Great Wolf Lodge Wisconsin Dells

Good experience, but some small issues. We travel here about once a year. This year, we went over Memorial Weekend and it was BUSY. We had a pretty good experience, but will comment below on some things that could be improved. Check-in: Probably the worst part of the trip. It took us about an hour to go through check-in. Every computer was being used at the front desk so I'm not sure if their systems need to be upgraded or maybe things need to be streamlined a bit more. We have not experienced this during other trips here so it may have been a one-off thing. I am really glad we ate before we got in line. Room: We stayed in a Black Bear Condo - 2BR, 1 BA. Room was clean and spacious. It was bigger than expected and the kitchen was great. The kitchen was well stocked with plates, utensils, some pans, and cooking utensils. The frying pan should be replaced more often. We brought eggs, but did not cook them because the frying pan was nonstick and very scratched. The kitchen also had dish detergent (powder and liquid) and a dishwasher. I wish they would supply one roll of paper towels and a dish sponge. I would also recommend that you bring your own spray if you plan to cook. During our stay, we did request extra towels and dishwasher powder through Willow text messaging. That was easy to do and we got everything right away. Waterpark: We all had a great time. Lots of fun things to do. The non adult hot tub area definitely needs to be monitored more. Definitely over 18 people in there a lot. Appreciate the free life jackets. Activities: Kids loved the bingo and dance party. Also liked the coloring stations above the lobby. Kids loved the arcade and MagiQuest too. Misc: One other recommendation I would have is that we had a minor issue with our wristbands not working at the waterpark dining. I had to leave the waterpark to go to the front desk. People were checking in so I had to stand in line for 10 minutes. I wish they would offer a separate line for already checked in guests.

Go to the Wilderness instead After hours of driving after a funeral, we arrived at 5:15 PM—well after the 4:00 PM check-in time—only to be told our room was not yet ready. We were encouraged to visit the gift shop, arcade and use the water park while waiting. I declined stating we just spent hours in the car and wanted to get settled into the room and get to the water park as soon as possible as it would be closing in a little over two hours. After standing there for 15 minutes, the staff member said she had switched our room and housekeeping was just finishing up cleaning it. She assured me that if we parked near Door 2 and began unloading, we would receive a text with our room number by the time we were done (within 10 minutes). Hoping to quickly change and make the most of the short time remaining before the park closed at 8:00 PM, we parked by Door 2 and brought in all our luggage. At 5:45 PM, a staff member found us standing in the hallway and informed us the room still wasn’t ready due to a running toilet and non-functioning TV (not due to housekeeping cleaning the room). She stated we could use the water park and they would let us know when the room was ready. I expressed our need to get settled before heading to the park, especially since we have young children and didn’t want to return to our car late at night and she stated the hotel was sold out and she would see what they could do. Around 6:00 PM she returned and said they put us in a Kids Den Suite instead of the Deluxe Queen Suite we had reserved. While we appreciated the attempt to accommodate us, we booked the Deluxe Queen specifically to have our children nearby and visible from the main area and a television available for them to watch from the bed. The Den Suite was run down and did not meet those needs, but we took it as it was our only option. We trialed the bunk beds in a past stay at Great Wolf Lodge for the children and it was not ideal. Once at the water park, we were surprised to find the lazy river closed sometime before 7:25 PM, despite signage indicating an 8:00 PM closing. No explanation was provided when I directly asked—just a flat “it’s closed,” from two separate staff members which was frustrating. Later that evening after the water park closed, we ordered $64.30 in food from Hungry as a Wolf. When my partner picked up the order, several items were missing: the salad, its dressing, the ranch for the wings, and proper separation of the buffalo and dry rub wings (they were packed together, making them all have buffalo sauce on them which was too spicy for our children). Despite being told utensils would be included, none were provided, so I had to return in person. When I arrived, I found the salad sitting on a shelf behind the counter while two employees chatted and ignored me. I had to interrupt them to get their attention, at which point I was handed the missing items. I asked about the wings and was told to bring the original ones back to exchange them. I declined, as it was already our second trip here. They made new wings and then gave me Caesar dressing instead of ranch. Also, the pizza we received was burnt around the edges and barely edible—nothing like what was pictured. The kids took a few bites of the pizza from the middle and did not want anymore. The water park itself was nice, and we tried to make the most of it, but there were additional disappointments. Two slides were closed for maintenance, safety guidelines were not enforced including maximum occupancy rules, we witnessed a guest vaping inside the park with no intervention from staff, and many of the water areas were unattended by staff. At your other location we have been to, someone is usually stationed at the entrance of the water park checking bracelets and bags coming in, but there was not anyone ever present at this location. Anyone was able to walk right in. The following day, we ordered $61.86 worth of lunch from the snack bar. At 11:40 AM, I was notified that the food was ready, but when I arrived, the chicken nachos were missing. I was told they were waiting on the chicken, which could take 20 minutes. I was offered substitutions such as a souvenir cup or food costing the same amount, but none matched the price so I said I would wait. When the nachos finally arrived, both the cheese and meat were at best room temperature, not warm or hot. Additionally, one of the chicken tenders had a blackened portion, which upset my children and they refused to eat it. This was observed from the outside of the chicken tender so I am not sure why that just was not discarded and a new one made. We’ve stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee, IL, multiple times and have always had a positive experience. That’s why we confidently chose the Dells location over all of the other park options. However, the issues with our room, meal experiences, and overall lack of service quality left us disappointed. I responded to a survey with my dissatisfaction and received a response asking me to respond with my availability and I replied two separate weeks and still have not heard anything.

Horrible place to go Was the worst trip, I do not recommend. A week after my stay my card is being charged for random things. Towels are one that was supposed to be refunded $120 and the very next day they take out another $111, and I have to wait a week for someone to contact me when it didn’t take a week for them to take my money. It’s been nothing but a headache, I DO NOT RECCOMENT AND will never go back. They are saying it never took the money out my account but I have my bank statements saying it did and I even called my bank to confirm and they said great wolf DID TAKE the money out my account! A total scam

Shady Business Practices I booked what I thought were decent packages online through the app before our arrival. Upon arrival I found that I actually wound up paying more than I would have if I had just waited and paid on site. Normally when you buy packages online it’s because you are being given a discount. The packages I purchased weren’t a matter of scarcity, so there was no reason to pay more ahead of time. Corporate should really reassess their online packages as they are misleading and will only wind up causing mistrust between customers and Great Wolf. Based on this experience my family and I will be taking our business elsewhere in the future, no more Great Wolf Lodge for us. On top of that the hotel rooms are dingy and outdated, the food is nothing to write home about, and the indoor waterpark is subpar at best.

Not worth it Poor experience. Check in and check out slow. Up charges for everything including parking even though they charge a resort fee (and this is no resort-it’s a water park). Poor seating options at the water park. No good way to have line of sight on your kids. My card information was stolen minutes after check in. Not worth the price.