Grand Bear Resort at Starved Rock Reviews

Grand Bear was amazing!! The staff ensured our day was perfect! It was even better than we imagined. Holly, Kathy and their staff are a dynamic team and the day was flawless. We will forever remember Saturday as one of the best days of our life. Thank you Grand Bear! I highly highly recommend them.

Paula and the entire staff at Grizzly Jack's made my wedding absolutely perfect! It was difficult to book anything from another state, and I was having trouble getting much of anything done in the Utica area. I wanted to be outside, but IL State Parks do not allow liquor and I thought I would disturb campers elsewhere in the park- but Grizzly Jack's ALWAYS came through. I had my rehearsal dinner (inside), ceremony (outside on the canyon deck) and reception (pavilion just above the canyon)here. I believe I was the first outdoor reception they had done, but everyone was flexible, the food was fantastic, setup was convenient and they accommodated everything from wheelchair accessible viewing and seating to a few vegan guests and without a fuss, upon seeing my 2 year old niece, whipped her up some kid friendly food.
The setting was beautiful, weather was perfect and everything went smoothly.
We had some of our wedding party rent a villa to stay in and it served as a good home-base as well while getting ready.
The large sign for the resort had our names and directions to the venue location on the scrolling electronic sign on street level so it was easy for guests to find and park as well.

I would DEFINITELY recommend this vendor.

Loved the location and the services we received!

Kim and her staff were wonderful! We had a perfect evening and felt that we could enjoy the evening worry free. Make sure you ask about different alcohol packages!

Overall the service was great. The lodge did call the local police though for parties of the wedding being too loud.

Kim did a great job making the event great. She made everything so easy for us!

Everything was great, the food was very good and everyone had fun

I would like to say that my Husband and I are both extremely pleased to have chosen Grand Bear Lodge as our reception site, The event staff was wonderful, accommodating, and knowledgeable. From the very beginning it felt like we were the only business they were concerned with. Nothing went unanswered, and the staff helped us with whatever we needed right down to the last moment we spent with them. I would recommend them to anyone needing a venue for a dance, party, reception, etc. We couldn't have asked for a better night!

Great place! I dealt mostly with Kelly from the sales department. She was fantastic! Anything I wanted. she made happen. I communicated mostly though email and anytime I asked a question I always got a quick reply. The service was great and the staff was very polite and professional. I had a lot of last minute craziness happen. My house flooded just a week before the wedding. I was my own florist and decorator so I was very stressed about getting everything done in time. Kelly was so helpful and understanding in making our wedding day everything I could have dreamed of. I would definitely recommend Grand Bear to anyone.

The whole staff at Grand Bear was wonderful and very accommodating. The food was excellent and everyone had a great time.

Everyone we worked with were excellent. So attentive and helpful. The food was excellent. I would highly recommend to anyone.

The venue was beautiful & the food was great. Kim was so accommodating while planning our wedding & helped us with every detail. All of the staff were pleasant.

Kelly was amazing to work with, very accommodating. The food was ok.

Grand bear was very flexible with whatever I wanted to do on my big day. Prices were reasonable and staff was courteous.

I am so happy with the way my wedding turned out! The staff at Grizzly Jacks is great. I feel like there should be a little more flexibility since you spend a big chunk of money on the venue but for the most part they were super accommodating and were always willing to try! I love how much space there is and it's beautiful out there! A great alternative to starved rock if you don't want to go with their strict guidelines! My guests can't stop talking about how much fun they had and how much they loved the food and drink services!

Grand Bear was a beautiful place to have a ceremony and reception together. They were very helpful with planning out all the details that go along with wedding planning. The water park I heard is a little rundown and I would've appreciated a little bit better accommations as I was unable to get ready for my ceremony there without paying for the full price of a nights stay just to have a room for a few hours (I chose to get ready elsewhere).

The service overall was great. We did go through a transition period of event coordinators, but they still seemed to get all of our requests taken care of for the most part. Signature cocktails were not very good, and the kegs of different beer were on the opposite ends of the ball room, but this was not the end of the world. We definitely enjoyed our reception and the cabins, and we would recommend the venue to anyone!

The day of the banquet was amazing. The banquet staff and manager were on key and on target with everythig. They catered to all our needs and were so helpful. However pre wedding was not as simple and easy to be in contact with people. The sales associate and lady in charge of BEO did not have good communication with us. It took many phone calls, emails and messages to finally get through. It was very stressful. However everything else turned out good one we finally talked with them and met with Kellly.