Tag: coastal va

I have heard a lot about Great Wolf Lodge since it was built in Williamsburg, Va and it has been on my places to visit for awhile. As an adult in my mid-30s with no children I kept looking over many reviews, comments, concerns and complaints dealing with topics related exclusively to people with children. I was hesitant to book a stay at Great Wolf Lodge because of the lack of reviews pertaining to adult only visits. I wasn’t sure if there would be enough for my husband and I to do or if it would be too noisy for us.

Make no mistake Great Wolf Lodge’s main focus is on children, but we found there was plenty to do to keep us (adults) entertained as well. I felt that a review of the lodge from an adult without children was definitely due. I should mention we are both kids at heart and love theme parks. From the time we arrived at Great Wolf Lodge we honestly had a blast! For our first visit we chose to go during Halloween. We figured a lot of people might take their children out and maybe not as many people would be vacationing. During our visit we found the lodge to be busy, but not packed. (Note: The resort did have Halloween activities for children including trick or treating for Halloween.)

Upon arrival I was shocked at the homey feel of the lodge and the lack of a smell of chlorine from the water park. In the lobby when we arrived were a group of children on the floor in front of the fireplace doing a staff led craft. We used the mobile self-check in on the app and when we arrived our room was ready for us. Upon check in we received an envelope with our wristbands for our stay. We opted to link our credit card to our wristbands putting a $100 hold on the account for charges. This is definitely something to consider if you don’t want to lug around a credit card while you’re at the water park.

Lodging at Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg, Virginia

The wristband is also, your room key and will unlock the door outside the lodge going to the parking lot as well (this feature is not on the children’s bands). The lodge was busy, but it wasn’t overwhelming. We easily located our room. The family fireplace suite was spacious with 2 queen beds, full size bathroom with a shower/tub combo, a kitchen area with a microwave and mini fridge, a sofa, 2 TVs and a fireplace. We especially enjoyed the fireplace and snuggling up on the sofa to watch a movie. The lodge has many types of rooms including themed rooms with cabin bunk areas for children.

Dinning at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia

There are several dinning options at Great Wolf Lodge without having to leave the lodge. I liked being able to stay on property and to relax with some bar drinks, not having to worry about taking an Uber or taxi. The Loose Moose is off of the main lobby and is a buffet style restaurant with a bar. They are open for breakfast and then close and reopen at 5 for dinner. We ate here twice during our stay for dinner and enjoyed our food and our bar drinks. Great Wolf Lodge has a frozen Jack and Coke that is really good by the way!

I was most impressed at their concern for dietary restrictions. A staff member came out and went over items that didn’t contain any meat for me and addressed any concerns I had on vegetarian or vegan choices. The salad bar area was full of delicious fresh veggies, pasta salads, potato salad and a variety of greens. They had a great selections of side dishes too including veggies and an area for main dishes/meats (fish was an option too). Everything we had here was flavorful and tasted fresh.

Other choices for food include pizza, take and go salads/sandwiches downstairs from the lobby called the Hungry as a Wolf. There is also, a walk up restaurant in the water park area called Buckets, a waterpark bar and an ice cream parlor beside Hungry as a Wolf. In addition the resort has its own Dunkin’ Donuts in the lobby and we had donuts from there one morning. I enjoyed the ability to place an order on my phone from the resort dinning and then pick up my food. It made it hassle free even ordering from our room by using the app.

During our time inside the water park we enjoyed food from Buckets as well as drinks from the bar inside the water park. The water park bar also, had the football games showing on two TVs on Sunday. Just outside the parking lot of Great Wolf Lodge is another food option in the form of a non lodge restaurant called Sportsman’s Grill. The restaurant is within walking distance of Great Wolf Lodge and stays with the wilderness theme.

Sportsman’s Grill is similar to a game lodge and the walls are covered in taxidermy animal trophies. The menu is unique too with items such as frog legs, venison stew and alligator gumbo. They also, had a nice beer/wine list. We enjoyed having lunch there during our stay.

Things to do at Great Wolf Lodge (Paid Activities)

In addition to the water park there are many fun activities to do at Great Wolf Lodge. Obviously most are geared directly towards children like the MagiQuest game which has a spot to buy a wand and play an interactive game through the resort. However as adults we enjoyed several of the other activities. The lanes at Ten Paw Alley were shorter and it was similar to duckpin bowling with smaller balls and short pins. This bowling was actually a bit more challenging than normal bowling and we had fun playing.

We also, visited the Build a Bear where I stuffed my own wolf plush to take home. I’m already a Build a Bear fan and was excited for the exclusive options only offered at Great Wolf Lodge. During our stay we played a game of laser tag when the room wasn’t busy and we had a whole game to ourselves. For late night fun the Northern Lights arcade is open late and has many fun traditional style games that bring back nostalgic feelings.

The price of the tokens was typical of arcades and with $50 worth my husband and I enjoyed chasing each other on motorcycles, racing each other in cars, playing skeet ball and basketball against each other. Many of the arcade games give out tickets to redeem for prizes and several of the claw machines allow for play until a prize is won. I felt like a kid again playing some of the games all while enjoying drinks we had gotten from the Loose Moose bar.

Great Wolf Lodge Water Park in Williamsburg, Virginia

On our first day we didn’t go into the water park until around 4. They were open from 9-7 the days we visited. On our first time inside we walked around and visually checked out the area. Though the water park was busy we didn’t feel overwhelmed by the foot traffic or by children enjoying the fun.

We opted to go to the in-water park bar Grizzly Robs and get some tropical drinks and then go into the 21+ hot tub. The adults only hot tub is huge and near a family hot tub for people that want to sit with their children. It’s a cozy area and we enjoyed relaxing and having a few drinks before going back to our room when the water park closed. As mentioned there is also, a bar inside the Loose Moose restaurant. A second bar can be found in the hotel lobby if you don’t want to go into the water park area for a drink.

For those not staying at the lodge there were ample locker to rent to store belongings, a small necessities shop for things one might have forgot to bring and showers/changing rooms. The layout of the park has multiple restrooms too and I never saw people having to wait.

On our full day at the water park we rode all of the rides and enjoyed the Howlin’ Tornado the most. Though the rides are inside the water park doesn’t skimp on the size of the tubes and slides with many going outside of the building and looping back in. We really liked that there were areas just for smaller children to play, areas geared towards teens/adults and things families could ride or enjoy together like the wave pool all under the same roof. The Crooked Creek lazy river was one of our favorites and between it and visits to the hot tub we felt relaxed. We enjoyed being able to ride things together in a double tube.

Review of Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia

We don’t live far from Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia so we didn’t venture out during our stay and are familiar with the area. However, for adults that haven’t been to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown or nearby Yorktown this could be the perfect hotel to use as a base. The lodge rooms can be accessed without going into the children’s areas or the water park for a quieter stay. The rooms are very spacious and clean. The location of Great Wolf Lodge would make the lodge great for conferences.

Overall we enjoyed our stay at Great Wolf Lodge and would go again. If you’re looking for a quiet couples weekend this might not be the place for you, but if you love adventure and feeling like a kid again I would highly recommend a trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Va. I didn’t see anyone else visiting without children or grandchildren, but I don’t feel like people without children are excluded from the lodge. This was a perfect staycation for us as adults and we were glad we tried Great Wolf Lodge out. This trip was definitely a good break from adulting and who couldn’t use more days like that!

Return Visits to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia

Since writing this blog we have returned to Great Wolf Lodge five other times. We even went during December to check out the holiday decorations and Snowland. You can see a brief story about that experience here: Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge . I really like going in the off-season when the lodge is less crowded. During our most recent trips I have noticed staffing issues have effected Great Wolf Lodge like many establishments. I have seen some ride and amenity closures like the bar running on limited hours or closing down some rides to alternate staff. Guests still get a quality experience, but have to be patient with the staff of Great Wolf Lodge.

On our latest visits in 2023 I really liked how the entry to the lobby at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg had been updated. The lobby was always very crowded during the children’s event times with people checking in/being at the front desk and parents watching their children. Now a designated area with a stage has been made for the children’s programs in the lobby and it is not blocking the entry way to the resort. This lobby update was very much needed. I hope to see Great Wolf Lodge continue to improve and renovate the lodge.

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