I'd like to start off by saying the staff at the front desk is extremely friendly. I'd really like to give a shout out to Gary for being so kind, helpful and considerate.
We arrived early, we knew rooms probably wouldn't be ready, but we took a chance. Gary said they'd call us when a room was ready, but we were welcome to use the water park. As luck would have it, I barely got out the front door when my phone rang and turned around to go back inside. We all (the check-in staff) got a chuckle out of that. It was pretty awesome service.
The housekeeping staff is friendly...always a "good morning", etc. and smiles on their faces. From the folks attending to the rooms to the folks attending to the grounds and waterpark staff...they were all very friendly.
OK, so, unfortunately...the waterpark, the rooms and the hotel itself are very "tired". I never would have stayed here based on reviews and hearsay, but I had friends visiting from Scotland and they booked this hotel in advance. I did have some curiosity, so why not? We simply wanted to be in the same hotel for convenience too. So, here's the deal:
- The rooms smell musty, they are worn, need updating, etc. But I do have to say it was clean...except for that sticky spot on the floor we couldn't identify...nor did we want to. So hey, clean is good. They also don't give you the allotted towels & wash clothes like most hotels do. Like 1 wash cloth for 3 people...huh?...yep, it's true. It is what it is. The shower wouldn't shut off all the way and you know what it's like trying to sleep with water running. We closed the door to the bathroom and it seemed to block the sound some. But fortunately for me...I had ear plugs!!!
- You can tell that once upon a time the hotel was nice. But the pictures on their website are either old or photo shopped. It just needs some TLC. The grounds staff do their best, but "it's" beyond anything they can do.
- The waterpark was "ok", don't go there expecting something like Great Wolf Lodge that's for sure. It was clean for the most part, but just needed TLC. There are tables with chairs, lounge chairs, etc. We didn't go when it was busy, so we had no trouble finding a place to sit. Tubes are limited and therefore you must stand in line for long periods to ride some slides. Some slides may be closed due to staffing. But hey, there is a Tiki bar nearby...get a Coco Crazy drink and forget about it!
The hotel is in a good location for walking to area restaurants and shopping. There is a Dunkin' Donuts right next door for morning necessities (haha).
Other things that may be appealing about this hotel are: Free parking, a military discount and a reduced resort fee, a kid pool and full use of the waterpark on the day of arrival and the day of departure.
The painful thing: If you make a reservation online, make sure you keep the email. There is no way to create an account with them and therefore, no way to check on your reservation, etc. There isn't even an area to input your reservation number if you have it. Furthermore, even if you have the email there is an area to click on to direct you to the reservation...it may or may not work. Mine did a week before, but not the day before. I had to call them to ask questions. Everyone does everything online anymore...not these folks.
I think for what you get the hotel is overpriced and the resort fee is high, unless you get a deal with a travel agent, airline, military or whatever. The hotel needs work in general. I give all this minus stars for sure. But the staff is friendly and I'd give them 5 stars. After all, they don't have any control over the corporate owners. All this said...only a 2 is a fair rating. I simply would not recommend for anyone to stay here unless they had to, no other choice or are just looking for something in that area.
Note (nothing to do with my rating, but important info): Sadly, it's some of the guests that stay here that are "nasty" that make this place a little unbearable. No staff member, nor owner has any control over this. Why some people can't clean up after themselves is beyond me. And why some people don't exert some rules on their children is also beyond me. I'm putting it mildly! The entire staff from the desk, grounds, water park to the bars and restaurants has their work cut out for them daily. The experience is definitely like no other and this place is definitely checked off for us...been there, done that...don't want to do it ever again. Alas, my friends from Scotland have their own take on this place and were/are miserable. I witnessed firsthand the cockroaches they killed, other bugs, the room smelled horrible and they were constantly sick while in the room. I just hope this first time experience to the United States doesn't leave a lasting impression.
Note 2: Hard to check-in since the pin is/was placed wrong on the map. Submitted a change to Yelp. (stayed 2 nights/3 days). read more