The Narrows, Lake Sylvan, Minnesota
Two hours north of the Twin Cities, on the channel where Upper and Lower Sylvan meet, Joel and Crista Gaalswyk built the cabin Joel had always wanted to build. He grew up in the Brainerd Lakes building lake homes with his father, and The Narrows is the one he designed, built and now hosts himself. Sleeps nine, white oak, a cedar sauna with a glass wall on the lake, and a Standard Electric AlumiTub sunk into the deck above the water.
It is a useful property to look at for two reasons. It is an Electric, at a rental, in a place where winter is the point rather than the problem. And it was built in from the start rather than added afterward, which changes what is possible.
The property
Lake Sylvan is one of the clearest lakes in Minnesota and one of the most sought-after in the Brainerd area. The Narrows runs through the middle of it, where the two basins join and the channel holds some of the best fishing on the lake. The cabin sits above that channel with a private dock in the cattails, kayaks and paddleboards at the water, a lakeside fire pit, and a Level 2 EV charger for the drive up from the cities.
The design brief, in Joel's words on the site, is that a new build should still feel like a cabin. A hospitality photographer who shot it, Jon Kreye, called it one of the best examples he had seen of a high-end cabin that still feels like one.
Why an Electric, sunk into the deck
At a rental that turns over every few days, the tub has to be ready when guests arrive without anyone lighting anything. The Electric holds whatever temperature it is set to, between 50 and 104°F, from a touchpad or the Wi-Fi app, with timer schedules for heating and filtration. A 50 micron filter keeps a fill for three to four months, and freeze protection runs the pump to keep the water circulating if it drops to 44°F, for as long as there is power. For a host, that is a tub that looks after itself between bookings.
Sinking it into the deck is the part most owners cannot do after the fact. Because the heating and filtration system is detachable and lives inside a cedar step against the tub rather than under it, the tub itself can be recessed while the equipment stays reachable.
Sauna, tub, lake
The sauna is a few steps away on the same deck: cedar inside, a panoramic glass wall facing the lake, a HUUM Cliff heater that can be preheated from the house, and room for four to six. Heat up, cool off in the lake, and come back. In January the lake is the plunge and the tub is the warm-up, which is the hot-cold-hot rhythm covered in contrast therapy.
A Minnesota winter, on electric heat
Brainerd winters are the real thing. Guests snowmobile straight off the property onto the lake and into the trail system, and the Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza on Gull Lake, the largest ice fishing tournament in the world, is a few miles away by sled. The tub runs through all of it.
On an Electric there is no overnight drop to plan around: the system holds the set temperature, and 360 degrees of insulation, 3.5 inches of rigid board beneath the base, a full wrap behind the cedar and a floating layer on the surface, means the heater cycles less often to do it. The cedar tub that stays hot covers how it behaves through a cold winter.
Getting it there
The tub shipped from the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia in 2025 and crossed the border by freight. It arrives pre-assembled at 220 lbs empty on the Standard and rolls on its side at 38 inches, which is how a tub ends up on a lakeside deck without a crane.
Looking after it between guests
For the changeover routine at a rental, hot tub water care at a guest property covers testing on every changeover and what to ask of guests, and a host's guide covers the choices.
Common questions
Can an AlumiTub be sunk into a deck?
Yes. Because the heating and filtration system on an Electric or Hybrid is detachable and housed in a cedar step beside the tub rather than underneath it, the tub itself can be recessed into a deck while every component stays reachable. The deck structure must carry the filled weight, 5,000 lbs on a Standard, and the drain needs planning into the recess.
Does an electric hot tub work in a Minnesota winter?
Yes. The Electric holds its set temperature rather than reheating, with 360 degrees of insulation so the heater cycles less often to do it, and freeze protection runs the pump to keep the water circulating if it drops to 44°F, for as long as there is power. The Narrows runs its tub through Brainerd Lakes winters with guests arriving by snowmobile.
Is an electric hot tub better than wood fired for a rental?
Usually, where the property has power. An Electric is at temperature when guests arrive without anyone lighting a fire, filtration holds a fill for three to four months, and heating and filtration run on timer schedules from the app. Wood fired suits properties without power, or hosts who want the ritual to be part of the stay.
Can you pair a hot tub with a sauna and a lake?
That is the classic Nordic sequence: heat in the sauna, cool in the lake, warm again in the tub. At The Narrows all three are within a few steps on the same deck, and the sauna's glass wall faces the water, so the whole cycle happens in view of the lake year round.
More owner stories from properties that host: Tincup Wilderness Lodge in the Yukon, Cabin on the River in the Catskills and The Lofty Pines in Ontario.
See more properties at where AlumiTubs live, or explore the Electric.