Kalahari Resort has Tom Foolerys, a gigantic indoor adventure park. My husband was brave enough to continue exploring as I sat out on the ground level patio. 6 Best Texas . The development is expected to break ground during. What we usually do @ Kalahari is claim a couple of tables next to the fountain in the lobby and while one of us stays with the family the other runs around to the different food venues to obtain the items we desire to assemble a meal. 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. Water park temperatures at all three Poconos water parks is the same @ 84 degrees, year-round. It doesnt extend to the guest rooms and amenities. Thank you for your feedback. Thank you! 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. Thats theming! There was a nice variety of the treats and each of the kids was able to find something appealing to them. A 14-inch pie was 8 slices, 2 toppings $21. (Remember that Kalahari is actually a desert in southern Africa.) Very spacious, a flat screen TV in each room and in main living area with fireplace. It is disappointing to hear that you did not have as great of an experience this time around compared to your first two. We like archaeology and the lost river archaeology theme was interesting and well done. For just one four-year-old, I think Great Wolf is probably a better choice. The lobby was somewhat hectic with the number of people filing in and out, restaurants, shops, carts filled with souvenirs for sale, and a long line at the guest registration desk. Kalahari is absolutely immense! Camelbacks Aquatopia resort opened their indoor water park in May of 2015. Otherwise, it far exceeded our expectations and we will definitely be choosing Kalahari over Great Wolf for many years to come. I actually have a hard time believing that the square footage of the park is larger than the water park @ Great Wolf Lodge. Kalahari features a number of signature sit-down restaurants (Sortinos Italian Kitchen (Italian food), B-Lux Grill & Bar (Burgers & Shakes), Double Cut (Steakhouse). Book now and prepare your pack for adventure. It was, however, small. I felt the prices were reasonable for this type of American Pub food. Staff always pleasant and friendly!FOOD - There is food available in the waterpark in addition to a steakhouse and Italian restaurant. (GWL = Great Wolf Lodge & K = Kalahari). But be prepared to spend.it comes with the territory! 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. Life jackets are not required but are available as well as puddle jumpers. We stayed @ Great Wolf Lodge on a Tuesday night and then Kalahari on Wednesday night of the same week. Management thanks you for your suggestions and for noting how well-trained our associates are! The clothing line in the bathroom was broken and the bed covers had an unpleasant smell. When we were last at Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos we did not stay in a themed suite. It is the smallest of the 3 indoor water parks in the Poconos, Pennsylvania. As the kids went ahead, employee Jeremy helped to take bags upstairs. 2) With COVID still hanging around and the holidays right around the corner it seemed to be prudent. Lately we have been hitting the snack bar (Pizza Pub) down in the arcade for the burritos and then the store (Marrakesh Market) right at the edge of the lobby for some of the soups. 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. THERE ISNOADDITIONAL COST TO YOU if you buy something from Amazon! But the resort's smaller size makes it easier to keep an eye on the kids. There were a few things that we liked about the expansion. We have not yet patronized any of these establishments. Located below the main lobby is both the entrance to the water park and the arcade. Kalahari was definitely newer and nicer but also more expensive. Its really a question of what the individual family prefers, as far as water park size, features and resort amenities. And the staff was friendly. Camelbacks Aquatopiaseems to strike a particularly good balance for children in the 10 + age group. It is also carried through with the water park experience itself with some of the attractions incorporating the characters and /or lodge theme. If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241. The lobby at Aquatopia is more spacious than the lobby at Great Wolf Lodge but far smaller than the lobby at Kalahari. [2] In addition to a water park, each resort features restaurants, arcades, spas, and children's activities. Kids hearing is much more sensitive! Great Wolf Lodges water park is 80,000 square feet, but Kalaharis is over 220,000 square feet. Im guessing the youngest of your children voted for GWL? Hence our balcony seemed to be under ground and we were looking at a high retaining wall for a view. This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. They were methodical and intense, and I just didn't get that feeling with many of the lifeguard staff here. In our opinion, the splash park at Aquatopia was the weakest of the three. 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. 11 Best Small Towns to Visit in Central Upstate New York, https://www.theparenthoodadventures.com/waterpark-comparison-chart-kalahari-aquatopia-great-wolf-lodge/. The floors were full of paper, tissues, dirty towels, used dippers, used shampoo packets etc and there was no attendant in sight. 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 also has a wide variety of types of water slides drop slides, mat racer, raft slides, etc. There are a lot of food choices @ Kalahari of which we have only sampled a few. (Activities vary by location). This past visit however was somewhat disappointing. The kids really enjoyed the cabin themed suite which was adorned with a lot of cute character images. Unfortunately, the kids loaded up on an assortment of dessert and we went back to the room to change back into our swimwear for a last hurrah in the water.Off the lobby there are also a sweets shop, bakery, and ice cream shop, with what appears to be a nice selection of goodies.The next morning, the kids wanted to get in a few hours at the waterpark before our 11:00 checkout. Once again, the food was mediocre at best. 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. We do love both! While the hallways of rooms may still be a bit long, its not as vast as Kalahari. I found the photos pleasing to look at and relaxing! Kalahari Resorts water park has more of everything and also includes a Flowrider, which is popular with older kids and teens. The outdoor small kids area with slides was a nice addition to the park however my daughter who is 53" tall was not allowed to go on them. Waterpark admission included with your stay! On our previous visit a couple of years ago we felt the place was showing some wear and tear. Several hot tubs, twice the amount of slides as Great Wolf Lodge, and something for all ages. Only 2 of our bracelets worked, but we were able to get around that on more than one occasion. I will be sure to pass your kind words along to Kassi, David, Robin, and Amanda! Kalahari even has a five bedroom suite that can have a maximum of 22 guests. Great Wolf Lodge Poconos is a staple in the region. The front desk staff was extremely professional, friendly and helpful. We compared various aspects of the resort and water parks to help you determine which resort is the best for your family. Thanks for your review! Kalahari still boasts plenty of kiddie water slides, but it also has more thrilling slides for older children. The IVORY COAST restaurant had a great selection of food and we thoroughly enjoyed doing takeout from there. Water park access was included. Both resorts also have onsite dining that continues the decor. Note: There is no Flowrider / surfing simulator attraction at the Poconos location for Great Wolf Lodge. Both seemed to make a small room work a little better and not feel as small as it actually was. Kalahari Resort vs. Great Wolf Lodge. Most of the time we were at Aquatopia we ate FROM Trails End Pub & Grille. Family Fun at its best. bellyrubbah1 2 yr. ago Cool. So I guess you just dont need it that much. Has a fun magic quest as an additional . Thank you, again. more. We stayed from Tuesday through Thursday during July. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. However, if our kids were younger, Great Wolf Lodge would be more manageable due to its smaller size and its mascots that appeal to younger kids. Check there and compare prices with their website to find the lowest prices for your stay. We have never patronized the restaurant as it does seem expensive. Check with the resort to confirm which activities are offered during the winter. Kalahari was the cheapest on Friday evening - but the most expensive during the week & the second most expensive on Saturday evening. Fortunately we only live about 2 hours away. 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. Kalahari . Expect to spend money on food, games, etc. Kalahari Resort also has an adult spa and fitness center plus live music entertainment at the steak house and piano bar. In the center right past the check-in area there is a large animatronic display where the nightly bedtime story (The Forest Friends Show) takes place. Apart from those issues, I appreciate the detailed comparison. I went back into our pictures and corrected the post with the actual picture of the Great Wolf Lodge bathroom. Kalahari vs Great Wolf Lodge is often a topic debated by indoor water park visitors. The larger of the two play areas also includes a splash table for babies. Just about everything seemed to be swimming in butter or oil, including the overcooked/overheated vegetables. It seems that there are parts of the water park that are only staffed at peak attendance. Kassie R, Social Media Coordinator at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Poconos, responded to this review. Just a small thing that can be easily rectified. It had a pretty good selection of desserts and chocolates. Nothing? This is probably a reflection of the fact that Kalahari is really a convention center first & foremost and the water park is just one of the many amenities they offer albeit a big one! Coming Soon: Great Wolf Lodge in Webster! Great Wolf Lodge has a woodland creature and forest theme, while Kalahari has an African theme. I would like to further discuss the details of your stay. . This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. Advice: you can't come to a place like this and complain about how much things cost. Not quite as good as the one @ Kalahari but better than you will find at Great Wolf Lodge. This old-school hot dog shack across from Penn Treaty Park mostly caters to truckers, hence its early-morning hours. People who got there after her were served well before her. We may also participate in other affiliate programs from time-to-time and be compensated for referring traffic & business to these companies. The balcony/patio was laughable. The NACHOS did not disappoint. Kalahari has the most toddler slides by far when comparing the three resorts. Whereas, the roofline @ Great Wolf Lodge is blocky. When you leave make sure to return the towels and swipe the wrist band again or you will be charged for the towels. The entire Kalahari Resort is enormous. Although our room was not yet ready (official check-in is at 4:00), we received our bracelets to use the waterpark downstairs and we were advised that we could store our luggage in an adjacent locked storage area. 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. Hours: Depending on the day, the indoor water park is open from 9am to 9pm or 10am to 8pm. Camelback is unique in that it has both an INDOOR water park (Aquatopia, which is open year-round) and a separate OUTDOOR water park (Camelbeach) that is only open for the summer season. Great Wolf Lodge's water park is 80,000 square feet, but Kalahari's is over 220,000 square feet. Tiffany, Im so glad you found the post helpful. We recently visited Camelback Mountain Resorts waterpark Aquatopia (November 24th, 2021). Please see our partners for more details. It is hard to believe that Aquatopia/Camelback would actually be charging extra for the balcony /patios at this level! The overnight costs for both of these resorts can vary widely throughout the year. We stored our bags with the assistance of bell staff and we went downstairs to check out the facilities.We had to go through a large (and very noisy) arcade to get to the turnstiles to the waterpark. You could definitely capture everything this place has to offer in 2-3 days. It is especially better for younger kids ones who dont want or need a life jacket! The suite had an interesting layout, but who could enjoy it when you were struggling not to vomit. Great Wolf Lodge Pocono Mountains packs in all the family fun under one roof. The splash park or toddler area of the water park was rather small. Kalahari has the largest indoorwater park of the 3, and is the largestresortlocated in the Poconos. After learning about the aspects of both of these resort, which one will your family choose? It was unpleasant to see and to step on. See All Waterpark Features Waterpark (and more!) This was one of the few exceptions! It seems, for obvious safety reasons, that a toddler area would be better located on the lowest level of the water park. Aquatopia offers a great selection of activities for tweens & younger teens, both inside & outside! If you're not up and about a 4:30 a.m., though, you can still get a. The room was nice and clean but nothing particularly memorable. However, there were at least 6 employees assisting at the registration desk and the line moved relatively quickly. Let's talk about the Royal Hospitality Suite at Kalahari Pocono. The sound system is rather poor and the performance is rather loud. What are you waiting for? One of the other simple theming aspects we enjoyed were the 2 Great Wolf Lodge video book stories playing on the resort TV channel. Great Wolf Lodge was nearly as inexpensive during the week as Aquatopia ($249 vs $238), and the cheapest on Saturday night. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. We visited Kalahari in the Pocono Mountains for a last minute trip with our two girls, ages 8 and 9. Thank you for taking the time to comment! The kids do enjoy the characters and overall lodge experience. Still it was a frustrating experience that cast a pallor over our time and experience there. We joke that we lost Sophie our 2 year old for 5 minutes in the immense suite! Most times I find that the pictures or decorations in a motel/hotel really dont add anything to the experience. There was also only one sink in the room (as well as only one bathroom which had only a standard sized tub). It was HORRIBLE! 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. The room was clean and a good size and the 4 of us had enough room to spread out, with one person taking the full-size, pullout sofa bed. Its a tough call. So the water park is what we usually focus on. We did the empirical research so you dont have to! If you can't afford it, don't bother making the trip. There were not lights on both sides of the queen beds which made night-time reading hard for the person on the side with no light. 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. Advice: you can't come to a place like this and complain about how much things cost. The setting for them seems nicer, and they seem more elaborate than the ropes course offered @ Great Wolf Lodge. For our 6 and 8 year olds who have never been to an indoor waterpark, were doing GWL first and will get to the others later. So we decided to check it out and see how things had changed. Towel check-out is something new since our last visit. We LOVED IT!More. Kalahari has one indoor and one outdoor area - both are huge (Kalahari's is one of the largest indoors in the US). From our experience after visiting Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari & Camelbacks Aquatopia indoor water parks in the Poconos we felt that: Check out our comprehensive comparison chart of these three indoor water park resorts here: Waterpark Comparison Chart: Kalahari, Aquatopia & Great Wolf Lodge. Kalahari has a lot of complaints on Google about 2+ hour check in times and no housekeeping. Imagine what it takes to run this place?!? Tom Foolerys also has a mirror maze, escape rooms, indoor ropes course, laser tag, rock climbing wall, XD dark ride and bowling. They were definitely present - but not blowing their whistle when it was needed and didn't seem as focused. Great Wolf Resorts told KPRC in a statement, Were always looking for opportunities to introduce the Great Wolf Lodge resort experience to new audiences, and we are excited about the prospect of bringing one of our family-friendly indoor water park resorts to southeastern Texas.. Although the room was designated for up to 6 people it felt like we were on top of each other at times. I've been on trip advisor for years, but have never felt the need to leave a review until now. Use Great Wolf Lodge for what it is really good at and skip the rest! CHECK IN/ROOM - We checked in with Kassi atWe visited Kalahari in the Pocono Mountains for a last minute trip with our two girls, ages 8 and 9. We appreciate it! Kalahari seems to have a bit more of a selection when it comes to very large rooms. 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. Advice: you can't come to a place like this and complain about how much things cost. Although I am admittedly not a big fan of buffets, we figured it would be easy for everyone to find something they liked. Great Wolf Lodgeis the best for younger kids because it has the most charm and does a better job of theme ing with its characters throughout the entire experience (lodging, dining & water park) compared to either Aquatopia or Kalahari. My sister, who was also staying at this resort had the African Queen suite and there was PLENTY of room for all of us if they would have moved us. Various restaurants, childrens amenities and retail establishments will also be included in the new development. There are a number of other activities available at the lodge. If you are looking for more of a balance between kid activities and adult luxuries Kalahari has a wider range of offerings that will appeal to both adults and children. Wisconsin Dells, WI https://www.greatwolf.com/wisconsin-dells Other than the water park & arcade our family hasnt really tried out any other ones. We have patronized several of these places, if not all and the kids highly recommend them! With Kalahari Careers, you become part of our dedicated team at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions. Both resorts are well-themed throughout the resort rooms and the water parks. The short of it about the same as Great Wolf Lodge and FAR less than Kalahari! We stayed in the Desert room which was sufficient in size for 2 adults and 2 small kids. We love knowing that our attractions were fun for both the children and adults in your family! A general view of the Great Wolf Lodge in Fort Mackenzie. Admission: Rates start at $277 a night for a standard four-person room. As I mentioned above, we can engage in many of the other activities closer to our home. Tom Foolery's Adventure Park provides hours of playtime, with 80,000 square feet of interactive rides and attractions. I would request a higher floor again because the 2nd floor gets all of the foot traffic as that is the lobby floor and the waterpark and arcade are on the lower 1st floor.Take a minute to just look around and notice the dcor, architecture, and design. Thats an AMAZING 425,000 square feet of indoor water parks in a very small geographical area!! I' m not concerned about price, can get a deal. I'm going to breakdown each part of the resort that we visited and give you the key points: We didn't hear a peep after 10pm and slept soundly. I will note as a previous reviewer did that Great Wolf Lodge had SPECTACULAR lifeguards. Keep reading our Poconos water park guide & comparison to find out! Been at least six years ago. I actually made the kids wear earplugs (as did I) to go to this! Weve stayed at GWL Williamsburg and Kalahari in the Poconos. B-Lux also features 12 lanes of state-of-the-art Brunswick bowling. I asked everyone in the family if we are going back down to the Poconos and staying at one of the resorts tomorrow night where would you want to stay? 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. Our 2-year-old who would have nothing to do with a life jacket was able to play in the toddler splash park and wave pool as long as Melani or I was right with her. Old Windmill Farm is located at 262 Paradise Lane in Ronks, Pennsylvania. Thankfully, we didnt have a 2+ hour line to check-in. Winner: Kalahari Resort (especially for older kids and teens). Overall, my family prefers Kalahari Resort. WEBSTER, Texas Texas is set to add another Great Wolf Lodge location to its ranks. Both resorts also have bunk bed suites with small alcoves just for the kids. Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine has one adults-only hot tub. It had its own TV and was adorned with a lot of cute character images. Life-size animal statues adorn the outside. Thank you to the staff we mentioned for really making sure our stay was the best it possibly could be! Ask erikas213 about Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Poconos, Ask PinkHibiscus32 about Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Poconos, Ask lljPa about Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Poconos, Royal hospitality suite not royal not hospitable, Ask kelismom14 about Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Poconos, Ask mcapellan78 about Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Poconos, Ask Pamela C about Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Poconos. 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! This is an exciting place for kids to be with lots of fun things to do from arcade games galore to a huge indoor water park. The wave pool alternates between wave / no wave cycles. Friendly, accommodating, informative.we were very happy with the initial interaction.

Why Did Pakicetus Go Extinct, Hoag Hospital Hernia Surgeons, Richard Rogers Mary Kay Wife, Articles K