Cozy, friendly, with super yummy comfort food, local beers and deserts. For a bunch of city…read morefolks...this made our day!!! Thank you for the hospitality!

My wife and I are there right now. We split a whole rack of BBQ ribs and prime rib steak with two…read moresides, it was just as wonderful as always...perfection, and while we're eating we are also enjoying the awesome music of Lois serenading everybody with her piano skills and her lovely voice or while she's playing the guitar ‍

Amazing experience! Al is awesome. Very knowledgeable and makes great drinks. The lowkey vibe is…read moresuper relaxing and fun!

Absolutely incredible drinks! This was the best espresso martini I've had! A nice spot with various…read moresearing options like tables, bar seats, and cozy couches. Our bartender was so kind and willing to accommodate to special requests and every drink she brought out was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend dropping in for a drink or two!

I've been coming to the Spaulding for 10 years now, they're always expanding their selection of…read morebeers on tap, and liquor selection. They Currently have about 20 beers on tap.They have a great pulltab selection, and there are frozen pizzas you can order. They have bingo on Sundays that is a dollar a card it's fun.

On a recent visit to Crosby, I was lucky enough to find the Spalding Bar & Lounge. This place is a…read moregem. A true "top tier" dive bar. With wonderful bartenders, an occasional pig roast, and off-sale liquor available on site, one would be hard pressed to present a better alternative for Crosby night life. My only warning: be aware of their pull tabs, they are addictive and fun. (Thankfully, all "proceeds" go to the local fire department....)

Stopped by for lunch on a Saturday. Jenna was managing the whole front of house and did great with…read morethe multiple tables and folks at bar. We had Buffalo Wings, Swiss Mushroom Burger and Chicken Tender baskets. Everything was hot and tasty.

We had the best meal this week. We both ordered the Walleye, it was cooked to perfection. The…read moreservice was also great!

General - I had a work conference onsite in May and stayed onsite with family while attending the…read moreconference. Location - You have to drive for a bit outside of Brainerd/Baxter but you are right on the beautiful shores of Gull Lake. If you don't know anything about Gull Lake, it is one of the top lakes in the area. Big and beautiful lake - great for boating, fishing and swimming. Rooms & Building - This place has been around for quite some time and still gives off those old school lake resort vibes. I used to come here as a kid for a weekend getaway and some of the things have not changed one bit. Ha. All in all, they have kept up with maintenance for the most part. The rooms do show wear and tear but for how old they buildings actually are, you would expect worse. I kind of like the old-fashioned classic look - gives the building more history and a story than if they would bulldoze it and build modern. Amenities - The resort is loaded with things to do including a full-size gymnasium and ball court, a couple pools, arcade, hot tub, outdoor recreational activities, golf course, etc. Food - There are a few bars and restaurants onsite. We got pizza one night for dinner at the poolside restaurant and it was pretty good. Large size and priced very fairly for resort food. Vibe - Easy going and super friendly staff. No complaints. Reality vs. Online - Pictures that I saw on their website and online matched the quality and condition of the hotel and rooms in-person. No surprises. Price & Final Verdict - It is a classic location in the heart of Brainerd Lakes. It is different than just a "hotel stay" or smaller resort stay. It is a unique experience that one should not miss. Give it a try - great place for a weekend getaway with family and/or friends.

Had a fun weekend trip up here! I would say the main plus of this place is that they seem pretty…read morelaid back, and you have a lot of freedom to do what you want. We didn't want to pay the equipment rental prices so we brought in our own inflatable kayak, and didn't get in any trouble. It's a beautiful lake, and we really enjoyed the view from the upper level deck near the Pizza place, which definitely had a good pizza! They gave us the wrong one, so I don't know what we actually got, but it was good. Thankfully they let us in to eat Pizza because upon arrival their system was down and we couldn't check into our room. The worker behind the counter seemed to be doing the absolute best minimum and wasn't super friendly. After lunch we checked back in and thankfully there was a much more competent and friendly person there to help us out. The system was still partially down, but he was able to give us some details on the status of our room and encouraged us to still enjoy all the amenities until we could check in. As another review mentioned the shower head was uncomfortably low for me, but I'm 6'6" tall so it's probably fine for most people. The indoor pool is quite nice and not overly chlorinated, no burning eyes from the fumes is great. My last thing is the way finding. I think part of it was the room we got (162). It was completely alone and not by any other rooms which made it hard to fine. Also certainly not as good of a view as upper level rooms. But in general there was very little signage and a lot of confusing stairwells with unknown destinations. We only stayed for the weekend, but I didn't feel very confident finding my way even at the end of our stay, so I feel like there could be an improvement there. It seems to be a good value for the money in this area and I would say it's worth checking out!

To be honest, I would not have expected to find such a delightful distillery in a very plain box…read morelike building in the middle of Brainerd. But oh what a great spot to stop with friends. Like wineries in the Midwest, I'm also very cautious about distilleries. Just because you can make Jenn or bourbon doesn't mean that you should. Not the case for this place. We tried an assortment of cocktails. I ordered one variation of a Manhattan and really enjoyed it. This place is punching above its weight. Highly recommend stopping in.

Let me say that this place has only gotten better as it has aged. This is perhaps my favorite…read moreplace in the Brainerd Lakes Area. I recently had a really nice Boulevardier. They have increased their wine products and gotten more creative with their menu, AND they are great at making up new drinks not on the menu. What has not changed is Bill and the great staff's excitement for their product and service. You need to go here.

A scenic place to enjoy good food and the view of Lake Bemidji. Great tap beer selection and the…read morewild rice soup is my favorite.

Lousy acoustics make this bar loud, loud, loud! At first I thought the people at the next table…read morewere being rude because they were drunk, but then they got up and left, and the table that was more than twice as far away seemed to be shouting, too. They try to put a unique spin on all their apps to justify the price, but they only semi pull it off. Highlight of the experience is the dog wandering around. I would never go back unless it was warm enough to sit outside.

Visiting for the week and we did some Bloody Mary tasting. That brought us to Foxy's. The place…read morewas clean and vibrant. There were games everywhere. Video betting stuff. The service was top notch. We were asked several times if we needed anything. Not all places have good customer service these days so I appreciated that. Fries were good, crispy and a lot. Half basket was $5.00 and we shared it and size was perfect. I would definitely go back to this place. In fact I heard their pizzas are fire so will be going back, before I leave, in two days to see for myself.

Stopped by the other night as I was new into town and wanted to see what was offered. Once coming…read morein, the place is lively & filled with great staff. Cody (owner), super friendly and off the bat brought in energy that made the place become more friendly with his sense of humor. Kayla was also coming by and checking in making sure we were all taken care of, super sweet & was inviting in conversation. They had a pool table which was cool to hangout and play a couple rounds while snacking off their variety of different food options. Not only did they have a great selection of beverages with all kinds of flavors but they also have some lighter options if hard liquor isn't your best friend. Offering an outside patio, there was plenty of seating & nice view of the lake. Definitely coming back before skipping town!

This was our first time at The Pines and it was great! We didn't have a reservation but got seated…read moreright away. The ambience was great (we were on the main floor) and all of the staff were super friendly. We had Christopher as our server and he was awesome!! I loved how unique the menu was and the different sections they had. We had tried the popovers, the twice fried potatoes, the chicken entree, and the apple turnover cake. Everything was phenomenal! We also got brought out a pre-dinner snack which was not expected and it was so good. We checked out the downstairs before we left and it was a super cool space! We definitely want to go back to hang out down there at some point. I highly recommend trying this spot out! Another great addition to the Grand Rapids area. We definitely will be back!

I am sad that I live so far away from Grand Rapids because that means that I don't get to enjoy…read morethis delicious restaurant nearly enough! The restaurant itself is bright and inviting, the staff is super attentive and friendly and the food is fresh and innovative. Their Risotto was one of my favorite dishes I have ever had and I am still dreaming about the popovers. There is also a speakeasy in the basement and the drinks are delicious! Upscale workout being stuffy. Loved everything about our visit!

Food and service in the bar was outstanding. Highly recommend checking it out if you haven't.read more

Cozy and quirky atmosphere. Food prices were a bit high but it was tasty and the staff was friendly…read moreand helpful - even in a busy evening. Drink prices were very reasonable.