Holiday Inn Express & Suites Brainerd-Baxter by IHG — Hotel in Baxter

We had such a great time during our Spring Break mini-vacation. We chose this hotel because of the waterpark. We have 3 young children and this waterpark did not look overwhelming, but at the same time had plenty to offer to keep our 3 children happy for 3 days. When we checked into the hotel, the staff was so friendly. My company had called in before we got to the hotel and had talked to the manager at the hotel and wanted to leave a gift basket for us in the room. The manager went out of her way to make that basket so special for us. This is not something they offer, but she went and picked out snacks and pop and then went and found a basket and tissue paper to make it special. That made a big impact for us and my kids when they walked into the room. The staff gave us a detailed run down of how everything worked there, what time breakfast was, etc.... We were staying on a Spring Break package so our stay inlcuded a $20 food voucher (which paid for lunch) and $10 in tokens for the arcade. The kids loved the arcade. It was small, but we as parents were very happy with that! The breakfast was very nice, not as big as some of the other Holiday Inn Express & Suites we've stayed at, but still very nice. The bacon & cinnamon rolls were delicious. The room was standard, but very clean. We asked for more towels and shower things and the staff was very quick and happy to provide those things. Our kids had so much fun in the waterpark. There were plenty of things to do for all ages. My husband and I enjoyed the slides just as much as our kids did. Our 3 year old was very happy to just stay in the pool with the basketball hoops. There were plenty of lifeguards to really make you feel that your kids would stay safe. My 6 year old became a little panicked when he was "spit" out of the waterslide and the lifeguard very quickly got over to him to help him. I was very impressed with that. It wasn't a bunch of teenage lifeguards not paying attention which is kind of what I expected. There is a cafe type restaurant right in the pool area. You may think that would be gross, but the staff kept the pool area cleaned up and rarely through our 3 day stay did I see any food on the floor. The staff was constantly picking up towels, cleaning off tables, etc... . The pizza was fantastic and very well priced. They also offer burgers, kids meals, cheese bread, nachos, ice cream, popcorn, drinks and much more. Checkout is at 11, but they let you stay that entire day until the waterpark closes between 9:30-10. So you really get your moneys worth. I would highly recommend this hotel to everyone. Added bonus--they offered coffee #good coffee# in their lounge 24/7. I just stayed at a very expensive hotel in FL and they didn't even offer this. It's just a little touch, but it...

We have been staying at this hotel for the past 5-6 years for a 1-2 night stay to use the water park over school break. The kids always enjoy the water park and the water park staff is always so pleasant and friendly. The food at the cafe in the water park is very reasonably priced and tastes good too! Would be nice to be able to bring water bottles and small snacks in. The front desk staff has always been very friendly (and the good cookies at check-in are always yummy!) We think the breakfast is very good and has a good variety - warm cinnamon rolls, cheese omelet, sausage, toast, yogurt, fruit, cereal, milk, juices, tea, coffee, boiled eggs and more. We chose a kids suite this year as we had extra kids - a king bed would be nice for the adults vs the queen. The kids enjoyed the bunk beds and having their own TV. Nice to have fridge and microwave in room.

The only problem we encountered was the bathtub not draining while we were taking our showers. That is something that I find terribly gross.

Would also be nice to have 4 chairs for the table located in the main room in the dbl bunk rooms as we sat down to eat pizza and the kids couldn't all sit at the table so therefore had to eat on our bed. Even better would be if we could have brought our pizzas to the common area (breakfast area) to eat where we would have been more comfortable. We were pleasantly told by front desk that is not allowed.

An extra garbage can or a larger garbage can would also be nice. With six people in a room and 3 pizza boxes there isn't much room for garbage.

Some items have also been removed from the water park so it is starting to look run down but still fun.

Better lighting in the water park by the tables would also be appreciated so a person could do some reading while the kids are off playing.

All in all good and we will be back next year I am sure - just wanted to add those few...

When I used to bring my (now adult) children here, this was our favorite spot to take mini-vacations. The hotel rooms were (and still are) great and the waterpark used to be managed well. There used to be several waterpark attendants making sure the guests were safe in the swimming pool and going down the waterslides.

I took my granddaughter to this hotel, hoping for another fun, safe vacation, but I didn't feel like a 5 year old was safe playing here. Below are some of the issues we encountered over our stay:

-The waterslide attendant at the top of the tube slides did not have any control of the guests. He was sitting on a chair, on his phone, with his feet up, rather than helping the guests down the slide safely. Because the attendant was not paying attention, I went down the slide with my granddaughter when some teenagers went immediately after us, causing them to crash into us at the bottom of the slide.

-There were teenagers playing on the treehouse, meant for the little kids. They had collected all the balls from the activity pool and they were running around playing dodgeball. Nobody was stopping them. I didn't want my granddaughter ran into or hit by a ball, so we went to do something else in the waterpark.

-There was no attendant at the bottom of the tube slides like there normally is. A bunch of older kids/teenagers were climbing up the slide (see picture attached). At that point, we were done. We did not feel the waterpark was safe for a 5 year old.

This waterpark used to be a safe, family friendly place to visit. Not anymore. The waterpark attendants need proper training to ensure safety of the younger...