Great Wolf Lodge – Service

I am writing to formally express my deep dissatisfaction, frustration and disappointment my family and I recently had on our very first visit your resort, Great Wolf Lodge-Grapevine, Texas. What was meant to be a joyful family outing quickly turned into a disappointing, stressful, and embarrassing ordeal.

We had purchased multiple day passes, some through Groupon(seven) and via Great Wolf Lodge (two), for what was supposed to be a joyful and memorable family outing. However, from the moment we arrived, the experience was marked by confusion, disorganization, and rudeness.
First, upon arrival, we encountered significant delays during check-in because each individual Groupon voucher had been mistakenly registered as a separate reservation. This created unnecessary confusion and wasted a great deal of our time.

While we were still trying to sort that out, we were offered the option to rent a cabana. We accepted and paid for it, hoping it would improve our visit, and we were looking forward to a more comfortable experience. However, after settling, ordering food, and briefly experiencing the water park, we were approached by two staff members who spoke to us in an extremely rude and aggressive manner, claiming the cabana belonged to someone else. One of them, Kelsie (she put her hand up to prevent me from fully capturing her name), who indicated she was the Aquatic (lifeguard) supervisor, told us in front of the children that we had to leave the cabana immediately because it belonged to someone else. She even went so far as to threaten that if we didn’t vacate immediately, she would personally pack up our belongings, have us removed, and call security. There was no effort to resolve the issue respectfully or discreetly. It was humiliating, especially in front of our children.

We were shocked, humiliated, and appalled at the tone and treatment we received. There was no apology for the confusion or willingness to help resolve the matter with dignity. The name that allegedly indicated the cabana was reserved was not displayed when we initially arrived—only after we had settled in did it mysteriously appear. Eventually, after insisting on speaking to a manager, we were told that all of the indoor cabanas were booked and there was nothing they could do. At that point, my family was so upset and uncomfortable that we chose to leave. We received a receipt for the refund of the cabana, but the experience had already been ruined.

Haley Scott, Aquatics Assistant Director, in the view of other guests and my family, insisted that we gather our group together in order for her to cut off our wristbands before leaving. When I asked was this policy for all guests, she initially replied “yes.” When I emphatically asked, “you stand at the exit and physically use a pair of scissors to cut off the wrist bands of every guest that exits the part?” Her response changed to, “no, only for guest that request a refund and leave.” At that point, we had not received any refunds. She then checked her watch and stated, “you have until 2:30 to leave, that’s in eleven minutes. She was aware that we were actively searching for two of the older children who would not have known our location had we left the area. This further added to our discomfort and humiliation.

We are requesting:
• A full refund or usable credit for the remaining three(3) day passes.
• An apology for the disrespectful treatment we received from your staff.
• Assurance that steps are being taken to prevent this kind of unacceptable experience from happening to other guests.

We chose Great Wolf Lodge because it’s advertised as a family-friendly destination. We came highly excited expecting a family-friendly and welcoming environment. What we experienced was the exact opposite. I hope this feedback will be taken seriously and that the guest experience at your resort will be addressed with the level of care and professionalism it deserves.