Situated in the heart of the Pocono Mountains is Kalahari resort; an oasis of waterpark family fun for all seasons! Kalahari has everything the kids want and sprinkles in some adult-centered amenities ensuring there is something for everyone at this resort.
This place has everything kids want to keep them busy for days including an indoor waterpark and a huge arcade.
In addition to the activities for kids, the property also has amenities appealing to adults including a full-service spa and fine dining.
The resort is Africa themed. Young kids in particular will enjoy the African animal theme throughout the resort.
Kalahari does have onsite shopping and sells gifts and apparel. The kicker is the takeout food sold in the shops. This can help cut costs dramatically.
Kalahari is an extremely casual place. Although it does have two fine dining restaurants.
The room has a minibar with a microwave, which is huge for making snacks for kids and saving some money.
The food is good and there are enough options to dine uniquely for 4 nights. However, the food is pricey, even the more casual options.
Kalahari can present an excellent value if you go during the week. However, the prices jump substantially on weekends, diminishing the value proposition.
This place caters to families, although you will see some adult-only parties as well. Kalahari gets exceptionally busy on weekends and during school breaks, so be prepared for crowds.
The resort is completely casual. Smart casual is recommended for the fine dining restaurants.
JetSetDNA brings you an in-depth tour of Kalahari Resort in the Poconos. Check it out for yourself on YouTube!
Kalahari is located in the heart of the Pocono mountains in northeastern Pennsylvania. There are numerous ski resorts within 15 minutes of the resort. There is also a large outlet shopping mall called “Pocono Premium Outlets” located in nearby Tannersville. If you want to try to save money on food, there are plenty of family and chain restaurants located within 15 minutes of the hotel.
Driving your own car is a must as there is no public transit and services like Uber may take longer than you would expect. The Poconos are easily accessible from major cities in the northeast. You will find a lot of people from New York and Philadelphia at Kalahari.
Kalahari resort in the Poconos is a large African themed complex. The resort is designed to appeal to kids and it achieves this colorful tones and animal statues present throughout the resort. There are plenty of things for kids to see around every corner.
The lobby is very large at Kalahari and serves as the main hub of the resort with access to several restaurants, shopping, and the Arcade. The lobby also connects both wings of the resort together and provides a birds eye view of the waterpark below.
The massive indoor waterpark is without question the highlight of the resort with over 220,000 sqft of aqua goodness. Waterpark passes are included in your room rate, which is where the value is achieved at this resort. Day passes are available without staying at the resort, but they are very expensive and make the cost of the room worth it.
The waterpark has everything you would hope for including a plethora of waterslides, lazy river, flowrider surf simulator, and an enormous wave pool. It is easy to spend two to three days in the waterpark before the kids will tire of it.
The waterpark has private cabanas scattered throughout the premises. The prices to rent one for a day are quite high, surpassing $700. The cost is not remotely worth the price unless the resort becomes so crowded that chairs are no longer available. In our opinion, pass on the cabana.
Marrakesh market is main hotel at the resort (there is also Kalahari Outpost).Marrakesh market sells all of the typical resort boutique goods you would expect.
Marrakesh Market sells more than just resort goods, it also sells takeout food. The takeout food is one of the best features of the resort because the main restaurant options can get quite pricey. Marrakesh market sells loads of snacks to keep the kids happy and even has microwaveable meals and breakfast options so that you don’t need to drop huge amounts of money on overpriced food that the kids won’t eat.
There is a massive arcade located directly beneath the main lobby and next to the entrance to the waterpark. The arcade has tons of options for all types of players.
For those needing respite from all of the kid-focused action, Kalahari offers a full-service spa. Our trip here was all about the kids, so we did not book any treatments.
We stayed with grandparents on this trip, so getting a 2 bedroom suite proved to be a better deal. The room was massive with a large living area, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Despite the large size, the room was one of the biggest disappointments at this resort. The decor was lacking any real style and the furniture was little bit rough with a tear in the arm of the couch.
The main living room was a very large space complete with seating areas, a large TV and fireplace. The area had plenty of room for kids to play within the room.
The suite has two bedrooms with the primary having a king size bed and wall-mounted TV. There was nothing else in the room to give it any character and it felt bland, just like the rest of the suite.
The second bedroom was also spacious and featured two queen sized beds and a TV. This room at least had one piece of artwork on the wall, but still lacked decor and character.
The suite has two bathrooms. The first is an ensuite bathroom to the primary bedroom. The bathroom was basic with a tub/shower, toilet and sink. The second bathroom was located in the hall and not connected to the second bedroom. It also was a basic bathroom. However, there was a family sink located outside of the bathroom to help larger families get ready quicker, which is a nice touch.
The room had a wet-bar area with coffee maker. One of the best features of the room is the microwave for those who want to get takeout food from Marrakesh Market and heat it up.
Breakfast is served at the Great Karoo Marketplace Buffet and is not included in the room rate. The buffet serves all the typical breakfast items you would expect and has a made-to-order egg station. The quality of the food was decent, but nothing write home about, especially for this high price. Marrakesh Market is a good alternative for takeout bites like muffins and doughnuts for those looking to save money, especially if you are not a big breakfast eater.
B-LUX Grill & Bar is an excellent casual dining option serving burgers, sandwhiches, soups, and salads off the main floor of the lobby. The food is very kid friendly and delicious. Without question, the best part of this restaurant is the ridiculous milkshakes. Check out this milkshake… are you kidding me?
Also located in the main lobby, right next to B-Lux is Cinco Ninos Mexican restaurant. We did not have enough nights here to sample this restaurant, but were able to get some pics.
Double Cut Steakhouse is one of the two fine dining options at Kalahari. The food is excellent and is consistent with other high-end steakhouses. Reservations are recommended.
Sortino’s Italian Kitchen is the other higher-end food option at Kalahari. This restaurant was good, but did not blow me away for the price. Overall, it is a good option with a very kid-friendly menu. Reservations are also recommended here.
Who doesn’t love a frozen treat after dinner? The Last Bite is located in the main lobby and serves up a wide variety of sweets including candy, cookies, fudge, and much more. The Last Bite also serves up Bassetts ice cream. This place is really dangerous!
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Kalahari resort is the reason you go there as it has all the activities you are looking for on-site.
Pocono Premium Outlets is a large outlet shopping mall located 10 minutes away in nearby Tannersville.
If it is winter time and you want to double up on skiing, Camelback is one of the best ski resorts in the Poconos and is only a 15 minute drive.
If you want to double up your trip and split your time with another resort, Great Wolf Lodge is also only 10 minutes away in Tannersville.
The front desk staff was polite and helpful when checking in. They were also helpful when asking questions about the waterpark, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary here.
The room was kept clean and the staff did attend to our room daily and replaced all of the towels. They come once per day and there is no turn-down service as this is not that kind of place.
Kalahari resort in the Pocono Mountains offers a nice quick getaway option for people living in the northeastern United States. It’s central location within a few hours of many large population centers makes for an easy long weekend. The resort has loads of amenities for kids and adults alike, but it all comes at a relatively steep price for the quality received. Do this one for the kids, unless waterparks are really your thing. For those wanting to relax and get more bang for your buck, there are better options out there.
