My family and I just returned from this hotel. After having a family get together for the weekend 10 adults and 10 kids we were ready for a great time. Only to find out that the hotel is open to the public now and it's more crowded then usual. Had I known that I would have gone somewhere else that didn't offer that to outside "non patron" people. The mattress we had in our room felt like they were 10 years old, mushy and the sheets were dingy and too small for the bed and having to wake up and fix the sheets numerous times was all I could stand. To top it off, someone parked under our balcony and their car alarm was going off repeatedly. We called each time it went off and all we got from the front desk was" we can't do anything about it". What happened to customer service?? Everyone who stays there has to have a parking tag on their rear view mirror. Couldn't someone go check the room # and knock on the door and ask them to fix it or move their car? Seems like a good idea. Next time I go to Wisc Dells I will go to another water park. I'm done with the Wilderness.

We just returned from our annual get-to-together with four other families in Wisconsin Dells. The past few years we have stayed at the Kalahari; this year we chose the Wilderness. We booked the five bedroom retreat. Friday night, as our children were falling asleep, we found mouse dropping on the sheets of one of their beds. Yes, under the covers and on the sheets. We called housekeeping and at 11:00pm, they came and changed the sheets for us, waking all of the children asleep in that room.
The next evening we could hear the mice running in the ceiling and woke up to that same noise. We found mouse droppings in the kitchen and in one of the bathrooms. This was on Sunday, after we had stayed the weekend, the mice were still apparently running through the condo.
When we spoke to the front desk manager, we were told we should expect that. The fall is when we should expect to see mice, just like in our homes. I do not have mice in my home and when I pay $1000.00 a night for a condo, I do not expect to be cleaning up mouse droppings.
They gave us a $200.00 gift card for our next stay after much debating as to whether they really wanted to do anything for us. We were made to feel we were wrong in being upset that there were mouse droppings throughout the condo. We will not be going back. A resort who expects their guests to be ok with mice in their rooms is not the resort we will take our family back to.

We go visit the dells every year during the month of October and usually stay at the Polynesian. This year we decided to try one of the bigger resorts. Well after pricing rooms we decided the Wilderness was the most resonably priced. We paid 276 total for a Friday and Saturday nights stay. I should have known that when I called to book and was told that they only had 30 rooms left that should have been a clear indicator of what was to come. I knew the wilderness was a big property based on the website but once your are there it may still be a shock as to how big it truly is. We ended up pre-registering at the New Frontier lobby around 10:30 a.m only to be told that "you still need to check in at the Wild West Lobby so here is a map of our property." There was the frontier lobby, wild west lobby, glacier canyon lodge lobby, condos, wilderness at the lake. Sarentos and Fields are the restaurants you need to catch the shuttle or walk. They are not connected to any part of the hotel. We were able to get our bracelets immediately that allowed us access to all the waterparks and the dry play area. Be advised that walking to one of the three waterparks could be anywhere from a 2 mins - 8 mins. depending on where you are located and how you chose to get there. Some people found it quicker to run between buildings in their bathing suits and towels (40 degree weather) instead of walking the hallways. We chose the long way each and everytime.

Overall our kids ages (5 months, 4, 7 and my 12 year old neice) had a blast. They enjoyed the lazy river, wave pools and especially the indoor/outdoor hot tubs. A great time was had at the timberland playhouse also. Our Hotel room (double suite) had two t.vs, pull out couch, 2 queen beds and the retaining wall.
Our room was on the top floor (3rd) and had a balcony with a view of one of the hot tubs. My mother had the chance to visit the spa which was a mile down the road (she caught the shuttle) and had herself pampered.

My only complaint about the wilderness is that it was just tooo big and very crowded. This was during the so called "off-season". I'd hate to be there during one of the summer months. Granted, there were plenty of halloween activites for the children but it was not relaxing for my husband and I. The kids had a great time which is all that matters.

One other thing....the kids eat free promotion sounds nice but at 20.00 for each adult and the cost of beverages for each person our bill was 70.00 for 3 adults and 3 (free) kids. You can do the math. We would have come out cheaper going to Pizza pub or famous daves. And the food at the buffet was just alright.

the wilderness had a wide range of restaurants through out the premises and had plenty of lifeguards.

The only time I will return is on the off season on a Sunday - Thursday otherwise I'm sticking with the Polynesian.

This was our first time staying at the Wilderness, yet have stayed at many other of the themed waterparks. The minute we arrived, people were "wandering" the hallways, shivering in towels trying to find their way to the next water park (there are two and one wave pool). The parks are connected by the hotel hallways without any detailed signs and a fuzzy map received at check in. To get to the wave pool we had to run outside to the other building. The wave pool was the best part. The resturaunts were slow, and had one person working in them. They were dirty, overpriced and freezing. The customer service was terrible. Food took forever, Halloween activities planned by the hotel...but no information could be found about them. Hotel service was also unresponsive when I needed help to retrieve a lot item. All in all, we regret even stepping foot in the hotel. Really not the quality I expected for a big name hotel.