My son loves dogs (and wolves by extension), so this was a great surprise for him - and for my other son who loved this place for the waterpark. The lodge is nicely decorated in theme, even to the point of special kids mini-rooms inside the some of the rooms. (Parents beware the charges that will rack up if your child uses the video game in their area or watches movies on the TV in their area. You can have it disabled at the front desk if you don't want to pay for this.) The breakfast buffet was adequate, but nothing special. The dessert shop was expensive and our cheesecake was just okay. The gift shop service bordered on rude. The water park was probably the best one I've seen indoors, with five larger slides, a lazy river (with a waterfall but too little current), a dump bucket, a large climbing/play tower, a pool area with basketball and a large floating snake, and a toddler area with its own two small slides. There is also an outdoor pool, but it was nothing special, so we stayed indoors. There are many activities at the lodge for kids (mini golf, story time, a wizard game, etc.), but we didn't take advantage of any of them. The one thing I'd especially warn people about is, if you're flexible about when you stay, to check the rates for different dates. We paid 2.5 times what friends of ours paid. Even after subtracting the water park admission, it is still fairly expensive to stay at this lodge. They also don't tell you there is a "resort fee" you have to pay. Anyway, expect to pay a boatload if you stay on a weekend (like we did), a holiday, or some other time when availability is short.

I took my wife and two kids (2 and 4) for my oldest's birthday and a weekend away. We had a great stay and the water park is terrific. The room was actually a bit better than I expected - but it's pricey, too! What I didn't expect was a "Resort Fee." When I asked what the "Resort Fee" covered the answer I received was, "things like Internet access, in-room coffee, and water park towels." Well, Internet access and in-room coffee are promoted and advertised as complimentary in their communications material, and while the water park access is included in the room price, apparently the complimentary towels are not. We had a great stay and will probably go back, but I feel nickle and dimed as well as deceived.

My husband and young daughter and I have had the opportunity to stay at the GWL in KS City on three occasions. Our favorite stay was in October 2008. We were there at Halloween and the young staff had created a series of haunted houses in the vacant rooms on the bottom floor of the hotel. They had a contest to see who's was the best. Very fun. These were the same staff members who were lifeguards during the day at the water park. Great group of kids. And excellent lifeguards. We saw the Lion King on Broadway on that same trip and of course enjoyed shopping at Cabela's across the street from the hotel. We did notice the room were declining a little, Even had a roach in the room, but overlooked all of that because the staff was so friendly and we enjoyed ourselves so much. Our last visit was in November 2009. We noticed immediately upon arrival that the front desk staff wasn't as friendly as in the past. That was our first problem on that trip. When we got to our room our TV had a chip out of the screen. We called but no replacement was ever delivered. And if you can believe it on the second night our 2001 Diesel Crew Cab Ford truck was stolen from the hotel parking lot. It was a that time we discovered that this hotel that caters to children had no security cameras in the parking lots and the back entrance could be used after hours without a room key. After spending another whole day and night there awaiting insurance correspondence and rental car no one from hotel management ever contacted us to inquire as to our situation or how we felt about what happened. If you have ever had anything stolen you understand how stressful it can be and how personal the action becomes. Especially when so much of what you have in your vehicle is centered around your child/children. We did get a call from management two days after we returned home. They said they had just found out about our theft and wanted to ease our minds about their hotel by sending us a "free vacation on them" . We accepted but when the info arrived it was for a free one night stay and a $25 gift card. Not the three night stay they had promised. Not worth another four hour drive for a one night stay after the stress we endured. I returned everything expressing my disappointment but never heard anything from them again. I also sent a letter to their corporate office in WI addressing the safety concerns of the KS City hotel but never heard from them either. Poor form on every level. Yes the GWL in KS City used to be great. I can't say that anymore.

My family and I stayed here while driving across the country. In fact, I travelled out of the way to come here. Unfortunately it was really not worth it. The problem is that there are not many indoor waterpark/hotels out this way that seem worth it. We stayed in a family suite, which was basically OK, but much smaller than I expected. I also stayed a Homewood Suite and Drury Suite on this trip. This was smaller, bedroom was not seperate as with others. Also I was comparing in my mind with Kalahari Resorts in Sandusky, Ohio. This Great Wolf didn't come close to that experience. This waterpark was OK for small kids, but for adults or teenagers, it was pretty lame. Even the new Triple Twist didn't merit a second ride. The lazy river was very lazy, old, and it is in much need of rennovation. I usually ride slides until I drop, but here I found myself shooting hoops with my teenage boy. Very disappointing. The food in the upstairs bar/grill was OK, about what you would expect from this type of place, but downstairs by the pool, don't expect much. Not much variety, not even with the drinks, and service was very slow. I even turned back twice from getting something because the only attendant had two people in line, and that was two people too much. I hate to be so critical, but this was real disappointing for me. They need to add value so a person FEELS like they got something. I say this to the management, since they should be monitoring these reviews. I paid less than half your price to stay at Drury and Homewood suites on this trip. All were suites, yet yours was small and really just one big room as opposed to a seperate bedroom. They provided free Manager's reception which is basically a free dinner with beer and wine. Hot breakfasts also, both meals are varied each day and nice. All included in the price of the suite, which was less than half of yours, which didn't provided these amenities. You could do this and still have $100 plus/nt to go to the waterpark. You've got to provide more value to you guests! Also, the lifeguards have got to be more involved. They look like their manager is harping on them about being attentive, you can tell by watching them. But this only produces robotic motions, not someone who reallyn cares about the resort and their guests. This is not their fault, but management's. I know this since I also work in this business, though with the high end market. We also face similiar challenges in this economic climate. I can't recommend this resort to anyone other than maybe someone with small kids as they do seem to cater more to them with various story times and such. It would be great to see some of the other aspects change, as there are not any good waterparks out in these parts. Easy to get to off the interstate, again could be great place to stop at while traveling.