the landing canoe and tube trips

Paid $250.00 a night. It wasn't clean & when we nicely told & showed them they said they would fix it the next day. Yes, you heard me right. The next day. We had no choice. The next day clothing was stolen from my suitcase. After the so called cleaning we still had no coffee just condiments. I guess they didnt want to clean the coffee maker. The beds were horrible. The food at the resturaunt was good. I will say they have a good cook. Also kids were banging the walls so horribly & the noise....OMG. It ruined our trip. They did not have enough life vests, no instructions, etc. Employees? Some were nice, some were rude. The river is beautiful because GOD created that. There is better just look at Salem or Eminence Missouri.

This is our second year to visit. We have two teenagers and a young child. It's true that the staff doesn't teach you anything about water safety. We're just lucky to always be traveling with a big group (my husband's company) who have guided us... So far, we have not had any issues in any of our visits. I just hope they had cleaner and adequate (with showers) changing rooms for guests who are not spending the night in any of their lodges.The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is I am an ocean person and I am grossed out by freshwater. Nonetheless, it was fun!

Please do Not use The Landing for your canoe or tube trips, especially if you have young children. The staff is uneducated about water safety. Being our first time canoeing the river, we did not know what to expect, and was hoping we would get good instruction when we got out there. They dropped us off on a deep embankment, and the water did appear high and the current looked a little fast, but we were blindsighted, thinking this was ok. More importantly, the staff did Not have any concerns about us canoeing. We even prodded him for instruction, and all he could say is "dont hit a tree limb or a rock!" He left, soon after, and then we crashed into a tree limb a minute later. My husband got caught under a current and barely made it out alive. There was No phone service out there, so we had to rely on good samaritans to make a phone call to the Landing. We waited for more than an hour to be picked up, and the Landing never picked us back up!! Luckily, a good samaritan was out near the crash site and brought us back into town. I explained to the staff what happened, and that the water was too dangerous to be on and no one gave us any intelligent advice before we got out into the river. Since this wasn't getting through to the negligent staff, I wanted to speak to the owner. My concern was people with small children going out into the river in the dangerous conditions, and I wanted the owner to know that it could of been a tragedy if my kids were out with us that day. The owner, Tom Bedell, did NOT have any sympathy for what happened, and was very scarey and combative to deal with. I have never been so terrified around a person before, and this was the Owner of the Landing!! He told us "we are what is wrong with America," and told us to leave. His buddy then explained "You don't know who you are dealing with." I have Never in my life been talked to this way after such a tragic occurrence. Also, if you get into an accident, the Landing will Not pick you up - this came right from the owner's mouth. I plead with anyone (especially people with young kids) who is thinking about staying at the Landing or using their float service to please go elsewhere. This is just a money making place with no concern over human life.

I have read the other review from the person from St. Louis & it is very true what they say about the rude, inconsistent service you get & on a Saturday you will wait for hours before they get you on the river. They have run everyone else out of business on the kayak/raft business with politics and money. So, you are stuck if you want to float at Van Buren or buy your own, like we have!! Read further about their restaurant....I have always heard from the locals that the owner is greedy & has run all the smaller mom/pop shops out of the kayak/canoe business. I don't like monopolies!! They've always had good food! Just returned from a long weekend there & they were having a singer during dinner hour till 10ish Saturday night. We went & spent $40 on food & drinks & then our waiter kept asking us, in about at 15 minute period, if we would like our check? I kept telling him, no, & the last time he asked, he said his manager wanted us to pay our tab & move so they could get more diners in. I was appalled! There were no extra tables on the deck below & they weren't giving us any options It was pay your bill & fend for yourself or leave!!! We have traveled all over the U.S. & been to 7 different countries & I have never been asked to leave so an establishment could sell more food! (Especially while we were still ordering drinks!) I asked to speak to the manager. He very pointedly told me, again, with no apology or kindness, or even a smile, that we needed to pay our bill & move. I asked him where he planned for us to sit & he very grumpily told me he would get us a table put together. I even heard the hostess asking the gentlemen behind us if they would pay their bill and move & those guys told her "No". I looked around & they said they had "not even bought dinner". They were just there for drinks, but, they were still paying customers & they were not leaving. PLUS, they knew the owner!! So.....they were not moving & that was ok. I guess the owner is sooooo greedy & they are basically the only nice restaurant in town, plus the majority of his business is tourist, so he's not worried about repeat customers!! We have bought our own kayaks now, so we don't give them that business & now, you couldn't pay me to ever go to their restaurant again, or stay in their hotel or go to their indoor music river center. When some one is that greedy, hateful & downright rude to customers, I will never spend another dime at any of their establishments. One of these days his business ethics will come back to haunt him!! P.S. We ordered the "Sister Chicken" with 2 chicken breasts & sides.....the sides were good size, but, the chicken breasts were about 2 oz. each, with noooooo exaggeration!

Having a large group and making our plans in the early part if the year assuming we had a time slot to be on the river like we discussed over and over again with this unorganized place Nope show up sit wait a couple hours til they call your name then deal with them not putting our group together although the girl we paid guaranteed it was combined. My banana boat deflated partially on the river so I boarded a raft and tied it o the back The river is stunning and beautiful the process to get there stink and is discouraging