The Zermatt

This review covers three places at two locations to get an overall feel of this ridiculous stay. 

The Homestead place smelled like sewage when we arrived. Right in the hotel lobby. If I didn’t already have a reservation I would have left. Was not impressed with the gift shop staff when I asked about the history of the place. The indoor pool and hot tub, the outdoor hot tubs and just about everything else made me feel like we stepped back in time to an unkempt and outdated facility. The rooms and the resort overall are quaint and cozy. Felt a little better until we were interrupted by two phone calls and pounding on our door telling us they need to check the pipes. I told them the water was fine, the shower was working and there were no leaks. They insisted as we were getting ready for our reserved time slot for the crater soak. After the soak, we were informed that we were getting moved. There were no rooms left so we were sent to a competitor across the street. We ended up packing up and driving across the street to...

The Zermatt. We told the desk we were sent over from The Homestead and were issued keys. Upon entering the room, we obviously walked into an occupied room. I called the front desk from a courtesy phone in the hall and they said they were working on it and asked me to come to the desk. Well this resort is rather large and we had to drag our luggage back down three floors to fond out we were going back up four floors to a new room. The rooms were noisy with loud furnaces. They also had hideous night lights built into the power outlets. The only way to turn them off were to trip the breaker for the outlet. 

We ate at Z’s Steak and Chop House there at The Zermatt. It was an all you can eat buffet with Prime Rib but overall it just didn’t feel as nice as it looked. I felt like the Zermatt Resort looked good on the outside but deep down they needed some help. 

Even though The Homestead was able to get us booked at The Zermatt, there was not much feeling to what happened. We felt like we should have been given some complimentary passes or a stay for another time. Same with The Zermatt giving is an already occupied room. Maybe this is why people are willing to stay at an AirBNB or VRBO more readily than in the past. At least the hosts who are renting their homes seem invested in what they are offering.

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Update !

We have booked the Zermatt for an upcoming weekend. I like to give places a second chance when I can so we will see how it turns out. Stay tuned for an update after the stay.

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Update after giving the Zermatt a second chance. They have lost a star from 3 to 2.

Stayed the weekend of 1/19/2020. Had a room without a fridge or microwave this time. 2 Queen beds for the grown kids and us. The toilet backed up so we tried to call the front desk. Picking up the handset, we see that the phone cord is not there completely gone, stolen, non-existent. I should have taken a photo because it was ridiculous. The pool and hottub were next in our visit. We had to cross through the cosd parking lot to get to the pool so that required us to wear extra clothing and change. The attendant just looked at her phone the entire time we were there. At closing time she was so timid that nobody left on time. The hot tub was not very hot. They have a nice looking waterfall. To turn on the jets, the waterfall has to run too. that takes the place of about 6-8 seats so there is less room to sit. The pool was over chlorinated and really burned our eyes.

We thought we would try the Wildfire Smokehouse on the premises. Please do not even consider eating there. The wait was long. During the wait, I witnessed another patron ask about takeout and the staff told her that the wait time would be the same. I wondered at the absolute nonsense I just heard. Why would you have to wait an hour for a table and also wait an hour to place a to-go order...? In fact, the same patron asked why the long wait when there were only 20% of the tables being used and all they needed to do was clean them off. They claimed that busser had not arrived yet however, wouldn't that be something the manager or even the hostess could pitch in and help with? Other reviews said the food was good so we waited our hour for a table. We were finally seated and ordered drinks. the others in my party were served their drinks and I was completely overlooked. I asked again for my drink and waited, and waited. I asked again about my drink when the waitress came to take our order. Food came, looked good, large portion sizes, decent but a little dry for pulled pork and brisket. The cole slaw tasted like gasoline. We asked the server and all she could say is its a dill based slaw. She couldn't even offer a different side or to make any other accommodations. Who in their right mind would continue to serve something that tasted like the bottom of a paint thinner can? 

So after giving this resort two tries, they have failed miserably and I'm really not sure why people like the place. Maybe its the facade they see. It definitely does not feel like a resort.

On a side note, we did see the Midway Ice Castles. Got lost in a couple little kid passages, took pics on ice furniture, saw light shows in the ice and water fountains. We slid down a slide and wandered around in the cold. Drank a cocoa and ate a churro.

We also snow tubed as Soldier Hollow. Get your tix in advance because it fills up quick. You get a 2 hour session and you will have time to sled all the runs. For me, 2 hours almost seemed like too much time but I'm getting old. LOL.