I went back into our pictures and corrected the post with the actual picture of the Great Wolf Lodge bathroom. Come splash around! Kalahari features a number of signature sit-down restaurants (Sortinos Italian Kitchen (Italian food), B-Lux Grill & Bar (Burgers & Shakes), Double Cut (Steakhouse). The distance from the lobby to our room was an extremely long haul for her. 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! Great Wolf Lodge has a woodland creature and forest theme, while Kalahari has an African theme. I'm going to breakdown each part of the resort that we visited and give you the key points: Has a fun magic quest as an additional . Both resorts have normal hotel rooms as well as themed rooms. Great Wolf Lodge also has activities that vary with the timing of your stay. 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. The water park @ Aquatopia was nice. A general view of the Great Wolf Lodge in Fort Mackenzie. Here's Where You Should Eat Hot Dogs in Philadelphia It is always wonderful to receive complements on our dcor as we want our guests to have as authentic an experience as possible. Poconos Waterpark Comparison Guide: Kalahari versus Aquatopia & Great The Ultimate Guide to Great Wolf Lodge Locations in the US There is a huge fireplace towards the back of the lobby that is adjacent to a huge window that overlooks the water park. Apart from those issues, I appreciate the detailed comparison. During our long walk to the room (the opposite end of the facility), he was VERY professional, engaging and helpful. In November 2020, a competitor to GWL opened in Texas. Learn how your comment data is processed. Kalahari has a better reputation locally. However, it was not a perfect experience in that the air conditioner vented right out onto the one end of the balcony. The suite had an interesting layout, but who could enjoy it when you were struggling not to vomit. (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. (Basically a jumpy seat for adults.) We also enjoyed the balcony. But, my kids are little fish who love swimming, and they cant get enough of this type of resort. Chip Williamson All Rights Reserved. Hence our balcony seemed to be under ground and we were looking at a high retaining wall for a view. Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari & Camelbacks Aquatopia resort are all located in the Poconos and are VERY close to each other! Well manicured and landscaped lawns.We arrived in the main lobby on Sunday 7/2 a little after 1:00 p.m. The total cost for the night would have been $415.10. Another note worth mentioning the bathtubs @ Kalahari are huge! We feature kid-friendly activities, a range of dining options, interactive games, an adult-friendly wine down service, and more all under one roof. But be prepared to spend.it comes with the territory! We have been to both resorts in the past but thought it would be fun to do a back-to-back comparison. That sounds good. 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. It had its own TV and was adorned with a lot of cute character images. We have been to the Williamsburg Virginia location where there was one but there is not one @ the Poconos location. To read more aboutHOW TO GET THE BEST DEAL& aPRICE COMPARISONof ALL THREE POCONOS WATERPARK RESORTS check out my NEW post:Poconos Waterparks: How to Get the Best Deals at Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari & Aquatopia! All six Pocono ski resorts have snowtubing hills. Wisconsin Dells, WI https://www.greatwolf.com/wisconsin-dells 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. Both resorts have huge water parks that include a wave pool, lazy river, splash areas and of course water slides. It is also carried through with the water park experience itself with some of the attractions incorporating the characters and /or lodge theme. It seems that there are parts of the water park that are only staffed at peak attendance. We have not yet patronized any of these establishments. Aquatopiais somewhere right in-between Kalahari & Great Wolf Lodge by almost every measure! Welcome to Great Wolf Lodge! 11 Best Small Towns to Visit in Central Upstate New York, https://www.theparenthoodadventures.com/waterpark-comparison-chart-kalahari-aquatopia-great-wolf-lodge/. DreamWorks Water Park - East Rutherford, New Jersey. The photos were nature themed and glossy. I hope you and your family have a wonderful stay! Let me start by saying that we have visited the Great Wolf Lodge location in Fitchburg, MA on 2 separate occasions and had enjoyable visits each time. (assuming same accommodations we had for this past trip) and this is how they all answered. Yes it is HUGE but it is also laid out well and serves as a destination itself within the resort. See All Waterpark Features Waterpark (and more!) But we generally dont patronize too many sit down restaurants with 4 kids with ages ranging from 2-10. Better selection of local foods near Great Wolf. The smell permeated EVERYTHING to the point of needing to open the door to air it out. When we go to one of the three water parks in the Poconos we are usually going for water park & swimming fun so other activities are not our primary focus. GWL has excellent sales. Since we are usually there for just one night we resign ourselves to it being a pizza for dinner night. Use Great Wolf Lodge for what it is really good at and skip the rest! Magic wands are needed for this game, and there is a fee to activate them for a certain period of time. You could definitely capture everything this place has to offer in 2-3 days. Sincerely, Chip. That said, I wouldnt pay triple the price for Kalahari. Great Wolf Lodges water park continues their wildlife theme. Our Dallas, TX resort offers an 80,000-square-foot indoor water park and exciting land attractions for the entire family. . On a subsequent trip (after COVID) we also visited Camelbacks Aquatopia. Great Wolf Lodge's water park is 80,000 square feet, but Kalahari's is over 220,000 square feet. It's located in the Rockvale Outlets Fox Meadows Creamery has two locations, one in Ephrata, Pennsylvania and one in Leola, Pennsylvania. Water park temperatures at all three Poconos water parks is the same @ 84 degrees, year-round. Right away we were looking for and expecting a wonderful customer service experience, and Kalahari did not disappoint. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. It is also something that Kalahari does well . Sincerely, 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. Take care! 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? However, we felt $26 for chicken parm was a little steep. If you can't afford it, don't bother making the trip. Great Wolf Lodge vs Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Indeed Ax throwing, ropes course, zip line, off-road Segway tours through the forest & switchback UTV tour. Its a tough call. Great Wolf Lodge Poconos Water Park Toddler Play. Otherwise, she and the others had a very good time.Kalahari was worth the trip. Keep reading our Poconos water park guide & comparison to find out! We really liked the 2 water falls that were present on the lazy river. I'm displeased to hear of the strange odor in your room and that we were not able to correct this situation while you were staying with us. One of Melani and my pet peeves with regards to hotel accommodations is when there is only one night stand for a queen bed. Water park access was included. Swim Up BARS - An absolutely genius idea! 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 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. but also read water is cold. Life jackets are not required but are available as well as puddle jumpers. Great Wolf Lodge has more traditional tube, body slides, and a bowl slide. Here's our overall review.Right away we were looking for and expecting a wonderful customer service experience, and Kalahari did not disappoint. I will say we were on the 7th floor..and it was perfectly quiet. Sitemap, Revealed: The US Airports & Airlines With The Most Frequent Flight Delays, The Ultimate Guide to Kalahari Resort Locations in the US, The Ultimate Guide to Six Flags Locations in the US, Palm Springs Family Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting With Kids, Seattle Family Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting with Kids, Las Vegas Family Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting with Kids, Florida Keys Family Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting with Kids, Myrtle Beach Family Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting with Kids, The Bahamas Family Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting with Kids. Kalahari activities and attractions differ with each location. Kalahari also has a wide variety of types of water slides drop slides, mat racer, raft slides, etc. 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. The cabin was towards the front of the room and was semi-private for the kids. We like archaeology and the lost river archaeology theme was interesting and well done. The first thing that struck me the most was how dirty and unsanitary the waterpark was compared to before. Kalahari even has a five bedroom suite that can have a maximum of 22 guests. 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. Reservations are strongly recommended. Both are great options for kids. Kalahari is a better choice for families with adolescents and teens, while Great Wolf Lodge is perfect for elementary-age children. Inspired parents sharing the joys & adventures of the parenthood journey! The food was overpriced but tasty. For the price I would expect better service. One of the other simple theming aspects we enjoyed were the 2 Great Wolf Lodge video book stories playing on the resort TV channel. The drive was almost exactly 100 miles for us and we arrived a few minutes after 1:00 pm. There was one dedicated dessert/pastry kiosk located off the main lobby nestled in there with the souvenir shop. In addition to the arcade, there are six amusement park rides, including the Screamn Centipede roller coaster with 360-degree rotating cart. 2 of themone outside by the immense outdoor pool and one heated one inside. Great Wolf Lodge is one of the very best things to do in Dallas Great Wolf Lodge has a woodland creature and forest theme, while Kalahari has an African theme. On our previous visit a couple of years ago we felt the place was showing some wear and tear. Kalahari vs Great Wolf Lodge Poconos Comparison - YouTube Finally, we did have a rather poor experience one morning ordering from the Cafe & Bar (AKA, Mountain Market, World Bazaar Coffee Shop). Thank you! The Poconos and Williamsburg Virginia location both have a small indoor wave pool. All three resorts are located very close to each other in the Poconos. This was one of the few exceptions! Have you been to both Great Wolf Lodge and Kalahari Resort? We may also participate in other affiliate programs from time-to-time and be compensated for referring traffic & business to these companies. Kalahari Resort, located in Round Rock, Texas, is similar in many ways to Great Wolf Lodge. Snow Tubing in the Poconos | PA Resorts, Info & Conditions Hey, thanks for the great reviews! Yes there were two night stands on either side of the bed in the master suite. Generally we are there for some water park fun and that is what Great Wolf Lodge does best so that is where we spend the majority of our time. Book now and prepare your pack for adventure. While the hallways of rooms may still be a bit long, its not as vast as Kalahari. 111 Things to Do in the Adirondacks & Upstate New York! Each lane allows for up to six bowlers at a time. Right away we were looking for and expecting a wonderful customer service experience, and Kalahari did not disappoint. Throughout the day those areas were also closed several times for about 15 min at a time for cleaning since the kids were pooping and vomiting in the water. We liked the luggage rack near the door and the shelf over the microwave. So we decided to check it out and see how things had changed. Water park access was included. Kalahari Resort has Tom Foolerys, a gigantic indoor adventure park. Please email me directly at PAConnect@kalahariresorts.com. Here is a quick breakdown of the outdoor activities offered at each resort: Kalahari: Monkey climb ropes course, zip lines and mini golf. Robert, The larger of the two play areas also includes a splash table for babies. Kalahari I feel would be better for the adults to have fun as well. This is probably the one area that Aquatopia beats both Great Wolf Lodge & Kalahari. We appreciate it! Looking up to the roofline Aquatopia does feel more open and expansive since it is more of a sweeping semi-circle in shape. They looped continuously so they are readily accessible at any time. Right away we were looking for and expecting a wonderful customer service experience, and Kalahari did not disappoint. Hello, Erika! Annapolis Area Doulas | Kalahari Resorts vs. Great Wolf Lodge That was almost inedible. We went for the Italian the second night and the food was again wonderful. A 14-inch pie was 8 slices, 2 toppings $21. We can engage in many of the other activities closer to our home (and probably at less expense). My husband was brave enough to continue exploring as I sat out on the ground level patio. Staff always pleasant and friendly!FOOD - There is food available in the waterpark in addition to a steakhouse and Italian restaurant. Kalahari has the largest indoorwater park of the 3, and is the largestresortlocated in the Poconos. 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. I have read other reviews where people did not enjoy the balcony but we did. We visited Kalahari in the Pocono Mountains for a last minute trip with our two girls, ages 8 and 9. 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). It has a transparent Texlon roof that lets in natural sunlight while providing protection against the suns harmful UV rays. Then to get to the lower level you have to take the stairs. Recently, my family visited Kalahari Resort for the first time. Speaking of loud There is usually a dance party in the evening which we found to be extremely loud! To the left of the lobby is almost exclusively devoted to games and activities for kids really tweens & teens. 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. 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! Great wolf is closer to shopping. Another Wisconsin Dells question - Great Wolf vs. Kalahari vs Admission: Rates start at $277 a night for a standard four-person room. 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. Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine is a great way to go for a weekend getaway. Winner: Kalahari Resort (especially for older kids and teens). Kassie R, Social Media Coordinator at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Poconos, responded to this review. Aquatopia made an effort to do some theme-ing with the Kartrite Quest /Adventures but this really only covers the water park and the activities for kids to the left of the lobby. Note: There is no Flowrider / surfing simulator attraction at the Poconos location for Great Wolf Lodge. My household has loved a handful of stays on the water park lodge Nice Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas (and one go to to the GWL in Southern California). 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. Im guessing the youngest of your children voted for GWL? Kalahari is newer and more efficiently run. There are currently 4 locations for the chain with the Poconos location being its largest facility. 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. 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? Socks are required in order to bowl. It was HORRIBLE! We did really like the lazy river at Aquatopia. This time we were on the third floor and had a balcony. We have never patronized the restaurant as it does seem expensive. included with your stay Waterpark Admission Waterpark admission is always free when you stay with us. 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. Great Wolf Lodge is smaller than Kalahari. Copyright 2023 The Parenthood Adventures! The lobby is ringed by various shops and the floor has wonderful decorative murals inlaid in the marble (Im sure these are probably decals??). We had a cabin themed room for this stay (KidCabin Suite) and the kids enjoyed it more than I had expected! It was unpleasant to see and to step on. It is hard to believe that Aquatopia/Camelback would actually be charging extra for the balcony /patios at this level! It can be more expensive but it's a better place to relax and see your kids enjoying without having to worry too much. Kalahariis the biggest of the 3 and has a wider range of offerings that will appeal to both adults & children. We usually ordered and brought the food to our room. Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine, Grapevine - Updated 2023 Prices - Booking.com Whereas, the roofline @ Great Wolf Lodge is blocky. Its Manageable Size Is Perfect for Younger Kids The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark It's true: Kalahari is the biggest indoor water park in the country and Camelback has almost 50,000 square feet on Kartrite. And the staff was friendly. It is a smaller resort, with plenty of employees who are prepared to work with young children. Kalahari Resort also has an adult spa and fitness center plus live music entertainment at the steak house and piano bar. Texas Location | Kalahari Resorts - Welcome to Kalahari | Kalahari Resorts Towel check-out is something new since our last visit. One of Kalahari's Kiddie Areas We compared various aspects of the resort and water parks to help you determine which resort is the best for your family. Its really a question of what the individual family prefers, as far as water park size, features and resort amenities. My husband and I especially like the adults-only area at Kalahari, and we dont miss the late-night stomping of kids in the hallways playing MagiQuest at Great Wolf Lodge (if you know, you know). Chip, I am planning to go to waterpark with three kids, so I really enjoyed all details! Gaylord Texan Resort and Spa vs Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine - Trippy 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. We stayed from Tuesday through Thursday during July. We didn't hear a peep after 10pm and slept soundly. Great Wolf Lodge has an especially fun indoor water park and the "under one roof" makes the stay warm and easy. Great Wolf Lodge is known for their MagiQuest game.