Great Wolf Lodge Illinois

The water park, ropes course, and arcade kept my kids having a blast. The app and staff were helpful, especially Pedro and Annette S. in the breakfast area. Ashley, Willow, Guiselle, and the Magi Quest ladies were also wonderful with our room, food, and the kids’ Magi Quest. I’d suggest getting passes, using the app, and adding dining credits for breakfast. It made things easier. Bring your own snacks and drinks, especially for nighttime, since that’s cheaper. We were only there for two nights, and our stay began in a deluxe suite with two queen beds that hadn’t been cleaned or maintained well. There was snot on the wall, the controller was missing its power button, the bathroom floor was dirty, and the carpet left our socks and bare feet grimy. I told the front desk, and they were quick to fix most of it. I cleaned the snot with a Clorox wipe myself because they were so busy. It was a simple fix, but gross.

We stayed over New Years and really enjoyed the Wolf Pack activities and events. The water park was fine, mostly slides and a kids’ area. The lines were manageable, so we got through all the slides pretty quickly. The pizza was good, too. The breakfast buffet was a big letdown and made my whole family sick. We arrived at 7:30 when it opened, but the food was cold, not just lukewarm. I was the only one ordering an omelet, and it wasn’t cooked through. The front desk refunded us, but that didn’t help us being sick on our water park day. Another guest said they’d had the same problem a year earlier, which makes it seem like the issue hasn’t been fixed. Maybe I’d come back. This location is closer to us than the one in Wisconsin Dells, though its water park has less to offer.

We went as three families with five kids, from age 1.5 to 11, and there were plenty of activities for them. Still, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. I hope nobody else’s average-sized child has trouble at the rock wall or adventure climb like our 7-year-old did. No one helped him, and he ended up completely breaking down during the experience. Food was mostly fries and breaded items, so it wasn’t diabetic friendly. It was a decent stay, but I don’t know that I’d ever recommend it to anyone. People don’t usually ask me about vacation spots anyway.

My son left his PJs in the bed, and the lodge never found them. That was ridiculous. This was the second lodge I’d tried after the first was dirty and gross, and the extra-charge mess was the last straw. My five-year-old was thrilled to finally be tall enough for the big body slides. The girl measured him with his shoes on, then he was too short without them and wasn’t allowed to ride. He has autism, and it completely ruined his day. I understand the height rule is for safety, but staff should know to measure kids without shoes. There were no extra charges on my folio, but my credit card statement showed two, totaling $45. I didn’t eat at Buckets, yet there was a charge from them. The other was $32.40, which I assume was for towels. I scanned my band and returned all three towels. Maybe whoever checked them in entered one instead of three. They seemed not to care about recording them correctly. The lodge said it would get back to me about the charges, but I’ll dispute them with my card company. I shouldn’t have to wait three days for them to fix their mistake.