great wolf lodge - water park

We planned a quick family getaway to Great Wolf Lodge mainly because of snow fatigue. An indoor waterpark seemed the perfect solution to the problem. It sort of was but once was probably enough. We lucked out with a great parking spot close to the Lodge entrance. Free parking. Very enjoyable double-sided, massive fireplace in the lobby.We waited about 30 minutes to get to the check-in desk staffed by about 4 clerks in a line that was only about 5 families deep. We did take advantage of online check-in so when we hit the check-in desk, we got our wolf ears, wrist bands, and Lodge info packet in 5 minutes and were at the bank of 4 elevators. We tried to get a room upgrade, but were unsuccessful. If you have a standard room, as we did, you might need to endure very noisy, loud neighbors. The noise level of the adults and children in our area was so distinct and distracting that we thought there were people standing by our room door. Upon further investigation, we discovered we could hear the people next door, clear as a bell, through the door that adjoined our rooms. The noise was not conducive to restful sleep. "Hibernation hours" are supposed to be from 11pm - 7 am. Apparently many people felt those hours were only loose guidelines. Many children running up and down the hall on the second floor and slamming doors that shook our room, not fun. Our room appeared to be clean and comfortable. The Lodge has made great efforts to be green. Of note, there were not enough outlets in the room, especially by the bed or table. There was one outlet by each wall light fixture making charging and device use by three people challenging, We had a lovely view of the top of a low roof so we got to gaze out our window and see snow-covered mechanical units. The television was small for the room, a 32-inch. The channels were not HD which made the tv picture look even smaller. The fridge was a decent size but the temperature was turned way down when we got to the room, which we did not realize immediately. We brought a good supply of drinks and snacks. There was also a microwave and coffee maker in the room. The thermostat seemed to have a mind of its own, making it difficult to regulate the temperature in the room. It appeared that the filter area under the thermostat might have had something to do with it. It was gross. (pictured) There were vending machines and an ice machine on the floor. The wrist band was the key to the room, which was very convenient. The waterpark itself is fairly small, separated into two sides. Nice wave pool (Slap Tail Pond), lazy river (Crooked Creek), wading pools, and water/speed slides (Howlin' Tornado and River Canyon Run, etc) and Geronimo tubes (Wolf Tail). The lifeguards were great, very attentive. We did not witness a Timmy Test. Our 14-year-old had a blast with all the water park things to do. One issue for us in the water parks area was the lack of clocks. There was one clock on each side, and they were not easily seen from most places in the water park, which made meeting and planning a bit challenging when you were in the water and did not have a cell phone or watch. Many activities are for younger kids, which was not applicable to us. We got to the waterpark when it opened, at 9am. By 930, there was not a table or chair to be had. There are only four "cabanas". When we were at the Lodge, they were $179/day. The towel bins stayed well stocked and more often than not, the towels were still warm when we got them. We enjoyed dinner at The Lodge Wood Fire Grill. My wife has several food allergies. Without hesitation, the chef, Jonathan, came to our table and worked out a custom, satisfying meal that my wife enjoyed thoroughly. My son and I enjoyed the "Asian inspired" buffet. The buffet ran about $19 each. The restaurant did have gluten free options for meals. We also splurged and bought the "Tipping Bucket", a huge container full of vanilla soft serve ice cream topped with fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles, gummy worms, chocolate chip cookies, oreos, brownies, and cherries. It fed the three of us without a problem...the best $14 splurge in a while! For people with food allergies, there are limited options at The Lodge. There was a DD on site, more often than not, with a very long, slow-moving line. I could not get a latte at Dunkin Donuts because this location does not have the almond milk that is advertised in their commercials. There was absolutely no signage indicating that this DD location did not carry the almond milk option. At one of the sweet shops, they had vegan options but no gluten free bakery options. Very disappointing. The water park and ropes course admissions were included in the price of the room. Most other activities required an additional cost. The ropes course was located in the area that included the rides for the younger kids. The mini-golf and bowling alleys were also in that area. The arcade area was full of games geared for younger kids with a few skill games for older kids.The Great Wolf Lodge would do well to figure out how to streamline the check-in process so that minimal time is wasted upon arrival. How about a separate check-in line for the guests who used online check-in?? A small fitness room held a treadmill with a snowy tv picture, two ellipticals with tvs that would not turn on, and a recumbent bike with a tv that worked perfectly. There was also an upper body workout station and a leg press. There were plenty of planned activities for younger kids besides the water park, too many to mention. The Great Wolf Lodge was a good enough short getaway for us this time but it was probably the only time. Younger kids would love it.

As someone who reads (and writes!) reviews, I definitely take seriously travelers comments. Most of the previous comments with great wolf held true…yes, the check-in is a complete zoo. If you are patient and prepared for the insanity you will be fine! Don’t plan to get a room before 4:00! If you do, well congratulations! My sister wasn’t even assigned her room until 4:45! They don’t seem to be in any rush to get you upstairs. Because GWL is new, it’s pretty clean. We were in room 240 which was spotless, and had a great little “balcony” overlooking the check-in area. The entire hotel is quite noisy, so if you are a light sleeper be prepared to bring your white noise machine or ear plugs! We ate at the lodge for breakfast and dinner and the food was very, very good! It’s a bit pricey, but apparently if you reserve in advance they give you a discount off your meal. Also in terms of booking, definitely reserve your room in advance! The prices seem to go up each week that you wait. There didn’t seem to be any last minute deals. I have a toddler who is 16 months, and there was definitely plenty of areas suitable for a little guy. I would say 16 months was as small as I would have brought him (the babies definitely need to be walking, not crawling to enjoy the park). My son had an absolute blast, so GWL was totally worth all the chaos. There is a fun “dance party” for the kids at 6:30, and they also have character meet and greets for the kids, which were all little bonuses I wasn’t expecting. Yes, the pools do occasionally get shut down for “cleaning,” um, it’s a waterpark people! But I found the staff to be quite quick to respond and open the attraction as soon as possible when the cleaning is finished. Overall, I recommend great wolf. It’s a nice addition to the area and another choice for family entertainment.

I knew we were in for it when I couldn't find a parking spot on a Sunday. We figured we would take the kids on Sunday and have them miss school on Monday because it would be less crowded. WRONG! It was a hour in a snaking line to check in. The good part about waiting so long was the room was ready so we could change in the room. After going past an arcade there are two distinct parts--each with a kiddie section. The lazy river is tiny--At first I though it must be kiddie one. There were no towels on the way in. After my kids did some of the slides we headed over to the other side and past the towels which again had none. This side had more tables and seemed less crowded. I quickly figured out why. There had been an "accident" in the wave pool--The one part of the complex I was interested in. I asked and was told it was down until the filter cycled. I then asked how long and was told "I don't know--maybe a half hour?" I went back for towels and NO TOWELS! My kids went to do some other slides and I waited and waited and waited. THREE HOURS later it opened. By that time I had changed my clothes and I just didn't have the heart to put my clothes back on. I never saw a manager. When I asked about the towels I was told "They know about it!" The poor lifeguards had to constantly tell the idiots why they couldn't go in. Apparently the guests who see a gigantic empty pool in a water park and don't realize there is a problem is the type who dominate here. We didn't have a dinner reservation and the options are limited so we went off site for dinner. After coming back my daughter was climbing into be and yelled "ouch" as she pulls out a toenail left by another guest. We had not been in the room other that to change clothes. That did it--I was done. I didn't even want to go back in the water in the morning. When I checked out the girl behind the desk asked If I had fun and I said "not really," fully expecting her to ask why. Nope just a Have a nice day. Overall I was disappointed by everything I encountered. I remember watching Undercover Boss and there was a episode about GWL. I was really excited for the stay especially for my kids. All they said on the way home was "I like Disney better."

We arrived on a Thursday night, checked in and called it a night. We requested that our family (3 rooms, for 3 families) be put in the same general area. One family was put on another floor and since they had unpacked already, they declined to move. The room (257) was clean and pretty quiet, better than when we had stayed when it was a Coco Key attraction. My son had a really great time playing Magiquest and the ropes course was fun. The water park was decent, though trying to find a place to put your things / find a seat was a bit of an issue. The Lodge restaurant was buffet only and the food was pretty good (Jane was a lovely server :)) but I really think that they could improve it by putting the condiments in another area. The line would bog up with people just serving themselves syrup and ketchup at breakfast. The line for Dunkin Donuts was crazy long, so you might consider bringing your own breakfast in order to save the lines and the $14.00 (Lodge) buffet charge. Lunch pizza at Hungry as a Wolf was good. All in all a nice trip. My comment about the 75%...when the place is at 75% occupancy it was good, at 100% it's probably a little to crowded for my liking.

wow thank goodness for the great wolf in pennsylvania because this one in mass just seems still like a coco keys.i wont return here.waterparks are split in 2.having to wait on elevators is too much.the servers at dunkin donuts seems not customer friendly when serving.We froze in our room at night but the manager was very kind and understanding and adjusted out bill for our stay which was mar.6th 2015 on 6th floor.this place just doesnt have the great wolf atmosphere as the one in pennsylvania and ive been at that one over 10 times and i love it.but i hear theyre doing more renovations at the mass one especially the eating area and choices WOW terrible compared to penn.needless to say i wont return to the mass and it took me three hours to get there and it was the worst experience at the wolf i ever had.thanks

The room was just ok, kept in theme with the rugged lodge idea. The bed was nothing special, bordering on poor. The shops were ok, but the usual. The pool areas were great with the exception of the extreme smell of chlorine. I get it, health regulations, safety, but being inside and air temp kept so warm, there seemed to be no ventilation. The kids had a great time in the pools and in the end that is what mattered. The add one is why I gave such a low rating. You pay a lot per night, which includes the water park but nothing else. You get upgraded to death here. For what I paid, vs. what I saw available, vs. what I got for my money, very disappointed. First and last time to this attraction.

Too many water parks are obnoxiously loud and just plain nasty. This one was refreshingly different. There were 6 different water slides, a small lazy river, a nice size wave pool, a cute toddler area(good size too), a basketball/obstacle area, and an indoor/outdoor hot tub that they let you take your beverage into!

The good: When you drive up the hill to the hotel you are greeted with a 30 foot tall stone wolf sculpture, and a rustic looking awning to park under. Drive through the awning and park around the corner in 15 minute parking to unload. The lobby is bustling with people. Remember, this isn't just a hotel, this is a destination. People are walking to and from the water park in various states of dress. The lobby is initially overwhelming, with a giant fireplace, a large animatronic display, and several shops. The room was clean(ish). The rest of the hotel was immaculate. There are several eating establishments including a pizza place, a buffet, a hot dog/fries place, a couple of bars, and most importantly a Dunkin Donuts. The water was clean, the towels were plentiful, and the lines were short during our stay. Activities for our two kids (2 years, and 5 months) include story times, face painting, balloons, 3 animatronic shows, the water park, ropes course, minigolf, video arcade, a few kiddie rides (dime store horse stuff), coloring, games, character visits, and a magic quest adventure game that enables you to go around the whole hotel on a quest (didn't do it but it looked like the kids were having fun). If you are in the section with the big bucket of water that dumps, there is a hidden hot tub in the far left back corner. Great for warming up if you are cold. The one thing I want to emphasize most of all is the life guards. They work with seemingly military focus. They do not chit chat, are not on iphones, are not napping in a chair somewhere. The are walking back and forth along the pool, scanning up and down, all the corners and along the sides. Even if you ask them a question, they continue scanning while answering the question. Even during shift change, they don't stop and talk but double scan while doing the swap. We saw a drill involving a child dummy where a supervisor tossed the dummy in the water and watched the guards reaction. Apparently every life guard does these drills ever few days. I felt very safe having my 2 year old at this resort. The bad: Most of "the bad" are pet peeves and should not be seen as reasons not to go, just something to be aware of. The food is, for the most part, typical resort food, overpriced and poor quality. The pizza on the poster in the elevator bears no resemblance of the mass produced pizza that took 35 minutes to cook. Fries were soggy and cold. I can see during a busier season that waits would skyrocket. There were not enough floats on the lazy river. The pool chlorine is a bit overwhelming, but understandable given its an indoor heated pool with a high volume of people. I loved the large bucket of water that dumped 200 gallons every 5 minutes, but it deluged the area beneath with little warning, including steps. Not a problem for most adults, but there were a few times I saw little kids knocked down, and being on stairs it was a bit concerning. The animatronic shows were at 10am, 8pm and 9pm. Huge gap in between, and not very frequent. I would consider having an additional 2-3 shows during the day.Sure, it might drive the lobby staff crazy, but that might encourage them to produce a second or third original show as well. The whole place was nearly immaculately clean. Our room was clean for the most part, but we found two toys under our bed, and we had to move the couch to block a window and there was a lot of dirty, sand, and trash under it. The reason we had to move the couch was that there was a chain on a fold out window that was broken, allowing the window to open nearly flat. With our curious and active two year old, he was constantly trying to open it. Luckily, the engineering department came and fixed it with something you could tow an airplane with. Much better than the original flimsy chain. So in conclusion, it was hardly a relaxing vacation, but what do you expect when you have two little children. But it was fun, and there were plenty of activities for all ages. The few suggestions are: Increase the number of animatronic shows (and consider producing a couple more), increase the quality of food, and add staff to the restaurants during peak times if possible.

I was ready to write my second ever bad review, but after speaking with the Management staff I will reserve my full review for my next visit.The staff, although young, were surprisingly helpful and engaging (all but 3 of them that I encountered were in their teens or early twenty's)It was their presence and work that allowed me to consider a second visit - that and a deep discount given to me due to my poor experience.Never before have I visited any location with this many "kids" and felt that they actually liked and cared about their jobs. As for the problems... most of them occurred because of the place being at maximum capacity. I planned a midweek visit, but unfortunately I picked the wrong mid-week. School vacations were in full swing for the neighboring state, and just about 1/2 of them decided to visit. Apparently, being fairly new, the hotel/park had not anticipated the volume of people and are still working out some training and plans to address these situations.The problems I encountered included; being told I could not park near the main entrance/lobby area, room not being ready timely, no luggage cart available, restaurant seating availability, passes for attraction not being made available timely, and more.Most of these issues were mostly due high guest numbers in conjunction with a lack of experience from the young employees. The layout, with the four way intersection at the park area caused much grief. Walking down the hallway to go from the Arcade to the game/rope course area, you have to walk past the two pool areas. The problems occur from kids opening the door from one pool area ad running to get to the other pool area directly across the hall. In doing so they were dripping water on the floor, (which created slippery conditions) and bumping into dry guests. This is a very poor design and there is little that can be done to change it.The second layout problem. In order to get to the pools or game area, you MUST walk through the arcade. I get they did this because they want kids to beg for money to play. However, the walkway is only 6 feet wide, with arcade game on both sides of the walkway. Not only would other guest be standing playing their games, but friends watching, and other groups just gathering, as kids do, would completely block the path.The third problem that effected my family and most others, were the elevators. SLOOOOOW! With four elevators, you would think there would be no problems for a 6 floor hotel. You'd be wrong. The second part of this is how they operated. Unlike most places, when the elevator is going up, say from floor 1 to floor 5, if a guest on floor 3 pushes the "down" button, the up going elevator would stop. Why does an elevator going up stop to let on a guest going down? This was not just a once or twice thing, or kids goofing around. Most guest realized they had to ask, before they got on, to find out which way the elevator was going.But with all the "grown-up" problems, the kids still had a great time.I did bring my concerns (there were many more that I have not address in this review) with the front desk. Not only did I receive a small discount on my current stay, I was promised to receive a substantial discount for a future stay.Having many friends and family who have stayed here without issues and because of my conversations with the front desk, I am willing to give it another try. But I will be more aware of, and will ask about any school vacations, before I book. Helpful hint: make sure you find out if your room is in the game room area. Some guest may prefer this area, but it is LOUD and is open from 9am -9pm. With a bowling lanes, mini-amusement rides, rope course and mini golf, kids are always around making noise.Certainly not a place to have a room if you need quiet time for young ones to sleep.

My family had an awesome time at Great Wolf! We went to celebrate my daughter's and nephew's birthdays, there were 14 of us and we stayed 1 night (Feb 22nd) . My children are age 5 and 18 months and they were well occupied. As my title says...definitely check-in online before you arrive. I believe you're able to check-in online a week in advance through midnight the day before you're arrival. We saved probably an hour (if not more) of waiting in line. All the staff that we dealt with during our stay were very pleasant and helpful. We were all amazed at how attentive the life-guard staff were too. They would walk up and down the many pool areas making their checks and you could tell they were alert and aware. I felt comfortable with that.The hotel rooms were extremely clean and smelled nice and the beds were very comfortable. I also loved having the mini-fridge and microwave in the room...all hotels should do that! I didn't give my review 5-stars because there were a couple of cons, in my opinion anyway. The temperature in the pool area got chilly at times, definitely not 84 degrees. It could have been due to the weather being so cold outside, however, the heat should have been turned up a little. Also, there is an area that everyone must walk through to go between the 2 water play areas, I would highly recommend having heaters blowing warm air in the hallway!! Even though it's a very short walk, it's still very cold, especially for the little ones. Another con - The parking was limited and not convienent. You can start using the pool area at 1pm and rooms are available at 4pm, that means you (or in my case, my husband) have to walk all the way back to your car to get your luggage once the room is ready. Not convienent if you parked in one of the very last spots available. Valet parking would be wonderful!!Overall, I would highly recommend staying a night or maybe two at Great Wolf. It may be on the expensive side, but worth splurging at least once, because the kids will love it!

Visited GWL on a Saturday/Sunday/Monday in February during one of the many snow storms in Massachusetts this year. We thought the kids might enjoy after visiting Red Jacket Resort in North Conway, NH two years ago. This is a remodel of a CoCo Key Water Park Resort and not a perfect match to other Great Wolf Lodges in the US. Unfortunately, our kids (now 10 yr old boy and 12 yr old girl) were too old for the park activities now. We brought along another 12 yr old (girl) and stayed in a standard room - two queen beds and a pull out twin sofa bed. Having two tween girls made the park even less age-appropriate.We arrived Saturday around 2 (hotel check-in earliest is 4 PM) so the kids changed in the bathrooms and we lugged their clothes/boots around. The park was at capacity and a snowstorm kept us locked in the resort during the weekend. Reception was attentive, friendly and helpful. Staff in general were all very nice and helpful. (A staff helped me clean off my car of 6 inches of snow on Monday morning.)You wear wrist bands to denote being a hotel guest, and some bands can be activated for guest room entry and as a credit card for use on the property. After checking in at registration, we waited till we received notice that our room was ready. While the kids were swimming, we hung out at the Lodge bar/restaurant. Had a burger and some soup, and the place was not too crowded (2 PM) so the server let us sit there nursing our drinks and food while waiting for check-in. Dunkin Donut - only place for breakfast besides the breakfast buffet. DD opens at 6:30 and the line can snake 20-30 long. Not the fastest service I have seen at a DD, but they offer everything - sandwiches. Get in early, as a cup of coffee is only available here.Arcade - huge array of games. Our kids spent $75 for 2 hours and ended up with a handful of candy. But at least they enjoyed it, but we didn't allow them to repeat this the 2nd day of our stay. Just seemed a waste. We bought our son one of those Magi Quest wands - $30 and he enjoyed that for a couple of hours - running around waving the wand and doing the hunt. What a racket - probably makes more money for the resort than the hotel given the low resources need. Be careful, or you can rack up some major charges buying all the accoutrements to the wand - holster, hat, cape, outfit, fancy wand.Overall, the kids were bored - the water park attractions are more for the under 9 year crowd. Not much else to do for older kids, and definitely little to do for the parents. Most were sitting in the lobby on their tablets or cell phones nursing their coffee. Also, book early - save 25% in our hotel fees when compared to late bookings.

We just visited Great Wolf Lodge, the rides were great! Staff was friendly. The lodge was clean and nice, but the wait times were ridiculous for the food. They advertise a nice restaurant but they just served a buffet the kid at the reservation desk lied and told me they only served the menu at lunch, when I tried to make a reservation! We waited 45 minutes at the other sit down restaurant for a burger and mac and cheese! We only got waited on then because the people we sat with were so annoyed they made the manager come over and wait on us! plus it is near a back entrance where people come in and out constantly, so you sit there and freeze! Also they offer a great menu online but when you get to the restaurant they apologize and hand you a menu with 4 things on it and tell you they are too busy so only a limited menu. Next day over 1 hour wait for breakfast and the line for Dunkin Donuts was LONG.... So really cuts into your time at the park and attractions. I could not believe they make you check in after 4pm and out at 11am which is fine because you can still use the park but no hair dryers of any kind in the bathroom, so plan to leave in the middle of winter with wet hair! I think they could use more staff and definitely improve on their eating places by offering what you what they advertise not a limited menu. Having said that if they concentrated on their OVERNIGHT GUESTS, instead of the outside parties (they rent out the pool areas with the table and chairs for kids birthdays, also the conference room at night, so don't plan on having a place for your family to sit and eat near the pool. The relaxing hot tub, is filled with rowdy kids and not relaxing at all! The one thing the kids really liked with the magic wands and playing the magic quest games, also the rope park was a big hit... If not for being over crowed and the food issues I would have given it 4-5 stars. I recommend checking out area places to eat or order food to be delivered, or bring your own and save yourself the issues there is a microwave and fridge in the room! The place is fairly new so I hope they improve with time...

Great Wolf Lodge New England is in the middle of nothing. Other than the Lodge itself (which is definitely overpriced) there is nothing else to do in the area. Winter has skiing at Wachusett Mtn. a few miles down the road, but that is all. The Fitchburg area is not exactly geared towards tourists. I found the lifeguards to be very young (alot of high school students), It is definitely an improvement over Coco Key. Overall it was okay, the rooms were clean, the food was good (service was slow). We just expected more because of the Great Wolf brand.

The new waterpark with wave pool and slides was great! We ventured over to the other side and was disappointed to see it was left the exact way Coco Keys had it and I was never impressed with it. Something about the overwhelming smell of ketchup and chlorine makes me nauseous.The rooms were clean and functional, and the many attractions were a bonus to have at night. We especially enjoyed the climbing wires. Food was good but the service was slow. Most importantly, the kids had a blast!

I just got back from my second visit at the Great Wolf Lodge New England. After having a great experience my first time there last July, I was disappointed this time around. For starters we never had hot water for our showers, the water was luke warm at best. In the middle of winter that is not ok with me. On our second day there we were given a note from the staff stating that the heat was not working in any of the rooms but the water park was fine. They did have this fixed by evening, but again, when it's the middle of winter and you want to go to your room to warm up its not ok. On the day we arrived we decided to eat first before going to the water park. Since we had been before, we knew the food was good at the Wood Fire Lodge and decided to go there. We sat down and were handed a menu with 3 entrees on it and a few salads to choose from. We asked where the full menu was and the waitress told us that because it's such a busy week they can't keep up with all of the food between the Lodge and the buffet and it was taking too long to get food out to people. On top of that the wait to get Dunkin Donuts in the morning was about 30 minutes. Clearly they were under staffed and don't know how to handle things during busy times when schools are on breaks. I will also add that while eating at the Lodge or waiting in line at Dunkin Donuts you better wear your winter coat, hats, and gloves as they are located about 40 feet from the entry way. Every time the doors open, which is frequently, you feel a huge gush of the freezing cold. On a positive note, everything was very clean, there was lots of entertainment for the kids, and the pizza was delicious. I would definitely not go back again during a busy time of year or during the winter, but I would give it a try again in the summer.