Daily Archive for July 13th, 2006

Great Wolf Lodge - Other Observations

Great Wolf Lodge logo

No matter what age you are, there is a lot to do at the Great Wolf Lodge, but ultimately it is the kids that will enjoy it the most.

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20060406_gwl_garbage_can.jpgAs I mentioned when talking about the hotel, there are all sorts of activities for the children. In the lobby there is a talking moose, bear, tree that are great for pictures and movies. In the lobby is also a giant stone fireplace. With the decorations and the solid wood furniture, everything truly does feel like a lodge. Even the garbage pails have covers that are a nature scene!

Along with the accommodations and water park, there are also several places where you can get food. Before going to the water park, we went to dinner at the buffet restaurant there, the Antler Shanty Grub. There seemed to be a large selection, and the food looked good. Unfortunately it wasn’t. It wasn’t that it was undercooked, or overcooked. We just weren’t impressed with the food. It was also quite expensive. It cost $70 for my wife and me to eat with our 2 children (both under 4). There were lots of other people there who seemed to be enjoying the food, so it was probably just our personal tastes. Of course, as with everything during our stay, the decorations were fantastic and the staff were very pleasant.

20060406_gwl_arcade.jpgOn the first floor, there is also a nice arcade called the Northern Lights Arcade. It isn’t as large as some of the arcades in Niagara Falls, but for one that is inside a hotel, it is sufficient. There are a variety of games, and a redemption area where you can exchange your tickets for prizes. You could use cash, a credit card, or your RFID bracelet to get tokens to play the games. We didn’t play any games as we wanted to get to the water park, but as the evening went on, you could see the arcade getting busier.

20060406_gwl_cubclub.jpgAs I mentioned, in the morning I had to go to work, but my wife and kids stayed until checkout time. They went back to the water park, and also enjoyed some of the other activities for kids. After having a quick breakfast, they went to the lobby to watch a show and have their picture taken with the mascot, Wiley the Wolf. There were lots of other activities that you could participate in if you had time. When you check in you are given lots of information about various activities. Each day they have a Wolf Walk in the Grand Living Room, a Forest Friends Animatronic Show in the Grand Living Room, and Nightly Storytime. They also have a Cub Club where children can do crafts and other entertaining and educational activities. When we checked in we were given a schedule for the following week with all the activities happening at the Cub Club. There was colouring, crafts, writing, and more. Many of the activities are free, but some of them did have a nominal charge to cover the cost of the supplies.

There are also several things for the adults as well. Of course the water park and arcade are fun for everyone. There is also Elements Spa Salon, an Aveda Concepts Spa & Salon, and an exercise room. Near the lobby is a beautiful gift shop called The Trading Post.

When it was time to go, my oldest son didn’t want to go. All the way home he kept asking my wife when he could go back and play at the water play park. Even a couple of months later he is still asking about when we can go back. The experience was fantastic. Although costly, I can certainly imagine that the hotel would develop loyal guests. Once you’ve been, you’ll certainly want to go back!

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Great Wolf Lodge - The Water Park

Great Wolf Lodge logo

After checking out all of the facilities at the hotel, we headed back to the room and got changed so we could go to the water park.

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The Beartrack Landing water park is simply amazing. Since I have 2 small children (both under 4), I wasn’t sure how they would respond, or if there would even be very much that they could do. My concerns were unfounded. Just as the rest of the hotel is geared towards children, so is the water park. The water park certainly has something for everyone. There is a very shallow pool for children. It only went up to about my knees, so if your child can walk, they can go in the pool. There are buckets and hoses that the children can play with, and 3 water slides they can go down (each one getting progressively longer and higher). Even the wave pool starts out where you can just walk in and go in as far as you like. Both of my sons enjoyed sitting with me near the top of the “ramp” and having the waves roll over them.

20060406_gwl_waterpark_02.jpgThere is also a giant playground which they loved. You climb up to different levels and can spray people or yourself. And of course at the top is the giant tipping bucket. The first time it came down on me was funny. I was near the top of the playground with my oldest son, and there were small buckets that were filling up. I tipped one of the buckets over on him, and immediately the giant tipping bucket tipped over on me. I guess it served me right :-)

20060406_gwl_waterpark_03.jpgThe water park also has several large water slides for older kids and adults. I didn’t go on those as that isn’t really my thing. There is also a lazy river, and a lily pad play pool. I tried to get my oldest son to go with me on the lazy river, but he was afraid so I went on my own. The lily pad pool has several ropes suspended over the pool, and then floating lily pads in the pool. You are supposed to use the rope to hold yourself up and you try to balance on the lily pads and walk across the pool. It was much harder than it looked! There were lots of teenagers at this pool and they looked like they were having a lot of fun.

20060406_gwl_waterpark_04.jpgNear the entrance to the water park there is a small retail store where you can buy swimsuits and other accessories. Also near the entrance are lockers, public washrooms, and an area where you can get towels and borrow life jackets for the children.

Another interesting thing was the “mat” that you walked across as you went into the water park. It’s hard to describe. It wasn’t a real mat. It was a water image being projected onto the floor from a projector in the ceiling. There were sensors, and as you walked across the “mat”, the image rippled as if you had disturbed the water, and there was a splashing sound. The kids loved it.

We played in the water park for a couple of hours, and then headed back to the room. The following morning I had to go back to work, but my wife stayed with the kids. They went back to the water park and played for a while longer (you can stay all day, even after you check out).

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Great Wolf Lodge - The Hotel

Great Wolf Lodge logo

Usually I’m pretty good with getting information up on the blog in a timely manner, but not in this situation. Back in April (a little over 3 months ago), I had the opportunity to stay at the new Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls as part of the “soft” opening. “Soft” openings are fairly common in the hospitality and restaurant industries. This is a time when people are invited to stay or eat at a new establishment for free. This gives the staff a chance to learn and practice and allows the establishment to get feedback before they open.

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A visitor to the blog had emailed me saying that Great Wolf Lodge was going to be open to the public for a few days before the grand opening. It sounded like a “soft opening“. I know someone who knows a person who works at Great Wolf Lodge and I asked for some information. Well, instead of information, I got a pass to stay the night!

I booked a room online and we ended up staying in a Family Suite (more on that later). We checked into the hotel just after 4 pm on a Thursday. The hotel looks beautiful from the outside, but it was absolutely stunning on the inside. My two young sons were fascinated with the size of the lobby, and all of the animatronic effects. At the front desk, there are handprints in the facing, and if you put your hand on the handprints, a little squirrel pops up. There is a moose, a tree, and a bear in a scene by the elevator. They talk to you as well.

20060406_gwl_lobby.jpgThe check-in was easy, if not a little slow. But that was to be expected since this was a new process for the staff. We received RFID wristbands for all guests. My wife and I had ones that also had a preauthorized spending amount. They also opened the door to our room. Our two kids each had a wristband as well, and I’m not clear what they did. The only thing I’m aware of (and it is certainly very important) is that the wristband identified who they were staying with and in what room in case they got lost in the water park.

After checking in we walked around the place. It is huge and it is gorgeous. We were there for 10 minutes or so and my wife asked if we could live there! We first went to the water park and were awestruck by how large it was and how much fun it looked. We also saw the arcade, the Cub Club, the spa, the exercise room, and a lot of the other amenities the hotel offered. We were impressed.

20060406_gwl_beds.jpgAfter checking out the facilities, we headed to our room. The hotel is 4-stories high with the lobby being on the second floor (which is sort of at “street-level” when you pull up). We were on the first floor which meant we had to go down a flight of stairs. We stayed in suite 1114. I’m not sure what made it a suite. It was pretty much just a standard hotel room. I think all of their rooms are suites.

20060406_gwl_rfid.jpgThe wrist-bands were kind of a pain to use to open the door. I don’t think I ever got into the room on the first try. The room itself was nice, but nothing special. There were 2 queen size beds and a fold-out couch. There was a microwave and fridge as well. The bathroom is just the toilet (the toilet paper had the end folded into a diamond shape) and the shower/tub. The sink is out in the main part of the room. The room was comfortable, but again, wasn’t anything special. This was the most basic and therefore least expensive room in the hotel.

One thing I thought was interesting was that if they get a noise complaint about you, you will be charged a fee. I guess that is to cover the cost of the discount given to the person who complained.

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