had the Iroquois and invited my son & his wife for a night. When we checked in we found out we had a Glacial suite for both nights. The rude lady at the front desk argued with me about the arrangements stated the max for that room was 3 & we had to pay an extra $100. This room is clearly set for 4 people....4 cups, 4 sets of towels.... Their confirmation & website do not specify a mac for this room. Looks like a credit card dispute is in order.

The location is great and the hotel is very clean. Those are the only two reasons why I even gave this two stars. The level of customer service at this resort is horrible. Not at all what you would expect for a resort in this price range.

This is a true vacation killer. This establishment is run by inexperienced and uneducated individuals. I am taking the time to write this review so that I can hopefully spare other island-goers from this joke of a business. Hotel staff is incredibly rude and unprofessional. The place is managed by a lady who I am not even sure has finished high school. I am handicapped and when I inquired about accessibility, Marvin behind the counter laughed at me. He told me I should have thought of that when I made the reservation. When I confronted management about my concerns, they were not at all interested and told me that I could always go home. Honestly, I was blown away. I felt like I was experiencing someone else's nightmare. The staff could really benefit from customer service and business management classes. Zero class, zero customer service, and a lot of disappointment. Do not waste the money. You are better off sleeping in a trailer park.

Absolutely awesome! First impression while pulling up was that it was beautiful and clean! Very inviting! The check in process was smooth and painless! The room was clean beyond belief and the amenities were great! Beautiful view of the lake and shoreline! Relaxing could not describe it enough! We stayed in late september so the pool was out of the question because it was too cold outside, but the huge hot tub next to the pool was great! I cannot say enough great things about this place and their staff! They are very customer service driven! We love the island and the Venture Resort! Planning on staying there in 2012 and many times in the future!

I am rounding up a 4.5 to a 5. The location is west of the central town area on Lakeshore Drive. It is across from the old Neumann Ferry docksI. A bit far to walk from the ferry. If you don't bring you car, you need a taxi or a golf car to get you there. I stayed here during the week with my family (total of 6). All rooms are suites - king suites on the first floor, Irogouis suites on the second floor, with lofts. Our suite had a queen bed, bathroom and living room on the main floor with two queen beds on the upper floor loft. Rooms were spacious. There were three flat screen TV's and limited cable channels. Beds were comfortable. All rooms have mini refrigerators and microwaves. Sitting areas have a couch, chair and small desk with chair. There is free wifi throughout, and we had no problem with reception. The rooms were impeccably clean and well kept. There was daily maid service. The grounds were very well kept, watered, cleaned, and manicured. We had an attack of bugs one morning(it looked like a scene from a horror movie) and the staff came by to clean them off. The pool is modest size, family oriented. The hot tub is huge and hot. It can seat around 10 people. Very nice plastic poolside table and chairs that are clean and comfortable. The pool area has a view of the lake and mainland. There is also a three tiered deck across the street. It has charcoal grills and picnic tables and chairs to sit and watch the sunsets. They do offer free bike rentals, which is a definite plus. There are a few annoying quirks. The entry to each room is on the outer wall of the L-shaped resort. Each room has a door on the inner wall facing the pool. Each has three chairs a table and an ashtray (Ugh). It would be nice if the railing separated the porch of each unit - it does not. We had a beautiful view of the pool and lake from our porch, that would be perfect if other people were not walking by in front of you. The rooms are incredibly dark, except for the bathroom. You cannot easily read a book in the low light. So once the sun goes down, expect to watch TV or read on your personal electronic device or with a book light. Also, having only one rest room for 6 people can be a pain - long waits to use it. Be warned, there are also strict quiet times from 11PM to 7 AM. If you are loud during the late night, this could be an issue. This is not an all inclusive resort - no restaurant, room service. The Kelly's Island Brewery is across the parking lot, but I would go elsewhere for anything except maybe breakfast. Overall, this resort reminds me of a Disney Resort - clean, family oriented, and pricey. We saw many families during our visit and saw some of the most responsible parenting. Children were not left unattended in the pool area. The cancellation policy for reservations is a bit steep - 14 day advance notice. I guess given the short season this protects the owners, but be aware in advance. Overall, this is a place to go for a family retreat with a wonderful pool, lake views, and clean, quiet, spacious rooms, friendly service, but It is pricey, We plan to return.

Very clean! Had a pool, microwave and fridge in the room. The people staying here all seemed fairly tame which was nice. We will stay here again.

Non-descript place. Holiday inn type rooms. So, OK. When we checked-in we chuckled about how bored the front desk clerk was. He seemed like he wanted to be anywhere else. We walked to room, and the swipe key didn't work. Back to see Mr. Friendly, and told him, "these key cards didn't work." He said, "so what happened?" I said, "nothing, they didn't work." He recoded them. Back to the room. They didn't work. Back to see him, he took the cards and walked into the back room without saying anything. I thought he was coming out, but he didn't. After five minutes I loudly said "Hello?" He came pit and said someone will come help you. An older platinum blond with flip flops and nasty toes came to the room. She swiped the cards. Nothing. So she let us In the back door after she went and got a key, and told me it was just a battery that needed changed. We were in the room, and about five minutes later she knocked, handed me the cards and said, "you're all set." I thanked her. She left. I then tried the keys. They didn't work. Back to the front desk. Mr. Friendly told me our back door must be unlocked. Back to the room. The back door was locked. Back to the front desk. I gave Mr. Friendly the keys. He sent Nasty Toes again, who told me we must have deadbolted the door before she changed the battery so it didn't work. Like we should know that. But, she came and reprogrammed it, and said, "you're all good." I said thanks and she had key cards in her hand and she said, "what?" I told her I didn't have keys. She said, "what did you do with them." She was really irritated. I told he I gave them to the front desk. She got unbelievably angry and said, "look, we're trying our best here!" I said, "I just want my key and hope it works." She handed me a key card. It worked! I told her to go take a nap. She told me to do the same. That's all I was trying to do.

First, i would like to say this hotel is beautiful and a fun place to stay. ( being the only hotel on the island, they can do anything, charge anything, ect...) we have spent $1,000's of dollars here. we recently had to cancel due to an emergency surgery- cancelled 14 days in advance and were still charged $30. we booked on memorial day weekend, knowing that room would be filled we tried to get the refund credited. no chance! we even tried to get the $30 charge credited toward our next reservation in a couple of weeks... We had a family emergency and they were not willing to budge. no sympathy! Growing up in a family that owns a hotel and currently working at a high end world renowned hotel, If a customer is dissatisfied you make it right! customer service is number one. on another note...if you charge almost $300 a night , some sort of breakfast should be included, even a bagel would be nice. not here. due to poor ownership values we will find elsewhere to stay from here on out.

Pricey , no lights in parking lot , pitch black. Cannot even see to get to your car , could get robbed easily in parking lot , were had room on first floor and could hear the people above us walking in there rooms constantly. Overall not good , and don't even supply breakfast. Would not return .

As far as the resort itself is concerned....it is a very nice place to stay. The check-in staff were friendly, the rooms are clean, and the pool and hot tub are great. That being said, if you are interested in any night life, a friend's weekend, or any type of celebration, then you may want to look elsewhere. The night staff take their task of keeping the resort a "family friendly" place very seriously. I completely understand their desire to accommodate to families and individuals who do not want to listen to partying throughout the night however there is at least one staff member who takes his job a bit too seriously. My family and friends (who spent close to two thousand dollars at this resort for rooms) were treated with such disrespect because we had the audacity to be awake at midnight. We were not yelling, calling out, or even talking loudly but we were accused of letting too many people sleep in one room and threatened with being thrown out and having the police involved. We were so disappointed and shocked at how rude this person was that we may look for a house to rent next time.