Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Great Wolf Lodge's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Great Wolf Lodge

  PO Box 50 Wisc Dells, WI 53965-0050

• 

  Great Wolf Lodge

  1400 Great Wolf Drive Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965

• 

  Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.

  4600 Milan Rd Sandusky, OH 44870

• 

  Great Wolf Lodge Southwest Florida

  3900 City Gate Blvd N Naples, FL 34117

• 

  Great Wolf Lodge

  Gurnee, IL 60031

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/26/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  2/20-2/24 Confirmation number: 7VGRYUKVJ6 ****** **** ******************************************************************************* We originally booked this stay for our daughters 10th birthday, however; soon after it became a nightmare. We had been asked on the text message server on our way up there about upgrading our room. We agreed on the Royal bear suite. We arrived at 7:05p, waterpark closes @8. We have a 11 year old girl, 10 year old girl, and a 6 year old boy that we were also celebrating for his 5 year liver transplantation. The front desk clerk didnt notice the updated suite info so we waited until she was done. 45 mins later were directed to where our new room was. Someone followed us and decorated meanwhile my daughter had no idea about this surprise or celebration. This woman made it apparent to put the sash on while we were walking in, I held the door. I am and was appalled by this!! Even after I told the front desk to please wait on decorating. 2 balloons and door sash later, she left. The packages we had purchased on itiial booking date were: bday package $89.99 3 wolf passes $Breakfast vouchers Upgraded for room

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/26/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am writing to formally lodge a complaint against Great Wolf Lodge regarding a $250 gift card I won in 2013. At the time of winning this gift card, I was explicitly informed that it would not expire. This assurance was a significant factor in my decision to use it when the opportunity arose now 12 years ********** forward to today, I now have a granddaughter, which marks the first time a child has been in our family since I won the gift card. Excitedly, I went online to redeem the gift card for a family trip to Great Wolf Lodge, only to discover that my card was not valid. When I reached out, I learned that 44% of its value had been surrendered to the State of Delaware due to inactivity.Upon contacting Great Wolf Lodge for clarification and assistance, I was informed that in order to reclaim the remaining value of my gift card, I would need to provide proof of purchase or receipts for the card. This requirement is particularly frustrating given that Great Wolf Lodge has already confirmed that the card has not been used. Additionally, they acknowledged their policy regarding unclaimed funds being sent to ******** but have placed an unreasonable burden on me by requiring documentation that is not readily available after such a long period.The situation has left me feeling disheartened and frustrated. It seems unjust that despite having adhered to their stated policy regarding non-expiration and having retained possession of the card itself, I am now facing these obstacles. The expectation for me to jump through hoops just to access what should rightfully be mine feels excessive and contrary to customer service principles.I respectfully request your assistance in resolving this matter with Great Wolf Lodge. It is my hope that they will honor their original commitment regarding the expiration policy and allow me access to the full value of my gift card without unnecessary demands for documentation.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/24/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  we stayed at ****** location from 2/14 to 2/17 and all family were diagnosed with ecoli and norovirus, including our 1 year old and 2 year old. from a waterborne illness . per our family doctor the water was contaminated in their water park , I believe their water isnt tested regularly . we couldnt enjoy the last 2 nights as we were stuck in our room caring for our kids and ourselves from the illness . the kids were vomiting a few times and could not hold any food down due to the illness .

  Business Response

  Date: 03/08/2025

  Good afternoon,
  
  Thank you for contacting us. We have forwarded the guest's concerns to our team at the lodge. As soon as we receive a response, we will provide an update.
  
  Thanks,
  ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/24/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I stayed at Great Wolf Lodge on February 18th, 2025. During our stay we used pool towels as provided by the resort and made sure to scan our wrist bands as we checked them back in. We left the resort on February 19th after turning in all of our remaining towels and received what I thought was my final bill,Much later that evening, I received a notification from my credit card company that an additional $30 charge was added on by the resort. When I checked my bill again, they added $30 due to supposedly having two towels not being turned back in. This has two issues:1) The towels were turned back in, so these charges are not authorized.2) I never received a notification from them regarding the update to my hotel bill.I called the resort on February 20th notifying them of their mistake, and they would only create a case for me telling me they would look into the issue. It is February 24th and they have not updated me at all on the status of the case and find it unbelievable they can charge our family an arbitrary amount of money for towels due to their lack of process in checking in/out the towels in an orderly fashion.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/08/2025

  Good afternoon,

  Thank you for reaching out to us. After reviewing the case, we found that the towel fee charge was refunded on 2/25/2025. Additionally, an email was sent to the guest on 2/25/2025 notifying them of this refund.

  Please note that when a guest inquires about a charge, our process is to create a case for review by one of our team members. Once the review is completed, a team member will reach out to the guest with an update. We are actively working to improve our response times, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

  Thank you for your understanding.

  
  Best regards,
  ********

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/10/2025

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/20/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I should not have been charged an additional $90 for Resturant 2 Dinner Food.When I checked in on 02/16/2025, I had initially declined linking the armbands for charges made at the resort. Later that day (after 3pm on 02/16/25) I changed my mind and requested that 2 of the armbands be linked to my credit card on file for charges so I would not have to carry my wallet around.The front desk person said there would be a $99 temporary hold placed on my credit card and that I should be able to make any purchases with the 2 armband that I had authorized to be linked for this.When trying to make purchases with the armbands on 2 separate occasions, it did not work and I still had to use my physical credit card for the purchases.I believe the front desk person made an error when attempting to link the armbands to my credit card on file and somehow managed to have an additional $90 get billed to **** want the $90 refunded to me as I should lot have been charged for this.I contacted Great Wolf Lodge and only got a response saying I was billed for charges made at the lodge. The case number for my claims was ********. They did not look into my concerns at all.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/08/2025

  Good afternoon,
  
  Thank you for reaching out to us. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We found that the overcharged amount of $90 was refunded on 2/21/2025. 
  
  Best regards,
  Britany
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/19/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  From February 2-4 2025 we booked a hotel stay at Great Wolf Lodge. Upon making our reservation I was made aware of the resort fee. I received a recommendation upon checking in that I could add the Pup Pass which I did with an additional credit to use during our stay of $ 100 towards food and beverage. After our stay I received the billing statement and there were individual taxes on each line item. This was not shared upon booking my reservation nor at the reservation front desk. I contacted Great Wolf Lodge a week ago via email on February 4, 2025 regarding the charges and I havent received a response. I would like to receive my money back for the individual tax charges applied to each line item. None of the charges applied were explained to me at any point. This was very deceptive.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/25/2025

  The reservation was booked through our website, and a confirmation email with the full charges would have been provided upon completion of the booking. On March 1 at 9:30 AM, the Great Wolf team in ******* called and left a voicemail with a detailed breakdown of the invoice, noting that a $32.48 adjustment was made for parking. All other charges were confirmed to be correct. A follow-up call was also made at 11:30 AM, during which another voicemail was left.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/26/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  It was not outlined when I maker the reservation online nor when I called to make changes to my previous reservation that there would be additional made separately related to taxes and resort fees. As a customer those details matter and shouldnt be withheld. When youre budgeting for a vacation that should be disclosed and not a surprise after you receive your billing statement. 

  
  Regards,
  
  ******** **********

  Business Response

  Date: 03/30/2025

  Good afternoon, *******.
  
  We thank you for choosing Great Wolf Resorts. We have reviewed your summited your concern to the BBB and apologize for any frustration caused. A representative will reach out to you at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss this matter further. Your patience during this process is much appreciated.
  
  
  Thank you.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/31/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed 
  

  Thank you for correcting the mistake for the charges with parking, the credits were applied to my credit card, however the additional individual taxes to each line item wasnt explained while booking my reservations or during check-in. This was very deceptive. 

  
  Regards,
  
  ******** **********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/19/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Confirmation #7yjd46hfrj: I booked a night stay on Feb 5 ( Check in date 2/20/2025) for $158.19. Due to unforeseen circumstances related to our minor childs health CONCERN, we wanted to modify the booking to the following week. We attempted to reach customer service for several days to modify our reservation. Despite multiple calls with hold times exceeding 50 minutes each time, we have been unable to connect. We submitted an online contact form too, detailing our attempts to reach customer service and requested a callback but no one contacted back. Today I was able to connect to an agent via Website chat and explained the issue. He said the only option is to hold the deposit for 1 year and I can use the same deposit to make a new reservation. I agreed to this because I had no other option. After putting the deposit on hold he said I would not be able to make the reservation online and will have to call the same customer service number for booking. I told him that that phone number keeps the caller on hold and never connects to the agent but he said there is no other option. It is kindly requested to help me get my deposit $158.19 refunded back to me as I can NOT use it anyway. I can provide transcript of my chat with agent if needed.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/24/2025

  Dear ***** ******,
  
  Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. Were following up regarding your case.
  
  Case Number: 02057631
  Date Created: 2/19/2025
  Reason: Guest Concern Guest Concern - Policy
  
  Were happy to inform you that your case has been successfully resolved. 
  
  We have processed the refund of $158.19 has been issued and should be reflected in your account in the next 5 to 10 business days. Please note for future changes guests can reach out to us at ************ or the chat feature on the website. If you have any additional questions or need further assistance, please dont hesitate to reply to this email.
  
  We truly appreciate your patience and understanding throughout this process. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your familys memories!
  
  Wishing you a howlin good day!
  
  Howls!
  ******* ******
  Guest Communications Specialist
  Great Wolf Lodge - Customer Contact Center...

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/24/2025

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ******
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/17/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Used Affirm to pay for the hotel stay, approved and have email stating when payment plan would start. Chatted with the great wolf lodge ( have a screenshot) said no problem just bring ID. I get there and they state there is still a balance. So finally went and got a higher team member to come talk to me who stated they bill once check out. Asked two more times even before check out to insure there would be no issue before I left as the next day I had to hit the road and no time for nonsense. At time of check out I made sure the manager came to speak with me they separated the bill to show me what would process through affirmative and what would process on my card. ( I have the print out records) I get home and they processed the entire payment to my Amex card which I did not approve! At some point one of there staff canceled the affirmative not knowing what they were doing. I contacted affirmative and told them what happened and they assured me I would not be charged. My problem with this company is I asked many times on my say if there was an issue because if so I would have been able to call affirmative and resolve the problem but instead now I have over ***** charges to my amex which also is more than the billing statements from hotel in the first place and was charged more than once for the parking fees. I have tried everyday since to make contact with management to resolve this issue and have gotten no response. I was on hold for over 30 minutes yesterday just to get a CSR and asked to speak with management and was told no one was available. This is the worst customer service and experience I have ever dealt with. If the employees do not k ow how to process affirm they should not offer it as a way of payment. Now I have a large credit card bill due in full to avoid fees when I was supposed to have a low payment plan of $55 a month. ( I have an email too) Management and staff need to do better and make this right. This could have been prevented!!!!!

  Business Response

  Date: 03/06/2025

  Good evening, 

  We've received an update from the team at the lodge in *******, ** stating that they reached out to the guest and requested documentation for the second parking fee. When the team receives the documentation, the team at the lodge will be refunding for the duplicate charge. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/16/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date: February 15th 2025 Location: Great Wolf Lodge - Manteca, Ca Poorly Manage/Horrible Experience Room: 4108 My family had a horrible experience staying at Great wolf lodge room 4108, 4 adults and 4 children. Had a very late check in 6pm when the normal checkin time is 4pm which is part of the policy. Once they gave us the key to the room the room was not even cleaned which not ************ dangerous that can be with different germs/pathogens that can spread to my family especially we have a 5 months old baby with us. We had to go back downstairs and let them know that the room is dirty then had to wait again until they actually cleaned the room. We also had several times where we had to go downstairs keep in mind with 4 kids on the 4th floor over to reactivate our room keys not working to open our room.This is unacceptable experience and ready to report due to lack of service to better business bureau. I would like to be fully reimbursed $943.55 due to the inconvenience and dangerous situation that this hotel placed my family in.Please advise,**** ********, ******* ******** *********************** **********

  Business Response

  Date: 03/07/2025

  Good afternoon,
  
  Thank you for reaching out to us. Upon reviewing the guest's case, we found that the guest received a refund of ****** due to their experience at the lodge.
  
  Thanks,
  Britany

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/10/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We stayed at this resort on 2/5/25-2/6/25 and were fraudulently charged over $460. I spoke with the front desk before leaving and she reassured me she would get it refunded (at the time it was $150). She called me that evening and let us know she was refunding the $194 charge as well as the $150. All was good. The following day, I see I was charged and refunded $268. So they went to refund this but charged it first.. leaving it at us getting ZERO back. Today, the following Monday, I receive an updated stay invoice saying the following $150 (no reason attached for this charge) $194.74- manual **** Pool towel fee $60 (We turned in ALL towels the ONE time we used them) -$280.69 (stating they supposedly refunded us this but they actually charged us then refunded it.. so no mistake was fixed.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/08/2025

  Good afternoon,

  Thank you for reaching out to Great Wolf Lodge. After reviewing the charges, we found that the $64.05 was for a pool towel charge, which we have refunded. The refund should appear in your account within 7-10 business days.

  Additionally, please note that the $294.74 charge was voided. We have forwarded your information to our management team at the *********************************** for further assistance regarding the additional charges. We will update you on the case once it has been resolved.

  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this matter.

  
  Best regards,
  **********************start="790" data-end="793">

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/10/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [Issues are still not resolved. I do see that the $294.74 charge was cancelled but we still have not been refunded for the following highlighted charges that have no explanation on why they were charged to begin with. 
  
  
  As you can see, we paid in advance for the hotel room and paid $120 for the dining package. There was no reason to be charging us an additional $150 and $194.74. 
  
  
  Im extremely disappointed in all of this and how long its taken you to even respond, no less resolve the issue at hand. We had such a wonderful stay and up until all these fraudulent charges, had discussed coming back again soon. I cant see that happening as we were told we would be refunded and given a discount for a new stay. We still havent been refunded and that discount was an empty promise as well. 
  
  
  Please let me know what the update is on the highlighted charges and when they will be refunded as well.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** *****