The Lodge at Brainerd Lakes, Trademark Collection by Wyndham

The waterpark and arcade were great, and the arcade seemed well maintained. Our room was very nice, especially the way the beds were arranged with some privacy between them. It was very pet friendly, too. The breakfast, though, wasn’t well maintained, and we could never find anyone to ask for things. One morning there were no spoons, and another time there was no milk for the cereal. Even so, it was a great experience and the staff were amazing.

The waterpark was fine for the price these days, when everything feels unaffordable, and the arcade was okay. Still, I won’t return. There were too many crane machines, and the prize machine was a joke. The pool was disgusting, the deck wasn’t cleaned, and there was a lot of stuff in the hot tub. Lifeguards were around but weren’t really paying attention, and at one point nobody was watching the water slide. Towels were tucked behind an unattended desk, and nobody seemed to care.

The waterpark is a decent size, and our stay was mostly pleasant. A few pool area changes would have made it much better. We came partly for the indoor-outdoor hot tub, which we’d visited years ago. Back then, a soft movable barrier let you walk through to the outdoor part. This time, a fixed metal barrier blocked the above-water passage, so you had to swim underwater to get outside. That was a letdown. In winter, the appeal of an outdoor hot tub is staying warm while the cool air refreshes your dry head and face. Having your wet hair, head, ears, and face exposed to whatever the outdoor temperature is takes that away. It also felt awkward to hope you wouldn’t bump into someone underwater, especially in a potentially uncomfortable spot. And from a public health perspective, it seems odd to require people to submerge their heads in hot tub water, particularly at a busy public pool. The larger green waterslide shown online as lit up isn’t lit that way anymore. It’s pitch black all the way down, whatever time of day you ride. That might be thrilling for some, but a few kids who went down repeatedly got motion sick. On weekdays, Monday through Friday, free breakfast ends sharply at 9, holidays included. We’d accidentally checked the weekend hours of 6 to 10, so that part was our mistake. Still, even if every drink in the breakfast area runs out at 8:50 or 8:55, that’s it. I wouldn’t arrive later than about 8:30.

The room was clean and nice, and dinner at the restaurant was good, with good service. We liked having the indoor-outdoor hot tub. We went to the spa at 8:30 pm and were leaving at 9, closing time, when a staff member walked by looking annoyed. I said good night, but she didn’t answer and looked away. My husband was a little behind me and said outside that she’d been just as snippy with him. Maybe she didn’t like us showing up at the end of her shift. The woman at the spa desk was very nice, though.