Aspen Inn

2.0 star property
your current months are December, 2024 and January, 2025.
December 2024
January 2025

Photo gallery for Aspen Inn

Exterior
Free WiFi, bed sheets
Free daily continental breakfast
View from property
Free WiFi, bed sheets

Reviews

7.0 out of 10

Good

Popular amenities

  • Breakfast included
  • Pet-friendly
  • Parking included
  • Free WiFi

Explore the area

Map
1711 West Hwy. 61á, Grand Marais, MN, 55604
  • Grand Marais Golf 'n' Stuff
    6 min walk
  • Grand Marais Art Colony
    2 min drive
  • Cook County Court House
    2 min drive
  • Grand Marais, MN (GRM-Cook County)
    17 min drive

Room options

Standard Double Room, 2 Queen Beds, Non Smoking

  • 23 sq m
  • Sleeps 4
  • 2 Queen Beds

Double Room, 2 Queen Beds, Accessible, Non Smoking

  • 23 sq m
  • Sleeps 4
  • 2 Queen Beds

Family Suite, Multiple Beds, Non Smoking

  • 28 sq m
  • Sleeps 7
  • 1 King Bed and 2 Queen Beds

Standard Room, 1 King Bed, Non Smoking

  • 23 sq m
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 King Bed

Similar properties

About the area

Grand Marais

With a stay at Aspen Inn in Grand Marais, you'll be a 1-minute walk from Superior National Forest and 6 minutes by foot from Lake Superior. .This motel is 0.3 mi (0.5 km) from Grand Marais Golf 'n' Stuff and 1.1 mi (1.7 km) from Grand Marais Art Colony.

What's nearby

  • Grand Marais Art Colony - 2 min drive
  • Cook County Court House - 2 min drive
  • Cook County Public Tennis Courts - 2 min drive
  • North Shore Health - 2 min drive
  • Pincushion Mountain - 5 min drive

Getting around

  • Duluth, MN (DLH-Duluth Intl.) - 154 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Voyageur Brewing Company - ‬1 min drive
  • ‪Birch Terrace Supper Club - ‬16 min walk
  • ‪Java Moose - ‬19 min walk
  • ‪Angry Trout Cafe - ‬17 min walk
  • ‪Gun Flint Tavern - ‬2 min drive

About this property

Aspen Inn

Motel in Grand Marais with free breakfast
Aspen Inn offers 30 accommodations with portable fans. Televisions come with cable channels and Netflix.

Bathrooms include bathtubs or showers. This Grand Marais motel provides complimentary wireless Internet access.

Make yourself at home in one of the 30 guestrooms featuring refrigerators. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming is available for your entertainment. Bathrooms have bathtubs or showers and hair dryers.
A complimentary continental breakfast is served daily from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM.
The front desk is staffed during limited hours. Free self parking is available onsite.
A complimentary continental breakfast is served each morning between 7:00 AM and 10:00 AM.

Languages

English

Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
  • Available in some public areas: Free WiFi

Parking and public transport

  • Free self-parking on site
  • Motorhome/coach/lorry parking (free) on site
  • Wheelchair-accessible parking available

Food and drink

  • Free continental breakfast available daily 7:00 AM–10:00 AM

Family friendly

  • Fridge

Guest services

  • Front desk (limited hours)

Outdoors

  • Nature reserve

Accessibility

  • If you have any requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
  • This property does not have any lifts
  • No lift (single-level property)
  • Wheelchair-accessible parking
  • Wheelchair-accessible (may have limits)

More

  • Smoke-free property

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Bed sheets
  • Heating
  • Portable fan

Bathroom

  • Bath or shower
  • Hairdryer (on request)
  • Private bathroom
  • Towels

Entertainment

  • 42-inch TV
  • TV channels
  • Hulu
  • Netflix
  • Streaming services

Food and drink

  • Fridge

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 4:00 PM; Check-in end time: 8:00 PM
Late check-in subject to availability
Minimum check-in age: 18

Check-out

Check-out before 11 AM
Contactless check-out available

Special check-in instructions

The front desk is open daily from 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Front desk staffed during limited hours
If you are planning to arrive after 5:00 PM please contact the property in advance using the information on the booking confirmation

Access methods

Front desk (limited hours)

Pets

Pets allowed for an extra charge of USD 50 per pet, per stay
Service animals are welcome, and are exempt from fees
Welcoming dogs only
2 total pets
Pets cannot be left unattended
Specific rooms only, restrictions apply; pet-friendly rooms can be requested by contacting the property at the number on the booking confirmation

Children and extra beds

Children are welcome
Rollaway/extra beds are not available
Cribs (infant beds) are not available

Payment types

Important information

Optional extras

  • Pet fee: USD 50 per pet, per stay
  • Service animals are exempt from fees

The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards; cash is not accepted
Air conditioning is not provided

We should mention

This property does not have elevators
Only registered guests are allowed in the guestrooms
Children under 16 years old are not allowed in the spa tub without adult supervision
This property welcomes guests of all sexual orientations and gender identities (LGBTQ+ friendly)

Property is also known as

Aspen Inn Grand Marais
Aspen Inn
Aspen Grand Marais
Aspen Inn Motel
Aspen Inn Grand Marais
Aspen Inn Motel Grand Marais

Aspen Inn Reviews

Reviews

7.0

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 200 out of 1000 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 352 out of 1000 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 240 out of 1000 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 132 out of 1000 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 76 out of 1000 reviews" "

7.4/10

Cleanliness

8.2/10

Staff & service

6.2/10

Amenities

6.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

6.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

2/10 Terrible

Tiffany

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Mold, No AC, and double charge
This is a great hotel if you like nasty moldy rooms, no AC, and like being double charged. We were told the double charge would be resolved within two weeks, and we are still dealing with it several weeks later. During my visit, the front desk staff seemed apologetic about the awful state of things. They told me that management does not like to fix things, so no improvements are made. If you book this place, do so with VERY low expectations.
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2024

8/10 Good

Deborah

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Adequate but needs some maintenance-doors difficult to open, some things in need of replacement.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2024

10/10 Excellent

Walter

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Amenities
This is a basic hotel without much in the way of extras or luxuries. For example, the free breakfast is uninspiring. However, it is extremely clean and well-maintained. The bed is comfortable, and the shower stall is one of the best layed-out I've seen. Very much a good value for the price.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2024

6/10 Okay

keyla, milo

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Not very clean
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2024

10/10 Excellent

William

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

2/10 Terrible

Mark

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Very poorly maintained, needs to be torn down and rebuilt. The parking lot is a disaster, the room was cleaned with bleach and the odor was overwhelming, I avoid confrontation at all cost. We paid when we checked in and after reviewing the room, we put our luggage back in the car and left without asking for a refund. We found other accommodations. The desk attendant was a very pleasant person, absolutely nothing negative to say about her. You shouldn't recommend this place to anyone.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2024

6/10 Okay

Wayne

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
Broke AC unit but cool temps. No automatic room service.older bed but OK BR baseboards dirty. Did like that it was a direct walk in,as we had bikes. Hot tub broke "for ages". Price was cheapest thats why took it for a week
Stayed 6 nights in Aug 2024

4/10 Poor

Roberta

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Property was formerly a semi-decent Super 8 that we used often in the past when on winter x-c ski adventures, but changed hands in last 10-15 years. Owners now appear to be the same real estate group who bought up many of the motels in Grand Marais (including a slightly better but pricier motel on the NE end of town with similar name: Aspen Lodge), which is an extremely popular Minnesota vacation area on Lake Superior. Quite remote so not many options for lodging. This property has NOT been properly maintained - now very dirty & heading toward dereliction. Ice machine "broken" so guests offered ice in lobby from a cooler - primitive but workable first night; however, second night told "no ice"...only one staff person on duty & she could not leave to buy more ice (say what?). Had only an antique, extremely loud and ineffective room air conditioner, and windows would not open. Bathroom sink replaced sometime in last decade, but so tall that touched the bottom of the original shelf above sink, making it very difficult reach the hot/cold spigots. No maid service between day #1 & day #2. Parking lot desperately needs repaving; potholes galore. There was a fridge but no microwave. Alarm clock did not work. WiFi, however, was quite good. Property needs a serious facelift!! I will not stay here again until it is upgraded - even if it means driving 40 miles farther north to Thunder Bay, Ontario for lodging.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

6/10 Okay

Venus

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service, amenities
The room was not the cleanest and the ice machine was broken, the staff left at 8pm for the night. The staff was really friendly and helpful very pleasant to talk with. Breakfast was cereal, toast, waffles to put in the toaster, bagels and cream cheese, cartons of juice. It was ok place but not sure i would stay there again
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2024

10/10 Excellent

Steven

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The room was clean and serviceable. Bed was very comfy and the bathroom was clean and handy. The folks at the front desk were friendly and personable. All in all, a good value for the money.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

8/10 Good

Wayne

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
no air conditioning but it was cool.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

8/10 Good

Gerhard

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Quiet, tv was hard to use, on second day we moved to less Oder room, whirlpool was not working
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

6/10 Okay

Sterling

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
So so mot, the Aspen inn
Aspen inn was adequate, but they didn't collect the garbage until I asked, and even then, they ask that you place the container outside for them to pick up, and for you to bring it back in. Free breakfast was sparse, mostly sugary cereals, beverages, etc. the facility itself was in need of much renovation. The spa, listed on their website, was closed, and has been so for months.
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2024

4/10 Poor

Dawn

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
This place just needs a full overhaul. Spa wasn’t working, exterior doors didn’t close all the way, door to room you had to shoulder to open, staff person was nice and rooms seemed clean with what they had to work with. Good location to Grand Marais!
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

6/10 Okay

Phillip

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

2/10 Terrible

Sarah

Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Filthy motel
OK, folks, this place is bad and I mean really bad. The front reception woman was very pleasant and friendly but it went all downhill from there. The parking lot is a complete mess, huge dumpster in the back with garbage overflowing. The place looks like rundown, abandon motel. We get in the room, the carpet is stained and filthy. The room basically is gross. Outside the room, there is a garbage can overflowing with garbage and food. I don’t recommend ever staying here and this place should be shut down
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

8/10 Good

ERICA

Liked: Staff & service
Had a great stay there. It is a perfect place if you are just looking for a place to get some sleep and relax after a day of hiking. The staff were great and offered to help or answer any questions we had. Would stay again.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

2/10 Terrible

Ryan

Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Sad and broken.
This hotel was a bait and switch situation. The hotel is the neglected brother of the Aspen Lodge down the street in the middle of town… which is where I THOUGHT I was booking based off of the hotels.com map view. Checkin was awful. Receptionist was cold and uninterested. We asked about the hot tub, it was drained and out of order. We asked for an ice machine, it too was drained and out of water. Our rooms window did not lock and we were in the first floor. The shower had a clump of hair floating in gin it and a used wash rag hanging from the shower rod. The Continental breakfast was a bit of a joke.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2024

8/10 Good

Lenny

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Even though it's nothing fancy, the room is comfortable, close to a restaurant, on the main street of Grand Marais, and has premade breakfast available the entire day (I grabbed a bagel for lunch because I wasn't too hungry and it was fine). The staff is really friendly and helpful and gave me tons of ideas to go hiking.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2024

6/10 Okay

Robert

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Needs to be updated no ice machine ice was in a cooler in lobby.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

2/10 Terrible

Holly, Rosemount

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Front desk women was very polite and nice. Other than that i would not stay here again. $150 nightly motel. First no ac but being up on the north shore you would think that would be a no problem, well it would be if the screen on the window wasn't broken. The door was broken hard to open. HUGE a** bugs right outside the door that jump at you... 🙅‍♀️ Dont get me started on the broken mattress... the king size bed had a hug dip in the middle of the bed so my husband and i literally slept on top of one another. We were in room 101.... if you happen to stay there do not stay in room 101!
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

4/10 Poor

Leeann

Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Horrible. Parking lot was a disaster. The door to the building didn’t Lock or close. The hotel room smelled musty and damp. The rooms are horribly outdated. The air conditioning system is about 300 years old and many of the rooms it didn’t work and we were told that the owners don’t want to pay to fix them. One of our friends had to spend two hours cleaning his room. The air conditioning unit had so much dust in it. It was disgusting. The breakfast was next to nothing. I had a bowl of corn pop cereal and it was stale. The little hot tub pool thing they have wasn’t working. There was only one pillow per person on the bed, and they were little and flimsy. I normally do not like to leave reviews like this, but the entire hotel experience there was terrible. About the only good thing was that we had a roof over our head. The options were limited for the weekend as there is a big event that goes on this weekend and there are no rooms unless you book super early. Please invest some time and money into your business. It’s a disgrace and you should care more about it.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

2/10 Terrible

Daniel

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Terrible, no reservation when we showed up, even though I had confirmation from last April, staff super rude, although they lightened up after a while, nothing works, no AC, broken fridge, no jacuzzi, absolutely no amenities that worked, nice continental breakfast though limited...
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2024

2/10 Terrible

Robert

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
As a well seasoned traveler and health professional, this was shockingly and abysmally disappointing. There is no excuse for filth in hotel accommodations. I retrieved cleaning supplies from the front desk and cleaned for 2 hrs. straight after check in to feel comfortable enough in the room. The AC unit was filthy; filter and vents caked with dust and grime. The blinds were threadbare and old. On check in, I was made aware that the AC unit may or may not work, however a fan would be provided as advertised on Expedia. The sheets and towels seemed fine. The young lady at the receptionist desk was apologetic by script but realistically unhelpful. Grand Marais is a lovely town and accommodation is difficult to get; hence they have a captive market. With an investment of time, money and an understanding of basic and acceptable hospitality standards, this property because of it’s location, could be potentially great and the price point justified. It is basically run down and neglected, inside and out. I would stay elsewhere given the choice.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

6/10 Okay

Ursula

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2024