A few years ago, we spent two nights at the Great Escape Lodge in Queensbury, NY, which is right across the street from Six Flags Great Escapes and Splashdown Kingdom Water Park. It took us about two hours to get there from Kingston, and we arrived around 5:30pm. (Check in is at 4pm, but they allow you to use the water park at noon if you are checking in that day.) Check-in was a breeze, and our room was better than I expected. The room was spacious and had a separate section with a sofa and large coffee table. It was nice to have a fridge and a microwave too. I liked the Adirondack motif. Snowshoes look kind of cool when mounted on a hotel room wall. We didn't spend too much time in the room because the kids couldn't wait to swim in the water park.
Even though there are kids running around everywhere, the place appeared well-organized and safe. There are lifeguards stationed at every ride, towels and life-jackets available, and spacious changing rooms and lockers. Both nights we ate dinner at Johnny Rockets restaurant in the lodge. The retro diner food was delicious. (I treated myself to a semi-annual black and white milk shake!) I guess you have to be happy to work there as the job requires singing and dancing. We went to Six Flags Great Adventure our first morning, and I was pleasantly surprised that there were hardly any lines. (One staff person told us that the park has had very low attendance this summer maybe due to the rain and the recession during that time.)
The only thing I didn't appreciate was the over-priced food concessions. We ate lunch at the Alpine House, which had a lively group of Alpine singers. We got caught in a few thunder storms on the way back to the Hudson Valley, but over all we had a great trip. Hotel rates vary depending on the season. When we went in late June on a Monday and Tuesday night, the room was $199/night, which included access to their Indoor water park. (Only hotel guests have access to it.) Late August, the same room could cost $300/night. The perfect time would be to book it for September or October when the kids start to miss the days of summer. It always feels like summertime in the indoor water park! Breakfast was not included, but there is a small Seattle Coffee stand near the lobby that sells breakfast foods. We spent about $15 for the four of us, so it wasn't that bad. (Bagels, cereal, yogurt, and insane cookies.)
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