Loved this place.

The grounds of this hotel are just lovely with flowers, gardens,

waterfalls, and a large pond with a gazebo in the middle of it. Most of the

trees and flowers are labeled with both the Latin and common name. We

found our room to be very comfortable, although it was a rather strange

arrangement of furniture. Our room was "L" shaped and one queen sized

bed was at the top and one at the bottom of the "L". In the middle was

the TV and refrigerator in a large amoire, a desk and some chairs. The

TV could be turned around and viewed both from one of the queen beds

and from the sitting area. We did note the hotel is upgrading the rooms

with better mattresses, plasma TV's and new bedding. They have

wireless internet in all the rooms. They are also building an indoor water

park. We were afraid the construction would interfere with our visit, but

we didn't hear any construction noise. The lobby is really attractive

and the grounds are so beautiful that 3 weddings were going on one of

the days we were there.

We had breakfast in the hotel 3 mornings and enjoyed eating outside

under the trees overlooking the large pond on 2 days. There was a wedding

going so the outside tables were not available one morning. Service

was rather slow, but friendly, and the food at breakfast was very good.

We also had dinner there one night and decided it was just okay, but

nothing outstanding, and definitely not worth the high price.

The swimming pool and hot tub are inside. There are doors that open

out to a large outside patio with lounge chairs and tables. Pool toys

are available at the front desk. A pool table and small party room are

close to the pool area and available for anyone to use. You can look

from the party room through the glass to the pool area. The gym was

upstairs and looked well equipped.

We stopped in the bar one night for a drink and found our beverages to

be light on the alcohol. After a complaint to the bartender, the next

round was served as the drink should have been the first time. No

offer of an adjustment was made.

I can't say enough nice things about this resort. Staff is friendly

and helpful. The plants and setting is colorful and lovely. It's like

visiting someone's garden and staying there for a few nights. Our room

was on the first floor facing the gardens so we could step outside our

door and enjoy coffee under the trees and a view of the duck pond.

Construction site

terrible - a construction site, no outdoor pool even though it's now advertised as Cherry Lodge Water Resort! Digger right outside our room, staff tried to mislead us as to what noise was, no one told us of the construction when we booked...very unhappy.

Very disappointing

We have just come home from our annual trip to Newark for the Heisey Glass convention. We have stayed at the Cherry Valley every year but one since the opening and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. However, this year was very disappointing. Our room was located near the major construction area, which was okay. However, the parking was awful. When we arrived, there was parking right by the entrace to our room. We left to go into town and when we returned even those parking spots were no longer available. On Saturday, It was impossible to get anywhere near our room. There was a wedding that took all the parking, as well as all the lobby area for the reception. Had I known that there would be so much inconvenience, I would never have sayed there. Our friends, also staying here, didn't even get consistent service in their room. The bed wasn't even made. I don't think that the company really considered the comfort of their paying guests. They need to reevaluate their priorities. I will say that the restaurant was excellent. It is pretty sad when the only positive point to take home with you is that you had a very personable young person serving you excellent food. Next year's convention will probably be spent in another facility, and I brought business for three rooms.

Great Cozy Experience

Stayed here one night in December 2005. Very comfortable and cozy place with nice rooms. I was also very pleased with the price considering it was the holiday season.

I would recommend anyone to stay here at anytime. Will stay at again if in the area.

Wonderful!

My family (mom, dad, 2 young kids) spent a recent weekend at the Cherry Valley Lodge and had a great time. The hotel staff was pleasant and accommodating, the property was beautiful, and the room was comfortable and well appointed. Although the lodge has plenty for kids to do, it is not a kid-centered hotel, so couples wishing for privacy and quiet should find it easy to relax and enjoy themselves too.

Here are some of the best points:

The staff:

- They're very friendly. If someone from housekeeping, maintenance, or the desk ever saw us in the hall, they always smiled and greeted us.

- When we needed something, housekeeping came right away and didn't wait around expecting a tip. Also, when we came back from swimming before lunch and our room hadn't been cleaned yet, we called housekeeping to request service while we went to the restaurant. They promised they'd be right there, and when we came back less than an hour later, the room looked great.

- They were busy with large parties--there were two weddings on Saturday, and we heard rumors of another planned for Sunday--and yet we still got very attentive service even though we weren't with a group.

- When we got our wake-up call, an actual person was on the phone!

The accommodations:

- The grounds are very well kept, filled with flowers, a stream, waterfalls, a large pond with ducks (you can get free bags of food from the front desk), a gazebo, and various walking paths. Many plants have plates with their names, which was an interesting touch.

- The lodge is shaped like a figure 8, with rooms either facing outside or inside. The inside rooms overlook the ponds and gardens; request one if you have the option. There's not much to see on the outside of the complex besides parking lots as far as we could tell.

- The restaurant had an extensive menu of gourmet dishes as well as basic sandwiches and salads. What we had was excellent and freshly made even though we ate at an off time.

- A bike path connected to the city's system of bike/walking paths. It's relatively secluded, so you don't see much traffic, and tunnels go under major roads. I think they lend/rent bikes to guests.

The room (we were in 233):

- Our 2-queen room was roomy. The two beds were separated, so the kids could sleep while we stayed up. There was a VCR and a mini-fridge big enough to hold pizza boxes and 2-liters.

- The grounds we could see from our balcony were very attractive. The balcony door locked securely.

- My only complaint is that the fitted bed sheet didn't quite fit the bed, so both nights we woke up on the mattress with the sheet bunched up between us. The kids didn't have that problem, though.

For families with kids:

- The hotel has an indoor pool and an outdoor pool, a big playground, plus lots of room for frisbee, volleyball, etc. There is no kiddie pool, but the pools are only 3-5 feet deep. Lockers near the pools have beach balls, noodles, and other pool toys.

- A board in the lobby lists many kids' activities each day, most of them free. Kids can cook out at a campfire, go on a supervised hike at a creek on the property, or make crafts. Sessions last long enough for parents to be by themselves for a while, but parents are welcome to accompany their children too.

- The front desk will lend out videos and board games for free. They're well-known videos (Disney, Olsen twins) and there are plenty of non-kids selections too.

- The curtains/drapes in the room were thick enough that the kids had no idea the sun was up and we could sleep in well past sunrise.

- The restaurant's kids' menu has lots of options. One ordered the pizza, and it wasn't great (microwaved, undercooked), but the other one's chicken nuggets were fine.

- We forgot to bring baby shampoo, but a free bottle was available at the desk.

- At 8:15, one of the bear characters comes to the lobby along with a staff member who reads a story to the kids. The girl who read the night we went seemed to enjoy her job.

- You can arrange for the bear and his handler to come to your room at night to say good night to the kids. They bring milk and cookies along with a little beanie bear for each child.

From what we had read of the lodge on their own web site, and for what we paid ($139 a night), we expected it to be well above average; lodging normally is far less than that around central Ohio. And we were very pleased with the experience. It's well worth it, and we'll definitely be back.

Poor customer service

My husband was there on a business trip in Feb of 2005. The company that he was there for picked up the tab. Cherry Valley charged my husbands charge card almost $300.00. I have e-mailed Cherry Valley three times about this charge and they have not gotten back to me yet. FRAUD BILLING There was no room service,bar tap or stolen towels.

Great Time, Service

We stayed here when we brought our son to Denison University. I was very impressed by the grounds and bldg. The rooms were big, my only issue was with the one tv to be rotated between areas. In the evening we sat outside the lobby in the courtyard. It was so peaceful with waitress service being offered it was perfect. If you want an inside room (overlooking the pond/courtyard you must ask and pay additional) The Texas Roadhouse restaurant is close and a great buy with kids.

Less than perfect

Just returned from our weekend at the lodge.We were attending a wedding that had its reception there and the rehersal dinner. Upon check in was given a room over that trash area. Okay they are full. The night of the wedding 10 of the wedding party stayed all night and upon check in were told there were no rooms even though they had given a credit card to gaurentee them. After much haggling they were given the rooms. My brother had lost is eye glasses and when checking out left our local phone number if and when they turned up. After hours called back and were told they were in the ballroom and would probably throw them out. When checking out the person next to me had a rate that was 30 dollars cheaper and we were told the block for the wedding was the cheapest rate. Oh well won't be back there.

A wonderland in Ohio

I have used the Cherry Valley Lodge for both business retreats/meetings and for personal get-aways. What a treasure of a place so close to our home. It is really a peaceful, beautiful wonderland--especially in the winter. Food is wonderful, whether you are having banquet food for a meeting or dining in the restaurant. It is our favorite January get-away.

A cozy little lodge

What a beautiful getaway so close to home! We stayed at CVL for New Year's Eve. We were just overwhelmed by the absolute beauty of this lodge. We walked all over the lodge, and I do not recall seeing or smelling anything that should not have been. Our room was a king room with a sofa sleeper for the kids. The bathroom was quite possibly the largest bathroom I have ever seen in a hotel. It even made up for the fact that the room itself was not terribly large. Friends of ours stayed in a queen/queen room, and the room was large, but the bathroom was standard issue. I would choose the big bathroom with the big (two person) tub. I think if I would not have had a room on the courtyard side of the hotel, I would not have been nearly as happy. But, as it was, we were in a ground level room and our patio was directly off a courtyard with a pond. Since we were there on New Year's Eve, it was of course noisy. We did not purchase the dinner package, and I think it was a good choice. There were people EVERYWHERE eating dinner, and they seemed to be crammed together. We did have breakfast the next morning, and it was great food. Then we found a little area to sit in and watch New Year's Day bowl games. The kids were able to check out games at the front desk, so they didn't grumble too loudly about the football. We enjoyed this lodge so much, my husband and I are planning to visit for our upcoming 10th anniversary.