Review: Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort

Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort
2643 Illinois 178
Utica, IL 61348
(866) 399-3866
Website

There are a lot of different options when it comes to staying here. If you stay in the lodge, you have 7 different options!
Family Suite (2 queen beds, queen sleeper sofa, fridge, microwave, TV)
Family Suite with Balcony
King Suite (same as queen, but with 1 king bed)
Kid Cabin Suite (queen bed, twin sofa sleeper, twin bunk beds, fridge, microwave, TV)
Deluxe Family Suite (3 distinct sleeping areas with 2 queen beds, queen sleeper sofa, master bedroom has 2-person whirlpool tub and king bed, living room, and 3 Tvs)
Whirlpool Suite (2 person whirlpool tub, king bed, fireplace)
Combination Suite (Family Suite and Whirlpool Suite with a connecting door)

There are also 2 different cabin options for larger groups.

As for prices, they can be somewhat on the expensive side, but there is so much included! Plus, look for special deals on their website (especially during the off-season). Make sure you look to the right when on their website and click on the part that says 'Click here for internet special' instead of the button that says 'Specials & Packages'. That second button is more for AARP and AAA and Military discounts. We have gone 2 years in a row. Our first year, we decided last minute to go in January. This year, I was looking for a great deal and found one so we went in February. Let me tell you about this deal:

When I booked this, there were special dates that this could be used (weekends in January, February, and parts of March): 2 nights for $222 for a Family Suite with Balcony. This is an amazing deal! Before I found this, I was looking at paying over $400.

Check-In: Check-in begins at 4pm. Guests are welcome to arrive as early as 1pm to pre-register for the room and begin using the waterpark and amusement park until the room becomes available.
Check-Out: Check-out time is 11am. Guests are welcome to utilize the waterpark and amusement park after check-out on the day of departure.
Be aware that on busy days, the check-in and check-out process may take quite a while. We waited in line for about 45 minutes.

The Room: Family Suite with Balcony
There are 2 queen beds, a queen sleeper sofa, fridge, microwave, TV, and all the amenities you would expect.
There are lots of add-ons you can get with your room like birthday packages with balloons or roses or milk and cookies.
There were a lot of great things about our room (like the balcony, the beds, the living space with couch and dining area), but there were some not so great things as well. Our shower head was terrible. I felt like I was never going to be able to get the shampoo out of my hair due to the lack of pressure. All of the buttons were popped off of our phone and then to top it all off, the phone didn't work at all. On our television, the power button was popped off. That was just weird.

Waterpark:
During the winter, the waterpark is only open Thursday and Friday night (4pm-10pm) and all day Saturday and Sunday (9am-10pm). That being said, you can still swim on Friday mornings from 9am-4pm, but there are no lifeguards and the water is still (no slides, no wave pool, no lazy river). *
The 24,000 square foot indoor waterpark boasts play zones, slides, a wave pool, lazy river, and spa.
There is a concession stand area inside the waterpark (that is freezing compared to the hot air near the water – although it wasn't nearly as cold as it was last time) that offers soda, soft pretzels, hot dogs, nachos, and other typical concession offerings.
There is no outside food or beverage or coolers permitted in the Waterpark at any time. However, I did see people bring these items in and no one said anything to them so I don't know how much that rule is really enforced.
The park was very busy while we were there! Everyone must have gotten in on that sweet deal we got.

Adventure Park:
Closed toe shoes and socks must be worn to participate in activities at the Amusement Park.
During the winter, the adventure park is only open Friday night (4pm-10pm) and 11am-10pm on Saturday and Sunday.*
Guests with overnight accommodations can enjoy $15 Adventure cards. Since we stayed for two nights, we got 6 cards. You can add money to these cards if you wish. There aren't really any things in here that I can do so that leaves $90 for my husband and son to split (mostly my son). We also got 3 more $15 cards after eating at the buffet on Friday night. That's $135 to spend at the park!
The Adventure Park features:
32' rock climbing wall – $5 – minimum: 40 lbs; maximum: 200 lbs
Euro Bungee trampoline – $5 – minimum: 4 yo and 30 lbs; maximum: 200 lbs
indoor zip line – $5 – minimum: 30 lbs and 42 inches; maximum: 250 lbs and 6' 3”
super slide – $3 (however, I didn't see anyone charging for this)
ropes course – $5 – minimum: 48” to go alone, shorter kids are allowed with an adult; maximum: 300 lbs
laser tag – $5
and kiddie play zone with bouncy houses – $2 (although, we didn't see anyone having to pay for this)
Plus, there's an arcade.

There are plenty of other amenities and activities going on around the resort as well as the adventure park and waterpark.
Family Craft Time: Spend time with your children as they color and paint their very own Grizzly Jack and Grand Bear t-shirt. Family Craft Time is the perfect way to take home a GRAND memory of your family vacation. Some crafts may require nominal fee.
Grand Ducky Derby: Play and have a blast at Grand Bear Falls, the indoor waterpark, and race to the finish! Open to kids of all ages, the Grand Duck Derby is an action-packed race with fun and prizes for the kids. This activity happens every Saturday and Sunday at 8:45am and on holidays. On Sunday, my son won! They take the first 3 ducks to give a prize to. Everyone received a free scoop of ice cream from the Honey Pot.

Family Story Time: Every night at 7:20pm, the Grand Lobby comes alive for Story Time. Folks gather around in front of the glowing fireplace to hear Grizzly Jack and Grand Bear tell the story of their friendship.
Family Movie Time: Settle down and enjoy a relaxing night of movies with the kids. Showing Thursday-Saturday at 8pm. Family Movie Time presents popular movies for kids of all ages. While we were there, they showed Minions and The Spongebob Movie.
Cave Arcade: Over 60 arcade games to play and win tickets that you can redeem for prizes at the prize shop.
Canyon Creek Mini Golf: This 18-hole mini golf adventure is a blast with a flowing stream and waterfall. The course is open weather permitting. While we were there, it did happen to be open. You got your clubs and balls at the gift shop by the front desk and since it was February, there were no waterfalls or flowing streams. Cost: $5/person

Bear Island: Get wild in nature at Bear Island, a four-tiered observation deck that overlooks Curtis Canyon – a breathtaking 80 foot seasonal waterfall that gives you a real appreciation for nature's artwork. It would be much more amazing if you could see the waterfall. However, you are located at the top so you really just see the water flowing over the edge.

Castle in the Woods Playground: Open daily until dusk, the Castle in the Woods playground is the fun spot for your little bear cubs to run, play, swing, slide and smile. My son really enjoyed it.
Moose Crossing Convenience Store: Toiletries, souvenirs, t-shirts, goggles, swim diapers, snacks, grocery goods, wine and beer available 24 hours a day. We bought a hairbrush and nail clippers from here. The prices are clearly going to be more expensive than Wal-Mart, but I didn't find them to be outrageous.
Northwoods Niche Gift Shop: Grand Bear logo apparel, swimwear, stuffed animals, books, home décor, souvenirs, jewelry, phone accessories, and bottles of wine.

Dining:
Jack's Place Restaurant & Sports Bar – Located inside the Enchanted Forest Indoor Adventure Park. This is a casual dining spot serving classic American cuisine. Order to your suite, villa or cabin with the restaurant's delivery service. We got some amazing food from here. My husband found the Big Grizzly to be especially noteworthy. This item was a large handful of tator tots and fried cheese curds topped with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and a fried egg. I highly recommend ordering to go or delivery to eat in your room. We also ate at the buffet which had pizza, pasta, and salad. Everything was really good. And for less than $30 for our family, not a terrible price.
Honey Pot Sweet Shop – chocolates, decorated cookies, hand-dipped pretzels, saltwater taffy, seasonal fudge, sweet gummies, homemade waffle cones topped with mountainous scoops of ice cream. What more could you want? We have gotten ice cream from here 3 times and every time has been amazing. They also seem to keep a great selection of decorated cookies that are just adorable.

Nearby Attractions:
Starved Rock State Park – We've been here at least 4 or 5 times and we definitely make it a point to visit when we come to Grizzly Jack's. It's so close to the resort! There are so many beautiful trails and wonderful waterfalls. There is always something new to discover when you visit here. And every season brings new and beautiful adventures.
and not too far from there is another great place: Matthiessen State Park.
There are also places nearby to Zipline, Skydive, and Golf.

*During the summer, I believe the waterpark and adventure park are open every day with weekend hours.

Accessories for Princesses in Disney World

I'm planning a trip to Disney World and I'm working on my accessories right now. The outfits can always come second to some fabulous accessories. Anyway, I'm thinking about some princess themed outfits so here are some accessories to go along with them.

For Merida:

A cute arrow necklace from Amazon, of course. Cost: $14.95

For Belle:

This cute bow from Etsy. Cost: $10

And this necklace from Eve's Addiction. Cost: $27.30

For Ariel:

This dinglehopper necklace from Amazon. Cost: $7.99

And this starfish ring also from Amazon. Cost: $24.99

And finally, for Snow White:

This apple necklace from Heirloom Finds. Cost: $13

I would seriously wear any of these! I hope I've helped with your online shopping!

What to Wear to Animal Kingdom

Recently, I have been researching everything to do with Walt Disney World in Orlando for our trip at the end of the year. Recently, I came across some items that I thought would be great to buy for the upcoming trip. I have been putting a lot of thought into what I want to wear (as a lot of women do) and I've decided that I don't want to be as blatantly obvious about my Disney-themed clothing as I was when we went on our Disney cruise. I want it to be a little more subtle.

Here's what I have come up with for the day we will be visiting Animal Kingdom.
I want to wear neutrals. Olive Green, Khaki/Tan, and Brown all seem like good options for clothing. I'll buy new clothes or look at my wardrobe a little closer to our departure date (because I'm trying to get in a little better shape and I don't know what size I'll be by then). Here is some inspiration that I've found online, though.

Now, to the part that I really want to tell you about! I have been looking at accessories that I think will be amazing and I've found 3 that I want to buy!

Ivory Ella has these beautiful elephant necklaces that would be perfect! Plus, a portion of each sale goes directly to savetheelephants.org! Cost: $28.99

Tom's sells these cute jaguar shoes in their Big Cats Collection that is in support of National Geographic's critical nonprofit work! Cost: $59

Savannah Co has these cute bracelets in lions, monkeys, elephants, etc. They donate 10% of profits to lion conservation. Cost: Reg $20, but currently on sale for $14.99

Do you notice a theme with any of the items I'm looking at buying? Of course! They all donate to animals! So why not do some good when shopping for your Animal Kingdom accessories?

Travel Gifts

I've posted a couple travel posts about roadtrips and flying in a plane and one of my favorite things to do is to pack some travel gifts. I don't just pack them for my son. I also pack them for my husband sometimes. I'm definitely going to repeat some of the ideas I've shared in previous posts so this is going to be a large list of all my ideas in one place.

For those that don't know, travel gifts are a way to make traveling just a little more fun (especially for kids). I know some people will just go out and buy a bunch of new things to pack in their carry-ons and call it a day. Well, I think it's just a little more fun to open them as presents to add a bit more whimsy to the trip.

For Adults:
1. Sudoku book (or crossword) – or any kind of puzzle book that you're into
2. Fancy Pencils – to go along with those awesome puzzle books

3. Magazine – We don't have a subscription to any magazines for my husband so he loves it when I go to the store and buy him a Wired magazine for the trip.
4. Gum – This is especially useful if you're riding in a plane and need some to pop your ears.
5. Sunglasses – (this is on the kids list, too) These are useful if you're traveling someplace sunny or if you're going to be in the car for a long time.
6. Fun Snacks – I usually buy my husband some snacks that he doesn't get on a regular basis like beef jerky or my homemade seasoned crackers.
7. Travel Pillow or Travel Blanket– If you don't already have one, sometimes it can be great to have something to relax with.

8. Book – I know a lot of people like to have a new book to read while they travel.
9. Power Bank – While on your travels, sometimes you can't find an outlet when you need one so this will let you charge your phone on the go!

10. Book Light – So that you can see your puzzle book, magazine, or book on the road when it's dark or in your hotel room while your traveling companions are sleeping.

For Kids:
1. PlayPack – they come in all sorts of characters from Mickey to Blaze to Princesses to Frozen

2. Small Lego Sets – they make these in every interest known to man! (well, not quite, but it seems like it) Plus, if you have a travel Lego lap tray like we do, these aren't even messy.
3. Coloring Books – they make these in full size and mini sized (perfect for when space is tight).
4. Candy – Clearly, we don't want our kids to be on a sugar-high while stuck in the car, but a fun candy necklace is entertaining and delicious!

5. Pen and Journal – Even for my little 5yo son, he absolutely loved the 6-in-one pen I bought him with the different colored ink and a sketch journal to draw in. Add some stickers and you've just provided hours of fun.
6. Sunglasses – This is an especially great gift if you're traveling somewhere sunny or traveling in the car.
7. Pez Dispensers – You could include this with candy. But my son especially loves all the characters you can find!
8. Books – I usually keep a small supply of new books that my son has never seen in the closet. I buy them from Scholastic during the school year and keep them for gifts. Now that my son is starting to read, these are especially great!
9. Movie – This doesn't have to be expensive! Haven't you seen the $3-$5 movie bins at Wal-Mart? Or how about all those cheap movies you can buy on Black Friday.
10. Create-A-Scene Magnetic Playset – Search it on Amazon. They have so many different ones! I found a Star Wars one for my son last year. He also has a farm one and I know they have a ton more!

11. Small toys – So, sometimes, I save up McDonald's Happy Meal toys to use as travel gifts or stocking stuffers. I take them out before giving the Happy Meal to my son so often that he doesn't even think it's strange or unfair anymore.
12. I-Spy Books – I put this in a separate category from regular books because they hold an entirely different level of entertainment. These books come in all types of characters and themes. Plus, they come for all different age levels. And to top it all off, they come in different sizes (I love the small ones for traveling).

13. Travel Pillow or Travel Blanket – They make these for kids, too! And I know at least my son loves to be comfy when we're on the road or in a plane.

14. Fun Waterbottle – You can buy a bottle with just about anything on it so I like to theme ours around our destination!

15. Collapsible Beach Pail – Seriously! This is only helpful if you're going to a beach. But come on! I don't know how many times we've gone to a store and bought some cheap beach toys after we got to our destination just to leave them at the hotel or throw them away so that we wouldn't have to put them in our luggage. This eliminates all of that!

I hope that some of these ideas are useful to you! And have fun on your trip!

Roadtrip Tips

Recently, my family (husband, myself, and 5-year-old son) went on a 13-hour roadtrip to Washington, D.C. From Illinois. Then, we came back after 3 days there. That may sound a little crazy to some people. It sounds crazy to me! However, it was for a good cause. My husband's cousin was getting married and we wanted to be there so we did the best we could and made it there and back in one piece.

I did my research ahead of time and planned the best I could. Roadtrips are hard. Especially with a little one. They're just so unpredictable. Are they going to sleep? Are they going to throw fits because they're so tired? Are they going to entertain themselves? Are they going to need you to entertain them? You never really know until you're on the road.

Let's start out with the packing of the car. I think the best piece of advice I can give you is to have everything you might need within reach. I even bought a 3 drawer organizer to help us with this. I kept snacks, travel gifts (more on that later), and things to entertain the adults in this. It was a great thing to have handy. My husband and I (whoever wasn't driving) sat in the back with our son so we kept the drawers in the passenger seat, facing the driver so that the driver or the person sitting in back could reach them.

The thing I find to be most helpful with my 5yo son is to bring travel gifts. I buy little toys and things that will entertain my son on our trip and then wrap them like presents (usually in tissue paper rather than wrapping paper to make it easier to open) and then number them. I let my son open them about 1 every 2 hours. Sometimes more often depending on how many gifts I end up buying.
Some ideas for travel gifts:
1. Playpack – there are so many different ones to choose from! They have everything from Star Wars to Hello Kitty to Minions to Inside Out.
2. Small Lego sets – we have one of those awesome travel trays so the Legos stay in one place, but if you don't have one of these awesome trays, bring along something else, like a cookie sheet to keep all the Legos in one place.
3. Coloring Books – I particularly like the Color Wonder books. That way, there is a guarantee of no mess (how often can you say that?).
4. Candy – Clearly, we don't want our kids to be on a sugar-high while stuck in the car, but a fun candy necklace is entertaining and delicious!
5. Pen and Journal – Even for my little 5yo son, he absolutely loved the 6-in-one pen I bought him with the different colored ink and a sketch journal to draw in. Add some stickers and you've just provided hours of fun.

Take breaks as often as you need them. I know there are some people out there that say to take a break every couple of hours. But I'm here to tell you that as long as you have gas in your tank and a sleeping child in the backseat, DO NOT STOP unless you have to. The ride will go so much smoother if you don't have a whiny child. We left at 5am and my son doesn't usually take naps, but sometimes, traveling just makes everyone tired!

Play games. You can play the license plate game or travel versions of regular games (battleship) or paper games (tic-tac-toe or hangman). There are so many options out there!

These are just a few tips to help you on your roadtrip. I hope they help you on your next adventure.

Jelly Belly Factory in Kenosha, WI

We decided to drive out to the Jelly Belly packaging plant while we were in Kenosha. I had heard that you could take a tour. So we made our way out there. Apparently, we arrived at just the right time because there was a very large group of kids (like 40 or more) that showed up just after us.

You start out by waiting in this really long line. Now, it wasn't that long when we got there, but we still ended up waiting about 30 minutes. That was less than enjoyable, but sometimes you just have to tough out the line to get to the good stuff (or so we thought). Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we went on the tour, but it was a little boring. We will definitely never do it again. You mostly watch screens with little videos telling you all about how Jelly Beans are made and the history. It was fine I guess. They ask you not to take pictures though. I guess it's a nice way to spend 20 minutes sitting down in the air conditioning.

The best part about us coming here was the gift shop though. They have a tasting bar where you can try any flavor that you want. It was great! I am surprised to tell you that the Pancakes and Maple Syrup flavor is pretty darn good! There are so many flavors that you can buy and different products (not just Jelly Beans). Plus, they have t-shirts and Jelly Bean dispensers and things that are hard to find in other stores.

I'm glad that we went, but if we ever go back, it will be just to buy some Jelly Beans.

Aquanuts

The Aquanuts is a group of young people in southern Wisconsin that compete in water skiing competitions. They do free shows on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 6pm when they don't have a competition. We were visiting the Kenosha area in late June and decided to go see them. They were great.

First, you drive out to Lance Park at Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. There is a parking lot, but it fills up pretty fast. We ended up parking on the street. The street has a lot of clearly marked parking spaces. Then, you just follow the crowds of people headed to the showing area. You will see a ramp in the water. You have a couple choices on where to watch from. There is a seating like area. However, we chose to bring a blanket and sat on the grass to the side. If you walk around, you'll see people sitting anywhere they can find a spot. We attended on a Wednesday and it was packed.

Food. I saw plenty of people bring their own food and have picnics while watching. We meant to do this, but I accidentally forgot the food in the hotel room. No big deal. They had a concession stand to buy hot dogs, nachos, pretzels, chips, soda, etc.

The actual show was very impressive. These athletes clearly know what they're doing and they try to make the stunts and everything go with a storyline which I wasn't expecting. It took us about 40 minutes to get there from Kenosha, but I would say it was worth it. It's something different to do. And it's very entertaining. They take a break in the middle and ask for donations. Girls walk around with buckets. This is a free show so do think about donating. By the time they're finished with the everything, I believe it was about 50 minutes long.

Overall, we had a great time.

Boathouse Pub in Kenosha

4917 7th Ave
Kenosha, WI 53140
(262)654-9922
website

We stayed at the Best Western on the harbor and the Boathouse Pub is just down the street from there so we chose this location to eat at while in town. Don't quote me on this, but it looked like they even had boat parking on the lake (and after checking their website, they do offer this!).
You have two choices for where to sit: inside or outside. We chose to sit outside because it was such a beautiful day and as long as the weather is good, I definitely recommend sitting out there.
Our waitress was so friendly. She was so nice to my son and very patient with him while he tried to decide what he wanted for dinner. He ended up having chicken strips, fries, and an apple juice. I had a taste and it was pretty good. I would say the kids menu is pretty on par with most kids menus that we're used to.
I chose to start off with a side salad. It came out nice and fast so that was good. I got the Barge Buster which is a ½ pound burger grilled and topped with cheddar, pepper, and swiss cheese, crispy onion strings, bacon and BBQ sauce and served on a toasted bun. It was seriously delicious. And huge. I only ended up eating about ½ of it. It came with fries, which were very good. Now, if you're the drinking type, I would suggest looking at their huge selection of Long Island Iced Teas. First of all, the list is huge. Second, they all look amazing. I only had the chance to try one of them and it was fantastic. I tried the Tidal Wave which has Blue Curacao and 7-UP in it. And these aren't small either. It's a large 32 oz.
The full menu is available online so check it out ahead of time.

Racine Zoo

2131 N Main St
Racine, WI 53402
(262) 636-9189
website

We arrived at the zoo and immediately turned to the right to use the restroom. These seemed to be fairly clean and easily accessible.
Then we headed to the Great Cat Canyon to look at the lions who were very easy to see. There are multiple viewing areas and it looked like there were 4 lions in there. We couldn't really see the other two animals in this area. They were hiding or something.
We then headed to see the penguins. This was disappointing. There were only 4 of them and they were huddled near the door. The other side is full of meerkats. They were fun to watch for a bit. Then we saw the mountain goats. They were laying at the very top which was neat.
We made our way to the Walkabout Creek. This was less than thrilling. First, the kangaroos and other animals were way in the back, hiding behind the plants and things. And the creek had no water in it due to a disease. We saw a total of two animals and we didn't get a great view of them.
Bear Ridge was also quite boring. The bear was hiding in the cave which you could slightly view from down below. However, it was so bright out and so dark in the cave, we saw a paw and nothing more.
We did take a little train ride. The train itself was cute and my son is 5 so he really enjoyed it. As an adult though, I found it to be very boring. The only animal the train went past was the bear (which I already mentioned you couldn't see) so you literally see nothing while on here. Plus, it costs $2 per person. Not outrageous, but not a steal.
My son really wanted to play at the Play Zoo (playground) – which I think is a really nice addition to the zoo for a little break – but there were a lot of older school-aged children there with some kind of kids day program so we didn't take advantage of this. It looked fun though.
It is located right next to the rhinos. Then is the camels where you can pay for camel rides. And then in the back corner are the giraffes. For $4 per person, you can feed them at certain times. You get 2 crackers per person to feed the giraffe. I thought this was interesting, but I didn't like that I was required to pay for both myself and my son (because he's under 10) when I had no intention of feeding it myself. So other than that, my son had a great time! Once he got over his initial fear, he loved feeding the giraffe.
We made our way past the pond to the monkeys at the vanishing kingdom. Then we left. We spent a total of an hour here and spent $26 for 2 people. That seems a little high to me, but I guess zoos need to get as much money as they can to stay alive.
Overall, I don't think I would return to this zoo because we didn't really have the greatest time, but it wasn't terrible, I guess. The one thing that made everything worth it was the giraffe feeding. So if that's something you've never experienced, I would recommend going.

Best Western Harborside Inn

5125 6th Ave
Kenosha, WI 53140
(262) 658-3281
website

My son and I really enjoyed our trip to Wisconsin and our stay at Best Western hotels are always great. This was no different. That being said, let's start with the things we didn't love:

This hotel doesn't look like much from the outside. In fact, it looks a little worn down. And there were some troubles with the doors going in and out of the building in the back. The breakfast wasn't amazing, but it was ok. It seemed like all the hot items had been sitting there since breakfast started over an hour before we ate. While not really the hotel's fault, I didn't see the password for the wi-fi in the key card holder until the day we left. You have to go all the way to the front desk to get towels for the pool. We were not lucky enough to get a room facing the harbor and we were on the first floor so our view was one of a wall. We could hear people being very loud in the hall while trying to sleep. But that's more about people being rude and not showing good hotel ettiquete than the walls being thin. One more thing, while they were cleaning our room, they took our dirty towels but never brought us clean ones. That was annoying.

Now that I've convinced you that you shouldn't stay here, let me tell you about all the wonderful reasons you should stay here.

You won't get a better view than the one of the harbor. If you are lucky enough to get a room that faces the harbor, it is goegrous. If not, you can still stand along the walkway by the parking lot in back to view this beautiful sight. The rooms themselves are nicely designed. There is a fridge and microwave in each room, which is a nice bonus. The room seemed very clean. You won't hear any complaints about the room from me. Another great thing is the pool. It's only 3 feet deep, which is amazing for kids. Plus, there is a seat on two of the walls so parents can sit and watch their kids play. The room also features very tall ceilings with huge windows facing the harbor. The price is very comperable to most other hotels. Plus, this is the only hotel anywhere near the water. And there is a beach fairly close by. And a couple restaurants.

In my opinion, the good outweighs the bad and I definitely recommend this hotel.