Cragun's Resort $20 Million Renovation Continues During Pandemic

Eric Peterson, General Manager of Cragun's Resort in Brainerd, MN, is one of the most positive people you'll meet. Give him lemons and he'll gladly take them and say "Thanks – Free Lemons"! Which is exactly the positive attitude Peterson and Cragun's have taken during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

This coming winter marks the half-way point of Cragun's $20 million-dollar resort expansion and improvement project. In late 2015, Cragun's embarked on an aggressive plan to remodel, replace and add new amenities and lodging to ensure the resort's continued success. When the pandemic started to slow things down in March, Peterson took the opportunity to ramp up construction in several areas of the resort. This enabled Cragun's to keep people employed and make significant progress in the improvement plan.

"Over the years, Cragun's guests have told us how much they appreciate our family friendly atmosphere and the true "up north" experience they receive at the resort," said Peterson. "We put a plan together that would update Cragun's public areas, provide more new, larger and improved cabins and upgrade the facilities in our lodge rooms while maintaining the feel our guests love. All of the improvements are designed to fit well with the features that Cragun's guests enjoy like our mile of sandy beaches, championship golf courses, full-service marina, snowmobiling, ice skating and dining options."

Cragun's improvements include the following:

Public Areas – The Lobby and Lobby Gift Shop were updated to include improved lighting, an expanded gift selection, plus the addition of an interactive television with information on the resort. The lake level Marina received new floors, walls, displays, new bait tank and two new bathrooms. A new signage program was started to aid guests in finding their way around the resort.

Meeting Rooms - Several meeting rooms received new carpeting, window treatments, doors, trim and furniture. The Lakeshore Meeting Rooms is Cragun's largest meeting room at 7280 square feet. It can be divided into four separate breakout rooms each featuring a great view of Gull Lake. New carpeting, window treatments, wall finishes, doors, trim and a new fireplace was added.

Amenities – New summer marina rental equipment has been added including seven new pontoons, four speedboats, jet skis, stand-up paddleboards, row boats, canoes, bicycles and twelve new Polaris snowmobiles. Lodge Room wood burning fireplaces have been converted to electric. The Hungry Gull Food Cart was added for summer beach business and Cragun's Cabana Café was built at the indoor pool.

Gull Lake Cruises - Cragun's purchased the Destiny Cruises luxury yacht "North Star," renaming the business Gull Lake Cruises. The yacht, docked at Cragun's Resort, offers both public and private cruises from May through October.

Legacy Golf Courses – a new fleet of environmentally friendly electric golf carts equipped with GPS was added. All bridges on the courses were repaired or replaced. The Legacy Clubhouse was updated with paint and flooring. Cragun's Legacy was awarded the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada, the first venture into the U.S. Recognized as the CRMC Championship, the tournament will take place August 23-29, 2021 at Cragun's Legacy Courses.

Lodging – Cragun's added six new Bayview Villa lodges each with seven bedrooms and six bathrooms. The new buildings, which overlook Cragun's south beach, replaced three of the resort's original cabins. These new larger units are popular with families, golf groups and small corporate groups. With the success of the Bayview Villas, Cragun's started work on the Hillside Cabins either remodeling or completely rebuilding six of those 12 cabins, each featuring 3-6 bedrooms. The 21 Shoreline Suites were completely updated with new bathrooms, carpet, kitchens, hardgoods, bed configuration, bedding and furniture. Every Lakeside Lodge Room had the wood burning fireplace converted to gas or electric plus forty-eight lodge rooms have been updated as well with new lighting, carpet, bathroom tile and fixtures, countertops and furniture. Six larger homes, with six to ten bedrooms, located near the Legacy Golf Courses, have also been added. The homes include separate game rooms with large screen TV's, game tables, fire pits and a host of bed options to accommodate large golf groups. Book today to experience our new offerings: https://bookings.ihotelier.com/bookings.jsp?HotelID=73835

"It's a process, but one we are approaching with gusto," said Peterson. "Cragun's celebrated our 80th year in business in 2020 and we look forward to continuing our legacy of great customer experiences."

To learn more about Cragun's Resort and Cragun's Legacy Courses, visit https://www.craguns.com

Eric Peterson, Cragun's Resort, 218-831-1360, epeterson@craguns.com

SOURCE: Cragun's Resort on Gull Lake