While planning our family vacay this year, hubby and I wanted less fuss and effort and instead wanted to replace that with more time to have fun. We wanted a short commute, plenty to keep the kids entertained, something to keep us entertained, a great bed, & plenty of food options... so a "staycation" was the natural choice this year for "less stress".
Great Wolf Lodge has ALWAYS been on our family bucket list, so when we found out they were coming to Georgia we were ecstatic! After much research Hubby & I decided GWL was definately our top choice for the year. We usually like to take vacation early in the summer, but couldn't this year due to our schedules. So the end of July was our only option this year, and if you know anything about Georgia, you know its scorching hot in July [insert sweat bullets & misery here 😓]. But since we would be in the water all day, we hoped it wouldn't be a big deal. So we packed up the car and headed down to LaGrange!
The drive down there was great! We passed many of our favorite stores & restaurant chains along the way and the area nearest to the lodge was not overly congested. The grounds were very clean and upon entering the parking lot the kids (and us) started to feel the excitement.
You get that "lodge" feel immediately, and when you walk through the doors it's amazing! The kids ooo-ed & ahh-ed looking all around. The staff was very friendly, and it took us no time to check in. GWL added so many details that peaked our interest on the way to the rooms. Lodge themed pictures, light fixtures, rocking chairs, bear claw carpet, picturesque windows, & cool wooden accents.
We opted for the standard room with double beds (twin beds were out of the question to eliminate arguing over the top bunk, lol). The room was super clean and everything was like new. Our room included a flat screen TV, a mini fridge, and plenty of storage. The beds were plush, the room was roomy, & the best features of all (the kids went crazy) were the trunk table in front of the sofa and the dining table that looked like it came straight out of a "The Three Little Bears" story book.
After we got over our excitement of the room, it was time to hit the water!
The waterpark was indoors and there was also a pool area with cabanas outside. We had an AMAZING time in both areas. The kids didn't want to leave and neither did we!
In between swimming we were able to enjoy good food at The Bucket (we really enjoyed the Cajun fries), Howl Like a Wolf, & Timber Tacos. We had breakfast at Campfire Kitchen and didn't enjoy that at all. The food was cold and so was the restaurant.
The kids had a Wolf Pass so they enjoyed other activities: bowling, mini golf, rock climbing, arcade, arts & crafts, dance/storytime, ice cream from Ben & Jerry's, & plenty of candy from the candy shop.
Great Wolf Lodge was our best family vacation yet! The kids can't wait to go back and even loved it more than Walt Disney World!!! Which was a little hard to hear considering we paid SO MUCH the WDW vacay, lol. But we completely understood because we didn't have to wait in long lines, walk all day in the blazing heat, or travel a far distance. ❤
While we would like to give Great Wolf a 5 star rating, we can only give them a 4.5 star.
The breakfast could have been much better and all the pillows were too firm for any of us to sleep well (the soft pillows were just a hard as the firm). Other than that we had a great time and hope to go back soon for a 5 star experience.
