Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort, Wisconsin Dells

We were so excited to have a moms getaway in October with our kids(1, 1 and a half and 6). We got the condo which was nice. The bedrooms are great until you shut the doors and realize there is no heat in them!! We all wake up cold!! The other thing I was really surprised about, for being a "waterpark resort" there were no hooks or places to hang towels in the room, not even your bath towels in the bathroom. Hello!!?? We got to one of the waterparks to find a huge tractor inside and a closed sign on the door. OK. Well we went to the other indoor park and immeditatly noticed as soon as we put our first toe in that the water wasnt very warm, or the air.We thought we just needed to warm up a bit. Nope. 20 minutes later our kids (and us) are purple and shivering,and miserable. I asked a lifeguard (who was in sweatpant and sweatshirt) why the water was so cold. She said they are refilling the water and it might take a few hours to warm up. Hmmm. So it will be better tomorrow. NOPE. The next day the water was barely lukewarm. I asked a different lifeguard and she said there was a leak somewhere. Realizing were spending hundreds of dollars and the kids are shivering I looked around and realized it wasnt just me. Other kids and parents were upset and confused. The best part was when I called management,told him the water and air is freezing, he said there was no problem with any of the pools and the park with the tractor in it was being remodled(no kidding)He was rude, unconcerned about our miserable time and didnt care whatsoever that we or anyone we know would not be back spending thousands of dollars.They should really all get their story straight or maybe just turn on the heat, unless they were "cutting costs" in the slow season!! Hmmm........ It is absolutly crazy to think "one" customer doesnt matter. You'd think with all the competition in the dells, the well paying customer would receive something, even just to make them feel better!! Geez how bout a basket of fries!!!!!

We love the indoor waterpark, relaxing and exciting all at the same time. Everyone could be doing their own thing. I especially loved the hot tub that is inside and goes outside, very cool!!

Oct 2007 was not our first stay @ the Wilderness but will be our last. Like everyone else I read the reviews but we had been there before so we thought we'd try it again. We booked a 3bdrm premium @ Glacier Canyon Lodge for 2 nights. Originally we were to have 9 adults & 6 kids. We knew it would be cramped but wanted to walk inside rather than be cold & wet outside in a bigger room. We ended up w/ up only 8 adults & 4 kids. We got there to check in & our room was "ready" but we had to go to the Glacier Canyon entrance to get it, not a big deal. We get to the Glacier Canyon check in & they have booked us a handicapped room that is minus 2 sleeper sofas. We tried changing rooms-nothing-to make a long story short it took us an hour to finally end up back in our cramped, handicapped room. It was not worth the aggervation & time wasted on "their" mistake. They did compensate us well but today I find out they have charged my credit card after we had transferred all charges to my mother-in-laws. Incompetent?? Next time we'll spend a little more & try the Kaluhari!!!

First the beds we had needed to be thrown away, they were torn and had really bad stains. The water park was not at all what we expected, the wave pool was broke and some of the slides were down. We just did not feel comfortable staying there a second night. When we asked to check out and not stay there another night they refused to give us our money back for one of the nights, I said I would pay for one night but not two. They refused again and said it was their "policy" I spoke to a manager and he said the same thing. Their is no written policy that says they can not give a refund. This resort does not know customer service, we will not be back. The only highlight of this hotel is that Monks resteraunt is next door.

The hotel smelled like old water, "moldy". We have been going here for the last four years, this being the last. In the past the outside public was not allowed in the waterpark, now they let anyone in and it's become very crowded and unsafe. There's so many people that we had to wait hours for sitting and good luck trying to get a raft, with that many people in the water area it's almost impossible to keep track of your children. Don't leave anything unattended, the people at the table next to us had their purse and food stolden.

My family & I just returned from there this past weekend. I would never stay again. The rooms are dirty, there was a heated agrument in the lobby between guest with horrible language, you can hear other guests from your room which we were able to hear too much information that was not apporiate, i you need more towels or wash clothes expect your order to be wrong! They have coffee makers in your room, but after the first night stay they do NOT restock! Go to another hotel!

Water parks are awesome. Can get a bit crowded. Walk from one water park to the next can get tireing especially in the winter when you don't want to go out to catch the shuttle.

We have gone to the dells and the wilderness six years in a row. Each year there is a new attraction, new slide, or new water park. When we first started going we did many of the dells experiences, but now we go just for the fun of the hotel. This place is truly great. There is so much to do that no matter what your age, you will never get bored. They have some amazing slides for thrill seekers, big pools if you want to relax, and plenty of chlid friendly areas. The rooms are exceptionally clean and neat. We have never had a problem in the six years we have went. Skip the long lines at Noahs Ark and just relax and have fun right outside your room

The water parks were great! I was really impressed that there were lots of things for kids of all ages. Huge water slides and wave pools for older kids and adults. Medium size slides for less daring kids and even toddler areas with just inches of water and small things to climb on and small slides to go down. The layout was goog. It really wasn't too hard to get around the resort or to another water park once you figured out the short-cuts. There was also a huge indoor dry play center with balls to shoot around and a huge climbing stuctures. Also a big game area where you could collect tickets to redeem for prizes. Again they didn't leave out the littler ones. There was always something for the toddlers to do. Even keeping in mind that the room prices are very inflated because it includes admission to the park, I expected better surroundings. In particular, the beds, pillows, towels, and toiletries should have been much better quality. The pillows were the worst I've ever slept on. The towels were the thinest I've ever seen. I don't mind so much if the pool towels are that way since I'm sure they go through many per person per day--but the bath towels are just sub-standard. The other problem with the resort is the food was very poor quality. The "fast food" throughout the parks was even worse than you'd expect and of course very expensive. I couldn't tell if I was eating chicken or tuna salad on my sandwich. We exchanged it for a hamburger without a problem (besides the super long walk to do it.) And really I'm not that picky. Even the soft pretzel tastes freezer burned. The mexican "restaurant" Survivors served bagged chips and poor quality food. We were really disappointed. We ate the buffet at The Canyon Cafe one night. It was okay and kind of nice that they had a kids food section. But overall it was overpriced for what it was--just not good. Having said how bad the food was that we tried there, let me say that there are MUCH better alternatives very close by. Sarrentos which is part of the resort but not attached was very good and they welcomed kids but I felt a little self-conscious with a loud (normal) but well behaved one and two year old. Field's looked good, but we didn't eat there. The best find was the Cheese Factory restaurant right across the street. The breakfast was phenominal. (Sp?) They use organic fruit and no meat but you wouldn't miss it even if you're a meat lover--honestly! They also had a great cappacino bar! I wish we would have tried this the first day--it might have been the only place we ate!

the first time i came in to this hotel it wwas under construction last year may-2006.we had drove about 3hrs from chicago, my husband walked in at 2am with his uncle and we debated in staying because of the price but we stayed anyways. We calculated the prices of parks, dinning, & other, we learned that we would spend less by staying here.we paid for the hotel and the next morning we were transported from park to park(3) by the hotel shuttles (very nice people). we had a blast & incredibly both of my sons 2 & 8yrs old were the most happiest kids. We went back this year twice, and planning to go back before my son starts school. Love it & love it. mom in chicago