Imagine what it takes to run this place?!? Take care! Advice: you can't come to a place like this and complain about how much things cost. Review tags are currently only available for English language reviews. Great Wolf Lodge also has a small bowling ally, gem mining, outdoor ropes course, arcade, and glow golf. We did not have a car on the premises so driving was not an option, and walking was not very appealing since we tend to patronize the indoor water parks during the colder months and it was late November when we were at Aquatopia. It is the best themed lazy river out of the three water parks in the Poconos! To alert those in the wave pool of the wave rotation starting it has a wolf howl. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Great Wolf Resorts (formerly known as Great Wolf Lodge) is a chain of indoor water parks. Featuring free WiFi and a seasonal outdoor pool, Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine offers accommodations in Grapevine. The Great Wolf Lodge resort in the Poconos was constructed in 2005 - and is one of roughly 19 locations for the chain. Your goal is our goal. Poconos Water Park Comparison Guide - Been There Done That with Kids We can engage in many of the other activities closer to our home (and probably at less expense). Across from that there is a small decent sized souvenir shop / store and a small dessert kiosk. If you want averykid-centricexperience from top to bottom we would recommendGreat Wolf Lodge. Admission: Rates start at $277 a night for a standard four-person room. The company owns and operates its family resorts under the Great Wolf Lodge brand. Come splash around! Otherwise, she and the others had a very good time.Kalahari was worth the trip. After reading this post - which Poconos waterpark do you THINK you are most likely to go to? Billing Issue: I did have a billing issue with Aquatopia / Camelback. Poconos Waterpark Comparison Guide: Kalahari versus Aquatopia & Great Wolf Lodge! The Undomestic Goddess: Great Wolf Lodge vs. Gaylord Texan - Blogger I actually made the kids wear earplugs (as did I) to go to this! This comparison guide will focus mainly on the Pocono resorts in Pennsylvania, but some of the information can be used to compare other locations of Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge. Kalaharis water park does the same, except with a jungle theme. Camelback charged my card the correct amount when I made the deposit on November 24th and then on November 27th (2 days after we had left the resort) I was charged $25 for a parking fee. We review each of the Poconos water parks on several criteria including: If you want to cut right to the chase you can jump to the conclusion by clicking here: Conclusion, Great Wolf Lodge does a good job of branding and theming (theme ing) the lodge. LOVED the concept - didn't like the fact that they were not full bars - they only made a few specialty drinks and offered beer and wine. lindakmonty He's like "OH NO YOU DIDN'T" Joined Jun 24, 2005 Jun 30, 2006 #7 We inquired about an potential upgrade and they granted us a special price to upgrade to an African Queen Suite which had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms - perfect to provide privacy with 2 girls! For exact amenities lists, its best to view the Great Wolf Lodge or Kalahari website of the locations you are comparing. Answer 1 of 6: We want to take my son ( just turned 4) to either Kalahari or Great wolf lodge. You might prefer the chart we put together along with our conclusions. Nothing? (Remember that Kalahari is actually a desert in southern Africa.) Every room at this resort is air conditioned and has a TV with cable channels. Located below the main lobby is both the entrance to the water park and the arcade. There are a lot of food choices @ Kalahari of which we have only sampled a few. Im guessing the youngest of your children voted for GWL? There is also a cafe (Cafe & Bar) and a restaurant (Horizons) located right off the main lobby. Camelback Lodge vs. Great Wolf Lodge: Which Poconos Indoor Water Park The Poconos location has 401 rooms and each wing of the lodge has 4 floors. We may also participate in other affiliate programs from time-to-time and be compensated for referring traffic & business to these companies. As the kids went ahead, employee Jeremy helped to take bags upstairs. 5 Indoor Water Parks for the Most Fun in Texas - Texas Hill Country Your encounters with the lack of cleanliness in the room and waterpark was certainly not up to our standards, so I am interested in hearing more about it. It can be more expensive but it's a better place to relax and see your kids enjoying without having to worry too much. Seriously, I'm not being dramatic. We went for the Italian the second night and the food was again wonderful. Great Wolf Lodge has 18 locations, all of which offer indoor water parks with multi-story forts, 1,000-gallon soaker buckets, wave pools, lazy rivers, waterslides of varying heights and speeds, raft rides, whirlpools, kiddie pools and more. With Kalahari Careers, you become part of our dedicated team at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions. Our suite @ Kalahari was HUGE! Kalahari was definitely newer and nicer but also more expensive. My husband was brave enough to continue exploring as I sat out on the ground level patio. Wonderful service.Lazy River - Longer than the one at Great Wolfbut lots of people and tubes jamming it up!Towels were only available outside, we heard there may have been a shortage but we didn't really experience that. This was our 3rd visit to Kalahari, the 2 previous times we stayed was before March 2017 when the resort was only half way completed. Kalahari Resort has an African safari theme. That sounds good. Report inappropriate content msmejkal chicago I'm going to breakdown each part of the resort that we visited and give you the key points: An unpleasant smell hit us as soon as we opened the door, although I couldn't quite place it, at least not until we stepped further into the suite. TheParenthoodAdventures.comis owned & operated byChip Williamsonwho is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that enables websites like this to earn advertising fees from Amazon.com. In November 2020, a competitor to GWL opened in Texas. I have read other reviews where people did not enjoy the balcony but we did. Great review, were leaning towards Kalahari but wanted to know about outdoor activities in the winter, could our kids go snow tubing or something related at any of these three resorts? A night at either place costs a small fortune, and the food is over-priced and mediocre. When I checked out on the 25th I asked for a receipt, and the amount I was charged was correct ($390.10) When I received my credit card statement on December 9th I noticed that what I was charged from Aquatopia/Camelback was $25 higher than it should have been. Kalahari vs Great Wolf Lodge: Discover the Differences GWL has excellent sales. We had no real negatives about Great Wolf but in all honesty, Kalahari Resort surpasses them on almost all levels, but to no fault of Great Wolf. Great Wolf Lodge's water park is 80,000 square feet, but Kalahari's is over 220,000 square feet. Another note worth mentioning the bathtubs @ Kalahari are huge! For the volume of people passing through it ( to check-in, check out, shop at the shops and access the activities) it feels a little small and congested. Kalahari vs Great wolf lodge - Wisconsin Dells Forum This is probably the one area that Aquatopia beats both Great Wolf Lodge & Kalahari. It reminds me of Disneys Wilderness Lodge. Thank you very much for your comment. Kalaharis waterpark is the largest at 220,000 square feet & Camelbacks Aquatopia indoor waterpark is right in the middle at 125,000 square feet. Which is better for his age? This was because: 1) We are a family of 6 and eating out is not usually relaxing or enjoyable! Im not sure if it something that they created or if it has its origins someplace else. We also enjoyed the Lazy River and the wave pool. The hostesses and the servers were professional and pleasant. Waterpark admission included with your stay! Overall we felt like Kalahari was much better before the expansion. As I indicated above I should not have been charged a fee for parking since we did not leave a vehicle at the resort and were dropped off. Age and height requirements vary by location. The 12 Best Indoor Water Park Resorts in the U.S. for 2021 Many months later (due to COVID) we stayed at Camelbacks Aquatopia. Great Wolf Lodge is smaller than Kalahari. However, please be aware that Camelback / Aquatopia charges for general parking I think it is $12 if you are just coming to engage in one of the activities. Kalahari Resort also has an adult spa and fitness center plus live music entertainment at the steak house and piano bar. We ordered a burrito, nachos grande, chicken fingers, fries and onion rings from a predictable and acceptable selection of menu items. The IVORY COAST restaurant had a great selection of food and we thoroughly enjoyed doing takeout from there. 2) With COVID still hanging around and the holidays right around the corner it seemed to be prudent. Great Wolf Resorts - Wikipedia EXPECT IT and you will have a great time. This is another thing that I think Kalahari does well and it makes it a little easier to satisfy everyone and their differing tastes with so many food choices. The top 10 winners in the category Best Indoor Water Park are as follows: Aquatopia Indoor Waterpark - Tannersville, Pennsylvania. The suite had an interesting layout, but who could enjoy it when you were struggling not to vomit. I'm going to breakdown each part of the resort that we visited and give you the key points:CHECK IN/ROOM - We checked in with Kassi at 12 noon and were happy to hear our room was ready. Kalahari has the most toddler slides by far when comparing the three resorts. But we generally dont patronize too many sit down restaurants with 4 kids with ages ranging from 2-10. Not quite as good as the one @ Kalahari but better than you will find at Great Wolf Lodge. The Ultimate Guide to Great Wolf Lodge Locations in the US Their massive indoor water parks vary by location. B-Lux also features 12 lanes of state-of-the-art Brunswick bowling. Inspired parents sharing the joys & adventures of the parenthood journey! Keep in mind theres a third indoor water park resort in the Poconos: Camelback Mountain Resort. However, it was not a perfect experience in that the air conditioner vented right out onto the one end of the balcony. We went to all three water parks in the Poconos (Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari & Aquatopia) to find out which one is the BEST water park. Thank you for pointing out my mistake! The water is warm, but not too hot. During our long walk to the room (the opposite end of the facility), he was VERY professional, engaging and helpful. 6 Best Poconos Resorts for Families | Family Vacation Critic Hi there! Overall, my family prefers Kalahari Resort. As a native New Yorker, a bit of grit and grime doesn't scare me. Likewise the lobby is magnificent! The cabin was towards the front of the room and was semi-private for the kids. Another Wisconsin Dells question - Great Wolf vs. Kalahari vs Please see our partners for more details. Poconos Waterparks: How to Get the Best Deals at Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari & Aquatopia! That is with just 2 adults and 4 kids. We ended up eating most of the fries and onions rings, while discarding the rest. I was wondering what your experiences have been with that. Just about everything seemed to be swimming in butter or oil, including the overcooked/overheated vegetables. The splash park area of the water park devoted to smaller children (toddlers Penguin Play Bay) is very weak compared to Kalahari and somewhat awkwardly placed on a second tier of the waterpark close to some steps going down. One time a lifeguard came out and caught one but without constant observation, it is impossible to parole this area. We have been to both resorts in the past but thought it would be fun to do a back-to-back comparison. Then to get to the lower level you have to take the stairs. The place is ENORMOUS and although it's extremely busy and pretty crowded most of the time, there is plenty of seating in the waterpark. The drive was almost exactly 100 miles for us and we arrived a few minutes after 1:00 pm. We're in the business of making memories. Camelback Mountain Resorts waterpark Aquatopia, Cafe & Bar (AKA, Mountain Market, World Bazaar Coffee Shop). Thank you! The shop is along Interstate 81, making it a Busy Bodies Play Cafe is an indoor play space for children who are 1 year old through 6 years old. The Biggest Indoor Waterparks in the World - TripSavvy Great wolf is closer to shopping. The 3 "kids" (ages 12-20) and I were impressed with the front of the resort. They did a fabulous job with the design of this place. Both resorts have huge water parks that include a wave pool, lazy river, splash areas and of course water slides. Which do you prefer? Keep reading our Poconos water park guide & comparison to find out! There were a total of 3 TVs one in the Family Room where the pull out bed / couch was, one in the master suite and one in the second bedroom with the two queen sized beds. Both resorts have themed rooms that accommodate a wide-range of family sizes from two queen rooms to much, much bigger. Expect to spend money on food, games, etc. We LOVED IT!More. My family has enjoyed a handful of stays at the water park hotel Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas (and one visit to the GWL in Southern California). As I mentioned above, we can engage in many of the other activities closer to our home. Great Wolf Lodge: Outdoor ropes courses seasonal. The splash park or toddler area of the water park was rather small. For just one four-year-old, I think Great Wolf is probably a better choice. My son went to the prime rib carving station several times but the chef continued to serve him meat with chunks of fat on it - so he gave up. 6 Best Texas . Been at least six years ago. Clean, safe & staff so friendly! Winner: Kalahari Resort (especially for older kids and teens). As I mentioned earlier with 4 kids ranging in age from 2 10 we are not very often dining in @ a restaurant. For the size of the main lobby, it is the same order with Great Wolf Lodges lobby being the smallest, Kalaharis main lobby being the largest and Aquatopias lobby size somewhere in the middle. Great Wolf Lodge has an outdoor ropes course and indoor arcade. However, there were at least 6 employees assisting at the registration desk and the line moved relatively quickly. For size reference, Great Wolf Lodges water park is the smallest at about 79,000 square feet. Hello, Erika! Both resorts also have onsite dining that continues the decor. It is a wonderful family vacation spot that offers a lot of adventure & nature! The lobby is ringed by various shops and the floor has wonderful decorative murals inlaid in the marble (Im sure these are probably decals??). Kalahari vs Great Wolf Lodge Poconos Comparison - YouTube This time we were on the third floor and had a balcony. Kids hearing is much more sensitive! Hours: Depending on the day, the indoor water park is open from 9am to 9pm or 10am to 8pm. The ladies bathroom and changing area looked tike a war zone! Rooms are bigger and have fun themes. We visited Kalahari in the Pocono Mountains for a last minute trip with our two girls, ages 8 and 9. more. It was a nice touch to have the lodge theme and a couple of characters at the front of the wave pool which is one of our favorite attractions. (If we wanted to watch tv, we could go to our room.) Since we are usually there for just one night we resign ourselves to it being a pizza for dinner night. Compare management, culture and compensation ratings for Great Wolf Lodge and Kalahari Resorts & Conventions. We say this because Aquatopia has the most activities (rock wall, laser tag, escape room, etc) at its resort that will likely appeal to pre-teens and early teens. Imagine what it takes to run this place?!? The Poconos location has 401 rooms and each wing of the lodge has 4 floors. We didn't hear a peep after 10pm and slept soundly. It was nicely decorated and efficiently arranged. The building must be completed within three years. There was a microwave and mini-fridge in the room, which came in handy. The hot tub situation was disappointing. The bartenders were great, DAVID and ROBIN especially. We are still having a debate on what it actually was. For part of our stay both lazy river attractions were open and there were other times when only one was open. The size of the indoor water park is roughly 125,000 square-foot, which makes it slightly larger than the Great Wolf Lodge water park @ roughly 79,000 square-foot, but decidedly smaller than Kalaharis indoor water park which is roughly 220,000 square-foot. Thank you to management for a well-trained staff and an enjoyable time! Still it was a frustrating experience that cast a pallor over our time and experience there. There was one dedicated dessert/pastry kiosk located off the main lobby nestled in there with the souvenir shop. Kalahari Resort has Tom Foolerys, a gigantic indoor adventure park. There are quite a few activities to engage in @ Kalahari. We just stayed at Camelback the night before Thanksgiving and are actively working on updated the post. You could definitely capture everything this place has to offer in 2-3 days. The lobby is big but not massive like it is at Kalahari! However, Great Wolf Lodge has a higher percentage of themed rooms available at a more reasonable price. All three resorts are located very close to each other in the Poconos. We liked the luggage rack near the door and the shelf over the microwave. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review. We stayed from Tuesday through Thursday during July. We had no problem finding a table and chairs to rest our towels and use for eating later. I hope you have a wonderful time with your family! Aquatopia Snowtubing, mountain coaster (4,500 feet steel track coaster), Euro Bungee tethered bungee jump. Please email me directly at PAConnect@kalahariresorts.com. Just a small thing that can be easily rectified. We ended loading up the car, checking out (automatically at 11:00), and then using our onsite privileges for a few more hours before going offsite at a nearby restaurant to each lunch and hitting the highway to return home.My biggest concern about the facility itself is that the elevator from the lobby to the lower level waterpark is not easily discoverable or accessible. For example when booking your accommodations you can select a themed suite, such as the KidCabin Suite which we did. They were methodical and intense, and I just didn't get that feeling with many of the lifeguard staff here. If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241. After the meal there are plenty of places like the pastry shop, coffee shop or ice cream shop that have many enticing desserts for the children. But, if or when we do return, I look forward to spending more time in that adults-only grotto. DreamWorks Water Park - East Rutherford, New Jersey. Great Wolf Lodge also has activities that vary with the timing of your stay. You enter Kalahari through a massive glass revolving carousel door and there is plenty of room for people to get where they are going whether it is to check-in, get food, get to the water park or any other number of destinations. We figured that we'd have a good dinner to make up for it.After another 90 minutes or so, we decided to check out the room. Berrellis Italian Chophouse wasnt really an option for us as this restaurant is physically located in a different building from where we were staying & where the indoor water park is located. Most of the time we were at Aquatopia we ate FROM Trails End Pub & Grille. Kassi was terrific! The Lobby is one of the things I, and everyone in my family, really liked about Kalahari! From what we saw of the pricing most of the activities were on the more expensive side. (especially Aquatopia & Great Wolf Lodge) If you were to drive from Kalahari, to Great Wolf Lodge, and then to Aquatopia the total distance would be approximately 11.3 miles and take just 26 minutes. The new Italian restaurant had a nice design and the food was good. EXPECT IT and you will have a great time. Wet bar, fridge, microwaveIMPRESSED with the upkeep.WATERPARK - The place is absolutely huge. The mountainous / hilly location complimented the overall lodge theme and it was nice to sit out there with the kids as the weather cooled in the evening. Recently, my family visited Kalahari Resort for the first time. It sounds like you were able to experience nearly every feature our resort has to offer! I found the photos pleasing to look at and relaxing! Each wing of the resort is 8 floors high and it has 977 rooms in total. Since we are fans of Indiana Jones we like most archaeology theme including this one but I would not say the theme-ing is immersive other than the lazy river. Its a tough call. Our complaints fell on deaf ears, as we needed a certain amount of space for.our family, and the hotel informed us that there was nothing they could do. Hello and thank you for the review! Kalahari and Wilderness are kind of overwhelming. Kalahari I feel would be better for the adults to have fun as well. We usually just order a pizza and eat it in our room with maybe a salad. In addition to the arcade, there are six amusement park rides, including the Screamn Centipede roller coaster with 360-degree rotating cart. Adventure Update # 018: My Tricycle is Very Very Fast! Very spacious, a flat screen TV in each room and in main living area with fireplace. Can I ask how the service levels compared at the two as well as the food? Best Indoor Water Park Winners (2022) | USA TODAY 10Best The distance between Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos is a mere 7 miles. We are a family of 6 with four kids ranging in ages from 5 12 years old. Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine has one adults-only hot tub. The development is expected to break ground during the first quarter of 2022 and construction of the facility will begin no later than April 2025, according to KPRC. Kalahari is amaizing! Career Site - Self Service - ADP The development is expected to break ground during. I also added a note how COVID-19 has delayed our plans to stay @ Aquatopia. See you soon! However, having fewer food venue choices and adult amenities limits your stay to a very kid-centric experience. Kids are going to want to explore all areas of this place and we find it frustrating reading reviews about those complaining about how expensive everything is. Swim Up BARS - An absolutely genius idea! All three resorts are really good choices for water park fun with a family. Kalahari vs. Great Wolf - WE HAVE A WINNER!! - Tripadvisor So we decided to check it out and see how things had changed. While the hallways of rooms may still be a bit long, its not as vast as Kalahari. It is hard to believe that Aquatopia/Camelback would actually be charging extra for the balcony /patios at this level! Hello! There was a large selection, with an emphasis on Italian cuisine. Aquatopia offers a great selection of activities for tweens & younger teens, both inside & outside! The KSAT 12 News Team provides a look at local, regional, statewide and national news events and the latest information on local traffic and weather issues. We usually ordered and brought the food to our room. When you check in the lodge they should offer you and / or the kids wolf ears at no extra charge since, after all it is the Great WOLF Lodge!. That makes it easy for families traveling with toddlers (and their little legs!). (Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari & Camelbacks Aquatopia) Which is the right waterpark resort experience for your family? To the right of the entrance is check-in / hotel services. Gaylord Texan Resort and Spa vs Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine - Trippy Has a fun magic quest as an additional . Kalahari Resorts opened in 2015 in the Poconos. We recently visited Camelback Mountain Resorts waterpark Aquatopia (November 24th, 2021). I felt the prices were reasonable for this type of American Pub food. but also read water is cold. Definitely two thumbs up for the adults area at Kalahari! Great Wolf Lodge has a woodland creature and forest theme, while Kalahari has an African theme. Round Rock Source: Round the Rock With so much fun and excitement in one place, Kalahari remains a top destination for families throughout Texas. Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. How does the resort compare to Great Wolf Lodge? We did really like the lazy river at Aquatopia. Kalahari was the cheapest on Friday evening - but the most expensive during the week & the second most expensive on Saturday evening. Snow tubing in PA requires no special skills or equipment and is appropriate for almost everyone. Both resorts have normal hotel rooms as well as themed rooms. Would have been nice to have them inside as well.The waterpark overall was phenomenal - huge and definitely accommodates young and old. Some of the profit from any sale may merely make it intoourpocket instead of Jeff Bezos'! Thats theming! Weve stayed at GWL Williamsburg and Kalahari in the Poconos. The overnight costs for both of these resorts can vary widely throughout the year.