Grizzly Jack Grand Bear Waterpark Resort

Two months ago I spotted a Groupon deal for a 2 night stay at the Grand Bear Lodge at Starved Rock. $229 seemed very reasonable for 4 of us to stay for a couple of nights to swim and hike.

The main lodge has a waterpark and theres a separate building filled with a snack bar and amusement rides called The Enchantment Forest. It was very easy to walk to or there was a free train which shuttled in between buildings.

We stayed in a basic double queen bed room, which was plenty spacious. The bathroom desperately needed better ventilation though, it was hard to even get dry and dressed after a shower.

The water park looked like it needed an injection of cash with its very basic furniture. The jacuzzi was drained and closed and there were very few floaties for the lazy river. It did have a small wave pool which my girls really enjoyed and life guards were on hand. There is also a small poolside snack bar.

The main lodge is nicely decorated, the staff are very friendly and for an additional $6 each there is minigolf. 

At 7.30pm every evening an animated huntsman and bear narrate a story. Its very cute, but the bear seemed to be broken and didnt move.

One major disappointment though is the breakfast. The buffet breakfast was served between the hours of 8 and 10.45 and cost $6.95 for adults and $4.95 for children under 11years, DRINKS WERE EXTRA! The food was mediocre and I struggled to find anything enjoyable about it. It is definitely not the place to eat if you have any kind of food sensitivity/allergy. That said we chose to cut our two night stay short and left for home in the second afternoon.

There were a lot of rides closed in the amusement arcade and not that much to do for my girls at least. The amusement snack bar food was average and very pricey. All the ziplines/rides were free apart from the lazer tag.

Verdict

The resort is very fun for much younger kids or teenagers who can hang out on their own. Pack lots of healthy snacks, the snack store in the lobby mainly sells pastries and candy.

Fun place to cool off if you are visiting the starved rock area to hike.