Sep 08 2009
Best Western Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck, ND
The last time I stayed at the Best Western Ramkota in Bismarck, North Dakota, was back in the early 80′s when it was called the Kirkwood Motor Inn and hosted the state spelling bee. (I placed second, if you must know, and Kyle Lucke got a trip to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., while I got an unabridged dictionary. But I digress…)
Since then, the hotel has undergone a few name changes and some updates, and we enjoyed a nice stay in Bismarck.
We arrived on a Saturday evening, and it was difficult to find parking near the registration area because of a wedding and/or other activities in the banquet facilities. Checkin was courteous, although there was only one representative on duty and we had to wait in line for several minutes.
The hotel is sprawling, so it is important to use the map for getting around. We ended up carrying our luggage down a long hallway to find an elevator, as the entrance where we had parked had only a staircase.
Our room was a nicely decorated standard but spacious two-bed room. The beds were comfortable and each had four pillows. The room had the standard amenities, including an armchair and ottoman, a side chair, and a large desk with free wi-fi access. There was a closet with hangers and a shelf, and two luggage racks. We were on the second floor, in a room with a balcony overlooking the pool area. Our balcony was shared with the room next door, and the kids enjoyed looking out on the pool from our room. Rooms on the first level are actual pool-side rooms.
Except for noise from the pool, our room was very quiet. In the three days that we were there, we didn’t hear anything from the hallway or adjacent rooms. At night, when the pool was closed, the room was absolutely quiet.
The pool area included a zero-entry toddler area with a frog slide, two small children’s slides, and a big waterslide. Although the pool itself wasn’t huge, it was fun for the kids and I could easily keep an eye on all of them. The pool area also included a whirlpool, many tables and chairs, and an arcade, and the exercise area was adjacent to this space. A business center is located near the front desk.
We ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant on Sunday morning, and the kids were impressed with the “fancy” decor. Although it had a kids’ menu and coloring sheets, the service was not very prompt and the prices were high for kids’ breakfasts. Our server forgot to bring the kids’ juice, and there were no staff in sight to ask for help until our meals were finished. All-in-all, it was nothing special and we did not return the next morning.
The Ramkota is located across the street from Kirkwood Mall and is just a few blocks away from Famous Daves, McDonald’s, and other restaurants, as well as a grocery store. It is close to downtown Bismarck, but quite far from I-94.
All in all, our stay at the Ramkota Bismarck was pleasant. Aside from the initial parking difficulties and mediocre restaurant experience, we had a pleasant stay in a quiet room, and the kids enjoyed the pool area.
Disclosure: Our stay at the Ramkota was paid for by the Bismarck-Mandan Convention & Visitors Bureau. This review reflects my personal experience at the hotel.
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I stayed there right after having surgery and was in a wheelchair. I found the bathrooms in the conference area very hard to get in and out of without assistance, but there was plenty of room to maneuver once in the bathroom. I did not request a handicapped room since I didn’t think of it, but the rooms, except for the bathroom area, were able to be negotiated in the wheelchair fairly easily. I was attending a large conference (several hundred people) and there are 2 separate areas with conference rooms that can make it difficult to get from one area to the other in a short time.