Great Wolf Lodge Pocono Mountains, Pa
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Pool
Kiddie/Wading Pool
Additional Play Areas
In House Restaurant
Sitting Area
Air Conditioning
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5 Reviews for Great Wolf Lodge Pocono Mountains, PA
125
49
'10, '11, '12
0 families found this helpful
"FUN for everyone but not relaxing!"
This is one of those vacations where the kids and parents usually have slightly different views. The kids LOVED it and can’t wait to go back. To quote my daughter “This is the best place you’ve ever taken us, except maybe Disney World!” Us parents? Well, we’re exhausted. I need time to recoup before I think about scheduling another vacation.
Room Accommodations:
There is a variety of room options available ranging from a standard hotel room to a two floor suite and all come with a refrigerator and microwave. We stayed in a Wolf Den Suite which featured a queen bed, a sleeper sofa, and a separate “den” with a set of bunk beds for the kids to sleep. They also had their own TV. The only downside of this is that I have 3 kids and it only slept 2. On the second night we swapped the kids around so they each had a turn staying in the “den” and they were happy with this arrangement.
The room was spacious enough for the 5 of us, clean and comfortable. There was a small balcony with two chairs if you wanted to step outside for some fresh mountain air. I liked having the refrigerator and there was a large counter space if you were bringing along some kitchen items and a table with 2 chairs to sit at. (I recommend taking advantage of the fridge and microwave….a bottle of water from the vending machine will set you back $3 and food is a bit pricey)
One of the best features is that the room is keyless. You are provided with a wristband during check in and this also acts as your room key. (you can set up in room charging via your wrist band as well). You have the option to have the kid’s wrist bands be keys or not, we chose to and my kids loved that they could get into the room by themselves. This feature really comes in handy when you are roaming around the lodge and enjoying the water park and you don’t have to worry about where to put your room key.
My only complaint (and it is a BIG complaint) is the noise level. When I come back to my room I want to relax and at night I want to sleep. There are kids running and screaming in the hallways at all hours of the day and night. You can hear the kids above you bouncing around and jumping. On our first night I had to poke my head into the hallway at 11:30 at night and ask the kids to stop running relay races and making so much noise. Even my kids commented on how loud it was and how they had trouble sleeping. “Hibernation” hours are from 11pm until 7am but I don’t find that they were enforced. With as much excitement that occurs in the lodge I think there should be signs in the halls of the guest rooms marking it as a quiet zone as a reminder to guests to turn down the volume and excitement. I could also do without the speakers in the hallway piping in music and announcements.
Food:
There are a few food options on site but they will all cost you. It is definitely about the convenience of eating on site in the lodge. You may want to consider stocking your room fridge or checking out your room directory where they have listings of area restaurants. We found a few restaurants literally down the road just a few minutes.
Our first night we ate in the Loose Moose Cottage which is a buffet. My kids loved the selections they offered and my picky eater middle child declared “this is the best buffet I’ve ever been to in my life”. They offered everything from soup and salad to peel your own shrimp and mussels, to pizza and chicken fingers, to gourmet cheeses, a pasta bar and other hot selections and desserts galore. Everyone could find something they would enjoy. But our bill came to $97 for 5 of us. My husband and I much prefer to order exactly what we want and will eat than over pay for a buffet where we feel we don’t get our money’s worth because we don’t eat a fraction of what is offered.
There is a Pizza Hut Express, a Starbucks, a snack counter with grab-and-go options as well as another pizza restaurant all on site. Inside the water park is a fast food place and a bar.
Activities:
There are many activities on site other than the water park and when you check in you will get a listing. My suggestion to you is take advantage of the free ones because the others will cost you. During our stay there was a magic show (which my kids enjoyed), a DJ, cookie decorating, and bingo. Things that are always offered are a Wolf Walk, story time, and the clock tower show. One of my favorite things is that they offer a pajama story time in front of the fireplace in the lobby every night. It gets crowded in there but I think it is cute, simple, homey fun. My kids loved that they were allowed to wear their jammies.
On site is the Cub Club. They offer different activities throughout the day, some are free and some come with a fee. Check out what they have to offer if you’d like to come out of the water park and dry off for a bit! There is also an arcade, a mini bowling alley, a kid spa and an adult spa.
A big draw around the resort is MagiQuest. I was so proud of my kids for never once asking if they could do this! I thought for sure they would, almost every other kid in the resort is running around with a wand. When I popped into the MagiQuest shop to scope it out I discovered it was a minimum of $37 to play. That was with the basic wand. If you kids wanted to pick out a fancier wand the price went up from there. I did appreciate the sales guy, he answered all of my questions, noticed I came in without the kids and said that was a good thing so they didn’t start asking for everything and when I asked him if we could play as a team he said that is what they suggest. (I was fully prepared for him to try to upsell me on everything) I may have considered caving but by the time I inquired about MagicQuest it was already late into our second day and I learned that it takes 4-6 hours to complete the quest. So, if you are considering this activity, look into it on day of check in so that you have time to complete it.
Water Park:
This is the highlight of the stay and the reason for most people’s visits. The indoor water park is opened daily from 9am – 9pm and offers up fun for everyone in your family. The best part is, check in isn’t until 4pm but you can arrive as early as 1pm to start using the water park. Same thing on check out day, you need to depart your room by 11am but you can stay in the water park until 9pm.
When I asked my kids what their favorite part of the water park was they all gave me a different water slide but one thing they all agreed on was the wave pool. We spent a lot of time floating on the waves! They loved the big “jungle gym” as they call it with the huge bucket that dumps water and several other water features as well.
There are 7 different water slides, some of which have height restrictions so be sure to check on that before getting on line. The lines for the 3 “bigger” and more thrilling slides could get long. For those of you with smaller ones, the water slides are fast and many have dark sections in the tunnels so if your kids aren’t big thrill seekers you may want to keep that in mind. They do have one slide dedicated to the 12 and under set that has an open tube and doesn’t have as steep of drops. We rode every water slide more than once and had a lot of fun on them.
I found the lifeguards to be very attentive of the water and attractions. They rotate positions frequently so there are fresh eyes on the water every so often. When people asked them questions they were helpful and friendly.
There are plenty of towels available for use in the water park but they must stay in the water park. You can bring your own towels if you wish. There are changing rooms and showers so if you are staying late on your day of departure you can change out of your wet clothes before heading home. Overall I found the water park area to be clean.
Overall Take:
If you are ready for the splurge, it is a great place to take the family. There is plenty to keep everyone occupied and happy and our family had a lot of fun. The kids give it a “two thumbs up” and think everyone should go. I just find the noise level throughout the resort, and especially in the rooms, a big turnoff. If you can cope with a lack of sleep for a night or two then put this on your list of places to visit.
Disclosure: Our family was provided a discounted rate for our stay to facilitate this review. I was not required to express a particular point of view and all opinions are mine and my family’s based on the experience of our stay.
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0 families found this helpful
"Full but Fun"
We visited Great Wolf Lodge with our 3 children. We choose 2 days during the week thinking this would make it a quieter time to visit, but apparently it was some sort of holiday for schools because it ended up being very full. The check in lines were extremely long, but once we got settled we did have a very nice time at the water park. The only complaint I have is that the chemicals in the air were very strong and made everyone's eyes burn. This lodge is not cheap, but is a fun splurge for a special occasion in the middle of winter!
0 families found this helpful
"GREAT Wolf.."
We took a family get away to great wolf lodge and had a wounderful time.. There is so much to do for everyone, and for every age! I would definitely recomend this resort! We plan on going back again very soon! this time we will be celebrating their birthdays!
2 families found this helpful
"Great Noisy, Active Fun For Families"
Great Wolf Lodge offers lots of noisy, active fun for families but it is very expensive with unremarkable food.
MagicQuest was the highlight of the trip for my pre-adolescent sons. With all of the kids excitedly running around the resort waving their wands, I have NO idea how a family can avoid participating in the game. It costs about $40 per kid to play, however, so we shared a wand and worked together as a "team" on all of the quests. The boys were pretty good about taking turns with the wand, and needing to work together brought us closer as a family.
The indoor water park was a blast for all of us and had rides/attractions for all ages and levels of "adventurousness". Try to deal with the slight chill of the water, though... it really feels warmer once you get wet and get moving.
Some other tips:
1) For a meal outside the resort, Pangea is a great bet. The Asian-fusion restaurant is 1/2 mile down the road on Rt. 611 (left out of the hotel). It has delicious, healthy offerings and - despite its upscale appearance and menu - has a full kids' menu with the typical hot dog, pasta, grilled cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets, etc. Ask for a table overlooking the landscaped outdoor courtyard and water feature.
2) Beware the twin beds! The thick, vinyl-encased mattresses were incredibly hot and uncomfortable for my kids to sleep on and the sheets kept coming off. Although we liked the novelty of the Kids Cabin suite, I'll be sure to get a suite without twin beds next time!
3) Ask for a room on the 4th floor! We didn't, and I can't tell you how loud it was when the kids upstairs jumped around... the banging even scared MY kids. Really... it's LOUD, so stay on the top floor!
4) We found the staff, overall to be helpful and friendly, but I was least pleased with the staff and lifeguards in the water park. Many did not greet us, smile or even make eye contact. Dealing with their "I'd rather be anywhere but here" attitude was an unpleasant part of an otherwise fun-filled water park experience.
5) Caricature drawings, hair braiding, and Build-A-Bear type stuffed animal making are other offerings the hotel has that I was unaware of before arriving. They are an additional cost, but contribute to the "resort-y" feel. If cost is an issue, be sure to take advantage of the free animatronics show in the lobby in the evenings and the free cookies in the lobby each day.
2 families found this helpful
"Booker, beware"
So we decided to splurge on a trip to GWL. After reading a mix of reviews on other travel sites and speaking with family members who had been to GWL in another location, we decided to move ahead with the trip.
I am so glad we purposely scheduled this outing for a 2 night stay.
The rooms were dirty when we arrived. We expressed concern about this and were told we could leave our bags at the check-in desk and we could check-in - again - two hours from now. I'm not sure about other folks out there but it takes 2 hours for me to clean MY ENTIRE HOUSE, not a hotel room. Further, our suite was pricey AND booked months before the trip. Why was it dirty? Management and staff made no apologies for this error on their part, NOR did they offer to reduce the amount of the stay due to the rooms not being occupied by our party for the first 1/2 of Day 1.
I expected the food to be a bit overpriced, so we packed various grocery items to prepare in our room. Thank all that is good in this world that we did - the food was so overpriced, I had visions of Disneyland dancing in my head!
Overall, we weren't really pleased with the stay. The staff was nearly absent to address our many room-related concerns, the souvenirs and (crappy) food were waaaay overpriced. We won't be visiting this hotel ever again.
Location.
Set in the heart of Scotrun, this resort is close to The Crossings
Premium Outlets and Camelback Ski Area. Another area attraction is
Mount Pocono.
Features.
Dining options at Great Wolf Lodge Pocono Mountains, PA include 4
restaurants and a bar/lounge. Room service is available.
Recreational amenities include 2 spa tubs. Also located on site are
an indoor pool, a seasonal outdoor pool, a children's pool, a
waterpark, and a fitness facility. The property's full service
health spa has body treatments and facials. This 3.0 star property
has a business center and offers audio visual equipment.
Complimentary wireless Internet access is available in public
areas. This Scotrun property has event space consisting of banquet
facilities and conference rooms. Guest parking is complimentary.
Additional property amenities include a coffee shop/café, a
children's club, and laundry facilities.
Guestrooms.
There are 401 guestrooms at Great Wolf Lodge Pocono Mountains, PA.
Guestrooms have balconies. Refrigerators, microwaves, and
coffee/tea makers are offered. Bathrooms feature complimentary
toiletries and hair dryers. In addition to complimentary wireless
Internet access, guestrooms offer phones, free local calls, and in
room safes. Televisions have cable channels, video game consoles,
and pay movies. Air conditioned rooms also include separate sitting
areas, sofa beds, electronic/magnetic keys, and irons/ironing
boards. Guests may request wake up calls. Cribs (infant beds) and
rollaway beds are available on request. Guestrooms are all non
smoking.
Check-In: 4 PM
Check-Out: 11 AM
Number of Rooms: 401
Number of Suites: 0
Recreational Facilities:
Pool
Kiddie Pool
Fitness Facility
Services:
In house Restaurant
In house Bar
Room Service
High Speed Internet
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