We just returned from a one night stay at the new Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX (just north of DFW airport). We live in the area, so we did a quick stay to check it out. I have not seen any mention of it on travel talk, so here is a short review.

The hotel opened approx 3 weeks ago, so everything is nice and clean. We really enjoyed the rustic motif – very different from most of the other Texas resorts. The water park was smaller than I expected, but still nice. There was a large infant/toddler area with two small waterslides, a bigger kid area with a structure to play on with two fun waterslides (I had to check them out myself), a wave pool, a small lazy river, two (at least) high waterslides and a big hot tub. Unfortunately, the toddler area was closed one whole day while they were treating it. An outside water park is currently being built and should be open for the summer season.

There is also an arcade, spa, kid’s spa, and workout room that we did not visit. Plus a Cub Club to do crafts for a small fee. Several kids were running around with wands playing Magi Quest. They appeared to be having fun. At night, there is story time which is a nice touch.

There were very few guests during our visit, so the Loose Moose Cottage buffet was closed. A friend ate there last week and said it was good. We ate at Camp Critter where the food and service were enjoyable. It was priced about the same as other Dallas restaurants. Our dinner (2 adults and 1 kid) with a beer and a wine was $45. We bought some milk, juice and treats at the Bear Claw Cafe. It was somewhat overpriced, but typical for a hotel.

We booked a Family Suite using the rate code “LOCAL” for $159 a night. It included a room and 4 water park passes. This discounted rate in still good for some of January. After this month, try “GRAND” for more discounted rates.

Since the hotel is new, they are still trying to work out some kinks. All the employees were very nice and helpful. I imagine we will go again when the outside water park opens. If anyone has questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

Thanks for the review! I live in Grapevine, and I am recommending the Great Wolf to our relatives when they visit from out of town. A friend on the City Council went to the Grand Opening and was very impressed!

Thanks ChristieP.

I also forgot to mention that you can enter the water park at 1:00 on your check in day. Lockers are available if your room is not ready.

On check out day, you have to vacate your room at 11:00 am, but you can continue to use the water park until 10:00 pm that evening.

I also live in Grapevine. I wish our kids were a bit younger. Don't know if we'll ever get there. You mentined enjoying the rustic motif.....the photos of the rooms on the web site look tacky (cheaply done) as all get out....are they better in person?

Hi missypie - We stayed in the Family Suite which was just a basic room (with poor lighting). I did not feel the room tacky at all. I took a glance into the other rooms, and they appeared to be okay as well - I'm sure little kids would get a kick out of them.

What I liked about the property was the big fireplace in the lobby with couches, the carpeting w/ bear, moose, etc, benches with animals carved into the posts, etc. We have so many Texas resorts in "hill country" decor (which I love), so this one was a nice change.

You folks around Grapevine should snap up those bargains while you can. The cheapest winter rate at The Great Wolf Lodge in our area (Williamsburg, Virginia) is $219 per night!

I just took a look at the pictures on its website. You are right missypie, they do appear to be cheaply done. The Lodge looks much better in person. BTW, I don't think any of the rooms are very "fancy."

jcb,

About how big and how deep would you say the wave pool is?

I'm really bad at estimating sizes, but it was big. Maybe 40 yards by 30 yards and max of about 4 feet deep. According to the website, it contains 111,000 gallons of water.

Here's the fact sheet on the property

http://www.greatwolf.com/locations/g...factsheet.aspx

Thanks jcb,

We're taking a small group of girls for my daughter's tenth birthday and one of the moms asked me that question. She is a little concerned about the wave pool depth so she will be glad to hear about the 4 feet maximum.

I have one more question for you. I saw on their website that the rooms have a refrigerator and microwave. What about a coffee-maker?

Thanks again.

How fun!!

I saw a group of young girls eating birthday cake by the wave pool when we were there last week, and I thought it was a neat idea!!!

I could be totally wrong about the depth (I asked my husband, and he said 4 feet), so you might consider calling. The waves were calm, and the lifeguards were very observant. BTW, they have tubes and life jackets available if you need them.

There was NOT a coffee maker in my room. I bought a medium cup from Bear Claw Cafe and it was $2.25.

jcb - Thanks, sounds good - so the water was plenty warm, even in Jan? How old are your kids? I am wondering if this would be fun for preteens/young teens?

It20 - We got a little chilly (not too bad) on the first day, but the 2nd day was fine.

My kids are toddlers, but my friend took her 16 and 14 year olds (girls), and they had a good time. It's not very big, so I can see an older child getting bored if he/she needed to do something different every minute of the day. We are taking a 12 year old in May, and he said as long as he has a wave pool, he'll be just fine.