Chinook Winds Lodge

Returning home from Yellowstone/Montana and this was our first stop on the long trip home. We were very impressed with our cabin! Comfortable and cozy - a great experience. Definitely would recommend. Be sure to check out the rodeo on Fridays!

We booked based off pictures on *******. Strongly advice rethinking if you try to book this. Front door was glass and did not look secure in the least. They advertised a gym but you have to walk down road to find it. Electrical set up was concerning. TV, fan and heater all plugged into same receptacle. Please see pic posted for the closet. Just crazy. We asked about AC. They said turn on fan and raise windows. Bathroom and “kitchenette” share a room. Toilet and shower on one wall…microwave and coffee maker on the other. How unsanitary. We have a video but can’t seem to upload so I’ll post some pictures. Just compare the few pics here to the ones they advertised. Sadly ******* had no interest in reviewing so we are trying to get an accurate info to save others the trouble. Room was close to $200. Sleeping in car or a tent would probably have been a better option.

What a charming property! Check in was easy, Joseph was extremely helpful and friendly when we visited the office, and the room was very clean and spacious. The river on the back of the property offers a great area to rest and unwind, and each evening, they light a bonfire in the middle of the lodging for all to congregate. This lodge is perfect for families or couples!

The photos on the website are very misleading. They must be at least 20 years old as the place is very shabby and unkempt. There are motorcycle parts and trash, broken or aged furniture and nothing has been raked or cleaned. The rooms themselves were adequate but rather primitive. There was no breakfast and coffee very sad. The location is on the main road leading into a small town so can be noisy. The reality is Dubois is pretty much the only place to stay while heading to the Tetons so your choices are limited. Lower your expectations and don’t expect the lovely, peaceful riverside experience that is portrayed in their advertisements.

Rooms 12 - 20 are in a no-views old 2 story building next to the road. Sound carries between rooms. Room floors squeak with every step. Pairs of rooms share a foyer with an exterior unlocked door, but have lockable room doors. Instructions on how to lock the doors is only available in the hotel office, not in the room. Room 18 had the worst-layout smallest-space bathroom we've ever experienced, The great-looking but sharp-edged cast-iron paper holder and towel hooks poised to scratch as you wiggle into or out of essential facilities. The narrow step-in shower temperature set OK for warm then alternated between hot/cold, likely due to someone else in the building running water. The beds were comfortable, the room heater kept us warm enough but ran nonstop with a noisy fan. Plenty of extra blankets available on a rack in the room, and 2 other heating/cooling units in the room - a baseboard heater and a window A/C unit. Something set off the fire alarm in the building before 8 AM on our 2nd morning, as we prepared to leave. It stopped, eventually. No fire service arrived at the property. No one from the property appeared to explain what had happened. Outdoors, the cabana and chairs beside the river were very dirty with bird droppings - clearly not recently cleaned. There is NO BREAKFAST - the sign in the office invites guests to make a pot of coffee but the office coffee maker had no instructions, no tea, no hot water. (Our in room coffee maker worked well, 1 small cup at a time). Some apples and mandarin oranges were on a tray in the office, along with some commercially wrapped muffins. There is NO MORNING STAFF in the office. The whole multi-building Chinook Winds complex has a DIY, work-in-progress vibe. Trying hard but failing on hospitality basics.