I recently took my family to the Great Wolf Lodge on a 3 day vacation.  Great Wolf Lodge is a chain of 11 hotels that feature an indoor waterpark and other activities for children.   Overall I give the hotel high marks in all areas except the price of rooms and services.  

Fun:  The hotel’s main attraction is water fun, featuring swimming pools, structures to climb, a wave pool, and lots of water slides.  The water slides were the primary reason we made the trip.  There are baby sized slides, growing larger all the way up to a water roller coaster slide.  In total there are 11 water slides.  The enforced height cut off limit is 42 inches for the four tube slides, and 48 inches for the one roller coaster. 

Idiot Factor: This hotel is all about kids having fun.  Every so often some jackass forgets this.  The only place I encountered these idiots was in the wave pool.  300 pound fat slobs should not be grabbing tubes and diving into oncoming waves.  There are 3 year olds standing in the water.  They are too young to realize you plan to ride the wave slamming into them.  Here’s an idea, how about watching your own kids? 

Staff: The life guards were excellent.  They had a difficult job keeping everything moving smoothly, and having to keep an eye out for kids in need of assistance.  Nor did they cop an attitude like those powermongers at the local beach with a megaphone.  If they blew the whistle, it was for the person’s own safety.  

Check in:  We arrived at the hotel early and had no delay checking in.  Our room was ready long before the required 4:00 pm time.  I did have 2 issues with the person handling the job.  They asked me if I wanted all charges put onto my room band.  I agreed, but they didn’t activate the service properly.  I had to sign a slip of paper each time instead.  Secondly, they asked me for additional ID other than my driver’s license and credit card used to place the reservation.  When I questioned why this was not mentioned anywhere, the clerk got a bit snippy with me.

Cleanliness: I’m happy to report nobody got sick after the trip.  The water quality was good.  Rooms were spotless, and the hotel was kept clean despite all the kids running around.  One time I got a serious dunking when my son jumped out of the tube and I flipped over.  Water got into my ear and wouldn’t come out.  I fixed this issue by pouring a little hydrogen peroxide into both ears and the problem went away instantly.

Cost: $279-$354 a night is ridiculous!  Remember, with a family of 4 you are getting a hotel room + waterpark fees for 4 people.  If the waterpark cost $30 a person, then the hotel alone would cost $150-$200 a night.  Way too expensive even for the excellent rooms provided.  Also, the food was overpriced.  The breakfast buffet cost $14 for adults and $9 for kids.  With tip it cost me $55 for breakfast.  Screw that, the second day I went out to a gas station and brought back 2 bagels with cream cheese, 2 cups of coffee, a bottle of juice, and 2 muffins all for $10.

Rooms: We stayed in the cheapest room, but it was very luxurious.  It had a microwave, refrigerator, safe, balcony, couch with coffee table, and spacious ceilings.  The pricier rooms feature special areas for the kids to sleep.  The doors open using a wristband, so you don’t have to worry about carrying a key around.  Because we stayed several days, having to sleep with the wristband bothered both my kids.  The wristbands can not be temporarily removed.

Tips to get the most out of your experience:

• Begin using the waterpark at 1:00 PM the day of your stay.  This means 8 hours of water fun.  You could get away with staying only one night this way.  Towels are free, lockers cost $10.  You won’t need a locker if you can get into your room early.
• Bring your own microwavable food.  This is tricky so use a cooler to keep things cold until the room is ready.  If not, the Pizzahut on the first floor has a reasonable family special.  2 pizzas, breadsticks with sauce, buffalo wings, and a 2 liter soda all for $36.  Put the extras into the refrigerator.
• Look for coupons on the internet.  Some controversy surrounds a few of these coupons.  One coupon was for $100 a night.  A fantastic deal!  Problem is Great Wolf doesn’t like to honor it, even though the offer was for family and friends of a particular college.  Apparently if my sister went to that college, I don’t qualify as family or friend without my own alumni ID. 
• Play the Magic Quest Game if you stay more than one day.  Throughout the 4 floors of the hotel there are areas that can be activated with a magic wand you purchase for $15 and up.  If your kids are young enough to enjoy waving a stick and seeing Harry Potter type magic, they will love this game.  The scores for the day are featured on a TV channel in the room.
• Catch the free show in the lobby: At 9:00am, 8:00 pm, and 9:00 pm there is an animated show by the great tree in the lobby.  Lots of songs and puppets to excite the little ones.

Summary:  If you can afford it, Great Wolf Lodge is a fantastic vacation spot.  It’s indoor waterpark allows your kids to enjoy water fun even in the middle of winter.  In summer, you can get 8 hours of swimming in without worrying about sun burn, lotion, or skin cancer.  I wouldn’t plan a week here.  One night will leave your kids wanting more, 2 nights may be too much.  That’s over 20 hours of swim time.  Be sure your kids are age appropriate.  There is nothing for teenagers to do.  If your kids are too old to ride a tame waterslide, then they don’t belong unless they are assisting with younger siblings.  My kids were 4 and 6 and loved the place.