Fall Family Waterpark Weekend

The Grand Geneva Resort is a classic rural golf, spa, and banquet destination.  With immaculately manicured grounds and timeless charm, this resort offers creature comforts and a calm sense of ease.  Timber Ridge Resort, which is a part of Grand Geneva, is like the younger, slightly less kempt and rowdier sibling.

I first heard of Timber Ridge in the Travelzoo Weekly Top 20, which is a must for anyone who likes to spend their disposable income and free time exploring the country.  Travelzoo offers weekly deals on local hotels and restaurants as well as popular national destinations.

Upon arrival at Timber Ridge, I was a bit taken aback by the noise and sheer number of children and adults wandering the hotel lobby at 8:30 p.m.  In fact, as I was checking in, a little girl came up and hugged my leg, clearly thinking I was her father.  The waterpark closes at 9:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and these happy travelers were squeezing every moment out of it that they could. 

We had not eaten and soon discovered the limited food options at Timber Ridge.  There is Smokey’s BBQ which was busy, but to be honest, the multitude of chicken fingers turned me off, and we never ate there.  I was not aware of the Hungry Moose cafeteria, which is in the waterpark, so we explored the many food options in Lake Geneva proper, a short drive up the road.

Knowing that this was a waterpark, I had lowered expectations about the room, and I was pleasantly surprised.  Our One Bedroom Suite was large, comfortable, and clean.  The room featured a huge entrance closet, full kitchen (no oven), dining table for six, seating area with fireplace and television, small balcony, oversized bathroom with a two person Jacuzzi tub, and a bedroom with another large closet and second television. 

Despite the pleasant surroundings, our room experience was not perfect.  Unrelenting thunderous banging from above forced us to call to complain.  This was a first for me.  The noise stopped several minutes later, but it reappeared intermittently throughout the weekend.  The hallways were always full of people including running and sometimes screaming children.  If you can accept this as a part of the deal, which we did, then you will enjoy staying at Timber Ridge.  The accommodations were as nice as advertised, perhaps even nicer.

One aspect that was not as well advertised was the resort fee.  At $15 per day, it seemed steep, but we got quite a bit for it.   The first perk that we took advantage of was the Wireless Internet, which worked everywhere in the room and was faster than expected.  I was even able to stream a couple of movies.  The fee also covered two bottles of water each day.  Most importantly, the fee covered the use of the Grand Geneva Well Spa fitness facilities, which were fantastic and are described below.

To begin day two, we ate breakfast at the Grand Geneva Resort.  The service was over the top friendly, without being overbearing.  The food was simply delicious.  We enjoyed the buffet and the eggs benedict, both of which were fantastic.  I cannot stress enough how kind and attentive the service was, both by the hostess and the server.

We next made our way to the waterpark.  It must be understood that this is a small indoor waterpark, which has two waterslides, a lazy, almost somnambulant river, a pool, and a dedicated toddler pool.  If you are looking for a thrilling and unique experience, this is not the waterpark for you.  If you have a toddler or small child, Timber Ridge is perfect.  Our daughter would have ridden the slides in the toddler pool until she wore out the bottom of her bathing suit.  As it was, we rode with her somewhere between six and seven million times.  She was ecstatic.  They also sell small inner tubes, which serve as seats for babies and toddlers, and they are only $5!  These work well for a family trip in the lazy river.  The waterslides were fun, not amazing.  There was an inner tube slide, which started with a burst of speed and that was about it.  The other slide was completely dark, except for a few LED lights and had some nice speed, but I felt every seam on my back.  One nice feature was that even though the park was crowded, I never waited more than a minute or two to ride a slide, but as I said, this is a waterpark primarily for families, especially those with little kids.

While the little one napped, we made use of the fitness facilities.  Well Spa is a full service spa, but the fitness facilities are included in the resort fee.  This includes a workout area, full basketball court, tennis courts (fee), rock climbing wall (also a fee), and your typical spa locker room, complete with “Head Locker Room Attendant”.  He was great, extremely personable.  You can use the whirlpool, sauna, steam room, and multi-headed showers for free.  There is, of course, the typical spa lounge area with ice water and lemon.  This experience offered a quiet respite from the Timber Ridge experience and prepared us to go back, face the crowds and ride the slides again.

The housekeeping staff at Timber Ridge was ever present and hard working.  As with all of the employees, they were friendly and helpful.  It should be noted that Timber Ridge hosts a wealth of activities for families, but we just did not have the time to check them all out.  We will on our return trips.  Timber Ridge offers a superb getaway for families.  Just keep in mind that it is crowded and noisy, but the clean, comfortable and large rooms, fun family activities, and the pleasant and helpful staff more than make up for any shortcomings.