There was one dedicated dessert/pastry kiosk located off the main lobby nestled in there with the souvenir shop. The larger of the two play areas also includes a splash table for babies. 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. Expect to spend money on food, games, etc. There was a microwave and mini-fridge in the room, which came in handy. My husband was brave enough to continue exploring as I sat out on the ground level patio. I will be sure to pass your kind words along to Kassi, David, Robin, and Amanda! As a native New Yorker, a bit of grit and grime doesn't scare me. Two of the biggest and best (and among the industry's early pioneers) are in the water park capital of the world, Wisconsin Dells: Kalahari at 125,000 square feet and Chula Vista at 110,000 square feet . CHECK IN/ROOM - We checked in with Kassi at We visited Kalahari in the Pocono Mountains for a last minute trip with our two girls, ages 8 and 9. Both are reasonable attempts at having a meal on the healthier side. This was terrific we will likely do all three spaced out over a few years, but this absolutely helped us figure out what order to go in. 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. That sounds good. Well manicured and landscaped lawns.We arrived in the main lobby on Sunday 7/2 a little after 1:00 p.m. A report from KSAT sister station KPRC states that the indoor water park will break ground in 2022 in the city of Webster, just south of Houston. We really liked the 2 water falls that were present on the lazy river. So if you are looking for a martini, you will have to hit one of the restaurants. According to the contract, the family resort and water park will feature at least 400,000 square feet of lodging and entertainment space and the indoor water park will be at least 75,000 square feet. If you have visited all three waterparks in the Poconos please let us know which one YOU liked best! It was nicely decorated and efficiently arranged. Your goal is our goal. There is also a cafe (Cafe & Bar) and a restaurant (Horizons) located right off the main lobby. On our previous visit a couple of years ago we felt the place was showing some wear and tear. Great Wolf Lodge vs Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Indeed Both resorts have also utilized Groupon for deals. Just about everything seemed to be swimming in butter or oil, including the overcooked/overheated vegetables. Kalahari is newer and more efficiently run. Both waterparks are easily accessible from the lobby, and the dining and shops are also centered around there. Kalahari Resort vs. Great Wolf Lodge - Miles For Family 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. The ladies bathroom and changing area looked tike a war zone! Kalahari Resort, positioned in Spherical Rock, Texas, is analogous in some ways to Nice Wolf Lodge. TripAdvisor review of Great Wolf Lodge Poconos, TripAdvisor review of Kalahari Resort Poconos, Booking.com review of Great Wolf Lodge Poconos, MommyNearest Great Wolf Lodge vs Kalahari vs Camelback. I will say we were on the 7th floor..and it was perfectly quiet. Texas is getting another huge indoor water park, reports say - KSAT He was open to questions about the place and even offered a few suggestions. Great Wolf Resorts (formerly known as Great Wolf Lodge) is a chain of indoor water parks. bellyrubbah1 2 yr. ago Cool. We did not rent any of the cabanas that were located throughout. Located in America's Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown, it was Great Wolf Resorts' first East Coast location. kalahari waterpark passes - tidningen.svenskkirurgi.se Its really a question of what the individual family prefers, as far as water park size, features and resort amenities. It had its own TV and was adorned with a lot of cute character images. Many of the activities are located right on the main level off to the left of the main lobby so they are very visible. Its a tough call. You can also see the water park from the windows on this side and from the Cafe & Bar. Friendly, accommodating, informative.we were very happy with the initial interaction. Check there and compare prices with their website to find the lowest prices for your stay. Im not sure if it something that they created or if it has its origins someplace else. One of the other simple theming aspects we enjoyed were the 2 Great Wolf Lodge video book stories playing on the resort TV channel. 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! Recently, my family visited Kalahari Resort for the first time. 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. The wave pool alternates between wave / no wave cycles. Seriously, I'm not being dramatic. Kalahari Resort Market Cost The overnight costs for both of these resorts can vary widely throughout the year. Naturally, the hotel offers an indoor water park, plus character meet-and-greet experiences, live entertainment, an arcade, ropes course, bowling alley, mini-golf course and spas (one for kids and one for adults). We changed in the bathroom/changing areas, located a storage locker (for a fee), and found a table. We had no problem finding a table and chairs to rest our towels and use for eating later. She has reported on several high-profile stories during her career at KSAT and specializes in trending news and things to do around Texas and San Antonio. Lifejackets available, large amount of seating and tables!ARCADE - Another huge area! Best Water Parks in the Northeast For Families (By Age!) Try getting on the email lists of both of these resorts to learn about the discounts they offer throughout the year. kalahari waterpark passesmr patel neurosurgeon cardiff 27 februari, 2023 . Copyright 2022 by KSAT - All rights reserved. The IVORY COAST restaurant had a great selection of food and we thoroughly enjoyed doing takeout from there. Both resorts have normal hotel rooms as well as themed rooms. Kalahari is newer and more efficiently run. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. They did a fabulous job with the design of this place. 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 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. Hello! All three resorts are really good choices for water park fun with a family. Kalahari Resort has a huge upcharge for the one type of themed room. We feature kid-friendly activities, a range of dining options, interactive games, an adult-friendly wine down service, and more all under one roof. This seems to be an archaeology /exploration theme that they incorporate to water park. The Great Wolf Lodge resort in the Poconos was constructed in 2005 - and is one of roughly 19 locations for the chain. 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 Lodges water park continues their wildlife theme. I love Great Wolf Lodge, but the water park is a little more for younger kids, while Kalahari is more for the older kids. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review. The hostesses and the servers were professional and pleasant. Each lane allows for up to six bowlers at a time. CLICK HERE TO VIEW VARIOUS CREDIT CARDS AND AVAILABLE SIGN-UP BONUSES, New Private Luxury Facility Coming to DFW, Virgin Atlantic Makes it Official and More, March Transfer Bonuses: Marriott, Avianca, Virgin Red, Royal Caribbean Quietly Reduces Housekeeping to Once per Day, Hyatt Announces 2023 Hotel Category Changes, Easy: Changing AAdvantage Award flight via Twitter DM. The distance from the lobby to our room was an extremely long haul for her. BoardingArea - Kalahari Resort vs. Great Wolf Lodge | Facebook It seems, for obvious safety reasons, that a toddler area would be better located on the lowest level of the water park. This was one of the few exceptions! We visited Kalahari in the Pocono Mountains for a last minute trip with our two girls, ages 8 and 9. Comparison between Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge water park As I mentioned earlier with 4 kids ranging in age from 2 10 we are not very often dining in @ a restaurant. 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. Both seemed to make a small room work a little better and not feel as small as it actually was. 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. Yes, there were some healthy options just not a very good variety. They looped continuously so they are readily accessible at any time. The closet was pretty small, and the bathroom was almost as small (with the sink located next to the fridge); however, those were relatively minor inconveniences.We went to Great Karoo Buffet around 5-5:30 and was relieved to see that it wasn't that crowded. 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. Great Wolf Lodge: Outdoor ropes courses seasonal. Our suite @ Kalahari was HUGE! 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. Gaylord Texan Resort and Spa vs Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine - Trippy Although the room was designated for up to 6 people it felt like we were on top of each other at times. 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. Kalahari is absolutely immense! 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. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. This time we were on the third floor and had a balcony. [3] Great Wolf Resorts is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. 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. We may also participate in other affiliate programs from time-to-time and be compensated for referring traffic & business to these companies. Try getting on the email lists of both of these resorts to learn about the discounts they offer throughout the year. What are you waiting for? Our balcony overlooked a very lightly used service road and then there was an unobstructed view of the forested mountain side. We didn't hear a peep after 10pm and slept soundly. The resort recently completed a huge expansion that added 130,000 sq feet of conference facilities to the 100,000 sq feet of existing facilities. 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. Copyright 2023 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. We have been to the Williamsburg Virginia location where there was one but there is not one @ the Poconos location. If there are any older children in your party, around 10 years and older, then they may not appreciate the kiddie theming that runs through Great Wolf Lodge. Kalahari Resort has an African safari theme. We stayed in the Desert room which was sufficient in size for 2 adults and 2 small kids. Yes My oldest daughter and wife voted for Kalahari. There are 2 lazy river type rides, the wave pool is immense, there are 2 hot tubs that are partly inside the building AND partly outside of the building with a narrow channel to traverse back and forth. Note: There is no Flowrider / surfing simulator attraction at the Poconos location for Great Wolf Lodge. Great Wolf Lodge has an especially fun indoor water park and the "under one roof" makes the stay warm and easy. We also liked some of the efficiency features of the room. If I was ever to get a weekend alone with my wife we would go to Kalahari since there are more amenities and it is not so kid-centric. Definitely two thumbs up for the adults area at Kalahari! Aquatopia at Camelback Lodge in Pennsylvania is 125,000 square feet. Can I ask how the service levels compared at the two as well as the food? The sound system is rather poor and the performance is rather loud. Most of the time we were at Aquatopia we ate FROM Trails End Pub & Grille. The rides for the kids are great, it is an entired water playground for toddlers with amazing water slides! The entire Kalahari Resort is enormous. The best Wisconsin Dells waterpark for you and your crew - OnMilwaukee 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. 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. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Thank you to the staff we mentioned for really making sure our stay was the best it possibly could be! THERE ISNOADDITIONAL COST TO YOU if you buy something from Amazon! Imagine what it takes to run this place?!? To the credit of one observant & kind employee he noticed the exceedingly poor service my wife had received and apologized to her later in the day when he saw her. Thanks for your review! When I called, the charge was removed & the service rep was polite enough but, apparently Aquatopia/Camelback fully expects there to be a parking fee added to every invoice! The food was overpriced but tasty. Thankfully, we didnt have a 2+ hour line to check-in. From the accommodation standpoint it was a much more memorable stay! 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? EXPECT IT and you will have a great time. GWL isnt fast either, but 2+ hours to pay triple the price wouldnt work either. Aquatopiais somewhere right in-between Kalahari & Great Wolf Lodge by almost every measure! Kids jumping in and out, the areas are not guarded by staffsame problem as Great Wolf. Tiffany, Im so glad you found the post helpful. How does the resort compare to Great Wolf Lodge? I hope you and your family have a wonderful stay! You can use the water park at 1pm on the day of check in until close on the day you leave. (Basically a jumpy seat for adults.) Within 45 minutes of our arrival, I received a text message that our room was ready, but no one was ready to take a break.Warning: You cannot bring outside food into the waterpark so if you want something to eat, you have to purchase food inside. We did really like the lazy river at Aquatopia. Kalahari activities and attractions differ with each location. I found the photos pleasing to look at and relaxing! It smelled like an overcrowded SPCA. Snow tubing in PA requires no special skills or equipment and is appropriate for almost everyone. Advice: you can't come to a place like this and complain about how much things cost. Location: 3001 Kalahari Blvd. We didn't expect gourmet food at a waterpark, but the nachos were so tasteless that my 12-year old pushed them aside and asked for a chicken finger. Kalahariis the biggest of the 3 and has a wider range of offerings that will appeal to both adults & children. It is a wonderful family vacation spot that offers a lot of adventure & nature! Kalahari has a lot of complaints on Google about 2+ hour check in times and no housekeeping. The wave pool was on par with that at Great Wolf Lodge. The resort's mammoth 80,000-square-foot indoor waterpark has nine waterslides, six pools, and a four-story treehouse waterfort and utilizes nearly 380,000 gallons of water.Beyond the massive indoor waterpark, Great Wolf Lodge offers families daily activities and amenities on the dry side. A microwave and refrigerator are also included. The 3 "kids" (ages 12-20) and I were impressed with the front of the resort. We are still having a debate on what it actually was. Kalahari vs Great wolf lodge - Wisconsin Dells Forum The short of it about the same as Great Wolf Lodge and FAR less than Kalahari! 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. We love knowing that our attractions were fun for both the children and adults in your family! It is always wonderful to receive complements on our dcor as we want our guests to have as authentic an experience as possible. but also read water is cold. Hopefully you can keep returning and finding even more ways to have fun with us as the kids grow. However, having fewer food venue choices and adult amenities limits your stay to a very kid-centric experience. Kalahari even has a five bedroom suite that can have a maximum of 22 guests. CamelBack (Aquatopia) has 453 rooms and there are 6 floors (above ground) to the lodge. We ordered a burrito, nachos grande, chicken fingers, fries and onion rings from a predictable and acceptable selection of menu items. It is so fun for my children (12 & 4 years old) and for adults too!! They also enjoyed the Wiley & Friends video stories that you can find on one of the dedicated TV channels. I have read other reviews where people did not enjoy the balcony but we did. Rooms are bigger and have fun themes. Kalahari I feel would be better for the adults to have fun as well. The Poconos location has 401 rooms and each wing of the lodge has 4 floors. The suite had an interesting layout, but who could enjoy it when you were struggling not to vomit. See our Advertiser Disclosure and Editorial Notehere. It is especially better for younger kids ones who dont want or need a life jacket! This was because: 1) We are a family of 6 and eating out is not usually relaxing or enjoyable! [2] In addition to a water park, each resort features restaurants, arcades, spas, and children's activities. Burger and fries for $12, other sandwiches $12-$15.not excessive. 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. Two of my kids are begging to go back to Kalahari. It's the easiest way to hit the slopes! The farm is back a lane, and Lindt Chocolate Factory Outlet is located at 40 Logistics Drive in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 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!. Both resorts also have bunk bed suites with small alcoves just for the kids. This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. DreamWorks Water Park - East Rutherford, New Jersey. Thank you very much for your comment. There are currently 4 locations for the chain with the Poconos location being its largest facility. Great Wolf Lodge vs. Kalahari: Which Is Best For Families For just one four-year-old, I think Great Wolf is probably a better choice. Report inappropriate content msmejkal chicago Kalahari vs. Great Wolf - WE HAVE A WINNER!! - Tripadvisor Snow Tubing in the Poconos | PA Resorts, Info & Conditions There are a lot of food choices @ Kalahari of which we have only sampled a few. It is also something that Kalahari does well . And with new locations in Arizona and Illinois, Great Wolf Lodges are becoming easier to reach wherever . WEBSTER, Texas Texas is set to add another Great Wolf Lodge location to its ranks. All six Pocono ski resorts have snowtubing hills. Great Wolf Lodge boasts tons of activities sure to put a smile on your children's faces. It is hard to believe that Aquatopia/Camelback would actually be charging extra for the balcony /patios at this level! So the water park is what we usually focus on. All three resorts are located very close to each other in the Poconos. Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari & Camelbacks Aquatopia resort are all located in the Poconos and are VERY close to each other! We also only stayed one night, so Im not sure how often housekeeping visits. Kalaharis waterpark is the largest at 220,000 square feet & Camelbacks Aquatopia indoor waterpark is right in the middle at 125,000 square feet. Answer 1 of 6: We want to take my son ( just turned 4) to either Kalahari or Great wolf lodge. The lobby at Aquatopia is more spacious than the lobby at Great Wolf Lodge but far smaller than the lobby at Kalahari. Here's Where You Should Eat Hot Dogs in Philadelphia Embarrassing that I never realized it was the same picture! Take care! The toddler splash park area is very big at Kalahari with a lot of water-table type attractions and activities for the little ones.