Great Wolf Lodge Perryville

We went to GWL to celebrate my daughter's 9th birthday. She had a blast at the water park, the ropes course, and everywhere else. If you're looking for a place kids will love that's a reasonable drive from the DC area, this definitely fits the bill. The pluses were that the staff was incredibly kind, helpful, and lovely, and the whole place was beautifully themed and very clean. The waterpark had something for everyone, from thrilling slides to play areas for toddlers. The Magic Quest game was also a blast. The major drawbacks for me was that it was so loud everywhere -- the water park, the main areas, the arcade. Investing in some sound dampening on the ceilings would really help prevent people from needing to yell to be heard. We were there on a summer weekend and it was also soooo crowded. My biggest pet peeve, however, is the magnificently stupid way they dispense soda. To get a soda, you have to scan a code on your cup and then a countdown timer starts and gives you like 15 seconds to get soda. Trying to help my 7-year-old through this process was both rage and panic inducing. People are paying $400+ a night for a room, please just accept a few cents of wasted soda here and there. The vibe is very much "discount Disney" (though the discount part is debatable), but we still had a great time. We'll probably go back because the kids loved it so much, but I wish they would focus less on trying to squeeze money at every possible turn.

This is our second time at GWL at this location. We have had zero issues with the staff. They always do a great job. The rooms are nice, and they always have something for the kids to do. The only thing I do have to say is the lifeguards need more training, and honestly there needs to be more eyes on the water. Two lifeguards may be standard for the outside pool and the wave pool, but it isn't enough. PARENTS, WATCH YOUR CHILDREN! An incident occurred over the weekend that I am having a really hard time getting over. With a dozen families in the outside pool and two lifeguards on duty, a parent wasn't paying attention to her child and ultimately found him in the bottom of the pool. Thank GOD he was revived and taken to the hospital, but I'm not sure how long he was under, and how he is doing today. It only takes a second for something like this to happen. The lifeguard on duty, bless his heart, did what he could, but in a situation like that you have to stay calm. Even though this lifeguard was looking right in the pool and doing his waves, he still missed the drowning child. It is imperative to keep an eye on your own child at all times. I saw a lot of parents just socializing, and hanging out, and drinking, while their kids roamed free in and around the pool. I had to personally help two children back to the shallow end because they couldn't reach, which took eyes off my own children to help yours. Please help these lifeguards out by doing your job, watch your kids!

- The family did enjoy the water park but there were many accommodations that could use improvements. - The room was nice but there was no bathroom vents. - No towels, washcloths, soaps or toiletries for a room that accommodates 6 people. When requesting toiletries I was told to buy them at the gift shop and rags/towels were left in a bag on the hallway floor without he courtesy of anyone knocking at the door to acknowledge delivery.. - Daily room service is by request only but there is no documentation in the rooms to make customers aware of various rules. I would think there would be no issue with early check ins and definitely should not be a fee if guest rooms aren’t cleaned daily. - Activities like bowling, mini golf & climbing should be a part of the activities package instead of separate charges for guests. - Guests should be able to add food packages upon arrival or during the reservation process. It’s helpful to get a gauge of what is offered to allow you to make an informed decision knowing food quality and the value of packages. - There were not sufficient trash cans in the room and many guests had trash, towels and even dirty diapers littering and smelling up the hallways of an otherwise nice hotel. - The hotel also mentioned fees and surcharges for special occasions. I didn’t see it upon making my reservation. - I feel that although online features and apps are great guests shouldn’t be required to download an app for their visit to get a map, attraction times, restaurant closing times, etc. in an amusement/water park I tend to leave my phone behind to avoid damage. Having a fully staffed front desk would be preferable where general information is communicated. The front desk lines were extremely slow with few people in them each time I tried to get service. Some information wasn’t received by using the check in kiosk which glitched on me & made me start the check in process twice. I also still had to wait in line to get a parking pass. - It was nice that a representative did text me and I was able to express general needs because the front desk phone was constantly busy no matter when they were called. The only issue with that is you can spend hours texting them only for housekeeping not to show up after a multiple hour wait. When a representative asks you what they can do to make things better and you provide a solution only to be offered complimentary wolf ears was insulting as the representative acted as if their hands were tied on any customer service remedies to make things right. - The hotel could use some additional elevators. There is only one set of elevators in the center of the hotel but guests could have a walk the equivalent of two city blocks to get to their room which is not friendly to elderly or anyone with physical limitations. There is only other options was to take the stairs. And there is still a very long walk to the main area. - In the water park while going up the steps there were blue foam mats that a