I have fond memories of the Sunday brunch and when my family decidied to take my mother and myself there for Mothers Day. Wow I couldnt wait...yet unfortunatley, Â I was extremely disappointed. Â We were seated at 10..thank goodness for reservations. Â The place was very cold. The drinks took a little long to get, but we started for the food about 10:15...low and behold...it was already cold. Â Not only did we have to pay $25.99 for each person, but champaign was not even included. Â Not impressed....Could have cooked an entire meal for my family for $25.00 and been happy even doing the dishes!
Review Source:I always wanted to use the word idiosyncratic in a sentence. This describes this hotel. I've been putting off this review for this reason. Rockford, IL can be sheer hell in the summer for heat and humidity. It was nice and icy in the rooms and hotel itself, and you're glad it is. Somehow it misses in the elevator. If anyone ever got stuck in it they'd walk out naked, it's that hot. You take the small elevator DOWN to the rooms. And it's something right out of the Shining. Long, spooky, and you never see anyone. Only the desk clerk is available to let you into a room where the key cards haven't worked since 2011. We got there about 8 on a Sunday night and no food was being served anywhere on site. But the lovely desk clerk saved us and set us up with ordering a pizza from Pinos. Great intro to Rockford. One of the draws is the view of Rock River, but you can't see it from your room, because of all the brush blocking it. You can see it from the restaurant. The whole place is very dark wood which adds to the mysterious atmosphere. It's a resort and a restaurant, the problem is the food crosses over from the banquet area to the restaurant in the quality of the meat and other things. Plan on getting a lot of unplanned exercise, there's a lot of running around here. They offer a free breakfast buffet. Once they rushed the bacon, and it was way undercooked. I like that they have available juices on tap. The food is ok, but it may be a better experience for Sunday brunch. The room itself is very cool, and fun to hang around. There were no seats and I joined man finishing up. If you want an ice breaker, tell a stranger about Yelp and that you are a Yelper. I'm not crazy about the bath products in the room so either bring your own or stop at the health food store up the road for some quality stuff. In spite of all this, I'd stay here again. As I was having breakfast, and actually enjoying the surroundings, I was thinking about the show Bar Rescue, and it just needs a good intervention. It's about halfway to Chicago, and we were here on church business. I can't help but compare our trips here and Fargo a month earlier. Fargo seems to have something to prove to the twin cities, and does it very well. Rockford has nothing to prove to Chicago or its surrounding burbs, kudos for that.
Review Source: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, Â 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!
Have attended 2 wedding receptions and spent the night in the hotel on both occasions. Hotel is outdated and dingy. Reminds me of a hotel you find in a horror movie. One of the times we stayed one of our rooms in our group had earwigs in the room and had to be relocated. Another time the water stopped working to our room. Â Rooms don't look like they've been really cleaned properly, it just looks like they've been wiped down. Wall paper is peeling is many places. Â As far as the wedding receptions go, the banquet halls were average. Again the decor and furniture were just old and worn. Â The food served was average, nothing outstanding. The whole place just looks run down and outdated.
Review Source:The moment we walked in, the entire place smelled of fried shrimp. Then my hair and clothes smelled like fried shrimp. We walked down to the bar to grab a celebratory cocktail while waiting for our rooms (stayed here because my friend--the bride--got the Sultan Suite and wanted her maids near) and took note of the heavily authentic circa 1979 decor. "This place would have been really fancy--back then." The wing where the bar was located was obviously also where the kitchen was located and it was stiffing hot. The pool was closed. Not a great first impression and nothing impressed me enough throughout my stay to resolve it.
Our room was alright: large and comfortable. But the place is in need of a major renovation in order to charge the rates they do. Why keep such a historical, traditionally classy place in such condition? Meh.
I understand that Rockford doesn't have much to claim in the way of perceived "fancy" or "upscale" dining, so Cliffbreakers has always been touted as THE place to go for a night on the town, in terms of food. Â All I can say is that the menu is small-ish, the food is WWWWAAAYYY overpriced, and with what you get, I can make at home with a box of rice and some marinated chicken. Â My creole chicken & shrimp dish was $19, with a measly side of green beans (cafeteria anyone?). Â I had a huge all-you-can-eat post-Easter brunch at the Signature Room at the Hancock Building in the city for $20, which is touristy in it's own right, but at least I can view the skyline from the 96th floor rather than watch people lounging in the "beach" overlooking an abandoned railroad track and the Rock River. Â I cannot attest for the lodging at this establishment, but for food.....look elsewhere. Â I haven't found an outstanding restaurant in Rockford yet that's not a chain franchise, but people just need to know that Cliffbreakers is way overrated.
Review Source:I've stayed here 4 times now and this last time was absolutely terrible.
Keys weren't working, and at 10pm at night my roommate and I waited 30-60 minutes to get int our room.
Air conditioner didn't really work and leaked all over the floor.
Room cleaning was inconsistent.
Cable went out intermittently.
Greats:
Staff always friendly, and often attractive.
Breakfast service is spot on.
Amazing two-floor room with a great view.
How do I weigh the bads against the greats? Â Because I judge the hotel by where it consistently was, not by where it is now. Â This hotel is headed down.
Room was dirty, hallways dark and sort of damp, free breakfast was minimal, shower was mildew encrusted. So after all of that, plus waiting an hour and a half for a foam pillow that never came even after following up, I left and went to a far better Marriott property. No reason to waste your money here.
Review Source:I made reservations for lodging and dining at the same time. Â Did not think to request a room on "street level" when I asked for handicapped accommodations. Â When I arrived the front desk person saw my obvious difficulty walking and suggested a similar room on street level--sounded good to me. Â I had to choose between a long walk to&from the elevator for room with river view or short walk directly to room with view of parking lot. Â Since I planned on studying I opted for the short walk to room.
  Although there was no bellman there were carts to help in getting luggage from car to room.  Same friendly staff person offered to help me--and got me settled in a spacious room with just-right handicapped shower, grab bars, etc.  In addition to a small microwave and coffeemaker there was a refrigerator for my power drink.  Sturdy desk, just right to spread out all my books.  Comfy bed was so tempting--my short nap was not disturbed by outside noises.  Bathroom had fluffy big towels, pretty little tray with personal size toiletries and hair dryer.  I'd have liked more clothes hangers but appreciated the iron and ironing board in the open closet.
  It was a long hike to the restaurant but the seafood buffet was worth it.  Pleasant waitress suggested table near the windows that gave me a view of the river as well as part of the action in the bar.  The food was good, not great.  Perhaps too much dependence on "convenience food" as we used to say in the foodservice business.  There were some tasty alternatives to seafood and, glory be, NOT everything was fried--a nice balance between broiled and sauced and fried entrees. Glad I'd made the reservation early on because all tables were filled.
 Breakfast the next morning was serve yourself with plenty of cereal as well as eggs and sausage.  Again, too much dependence on convenience foods but it was nice to have choices.  Great view of the river, pleasant to watch dawn break.
  Hope to stay here when I'm back in town.  In summary - pleasant with a touch of class at a reasonable rate.
Once again, I arrive at an impasse with the majority of Rockfordian diners. Â This place, the actual place, is kinda cool and swanky, the food is anything but. Â It has the feel of a country club w/o the dues or benefit of a golf course. Â As for the brunch, I find it deplorable. Â It's a damn buffet! Â The only thing you can get made to order are eggs/omelettes. Â Super lame in my book. Â Rockford needs a good brunch place and I'd love to see Cliffbreakers step up to the plate or move out of the way.
Review Source:My husband's brothers live in Madison, Wisc. and when we want to meet halfway for brunch we go to Cliffbreakers! The brunch is awesome. You can get some eggs Florentine, eggs Benedict, sausage, bacon, biscuits, fruit, and many other breakfast items. For someone who wants lunch, you can get mashed potatoes, beef, pasta, etc. The best is the chocolate fountain for dessert and the bloody mary make it yourself bar!!
The view is awesome. You can even ask for a room that has closing doors for a more intimate setting or trying to keep 5 kids under 5 contained!
They have a beautiful fountain in the lobby and the service is really good!
This is worth the trip from Chicago.
My husband and I stayed at the Lexington Cliffbreakers Riverside Resort for 2 nights and fell in love with this hotel overlooking the Rock River. This hotel may not be for everyone since it has an old world style. You are not going to find new and modern here. We enjoyed touring the hotel antiques and found our room to be very comfortable. We would love to return and stay in one of their specialty suites. Does the hotel need work. Yes, it could use an update and better upkeep. We could not close our curtains in our room. They really need to be replaced. Our toilet kept running. I called and reported it and it was fixed within a few hours. We had to ask for a coffeepot for our room. Yet we truly did enjoy our stay at the hotel and also loved the Cliffbreakers Restaurant. The food was excellent. It is on our fave list now.
Review Source:Friday night seafood buffet. You want to eat 20 lbs of crab legs?, feel free. Want to dominate some fish from the seven seas?, please do. Want some freshly cut roast beef or a steak?, they have that too.
You have to make a reservation and depending on who takes it the buffet is either 20 or 25 buckaroos. Well worth it.
I recommend throwing on a dress shirt or wearing a sun dress, and yes wearing a sun dress allows my hardy boys ample room to solve mystery's. Just kidding. Seriously though, do not be that person who comes to an upscale buffet located on the cliffs overlooking a scenic portion of the rock river looking like your about to go wading in a tide pool at uncle Earl's house on the inter coastal water way.
This place is solid on Friday's, but I can not speak for any other days. Feel free to explore them. Peace and blessings. Seacrest out.
I ordered a medium rare filet mignon here and it came out medium. Â That made me terribly sad. Â I did not enjoy it. Â (It probably didn't help that I stuffed myself with plates of appetizers beforehand.)
Either way, now I've decided that I have to order my steaks rare in the future.
The calamari here was ok, but the actual squid to breading ratio was quite low (especially compared to places like Giordano's). Â Fried breading gets a little tiring very quickly. Â
I highly recommend the Ahi Tuna Avocado Spring Rolls, Â the Firecracker Won Ton Wrapped Shrimp, Â the Bacon Shrimp (anything with bacon is always deeee-lish), Â and the Buffalo Chicken Wings.
Don't forget to end the night with some chocolate cake!
This was the one of the WORST dining experience of my life. And I am counting, in this tally, the time I got crippling 2-day food poisoning from those spring rolls.
Let's detail our dining "experience", shall we...
High Expectations:
Reservations at 6 pm on a Saturday for 8. Not rocket science, right? Guess again. First, we waited 10 mins for our first round of bevies. Diet Pepsi mind you, not crazy 12 ingredient drinks. Then, we waited 20 more minutes for our appetizers. Tasty enough but on removing the plates, our waitress accidentally hit me in the head with the serving tongs and then left them on the floor for the remainder of the meal. Classy, right?
Next round, still holding out hope:
Luke warm soup and only half of the table got their salads. After soup and half the salads we waited and waited and waited for our dinner. For an hour. That's right, it takes an hour to make a spinach wrap. Meanwhile, no refills on those complicated diet Pepsi. Â Don't worry though; we were able to snack on the bread that comes with the entrees. Oh wait we weren't because it, like the salads, never came.
Check Please:
Finally entrees arrive, sans the promised salads to accompany. So we wait and wait and wait. No salads. But a bus boy did bring us bread. Can I tip him?
You should be paying us:
Finally, when we complained Shannon, the dining room manager, wanna know what she did. Wait for it, Wait for it. She said they were busy and were having trouble in the kitchen. Except that this is a resort with conference rooms. So either they can handle a crowd or they can't. Note to self, don't book a conference here ever again. But our waitress did offer us "complementary" cheese cake. Of course somehow that got lost in translation and we instead got one piece of chocolate cake.
Never Again:
Still unhappy, we complained again. Shannon told us she would go in the back and "discuss what could be done". Are we buying a used car from Al's sleazy discount mart? Does the dining room manager need to go confirm with her boss to see how to perform some basic service recovery?
Planet what the f*ck:
What happened next you ask? NOTHING. Shannon never came back. We got a bill, with no adjustments. We had to ask someone to go get out missing friend Shannon to come explain that mystery meeting in the back. 10 minutes later she reappeared with one brunch voucher for a table of 8. With the parting words "We make sure everyone has excellent service" Of course you do...on planet what the f*ck.
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