Rapid River Lodge

The Lodge of Brainerd Lakes and its Paul Bunyan Waterpark are where we’ll go from now on. We’ve stayed there for years without any problems, and the staff have been much nicer and more professional. After several bad experiences at Rapid River Lodge, I’m not surprised by the negative staff reviews I’ve read on Google. If you want a friendly, professional place with a fun waterpark for kids, I’d choose The Lodge instead. Rapid River Lodge staff, please do better. The front desk staff don’t seem to be on the same page, and I wonder whether they’re being trained properly. On different calls about the same booking, I was told they couldn’t reserve connecting rooms and could only note the request, but when I called back a few days later, another employee booked them without a problem. He quoted $209 plus tax for both rooms and said we’d get four wristbands per room. At check-in, I was told it was $209 plus tax for each room, and I had booked two. I’d brought enough money on my card for the total I’d been quoted. They also had a problem with my ID this time, even though they’d accepted it not long ago. It’s a printed copy because I lost my ID in a fire. I understand some places won’t accept one, but this hotel had accepted mine before. The service has been very poor, with issues on more than one occasion. I’d suggest the staff get together and work out how to give guests accurate information.

We came to town for a big wedding weekend and enjoyed our stay with the family. It was a good value and worked well for our group. The rooms were clean, and the staff were friendly.

The building and rooms were nice and clean, and the hotel seemed well run. Still, I won’t come back. The front desk staff were alarmingly rude and didn’t seem to understand what a booked hotel sounds like. For a sporting event, they complained about the rooms and lied, were rude to parents who were willing to accommodate, and immediately spoke to the kids.

We booked at the last minute while traveling, and the clean, spacious room made us very happy with our choice. The staff were helpful and friendly, and we enjoyed the free breakfast and the other amenities. My fiancé and I were really pleased with the hotel.