For our recent Door County trip, we stayed at Pheasant Park Resort in Sister Bay. We will cover the whole trip in a different post but focus on the resort in this Pheasant Park review.
Our toddler is now 18 months, and we were still looking for a place with multiple bedrooms, a kitchen, and an entertainment area within our room. During our last trip to Sister Bay, we rented a condo from the local realty company, but it was not available for the days we were looking to travel this time. Also, on our last trip, we learned that having an indoor pool would be a great benefit for rainy days in Door County, providing another option for entertaining our little guy. Since our toddler naps, wakes up before things are open, and goes to bed before we do, we need to have separate and extra space while spending time in the room.
One last reason we booked this resort was a room with AC for the hot summer days. The private condo we stayed at earlier in the year did not have AC, which wasn’t a big deal at the time. However, we were traveling when the forecast had some hotter days and nights.
Booking
I always look at the various options for booking a room. I normally hit the hotel directly, Expedia, and Priceline. Earlier this summer, I upgraded my Capital One card to Venture X and have started to check their booking page as well since it comes with a 10x points perk. After looking through all of these, it was the best price and terms to book directly with Pheasant Park. The price on the discount sites was an exact match with the hotel’s site, except the cancellation terms directly with the resort are much better. Booking.com only had no cancellation options, and the hotel had a full refund minus $25 if you canceled 14 days before arrival. These days who knows what comes up, and for the same price, this was an easy choice.
Our toddler still sleeps in a crib and needs a highchair, so I did call after I booked the room to ask if they have any options. Great news, they had both. They were free and would be waiting in the room when we arrived.
Check-in
Check-in was quick at 3 pm and was an hour earlier than the condo we rented last time, which was appreciated. There’s a roundabout by the office door to pull right up and head in, and then there was plenty of parking in a large lot around the resort. There are multiple doors to enter, depending on your room. However, all the luggage carts were by the office, so I’d suggest making at least one trip from the office if you need the luggage cart.
We had our Wonderfold wagon with us for the trip, so I also used this for taking luggage up to the room. There is an elevator just past the front desk if you have items too heavy or large for the stairs.
Kitchen
The kitchen was a fine size for a hotel-condo. There was a full fridge, four-burner stove with oven, dishwasher, microwave, and full sink. The cabinets and drawers were also stocked with the core items needed for cooking/serving meals. On these trips, we’ve learned to bring a few containers for leftovers since the condo won’t be stocked with any containers.
The coffee maker appeared reasonably clean, but after the dirty coffee maker experience on our last stay in Door County, we started to bring our own. There was one roll of paper towels, so if you have an extended stay, you’ll either need to ask for more or bring your own. Under the sink, there was some dish soap for both the sink and dishwasher. We brought our sponge for cleaning dishes which I’d recommend.
The counter was pretty large, so it could be used for eating. There were two stools on the opposite side of the sink.
Living Space
The living space had a couch and two chairs, along with a coffee table in the middle. A gas fireplace is available, with a good-sized TV above the mantle. I believe the couch was a pull-out, but we didn’t need it, so we never investigated. There was plenty of room for us to hang out and watch TV and for our toddler to play while we were in the room.
There is also a four-seat table within the living space, between the kitchen and the living space. This was an appropriate size for the condo. Since it’s only a two bedroom, the amount of seating to eat should work out.
Patio
Off the living room, there was a porch on our unit. If you’re on the first floor, there would be a patio. The porch was spacious and had a table and chairs to hang out outside when it was nice outside. There was one thing wrong with the porch, both the AC units for the condo vent to the porch. This was very loud, and after the first night, we would turn them off at night while we sat outside so we could hold a conversation.
AC
The AC units are off the living room and the master bedroom. To keep the second bedroom cool, a fan was built into the wall between the living area and the bedroom. This worked fine until the first time our toddler thought it would be fun to stick his finger through the holes. One suggestion would be to put more kid-friendly covers on the fan, but we made it through by putting a kitchen chair in front of the vent.
Master Bed
The master bedroom was very spacious, with a king-size bed. There’s a hot tub in the room, which we did not use, but I’m sure it would be relaxing. On top of the dresser is a TV, which would be nice if the family needed to split up while in the room for different entertainment.
One of the bathrooms is in the Master Bed. The only downside to this bathroom is that the shower was a stall and a very tight one at that. For convenience, there was a hairdryer in this bathroom.
There was another door to the patio off the master bedroom. This would be very nice if someone was sleeping in the living area and the adults wanted to enjoy some time on the patio while they were sleeping.
Second Bedroom
Our unit’s second bedroom was between the living area and the master bed. This had a queen bed and was a little tighter on the space. Since our toddler was sleeping in this room, we had to navigate the crib into the right spot, which made it tight, but not so tight you couldn’t move around comfortably.
Since we read to our little guy before bed, we appreciated the chair in the corner of the room. This allowed us to get him relaxed and put him right down for bed.
There was also a TV in this room on top of the dresser, providing another option for entertainment which was nice.
Bathrooms
There are two bathrooms in the unit. One has a full shower/tub, and the other just a shower. Since I covered the master bath above, I have just a few notes on the second bath. This bathroom was large, and the full tub was great for toddler bath time. Our light switch was a little touchy, but nothing to call the front desk about.
Amenities
The resort had plenty to offer to keep the family entertained while on the grounds. Our little guy enjoyed the playset outside, with two slides and two sides of the fort for him to climb up. There are also swings in the middle, with picnic areas around the play set for adults to hang out while the kids play.
Pheasant Park had two pools, an indoor and an outdoor one. The outdoor pool was more popular since it was warm outside, but we did test them both. Both are large enough to allow crowds to spread out, and the indoor pool had a container of toys to play with in the pool. There are towels by the pool, so you don’t have to bring your own, which is a nice touch. The only complaint was that the indoor pool was a bit too cold. Our toddler was not a fan, and that swimming adventure was cut short. By the indoor pool, they also have a hot tub and a sauna, which look nice for adults.
There were also areas to grill out and have a bonfire at night on the grounds. There were plenty of tables and chairs around these areas and cornhole sets for playing.
The proximity of this resort to downtown Sister Bay is a perk. Since we stayed during their Marina Fest, this allowed us to keep the car parked, and walk to the activities. Marina Fest aside, you could still walk over to the main area in about 5-10 minutes which is wonderful.
There’s also a back way out of the resort when the main street gets busy, which is handy. This saves time when you want to head out to other activities during the day and doesn’t want to get caught up in the main traffic.
We didn’t explore these much, but the resort had a game room with a few arcade games and a ping-pong table. There is a larger conference room on the second floor and a seating area downstairs, which would be handy if you had a larger group that wanted to eat together. By the front desk, there’s also a small shop with some Door County items.
Summary
This resort is one we will return to! Since our stay, we have booked a trip for June at Pheasant Park. The rooms were clean and spacious, and the resort had all the amenities to make it a great trip. We appreciate how close it is to walk to downtown Sister Bay for the resort’s price. There are several AirBnBs or others for rent (most expensive that are this close), but for the price, this was perfect.
