Holiday Inn Detroit Lakes - Lakefront by IHG — Hotel in Detroit Lakes

So heads up, winter time in MN means kids hockey takes over hotels. I forgot this and booked a night here because we needed to be up early for a meeting in town and traveled from a few hours away. Our room was not as clean as you'd hope, handprints all over the headboard, food crusted on the counter, the edges thick with dust. But we were pool side and the room smelled like a pool, which started hurting my lungs. My husband went down to ask if we could move rooms and the girl said no, they were full. I'm not sure if that meant every other single king room had checked in already or if she even checked to see if that was the case or not. But we didn't get to move. The phone in our room was about 30 years old and didn't work no matter what you did. The TV doesn't have a guide channel on it so you had to actually hold a paper guide to see the channels and didn't know what was on next etc. The pool was supposed to close at 10, we were waiting because it was horribly loud and it didn't actually close until 11, the lights were bright in our room even with the blinds closed until they finally shut off the pool room lights. The adults at that time were louder than the kids, totally obnoxious. And I could hear people throwing up when I was in our bathroom. I was really wanting to use the hot tub that evening but no way I was going to get into it with a hundred kids screaming bloody murder. They completely take over everything and I wish we never would've wasted money staying there. It was not cheap by any means and no breakfast included. The bed thank goodness was very comfortable and that's the only reason I give it 2 stars. So if you're not with a hockey group and planning to stay through winter you might want to call and ask if there are teams taking up the whole hotel. And don't stay pool...

We had a pool side room on a busy hockey team weekend and asked to move rooms but couldn't. The room smelled like we were in the pool and it was so loud, like there was no sound barrier, windows facing into the pool made it even awkward to close the blinds. The room wasn't as clean as it should be, handprints on headboard all over the place, dust all around edges, food crusty on the counters. Bathtub old and grout dark. The bed was fantastic though, very comfortable and felt new. The TV was not great, no guide on the TV had to use a laminated paper which felt gross to hold and didn't know what was actually on TV. The pool closed an hour later and that was annoying as we wanted to sleep and had to get up early. It was so loud! The adults were loud after midnight, shouting down the halls and could hear them throwing up while I was in the bathroom. We didn't pay for breakfast or eat dinner there as the reviews are not that good so we went elsewhere. Didn't get to use the hot tub as it was jam packed with kids the entire evening. Front desk wasn't super helpful, didn't give us any info for anything and wouldn't change our rooms once we got back due to the smell and the noise. Glad the bed was cozy as that was the only highlight and the price was insane for winter rates and no breakfast. I'm sure it is because hockey was there that the rate was higher. Check when you reserve if hockey is...

We stayed here for two nights. Jacque at the front desk was lovely, and managed to get us into a lakefront room with a balcony looking at the lake.

The restaurant is good, and with the exception of one waitress who seemed lost, the service was good. Service was lacking during busy times, but this is kind of the norm for a hotel that flourishes in the tourist season. (We were here in the middle of July)

We took advantage of the Monday two for one burger special (11-15 usd for two) and happy hour each day, which was nice.. The breakfast special was excellent and priced at 6 USD.

The bar area of the restaurant would benefit from some updating and a more thorough cleaning on a regular basis, as evidenced by the broccoli that remained on the floor under one of the tables for a couple of days.

The dock out front of the hotel is great for kids to catch a steady stream of small fish. The beach is nice, although quite weedy. (They do rake it up each morning). There are ample chairs if you just want to relax and look at the lake. A better beach experience can be had at the “town beach” a short drive away.

We also took advantage of the free kayaks, which was nice, as the lake was calm and the weather perfect. They have bicycles and other stuff to rent if you like.

We stayed free on points, so I can’t really speak to the value.

Over all, I would...