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This week, my husband and I packed up our wolf pack and headed to the Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. It had been on our radar for a really long time… like 10 years. We finally pulled the trigger this week after we stumbled upon a mid-week homeschool deal that we couldn’t refuse. I’m glad we went, but I’m not entirely sure we will return. Read on to find out all the details.

Great Wolf Lodge Fast Facts

Address	150 Great Wolf Dr, Fitchburg, MA 01420
Cost per Night (family of 5)	$229 +
Stroller Friendly	It can be done.
Parking	$15
Picnic / Carry-In Friendly	Yes
Clean Bathrooms / Changing Areas	Some, see below.
Water Bottle Filler	No.
Best Ages	1.5+
Apparel Recommendations	See Below.
Gear Recommendation	See Below.
Sunscreen / Bug Spray	N/A
Best Season to Visit	Winter
Breastfeeding Friendliness	Plenty of seating, but nowhere private unless you rent a cabana.

Great Wolf Lodge Layout

Walking through the double doors of the Great Wolf Lodge, you will find yourself in a four-story great-room with a fireplace. Behind the fireplace are the elevators to the guest rooms. To the left of the fireplace and down a hall, you’ll find a souvenir shop, candy store, Build-A-Bear workshop, and arcade. The only way to the swimming area is through the arcade.

The swimming area is split into two areas across the hall from one another. In between are locker rentals. Beyond the waterpark area are all the “dry” activities – mini golf, MagiQuest, adventure course, and the like.

Great Wolf Lodge Theming

The Great Wolf Lodge is located on the outskirts of Fitchburg, right on the Ashburnham line. The resort location boosts the ambiance, as this particular area feels like you’re driving through the woods – which is where you’d expect wolves to live. Duh. But outside of a massive stone fireplace, paw prints throughout, log-cabin style furniture, and some theming in the waterpark areas, I wouldn’t say the theming was particularly over-the-top. It certainly wasn’t in line with Rocking Horse Ranch or Disney’s Beach Club.

Facility Comfort & Cleanliness

Hotel

The hotel portion of the Great Wolf Lodge was very clean. When we walked into our room, it was clear a cleaning team had been through. There were no debris on carpets, no sign of bed bugs (we checked) and we had plenty of space for everyone in our family to sleep. In our particular room, we had two queen beds and a pull-out futon. We also had a table, two chairs, a coffee table across from the futon, a TV, mini-fridge, microwave and coffee maker. And a terrible view of the building utilities and dumpster behind the curtain.

Unlike Rocking Horse Ranch, we had plenty of room in the bathroom to turn around. I was disappointed, however, that there was no stepstool in the bathroom. Why hotels marketing to families don’t consider this a necessity is beyond me. Having to wash a child’s hands repeatedly in the middle of flu season is a total pain in the butt without a step stool. Additionally, I’m not sure why every hotel in the world orders the massive fluffy pillows that smother you when you sleep, but they totally suck.

Activity Areas

This is a bit of a mixed bag. Overall, it was clean and comfortable. The dry play areas (rock wall, Magi Quest, Mini Golf, Arcade, and adventure course) were all very clean. The pool area was also in decent shape, though definitely wet and slippery. I also didn’t love that you had to tromp through the pool area with your outdoor shoes to change. I wasn’t disgusted by floaties or hair or anything in the pools, and they didn’t smell like chlorine which means they are either using saltwater or they are properly shocking the pool. That’s a win.

The female locker room was fairly dry – they had fans running to keep it that way. But the family changing room was gross. It was dingy, wet, and there was rust on the soap dispenser. I didn’t love being in there, but the alternative was taking all three of my kids by myself into the female locker room and that certainly isn’t my idea of a vacation.

Restaurant

The restaurant appeared clean, but the devil is in the details (and the germs you can’t see). My husband witnessed a restaurant employee use the urinal and leave the restroom without washing hands. We saw him moments later handling silverware. I guess there’s no wonder why Norovirus is exploding in Massachusetts right now. Wash your hands, guys.

Great Wolf Lodge Activities & A La Carte Amenities

This is one of the places I felt most disgruntled about the Great Wolf Lodge. This might have been due to my own lack of research and knowledge about the facility but also fueled by the fact we had to pay for parking – is this place for real?! The Great Wolf Lodge is an A La Carte experience. Your room purchase covers the room and entrance to the swimming areas. Which is awesome. But chlorine will mess you up if you’re exposed too long, and kids (and parents) eventually need a break from swimming. Great Wolf Lodge knows this, and they’ve set their entire facility up accordingly. It reminds me a bit of a casino in that way. And there’s almost no shame in their game.

Parents’ Favorite

The “Little Kids” Pool was a hit for the mom (aka me). I didn’t love all the splashing, but being able to comfortably send my kids down the slide without worrying about them going under at the end was an unforeseen blessing. That said, the whole scene was reminiscent of Lord of the Flies, so I ended up having to escort them everywhere, anyway. Otherwise, they would’ve never gotten a turn and/or been pushed under water due to other children coming down the slide too quickly after them. It appears nowhere is safe from screen addictions, as the parents sat alongside the pools – phones in hands.

Kids’ Favorite

Oldest: The Slides. Middle: The Wave Pool. Little: The Hot Springs.

First up, the wave pool. It was only five feet deep at the deepest section, and there was plenty of space in the 2-3 foot sections where the waves weren’t breaking, so the kids could just float and enjoy their bodies being pushed around.

Next – the slides. While you have to climb four stories to access them, I found them to be well worth it. The Howlin’ Tornado was a bit intense for yours truly, but the River Canyon Run was a perfect entry level water slide – even my motion-sickness-prone five-year-old enjoyed it.

Lastly, the Hot Springs. Being able to go outside was certainly a plus; however, it was very crowded. It would’ve felt tight with my five humans in it, forget the 30+ people that were enjoying the warm water. Additionally, everyone in my traveling party complained of “itchiness” after exiting the Hot Springs.

Least Favorite

The arcade. Besides being wildly annoying, I have decided that children’s arcades are the gateway to gambling. They’re flashy, loud, usually staged in a dark room, use credits that “don’t expire,” and let you win jussssst enough to keep you playing. We didn’t engage in the arcade, except to sample some of the food on site. Additionally, they’ve stationed it where you have to walk through the arcade just to get to the pool and dry amenities. It’s so blatant it’s both hilarious and gross.

And river tubing. In a word, the river tubing at Great Wolf Lodge sucks. We went during an “off-peak” week (Tuesday-Wednesday during the school year), and it was packed to the gills. People were bumping into each other constantly, there weren’t enough tubes, and it was generally not very lazy or relaxing at all. I’d love to see them take the lazy river around the entire perimeter of the swim area, but what do I know?

Dining at Great Wolf Lodge

The Great Wolf Lodge has many dining options, but almost all of them have the same basic foods (with the exception of The Lodge). Almost all of the food at GWL is bar-fare. Think: fried chicken, French fries, pizza and the like. They also have a Dunkin D’s on site. I saw exactly ONE remotely healthy option on the Buckets order platform and that was a chicken Caesar salad. The Lodge menu was better, but the healthy options were still quite limited.

Luckily, we had opted to stop at the Hannaford in Lunenburg on the way in, so we’d stocked our mini fridge with healthy options and brought them downstairs in a cooler backpack. If you’re planning a trip, I recommend you do this, too. Lest you feel like total garbage when you leave, and you need an enema to poop. You’ve been warned.

Staff

Front Desk

The front desk staff had no idea what was going on outside of issuing room keys. Truly, I’m not sure they knew which way was up. We inquired about different activities or amenities, and they were largely unhelpful, except when it came to whether or not we could opt for room-service. The answer to that is: no.

Restaurant

We had Carlos at breakfast, and he was truly top-notch. He mixed apple-crans for our kids, and he made my daughter light up when he called her “princess.” Really and truly, this guy was a gem. We wanted for nothing, and he kept our table cleared.

On the flip side, my husband saw a restaurant employee use the bathroom and not wash his hands before returning to service. I’ve mentioned this twice because I haven’t quite processed my emotions about it.

Lifeguards

First, the positives. An insignificant significant medical issue played out while we were visiting the Great Wolf Lodge. A lady went down the Howlin Tornado and somehow managed to hit her head in the tunnel or when she emerged from the tube. She required medical intervention, had to be boarded in the water, and then was taken away by paramedics. The lifeguards handled this really well – posting up around her with towels and letting paramedics do their job.

The only thing I saw that could’ve been improved was there wasn’t any communication between the catch pool and the holding area for the slides. There were a lot of people (read: children) waiting four stories in the air. From my understanding, there was no true emergency, so a quick call up to let everyone know to evacuate the platform would’ve been helpful and respectful to everyone involved.

Next: the not so great. There was zero continuity between lifeguards and the rules of the pool. Some lifeguards understood that people were on vacation and managed to maintain safety, while also allowing people to have fun. There were a select few who fell into the balanced category, and those were mostly stationed at the slides during our stay. The other lifeguards were somewhere in the camp of “total free for all” or “blows whistle non-stop.”

Worth the Drive?

I really wanted to like this place. Truly. The concept is cool, and I think with some tweaks, it could be a fantastic place to spend a few nights. That said, there are some significant improvements that could (and should) be made. Personally, I’d rather spend a bit more on the per night room cost and have everything included. Kids and wristbands are a disaster and it just adds stress to what should be an enjoyable experience.

I’d also like to see lifeguards posted at the tops of the little kids slides to help pace the kids. It wasn’t a lot of fun walking my kiddo over to the stairs and then speed walking into the water so they were comfortable going down the slide. I finally opted to slide down before them, but honestly, I didn’t want to keep getting out (and cold) in-between their 8000 slides.

Additionally, I think having some sort of outdoor trail and/or playground on the otherwise expansive grounds would make it feel more like a family resort and less like a casino.

Looking at the amenities of some of the other Great Wolf Lodge resorts (Poconos, anyone?), I’d say New Englanders are getting ripped off and to consider an extra drive to visit something else. By the time it’s all said and done, you’re paying “all-inclusive” prices anyway, so just go do that and have more amenities (and better service) available to you.

All that said, my kids LOVED it and I’ll do anything for them. But will we return? It’s hard to tell. I hope not.