Wisconsin Dells – The Pros and Cons of the Kalahari

Although my recommendation would be to stay somewhere other than the Kalahari in order to save some cash and get the most bang for your buck, the resort is very nice.  The room we stayed in was quite spacious and safety procedures are quite impressive.  We had to use a card in order to access our hall, to use the elevator in or wing, and to access our room. 

If you do stay at the Kalahari when you visit Wisconsin Dells, one tip:  you might need to put your key in a reader right inside of your door in order to activate the lights throughout the room.  We really felt like fools not knowing how to turn our lights on!  Also, if you have young ones that cannot swim, life jackets are available for rent at the resort.  To me, they should be given for free because I consider it to be a safety issue.

The staff at the Kalahari was very friendly and helpful.  If you will be using the waterpark, however, you will need to stop at the kiosk to get a bracelet if you are resort guest.  This kiosk is located a bit away from the entrance, so don’t get drawn in by the entrance and think you will be able to get in that way, as you will just be sent back to the kiosk. 

One thing that slightly bothered me was that, after being done with the waterpark from the time being, I had asked the employee if we could remove the bracelets and get new ones later if we decided to return and she said they preferred we kept them on and that “everyone in Wisconsin Dells has bracelets on anyway.”  I would have preferred being told I could remove the bracelets if we liked.  With as much as the place costs, I am sure they could withstand the cost and inconvenience of supplying my family with new bracelets if we needed them later.  My kids, particularly the twins, were not too thrilled about wearing them in the first place.

So, if you have money to spend and if you will make good use of the waterpark, you might want to stay at the Kalahari.  You could truly spend your entire vacation there because of the restaurants and activities available.  If you are going to check out the other sites the Dells has to offer, however, you might want to just go somewhere else.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Photo Gallery 2 (the cabin)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I really think that cabins are the way to go when it comes to family travel.  It gives you lots of room to spread out while maintaining your privacy.  In addition, you can save money by cooking a meal or two rather than eating out all of the time.  Most of all, when on a vacation to a natural setting, it allows you to enjoy the beauty of nature while still having the comforts of home.  Here are some photos of the cabin where we stayed on our second stay at the Smokies.

Here is a front view of the cabin.  As you can see, this particular one was named “Autumnwood.”

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 Here’s the hot tub.  Many of the cabins at the Smokies have extra little luxuries such as hot tubs.  This one was accessed by going out the front door and walking across the balcony (which offered amazing views) and walking into a screened in room.  The grill and other outdoor items were outside of that area.

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The cabin itself didn’t have a pool, but we had access to the pool located at the main office from the cabin rental facility.  Here are the two older boys playing in the water mushroom that was just outside of the main pool.

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Here is the actual pool.

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Notice the gorgeous mountains in the background!