When planning my family’s first visit to Great Wolf Lodge, I was a little confused by the differences in the suites offered at the resort. Here’s a quick guide to the different room types so that you can plan for your own trip.
Great Wolf groups their rooms into three categories: Standard, Themed, and Premium. All of the rooms are “suites” in name because even the Standard rooms give you more square footage than a standard hotel room.
Standard Suites
As you would expect, the Standard Suites are the lowest cost of the bunch. The rooms are standard with two queen beds. There is also a double sofa sleeper in the room, so you could potentially sleep up to six in the suite. Depending on which location you choose, the room could also have a patio or balcony.
All of Great Wolf Lodge’s suites have a microwave and a small, wet bar refrigerator. I’ve found that this is the perfect set up for bringing some simple breakfast items with you. One of the easiest ways to cut down on family travel costs is to have cereal in your room instead of dining out.
Themed Suites
This is the room category that confused me because I couldn’t tell the difference between a Wolf Den Suite, a KidKamp Suite, and a KidCabin Suite. What I learned is that the Wolf Den and KidKamp suites are very similar in layout. But the KidCabin suite offers a few added perks.
The Wolf Den Suite and Kid Camp suites each have their own design, but essentially offer a private little sleeping area for your child.
The space is roughly the size of a queen bed, leaving you with a regular queen bed in the room and the sofa. In total, you can sleep up to six people in the room if you use the fold out sofa.
The design of these suites is great because it makes your child feel like they have their own room. There is a small TV inside and a table with a chair. Room rates vary, but this type of room is usually a $50 per night upgrade over the standard suite.
The Kid Cabin is a little different than the other two themed suites because it offers a little more for the adults. First, the kid’s space feels more like a separate room than just a fort like the other suites. The cabin has an extra twin bed, in addition to the standard bunk beds, which ups the overall room capacity to 7 maximum.
The other neat thing about the Kid Cabin rooms is that they include a fireplace. I travel a lot, but have only found a handful of hotels that offer fireplaces in the rooms. This is a really nice feature that, in addition to the expanded sleeping space, makes it feel worth the $90 upgrade over a standard room.
One tip worth passing along is that you should bring a nightlight with you if your child is afraid of the dark. The kid cabin rooms can feel a little dark when the curtains are drawn. The cabins have an outlet inside, where you can plug in the nightlight.
Premium Suites
The Premium Suites are designed for large families and can accommodate up to 8 people in each room. The rooms give you a lot of square footage, which you’ll need with that many people. The Grizzly Bear Suite in this category has a second bathroom, which can be a lifesaver with large groups.
In general, these rooms will run you $150 – $200 per night over the cost of the standard room (basically double). If you’re traveling with a large group, you may want to consider the differences between getting two standard suites compared with getting one premium suite. The benefit of the premium suite is that the whole family will be together (since Great Wolf lodge does not have adjoining rooms). It really depends on the needs of your family when deciding which option is best.
Photos via Great Wolf Resorts, Inc
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