Expect high prices and poor service!! I won't dwell on the prices because I expect higher prices at resorts and I don't think theirs are higher than average. But I would have expected a higher level of service. We had poor service during the reservation process including; their errors to our dates, not honoring our group rate for the duration of the stay, and no flexibility for room options. We had poor service at check in, with an attitude that reminded me that we are at the mercy of the resort and felt like I woke CJ up from his nap to check us in. The poor service continued when I bought lunch at the grill inside the indoor water park and by the food court and had to ask someone if they could help us from the group of employees standing around talking in a group. We are here for a group event. I would never stay here, or at any Kalahari property, again regardless of the group or event. I will continue to give my business to Hilton where I'm respected and treated as a valuables customer. #hilton read more

I used to love taking my kids to Kalahari Water-park. It was always clean and it was affordable to go a few times a year, running around $200 for 2 nights and 4 passes. I've taken my family there at least a dozen times. The last two visits were basically, in the toilet. Since the original corporation changed, the place has gone wayyyy up in price, but there are no upgrades to the park, except for Pay-More attractions, like the zip line, since the park was built. They've also reduced staff so much that many of the attractions are closed throughout the day, so they can rotate the staff they do have. This also resulted in ridiculously long lines, and the park was dirty, with bathrooms in rooms and the waterpark not being cleaned or replenished between guests, and/or throughout the day. There's not even enough staff out front to protect guests from the local heroin addicts. When we first arrived, I went to check in while my husband and boys were in the lot unloading the car, in the dark, and a drug addict approached my husband with a cockamamie story about needing money. My husband almost gave him some when another guest came out the door and yelled out that this guy's been panhandling the lot all day, and he had reported this to staff that morning. WTF? Of course CS denied it when my husband complained. Since I've been there so often, I occasionally get a discount offer. This time, it was $399 (normally, $299 per night) for a 2 day weekend. I reserved a room close to the elevator, because of a disability, but when we arrived and asked for a bed-bug inspection prior to entering (a service they provide because they notoriously have bed-bugs), they must have found some, because they moved us after informing us our room was not fit for occupation (they won't say it has bed-bugs). The room we were moved to was so far from the elevator (50 rooms away--no joke), I ended up not going to our room all day for the two days we were there, because it was too much walking for me. I told them I have a handicap and they just said they couldn't place us in a 'Yet to be occupied' room because a 'walk-in' guest (i.e., a full price guest) may have a handicap and they have to be able to offer them a room. (What the heck???! I'm handicapped!) Our room (a Nomad room) had a clogged tub and a broken air-conditioner/heater (blasted hot air for our entire stay). Also, it was disgustingly filthy, with pubic hair in the tub, hair balls in the corner of the bathroom, a layer of dust on the fireplace mantle, on the top of the microwave, and the headboards. I suspected the bedding was reused and they only changed the sheets, because the blanket had a coffee stain and food crumbs in the fibers. The entire 2 days were filled with either maintenance or housekeeping occupying our rooms. It took 2 hours for them to come change out the bedding, so I had to hang back, waiting, while my teens went off to the waterpark. Same thing with the maintenance workers on Saturday morning, come to try and fix the air/heater. Then, they ended up not being able to fix it, so we had to roast for two nights. When we returned to the room for the night, our TV remote control was broken, so we waited till 11pm before someone could bring us a working one. The icing on the cake was when I checked in, CS asked if I wanted my credit card linked to my room keys. I stated, no, absolutely not, since teen-agers will have two room-keys. Yet, when I got the check-out slip on Sunday, there was over $100 of charges. I asked what that was about; they said that even though I refused to have my card linked, if someone uses a room key and knows the room #, they can put stuff on my card anyway? They ended up taking off the charge, because the charges were for a waterpark bar, and I threatened to call the police to report they served my two teenage boys alcohol. So, no, I won't be back, unless they rectify many things. read more

My husband and i just got married last weekend (yay!) and since we paid for the entire wedding ourselves, we decided to do something low key and simple for a honeymoon. we stayed at a hotel down the street, but spent a day at kalahari since it seemed like they had a lot to do, and we were sure it would be pricey. well, it definitely was pricey, but like i said, that's expected for a place like that. so just be prepared. other than the price of things, we had a great time. we went on a Tuesday in October (so definitely off-season), and we didn't wait more than 5 minutes for any of the rides in the waterpark- it was great. the slides were pretty short as they usually are, but since we didnt have to wait forever in line, it wasnt a big deal. we were able to do everything at least 3 times. the only thing that wasn't up to par, was that they had some of the attractions closed - not a huge deal, except we still had to pay full price, which we were kind of bummed about, because like i said, not cheap, and if we can't do like, 4 or 5 things, thats kind of a big deal. anyway, staff was nice, food was good.. all in all a good experience, and we'll probably come back eventually. afterwards, we ate at the restaurant, The Reserve. the food was great! the service was great! again, expensive, but totally worth it. :) read more

Rooms are clean, water park is everything and it caters to all ages which is such a PLUS!. The kagaroo marketplace breakfast buffet was awesome, and everyone from the housekeeping to the valet were beyond great!. I would give more stars if I could and this will definitely be a place to come back too every year! read more

Great family get away! Can be pricey big surprise right? We always bring our own food and drinks!

Fun, but parents go here to get drunk and let their little bastards go nuts. Too crowded and the people are rude. Staff is also generally unpleasant. If your kids are teens go here and do what everyone else does. If you have younger ones like me go to great wolf lodge. read more

What a fun and relaxing stay we've had at the Kalahari! Our kids were thanking us over and over again for bringing them here! I had read some negative reviews (mainly about noise if you're staying on the 1st floor or rude staff) but we didn't find any of this to be true during our stay. We were very pleased, and my husband and I kept saying to each other during our stay, "Wow, they really do things right here!" Sure, most of the food and things to do are overpriced, but what do you expect at a resort? My advice? Definitely take advantage of the nice bellhop that meets you at your car and helps get things to your room... definitely worth the tip! Thanks for the great time, Kalahari! We would love to come again sometime! read more

I very much enjoyed my time here during Colassalcon. I had never been, it was my first time, and the staff was very friendly and helpful. However, I was only here attending a convention. I stayed off-site from the actual resort's hotel but it didn't hinder me from having a great time. I cannot wait until next year!! I definitely plan on returning and hopefully staying on site this time. read more

I LOVE this place! The waterpark is huge and you can spend the whole day and never get bored. I loved going here and swimming when it was snowing outside. This is the best indoor waterpark in Sandusky. The hotel is beautiful and the staff is very friendly. There are a lot of things to do at Kalahari besides the watrepark. They have an arcade, bar, restaurant, shops , covention center all within the resort. read more

This was my second time here. We stayed for one day and night on a Friday when it seems there was a cheerleading competition on site or close to/aka nightmare. Kids slamming doors all night which doesn't help with the paper thin walls. The room was nice and clean though. Went to one of the restaurants for dinner and the food was bland and room temperature. Arcade was fun. Water slides and wave pool was fun but all had huge lines and the insane amount of little kids sucked. Everything was obnoxiously expensive which is usual for a resort obviously but if I'm going to pay Disney world prices, then it better give me the Disney world experience. It doesn't. read more

Let me tell you ppl NEVER COME HERE!!!!! They have bed bugs and they have never gotten rid of them you would be crazy to go here...they need to shut this facility down immediately. The rooms have old larva eggs and the bugs will bite the crap out of you and it will cost you thousands if you take them home. read more

So last night we stayed at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky Ohio. This morning I left to go get my bike in and when I returned I was belittled in front of 20 guests for having a bicycle in the hotel by the COO of Kalahari. He even compared it to parking a motorcycle in the room. Honestly...really? read more

I was very disappointed by the customer service of the food dude. He was rude to one of my associates (who will remain unamed until he is not scared anymore). This man gave a very rude answer to a question he asked and I am disgusted. I would like an upgraded room please call me at 911 read more

Kalahari - Resorts Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

We got the King Suite it was awesome. The room was really nice. The Waterpark was super awesome. Victoria Falls was my favorite slide and the wave pool. Two thumbs up from everyone in my family. We will be back for sure! read more

Extremely racist management Situation #1 - Young African American girl was given $20 by her mother to go buy an apple and bring back change. They only gave her $3 back. This might have been a mistake right, mistakes happen all the time! However, when the mother came to make a complaint they kept trying to push her request on to the next day knowing people are constantly coming in and out of the resort and may have to leave the next day! Situation #2 - As an Arabic individual myself, I was approached by security as if I am some type of criminal attempting to kick me out of the resort when I was swimming. I asked for reasoning as to why I was being kicked out and did not receive a clear response. For a minute they will tell me I'm jumping over walls and one minute they will tell me I would run away from them? Keep in mind they have not spoken to me once nor contacted me previous to this encounter. I started to get frustrated with security and the management of the resort once I have came to realization as to what there intentions were and how they racially profile certain individuals as if we are inhumane. My frustration of course led to a high tone of voice once I did not receive no clear explanation as to why I was kicked out so they called the police and had me arrested. I am a full time college student and to have me arrested because they are at fault and did not want to answer due to their ignorance is ridiculous. I have contacted corporate in which I shared only one of the videos I have received of the situation, he says he is unable to do anything for me! Now in both situations, there are a few things in common. Both situations consists of a minority group. In both situations, the workers will not admit they are at fault or have made a mistake. In both situations, whether it's the corporate, management, or any other employees, they try to throw everything under the table as if it never happened because they think our voice won't be heard! Not only that, when I have called several times to find a reasoning as to why I was evicted, I have either received - Fake Names - Refused to give me their names -Forwarded to a voicemail - WILL NOT GIVE ME A WRITTEN REPORT WHY I WAS EVICTED. - threaten to call police for calling resort IF I CAN RATE THIS PLACE A 0, I would. May seem professional, but there's hatred and carelessness held in their heart very deeply! read more

Review for the Spa: Express Pedi is a $50 Polish Change. Nice manicurists, but extremely overpriced. What was worse though, was the poor treatment at the checkout reception.15 minute wait, while Sarah, decided to book a reservation on the computer instead of check us out. Never apologized or acknowledged our long wait. Will not recommend the spa or return. read more

My fiance and I visited this past weekend for a convention. We did not stay at the hotel itself but were in and out over 4 days. First, the building is very confusing and we got lost many times. Second, parking is very very limited on busy days, prepare to walk. Third, food and souvenirs were very over priced. $15 dollars for a hamburger! We did not eat there and chose to drive up the road to eat fast food for lunch and dinner. They have a "zoo" if you can call it that. Very sad and felt horrible for the animals! The flamingos didn't even have grass or watering holes. They were stuck in a corner behind a fence with literally black wet mats to keep their feet from hitting concrete. They had swans who had to lie on hard ground in a cage with no water to swim in. My fiance and I stated many times how sad we felt for them and how we regretted giving Kalahari our money to keep treating animals so bad. The zoo is very overpriced for how bad it is. 8.00 per person to get in, plus 5.00 per person to see stingrays or parakeets. 10 dollars to feed a stingray and up to $30 just to take pictures or pet certain animals. Very obvious they only cared about money and not at all the animals' well being. All of the animals we saw were shoved behind fences and in cages or enclosures far to small and inadequate for them. The only plus side to the zoo was that was son was excited to pet the bunnies and goats. The water park was pretty good. I am pregnant so I could not ride any slides but I enjoyed the lazy river and wave pool! My fiance loved the slides with the exception of being kicked in the head by a drunk patron that the lifeguard let slide down to close after him. I have to give major props to a women working there who I assume was a manager. She was blonde and her name started with a C. My fiance lost his convention pass at the bottom pool of a slide and he nor any teenage lifeguard could get it. She made the ride stop and walked the perimeter of the pool until she spotted his pass floating under the end of the slide. Because of her we were able to get his pass back and enjoy the rest of the convention. She was great. The hot tubs were awesome at night because of the neon lights. read more

Rooms are wonderful! Beds are super comfy. We had a 2 room suite and it was perfect for our family of 5. Waterpark was loads of fun for the whole family. Kids had a blast and hated leaving. Kids are 12, 10, and 4 and there was plenty to do for everyone. Our 4 year old loves the kids safari area and the coral area. She also had a blast on the jungle gym slides. Older two loved the wavepool and bigger slides. A great time was had by all. We will definitely come back when we can stay longer. We ordered pizza and had it delivered to our room, from the pizza pub, that is inside and it out was delicious. read more

Clean room, nice staff and good food. I must say I'm surprised. Kalahari is a champion among water parks. The water is clean and rides were a hit with the kids read more

Great waterpark! Full arcade! Great staff! Thank you Kalahari for the wonderful weekend

I have listened to the hype of this place for a while. My family went there for a day trip to meet with with some family who were in town. I was very disappointed in several things about the place. The worst factor was that they did not have water fountains anywhere. You had to pay $1.00 for a small glass of water. The food was over priced and not that good. The wait for the food was ridiculous. I'm glad we weren't staying over night. read more

The facilities are great, but the staffing is very poor. Water park is very inefficient, and the staff not friendly. Some of the rides were not opened. The lines at the water park moved very slowly. Seems like the "biggest" indoor waterpark in the world could hire an efficiency consultant to make sure their lines move better. We have been to other parks and this one is the slowest BY FAR read more

Very disappointed with our stay. Room was dirty, front desk staff was very rude at check in, didnt get to enjoy most of the pool ...since we were unaware at booking that children under 48 inches are mandated to wear a life jacket in any pool... my 1 year old who I held in the pool could not stand the bulkiness of a life jacket and we were told to get out of the pool when we took it off of him. Total waste of money! Brought my complaints to them and all they could say was sorry hope you stay with us in the future...NOT A CHANCE read more

Kalahari is a great place! The rooms are amazing, and so is the waterpark. I didn't give it five stars because 90% of the time the place is so packed you can barely do anything you want to do, EVERYTHING is over-priced (hotel/tourist prices, annoying) and during one of my nights there; a couple was arguing loudly, it started after 11pm but when I called the guest services, they said they would send security to check it out and give them a warning but the security never showed up and the couple continued to argue until almost 1am. Also, don't come here unless you have A LOT of money to spend. read more

Very dirty. Nasty. People that make food don't even wear gloves. It's disgusting. Horrible horrible customer service-with the exception of the bell boy Joe Zimmerman. Never again. read more

I have never stayed here...this is a review based on going to a party here and then using the park. My highschool had our prom here my junior year and it was a complete disaster. The food was cold. And I dont mean warm i mean cold. It was hard and nobody ate anything. They gave us free day passes however. The only dissadvantage was they were good for 30 days? I ended up getting a free day with some friends and we all went and the water park was a mess. The life guards were talking with each other and paying no attention to the little kids. The pool water was anything but clear and the rollercoaster was broke. Spend your money at Cedar Point not here. read more

This place is lucky it even gets a 2 star rating. The only reason it gets any stars is because the entrance was pretty, the arcade was fun and they give you towels so you don't have to take your own in the Waterpark. My Husband and I took our 2 eight year olds there for our daughters birthday. We booked 2 night but only ended up staying 1. Upon arrival there were so many people at the entrance it was difficult to get in carrying the few things we brought. We checked in and walked forever to our room which the hallways smelled like poopy diaper. We thought maybe a baby pooped earlier and it just lingered but no it stayed that way the entire time we was there. Also there was a used bandage sitting on a shelf in the hallway the entire time we were there as well. We seen so many housekeepers but it was never cleaned up. The room looked clean when you walked in but as you pay attention it was gross. Granted I do own a cleaning business so I am very detailed (THEY WERE NOT) you could feel the dirt in the tub and on the floors. The sink and bathtub drains would not drain so it was backed up every time we'd wash our hands. Okay so we end up going to the Waterpark witch was nice except for as soon as you walked in the door to the Waterpark it was so strong from the chlorine. It was literally burning our eyes. We went in the lazy river and the water looked dirty. There were so many people everywhere no matter where you went i felt like a sardine stuffed in a can. When we got out of the water my legs felt like they were burning. I'm not sure why maybe to much chlorine. Anyway we went to the slides and every line was like a 40-60 minute wait? We were next in like to the yellow slide when the lady that was running that slide decided to push an empty raft down the slide and it got stuck. They had to shut it down and drain the water while she was trying to get another workers attention for like 10 minuets. So we waited for that ride for about an hour and a half. Well we decided it was like to get something to eat and we were walking over to one of the food places and there was a fight. A few drunk men and women screaming and swearing at each other mean while the place is full of children. It wasn't stopped by anyone that worked there fo about 10 minuets. We finally get our food and it is so VERY over priced for gross food. I went to buy a baiting suit in one of the stores and everything was so overpriced. A small top was $80 and the medium bottoms were $80? WHAT? WHY? It wasn't anything name brand. Okay so the day is over everyone is exhausted so we end up going to sleep around 12-1am. I wake up t the damn fire alarm at 3am. Woke everyone up reminder we have 2 eight year olds so scared. We go downstairs and there is no one to address us to tell us what's going on. Everyone is outside in the freezing cold in January with their kids. Someone said a kid pulled the alarm but there are no things in the hallways or anything for a kid to pull? Anyway we all go back in to our room, get back in bed and the damn alarm goes off again. At the point my husband is ready to leave because there must be something wrong. We ended up leaving that day and not staying the extra night we paid for. We never complained or tried to get any money back. We were just so fed up with the experience that we just wanted to be home. read more

I'm a little surprised at some of the negative reviews that I'm reading. Maybe I can present a different perspective. When I go to a water park, it is not necessarily because that's my choice of vacation spots, it's because I believe that the kids will love it. Yes, it matters to me if it's clean (and I felt that Kalahari was). But having been to 2 different Great Wolf Lodges and also to Avalanche Bay, so I kind of already know what to expect at these places. Here are some things I know to be true of my water park experiences: 1. They are usually big and quite spread out. You will sometimes have to walk far to get to your car or the water park, or wherever you want to go. 2. The rooms/food/etc. is not cheap but you can always bring some snacks, etc. for the room. Also you can check out Groupon or sign up for e-mail coupons and discounts. 3. If you go when it's a school holiday, it's going to be really busy. 4. Check in usually takes a while. It's made worse by kids who are really excited to hurry up and go swimming. Yes, the above statements were true of Kalahari, but they are also true of the other places too. I found that my boys and their friends liked the bigger water slides that Kalahari has much better than those at the GWL. They also liked the lazy river, wave pool and the "toilet bowl" ride. I personally thought that the restaurant at Kalahari was pretty good for water park resort food. The breakfast we had was really tasty and our waitress was friendly (and thankfully very patient). We loved, loved, loved the coffee shop and the candy store. After all, no trip with kids is complete without caffeine and sugar! read more

This is second kalahari experience, not chosen for vacay, here for dance comp. Worst service, sensory overload, room not clean upon arrival, probably great for older kids but would never recommend this place. Screaming kids, loud "jungle" music, staff at kiosks and restaurants not friendly, food very mediocre read more

We spent 3 days and 2 nights at Kalahari in Sandusky. Overall, it was a great experience. The acrobat show on New Year's Eve was very entertaining. The New Year's Eve dance was also very good, but it was billed as a family dance and the music was very loud. It also got to be very crowded for the kids around midnight. The biggest complaint was that our room wasn't cleaned so at 5pm when we wanted to get ready for New Year's Eve we still had a messy room with no fresh towels. read more

This place is the best! Nice rooms, epic inside and outside water park, cute petting zoo, hundreds of games and prizes in the "Big Game Room" Arcade, laser tag, virtual reality experiences, zip line, climbing wall, spa, market place; and fantastic restaurants with mouth watering pastries, ice cream, and other deserts including alcoholic drinks. I come here every year for an Anime Convention called Colossalcon and it is the event that I look forward to every year! It is absolutely the best and I am so glad it is held here at the Kalahari Resorts and Water Park. I cannot recommend it enough and you must see it for yourself! The annual event that I come here for is Colossalcon which is an anime, gaming, and Japanese culture convention that takes place around the first of every June. While it is located here at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio; and there is also Colossalcon East in September. It is located at the Kalahari Resort in the Poconos Mountains, PA; which is somehow even bigger than this one!!! The Kalahari Resorts are the ultimate summer vacation getaway. Start your summer with a splash by attending Colossalcon here! read more

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The good: HUGE facility, very nicely laid out room design. We were on the first floor and had our own patio. Very clean room, nice features. There was a lot to do out the water park. Nice rides. The best part about it was the life guards. They were sooooo good with children and so observant. I was really impressed. The bad: There was a terrible odor through out. Kids said someone left a dirty diaper in every hallway. The water park had no constancy to the layout. One kids section then huge slide then pool then basketball next to baby pool???? It was very pricey but worth it. Food was NOT worth the price. The chicken was so undercooked the pink center was not even thawed out. When we complained they said because we ate some of it they could not return it. WHAT IS THAT? I had to pay $14 for a raw piece of chicken? I would say, if you got a new tat recently, this would be the place to show it off. I think you must get a discount if you have multiple tats read more

INTRODUCTION Bottom line: the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Sandusky, OH, is a large, modern, well-equipped facility on a par with some of the finest themed resorts found in places like Las Vegas (minus the casino). It offers a safe, extensive water park experience for families, as well as world-class convention facilities for businesses. Accommodation is spacious and comfortable, with the only minor gripe I can think of being a lack of variety when it comes to dining. ACCOMMODATION My wife and I stayed in a "Lodge" room which was more like an apartment than a hotel room -- it boasted a fully-equipped kitchen, including a full size refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and microwave oven. A separate bedroom with a closable door proved very valuable since I was attending a conference every day and had an early start, whereas my wife stayed up late working on her computer, so we did not disturb each other. The bathroom included a hot tub which (given that the facilities at the water park included a large heated pool with a "swim-up" bar) seemed superfluous. There was also a gas fireplace with fiberglass logs, and a large flat screen TV set in both the living room and the bedroom. In my experience of over 40 years of business travel, this rates as one of the best rooms I've ever stayed in. CONVENTION CENTER The large, modern convention center is on a par with most other convention centers I've attended and spoken at. The movable partitions are soundproof, and the audiovisual system worked perfectly during the presentation I gave. I really appreciated the deep carpeting in the corridors around the convention centre which muffled the sound of people moving from room to room such that they didn't disturb sessions that were still running. (I have been to some convention centers where the outside carpeting was ineffective or non-existent, leading to considerable disturbance when other sessions broke early.) WATER PARK Kalahari advertises their water park as the "largest in America" and I believe it. It resembles a fully-enclosed football stadium packed full of pools, water slides, and various other aquatic paraphernalia. They cater for families in a very big way, offering rides and water-themed games that appeal to all ages, from toddlers to grandparents. Everything in the water park was very clean, well-signposted, and safety-conscious. I very much enjoyed the several rides I ventured onto. AMBIANCE As the name implies, Kalahari adopts an African theme, based upon a quaint 1950s safari view of that continent. In keeping with this theme, many of the support staff were uniformed in khaki safari suits with pith helmets. I found the overall thematic ambiance quite amusing, and not at all offensive. I should also point out that all of the staff were exceedingly friendly and proactively helpful at all times. I felt very well looked after while I was there. DINING Food is provided by several restaurants and fast food stands scattered around the premises, but the emphasis is on medium-quality family fare geared towards a Midwestern dining ethic with little regard for the dietary needs of vegans such as myself. Since it is generally my habit to stock my hotel room fridge with my own food, this lack of dining choice did not inconvenience me greatly. GUEST SAFETY One thing I noticed about the water park that was very pleasing was the number of lifeguards present. It seemed as though you couldn't walk more than 10 paces without running into one! As with the other staff, the lifeguards were incredibly attentive and extremely helpful. My wife suffered a small cut on her foot on one of the rides and was immediately hustled off to a first aid station where they looked after her extremely well. Now, this is where the story gets interesting -- on the third day of the conference, I was attending a session and started to experience chest pains. I left the room, looking for a glass of water, and was spotted by a passing waiter who commented that I didn't look very well, suggesting that I sit down while he summon help. Initially, I felt he was being a little overdramatic, but he insisted and made a quick phone call which resulted in a pair of EMT specialists sprinting around the corner within about 30 seconds, toting a huge rucksack full of medical equipment. Within a few minutes they had me wired up to various monitors and had taken a blood sample, quickly determining that I was, in fact, suffering a heart attack. Apparently, the EMTs had taken the precaution of calling an ambulance as soon as they were summoned, and within a few more minutes I was on my way to a hospital, where emergency surgery saved my life! I hope you never have a life-threatening emergency at any time, but if you must have one while attending a conference, make it at the Kalahari, where their responsiveness and expertise are second to none. Well done, Kalahari! read more

Visited Kalahari in Sandusky with my family on July 31 - August 2 for a mini vacation. This "resort" is over priced and over hyped. The rooms are dirty, the towels are like sandpaper and forget about water pressure when taking a shower. Although the water park is huge the management at Kalahari seem to be more interested in selling day passes at $59 each instead of catering to those that spend a fortune to fill up its hotel. There isn't enough seating to accommodate everyone. By the way, don't plan on spending your evening at the outdoor restaurant or bar because they close at 8 pm every night leaving you with very little to do. Tried to voice my opinion to management but they dont seem to care. My advice - stay somewhere else and save your money or you will be very disappointed. read more

I have stayed twice with my family at Kalahari and the one most important thing I have discovered is..........timing. Our first stay was on a Saturday in October in 2012. We just came for the day and it was busy but still fun. Our second stay was an overnight stay on a Sunday-Monday during the first week of December in 2013. We brought my wife's parents with us and chose the Adventure Your Way package. We were able to get the Queen room, tokens for the arcade, and breakfast credit. The Queen room was absolutely perfect for us with two separate rooms. Very nice and seemed high-quality. Sunday seemed to be a fairly busy day but nothing compared to the Saturday in October. Monday however we felt like we had the water park to ourselves! It was absolutely fantastic. They still had all the rides open and hardly any wait. My 8 year old was able to splash around and play in the wave pool and we never lost sight of her. My 2 year old could run and play without bumping into people or getting under foot. My only disappointment was that they did not have the buffet open Monday morning due to the small amount of people staying. I was really looking forward to it from the pictures and such online. They did have the restaurant open though and the food was still great! My in-laws enjoyed it so much we are hoping to make it an annual trip! read more

Everything was poor from check in through the entire stay. 1. The rooms are very small an extremely dated. The bathrooms are so small that the sinks are in the main area. 2. The food prices are like eating in an airport. It is shameful what they charge for everything, a slice of garbage pizza at 5 bucks to a very expensive buffet which was atrocious! 3. The water park maybe very large but it is crowded, extremely old and the stench is unbearable. We were forced to stay at this location for a conference, next time we will definitely stay off premise and I can't stress how much better the food is at one of the many local restaurants. Awful. read more

My family and I have been coming to Kalahari since 2009. We have always enjoyed our stays here.This is the #1 waterpark in nation. However, this visit was the worse stay that we have experienced . I blame it on the "Groupon specials" they have start offering. The issues experienced was from 11/22-11/23: We got to the park on at 12:50pm on 11/22, which is the normal time we would get there and our room would normally be ready no this time. We were advised the room would not be ready until 4. We did not get a text message until 3:45pm that our room was ready. We load up all our belongings go and stand in the Key pickup line for 45 minutes. When asking a Kalahari employee about the other lines that she was working from she replied with a sarcastic remark "this is the "key pick line", I replied I was just asking....... for clarity. Ok we get our room finally and it's a larger stain on the carpet " puke" I believe bed linen did not look clean it was long strains of hair on them. Once back at the water park there was no were to sit all chairs were occupied dirty used towels thrown all around the park. The next morning 11/23 I go to "java manjaro" for breakfast. I asked Pamela for a breakfast sandwich she immediately got smart breakfast was over 15 minutes ago, with a puzzled look on my face because I could under why she was getting nasty I, said can I have a cup of coffee yeah we serve coffee all day. I ordered 2 steak sandwiches and a small cup of coffee totaling $21.62 which is ridiculous but "whatever" she than ask was I checking out I said yes. She picks up the phone to call the front desk to ask about my room status I believe with a line of 20 people waiting in line behind me. After 5 minutes of waiting I tell Pamela let pay cash get my food that is now getting cold my coffee so I can leave. Out of no were the "sandwich maker" lady says it's policy, now by this time I'm frustrated and aggravated I tell her to mined her business and continue make sandwiches here comes smart mouth sarcastic employee "I hope your day gets better" it was uncalled for and not her place to get in the conversation. Once I finally made it to the check counter because of coarse I was line another 15 to 20 minutes. I was assisted by the Sandy M. she was the nicest person this entire time stay . She explained all the charges the were wrong and had be credited back to my card and welcomed and my family back Kalahari in the future. I will not stop supporting the Kalahari family resort. I just hope they brush up on their CUSTOMER SERVICE in every aspect of the phrase. I will be writing letter to Kalahari resort explaining my experience and concerns. read more

We just returned from a visit from Kalahari. If you don't like to walk this place isn't for you! It is HUGE! Overall, it was a great visit. I wish in the water park there had been more for my 3.5 to do. She was a little big for the kiddie area and the slides in the fort were fun but only for so long. She wasn't tall enough for any of the bigger slides. My just turned 5 son was able to ride a lot of slides. We had recently visited Great Wolf lodge and it was perfect for both my kids in those ages. They were able to ride all slides there (had to go in a raft with an adult on some). However, Kalahari is much bigger and felt less crowded. The staff was fantastic and the dining options were much better. We had dinner at the Reserve and I was very happy with my stir fry. They had a DJ come around and do trivia with the kids as well as a Limbo contest during dinner. The candy shop was great and the pastry shop had amazing little (big) muffins!!! Plus they had a 6 week old lion cub and birds in the lobby. The staff was always there to help and was so friendly. Our bellman (Big Al) gave us a tour as he took us to our room as he told us about the facility. The indoor playground was a nice surprise to find so if you have little ones pack socks or you will need to buy them at the shop for $2 a piece. The arcade entertained my kids and they enjoyed spending their tickets for cheap prizes that broke before we even left the resort. :) I am sure we will be back again when my little one gets a little bigger. read more

At $500 a night, And during a pandemic I would expect cleaning procedures to be top notch. Our room was filthy, the sink had cigarette buds in it, the showers and toilets had Hair throughout. There were splattered stains all over the walls in the living room. Also the fact that everything seemed broken and outdated in our room, from door knobs, to coffee machine. Absolute filth. The outdoor Waterpark is nice, until you ask a lifeguard why a pool that you were just in closed suddenly and his response is, "a guest shit in the pool". Absolutely disgusting. The indoor water park felt like a Petri dish, literally. No social distance, the water was so dirty in the pools, you can literally see filth and hair floating and they just dump an insane amount of chemicals in it to mask the filth. My children's skin still smelled like chlorine after their showers because of the amount in the water. Also, the ppl that go there are beyond rude and staff does nothing but watch. This was our first and also last time at this resort. read more

Great venue for a family vacation, not so good for a conference as business travelers expect a little more from their accommodations.(This one does anyhoo) I did not get to use the water park (business over pleasure on the company dime) but it looked very cool and claims to be the largest in North America. The rooms were huge, with 20 ft ceilings, which gave the room very strange acoustics. The beds were awful, very uncomfortable, crappy blankets and stones for pillows. If you are going on a family vacation, this would be less of a problem as the water park will make you tired enough to sleep in the car park. I would go back, hopefully on vacation rather than business. read more