Cliffbreakers Riverside Hotel & Conference Center

We were at Cliffbreakers for a dinner my employer has every year. There were 825 people that showed up to discover the AIR CONDITIONING wasn’t working ! It was horribly hot and everyone was sweating profusely. They never got the air fixed !
When the meals were served, the servers were clueless, they would serve 2 people at a table of 10 and then wait 10 minutes to serve the remaining 8. It was a horrible dinning experience. Cliffbreakers gets an a grade of F–

Terrible! It was 84 degrees in the banquet room. Every year Swedes does this nice appreciation dinner, for employees, THANK YOU SWEDISH AMERICAN. the past few years the place has become a dump, hope Swedes gets a partial refund since most people left real early due to the heat. The wait staff deserves a big thanks they did the best they could in this situation. HOPE NEXT YEAR’S PARTY WILL BE SOMEWHERE ELSE.

By far the worst experience I’ve ever had. We went to a wedding in the Renaissance hall. The air was broken so the room was nearly 80 degrees. They still had ladders and buckets setup in the room when the wedding was starting. They finally removed that after the wedding started. The sound equipment they supplied did not work, thankfully we had our own. The food was brought out, the steaks were raw, not rare but fully raw, the mashed potatoes we undercooked and still had chunks of raw potatoes in them.
The way the staff offered to fix it was a free drink. I have never been this dissatisfied with a facility in my life.
My recommendation, if you are even thinking of this place for your wedding or reception run away!

We checked in to the Honeymoon Suite at Cliffbreakers last night. I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed with a hotel room. I’ve been told this hotel was something wonderful 20 years ago, unfortunately this is no longer the case. Cliffbreakers is now a complete and total dive. I’m guessing the owners are just allowing it to run in to the ground before they board up the doors and windows. The place is falling apart. Our suite once had a gas fire place and Jacuzzi. Both are still present in the room, however, neither of them work. The tub has drainage issues. The furniture is in shambles. The wall paper is peeling in the room and throughout the hotel. This place is borderline condemned. If you’re expecting a pleasant room for a special occasion, do not book at this hotel.
And don’t even bother with breakfast. They started serving a half hour late and the cook/​staff was unprofessional and rude.

TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, Went for Mothers Day brunch buffet, we picked Cliffbreakers because we had been there several times before and Sunday champagne brunch was amazing. The selection of food and the service was second to none. Upon arrival we found out that it was not a champagne brunch anymore I guess that should have been our first warning but when I ask when that had changed they quickly offered up a couple of complimentary glasses of champagne and I was very grateful and thanked them for the gesture. Once seated we waited approximately 20 minutes for someone to offer drinks (complimentary glass of champagne was gone by now) and help yourself to the brunch but no one came our way. Finally I said to my wife lets just go get our food. This was the real shocker the plates were dripping wet and some people were complaining that their plates were not clean. I and my wife asked for dry clean plates, the glasses were very cloudy and spotted lets just say less than appetizing looking. What use to be bagels and Lox and quail eggs and all kinds of gourmet crab and shrimp salads now were scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and cold I might add, bacon floating in grease and tasteless sausage. What was Prime Rib being carved by a chef was now Turkey breast and Ham being cut by (as they said when asked) contracted help not employees of Cliffbreakers. Not the contracted helps fault but most seemed less than capable of doing a quality job and I will leave it at that. Once we complained the Manager came over and offered us complimentary drinks, that’s when we found out Cliffbreakers was under new ownership. I told the Manager how disappointed we were and I would rather have my money back, he offered half back and by the way we are talking a $ 25.00 a plate brunch buffet. I said good enough since I and my wife did have some cold eggs, bacon, sausage and a glass of champagne. The best part was the complimentary glass of champagne we received, hard to cut corners or screw that up.
To end this review I will say if you never had the Sunday champagne Brunch at the old Cliffbreakers maybe this wouldn’t bother you as much as it did us but I can tell you that the cold food and service is in no way worth the $ 25.00 a plate. So sorry to see a great place go down hill. For those of you still looking for a quality, classy Sunday Brunch I can whole heartily suggest the Eagleridge Woodlands restaurant in Galena Territory, a quality meal and at the same price.

Very expensive Mother’s Day brunch for nasty food. $ 25.00 a plate. Service was terrible. I would have preferred eating at a gas station. Disappointing to say the least! Nothing tasted good. Ham was dry. Bacon was floating in grease. Fruit was rotting. Even the water tasted chemically treated. We complained to the manager. He had nothing to say. I asked him if he would take his own mother there for Mother’s Day. He said: no. We came from out of town to take out our adopted mother out to eat someplace nice. She deserved much better. It used to be beautiful place to eat when I lived here 15 years ago. Now, it’s a terrible waste of money. The only redeeming quality is the river view, but you can have that for free. Don’t waste your money! Take Mom to Stockholm Inn. Even McDonald’s would’ve been a step up! At least McDonald’s has pancakes. This brunch is an insult, a rip-​off and a scam.

I’ve stayed here for work and it’s a decent hotel. The big issue is the Internet, I came here for work and like a lot of business people, I use the Internet to check emails, view files, etc. I can’t do any of that, I been using my phone for wifi. I would give this place at least a 4 star but with the wifi is an issue. I would avoid this place if your here for work.
Update: I stayed for a total of 3 nights, after the first I was told the Internet was taken care of. But again can’t do anything and plus its satellite internet (from what I overheard). Which might as well get AOL dial up. This is pathetic, a hotel that could be one of the best in the area having satellite internet. I can see why the parking lot is empty.

Very disappointed in this place. Came here with friends to enjoy a get away weekend and instead we were filled with disappointment!!!
First off the website states they have shuttle service but they fail to tell you that you need to request this 24 hours in advance. I asked at the front desk and the lady told me «that we tell the person not to come in if we don’t have 24 hour notice»
Next we were in our room in a Saturday evening it was barely 1030pm and the front desk called to say we were loud. Which we were not what you would consider loud. Plus we had a person who is hard of hearing and when we told the person that they replied «that is not our problem» and they threatened to kick us out if we did not comply.
Ok I would understand if it was the middle of the week or after midnight but it wasn’t neither of those.
I have stayed at numerous hotels with my friend and we’ve never been threaten like that.
Last their breakfast is horrible. When they state free that is what you will get. The eggs were suppose to be scrambled but were runny and the fruit looked old, and the waffle batter had no flavor to it.
Don’t waste your money here you are better off going to a big chain.

I was really excited about staying at this hotel for the weekend. Everything was fine we checked in at 2:00pm got ready for a wedding and left by 4pm. We arrived back to the hotel around 10 pm and were really excited about just hanging out in the room to relax. Unfortunately for us that did not last long. 30 minutes into our «fun» we received a call saying there was a complaint about us being to loud. So we complied turned off the tv and lowered our voices. We had someone in the room with us who has a hearing impairment, so we have to talk a bit loud for her to hear. Not even 10 minutes later someone calls and says we walked past your room and sounds like you guys are having fun and not just talking. The cut off time for fun is at 10pm. Even though we explained about our friend they threatened to kick us out if they heard us again. We felt like a child being yelled out by our parents. We had to pretty much just go to sleep because we were scared to say anything so they would not kick us out late at night. Bad experience and I will not recommend this place to anyone. Only thing that was great was the wifi. The free breakfast was not very tasty either.

Charming place to spend a week, as we did Oct 9 – 16 2015. The staff is wonderful, as are the rooms and the views. However, the amenities were lacking. Breakfast is the best. Cable tv is very poor, with no local channels, ESPN, NFL or MLB broadcasts available. The pool was cold for five of our seven days. The fitness room is well maintained and clean. One of the treadmills was out of order, but everything else was fine. We would definitely stay there again.
We did not use the restaurant, but it was quite busy with parties on Saturday night.

Wow, what a craphole of a hotel. My review is just about the hotel as the restaurant/​bar is closed except for weekends due to lack of business or renovations depending on which employee you ask. This was a huge disappointment as we were here on business during the week and wanted easy access to food and a bar as the neighborhood is pretty sketchy and its nice to have it all in one place.
Well I wake up this morning and the hallway is pitch black (creepy) and the carpets are SOAKED. There are multiple holes on all of the ceilings where repairs are going on. All the carpets are stained horribly.
So we try to make the best of it and sit down for some delivery from Pino’s and want to work and watch Monday Night Football. Well, guess what? They are having problems with their TV service (I think they just downgraded it personally) and they did not even have the channel with MNF. Not even the major networks, NBC, CBS, etc. So, after a bit of an argument with my better half, I stomp off to the bar in the strip mall next door to watch the game and am immediately approached by a guy claiming he just got out of prison for running over and killing a middle eastern guy. This guy tells me its a pretty bad neighborhood. So I wait for the guy to leave then I walk back to the hotel. I am followed back by someone else and as I head for the door a voice from the bushes calls out to me «Hey man, come here, hey!» I kept walking and told the front desk person they have a creep in their bushes.
The non smoking room we had has cigarette burns all over the sink and smells like a smoking room. The gift shop is abandoned and empty. I’ve called the front desk multiple times and let it ring for over 20 rings before anyone answers. I asked for some sort of discount and the front desk person said he will have management contact me right away… still waiting on that.
Seriously beyond being a run down and poor quality hotel that is neglected, its in a sketchy and dangerous part of town that you don’t want to be out in after dark, but if you want dinner and a drink, you may be putting yourself at risk, since their bar is closed so much. Resort??? Pft… If a cockroach walked in, I’d offer it a beer and strike up a conversation about what a craphole this place is.
Edit: just went to take a shower for a meeting: no water.
Another Edit: After being assured management was going to «do something» for the guests on the flooded floor, they did absolutely nothing, no discount at all. They had the audacity to offer a free upgrade on the next stay. I will upgrade my next stay: to a different hotel.
Edit 3: the sticker on the front door claims an 8.1 rating on
, I just checked, it’s 7.7 pft.
The one star is for the staff, all very friendly and nice!

Got what seemed like a great deal through Groupon. Completely not what was advertised. 8:15pm and the restaurant already closed :/

So disappointed. We are here for my husbands birthday only to find the restaurants and bars are all closed. Would not have stayed here as this totally ruined my plans. They are remodeling but I think something is open on the weekends.

We stayed here on a Travelzoo deal. We had a king suite, so plenty of room and a view of the river. The place itself is huge and was probably first class at one time but today it could use some work. Water stains, dated furniture and décor. We ate dinner on the patio and my filet mignon was good, came with real mashed red potatoes. My boyfriend’s ribeye was overdone though and the dessert was unimpressive. The staff was all really friendly though, from the front desk staff to our waiter. Please someone put some money into this place and return it to its glory.

We went here for a friend of the family’s wedding reception. I didn’t really get a great chance to explore the premises but from what I did see, the place is really nice and really clean. It has a nice deck area overlooking a river. The reception areas are spacious with a large dance floor. The food was alright. I didn’t care for the fish, thought it was kind of bland. The mashed potatoes and the chicken were both quite good, however! A good venue to celebrate a special occasion

Our group of 8 arrived well before our 11:30 RESERVATION for Easter brunch. We were not seated until 20 minutes after. We were then taken to a dirty table (old silverware, plates, and glasses). We stood there while 3 or 4 people rushed around us to change the linens and eating utensils. It was extremely awkward because the staff seemed very, very rushed and irritable. Why call our group up to be seated if all your going to do is move us from stamding in the front to standing by a table that isn’t even ready? After they were finally done, we sat down. Our waitress brought us water and coffee to those who wanted it. After that, we saw her maybe 3 times after.
I would rate the food on par with the food at Old Country Buffet. Every piece of watermelon I had was a few hours from being rotten. I almost broke a tooth on the bread. I tried 2 different desserts/​cakes and both of them were stale and had a super chemically taste to them. However, the fries were good.
I know this place opened in 1993 and it looks like they haven’t done any updating since their opening day.
The brunch wasn’t anything special or near delicious.
I left feeling upset that I traveled 40 minutes to come to this place.
I would be totally okay if I never came here again.
Also, the gratuity was pretty high for a SELF SERVE buffet. I mean, I served myself (except for my ONE refill of water) so why should I be forced to over-​tip someone else?

They are horrible and SUCK! They nicer booked our room and didn’t even call us to tell us. We had to check in then drive 13 miles to a new hotel!

The service here was wonderful and the rooms are spacious and clean. If you want something more interesting than the holiday inn this is it!

I wish I could give Cliffbreakers 3 ½ stars.
Short version:
Great food, really, really nice staff but the space itself is in serious need of some TLC.
Long version:
I just threw my best friend a baby shower at Cliffbreakers and I have to say it was overall a positive experience.
I worked with Janice in planning the shower and she was generally pretty easy to deal with and she got back to me quickly. It was a little tough at first because I guess their phone system was down but once we started communicating via email things ran smoothly.
I went to Cliffbreakers a few days before the shower to check the room out and it was HUGE. They had booked a shower of 20 people in a 2,220 sq. ft. ballroom! Talk about unnecessary. The room was also pretty crappy so I was really worried. Thankfully I emailed Janice asking if there were any smaller spaces available and she moved us to our own spot downstairs. It was SO much better! It was smaller and actually I thought it was a lot nicer.
The two gentlemen who helped out the day of the shower could not have been nicer. They were helpful and even accommodated a rather bitchy vegan party guest! I really appreciated how great they were. I had a few last minute cancellations and they boxed the extra food up for me to take home. Yum, leftovers!
The food was actually excellent. They served a salad with a myriad of dressing options, herb crusted chicken with some sort of (delicious) sauce, mashed potatoes and mixed veggies. The menu said «chef’s choice» dessert and unfortunately the chef chose to not make dessert– we were served tasteless vanilla ice cream. Ah well, can’t win ‘em all. Sort of made me wish I’d sprung for the cake, though.
Cliffbreakers itself is in serious need of some renovations. Everybody else is correct in saying that this place was probably nice 20 or 30 years ago. Paint is peeling, the ambiance is just generally not really that nice. However, like I mentioned, the room we were in was actually pretty decent and for the price they charged me I can’t really complain!

It’s not often that I’m up in time for brunch on a Sunday, but for special occasions I can be willing to make the necessary sleep sacrifices.
Now, this past Sunday I found myself attending one of these very heartfelt special occasions in the pretty far out city-​state of Rockford, Il. The time was 11:30am, the heat index was 103, and I was ready to get my grub on via Cliffbreakers Sunday champagne brunch buffet while wearing the absolute tightest skirt I own and holding tiny fragments of hope that it would have enough elasticity to stay breathable yet still keep me sucked in like a pump, snappy sausage.
Ahhh, Sunday.
With multiple balconies overlooking the cutest ‘squirrel hotel’, a small sandy beach and the ever-​green Rock River, I’d reckon there’s no place I’d rather spend my Sunday afternoon than at Cliffbreakers with a mighty fine gathering of both friends and family and a butt-​load of champagne.
As far as buffets go, I’ve never been a big fan with the exception of Vegas buffets, which everyone knows are the bomb diggity. BUT, I was quite pleased with my festive feasting options at Cliffbreakers Sunday brunch buffet. It wasn’t a terribly huge selection, certainly not comparable to Las Vegas, but everything I had was notably exceptional. Now, take into account that I don’t eat meat so I can’t really comment on the ‘yay or nay’ end of that, but the light and fluffly build-​your-​own omelettes (mine with garlic, mushroom and black olive) were so good I was tempted to go back for a second along with the truly outstanding bread pudding, and eggplant rolls that were something I was going to skip over until I’d heard the rest of the group raving (and for good reason) about. I’m pretty sure I had two full plates of those buttery, spiced green beans. For my latter plates I got a little creative and mixed their French toast with some of the toppings from their ice cream sundae bar and added both chocolate syrup and caramel fudge with coconut flakes. Viola! A masterpiece… that I’m going to take full credit for. Again, I wouldn’t call it Vegas, but my belly certainly felt like a winner.
I wouldn’t be surprised if I found myself awake before noon on another Sunday for a second showing at Cliffbreaker’s champagne brunch. Viva Rock-​Vegas!