After an exciting day of EnterTRAINment Junction, followed by lunch and an adventure at Jungle Jim’s International Market, we were excited to arrive at our hotel, the Crowne Plaza Cincinnati North. I was excited to not only stay at the Crowne Plaza because it was attached to CoCo Key Water Resort, but also because I knew there was a lot of points at stake for this stay.
Upon check-in, the lovely desk clerk noticed we were Platinum Priority Club Rewards members, and searched for a room to upgrade us; however, a wedding booked that night already had all of the premium rooms. So we were given a room on one of the upper floors. Platinum status also got us free internet access, free breakfast buffet, and 500 free points. Onward to the room.
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Two double beds, normal sized bathroom, an old fashioned tube television, and an office desk. Nothing to hoot and holler over, but again we are not looking for luxury, but a decent quality room to crash for the night.
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Within minutes we were all changed into our bathing suits and ready to head down to the water park. After purchasing your bracelets for entry into the Coco Key water park, it seems to be pretty typical practice to parade everyone through an arcade to get them to spend some more money. Luckily my kids are still to young to realize about the arcade and are more interested in getting to the water park.
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Once inside, the water park was packed. There was barely enough tables for everyone to have a spot to store their belongings, but we luckily found one last table. Within minutes we were all headed into the water.
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The Pros of the Hotel and Water Park
- Absolutely wonderful staff! At every stop during our time the people were wonderful and very friendly. The restaurant staff in particular was amazing! We went there for dinner and then breakfast, and both times the staff was terrific! The head chef even came out and talked with us during dinner, maybe because we were the only ones in there at 9:00 at night.
- While I do not actually perform a speed test on the internet connections at hotels, it was reliable and speed appropriate for the minor work I had to do at night.
- Having the convenience of being able to purchase a Twilight water park pass, valid after 4:00 PM to close. It was nice only having to pay $15 each for my wife and I, and the kids were free!
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The Not So Good of the Hotel and Water Park
- Not being allowed to purchase water park passes by adding them to our room bill. In other words, no extra Priority Club points.
- Having to wait for long periods of time for intertubes at the lazy river due to lack of quantity.
- While not the hotel fault, across the street from the Crowne Plaza there was apparently a motorcycle rally that went late into the night, and around 2:30 AM everyone in our hotel must have been woken by the sounds of revving engines.
- The water park was absolutely filthy! Throughout the entire establishment, there was garbage left on tables, garbage and discarded clothing laying all over the ground, and even dead bugs, piles of hair, and the lazy river overflow was filled with trash and debris. The thing is too, is that the garbage was not there for only a couple of minutes. We were in the water park for several hours, and nothing was ever cleaned up. The amount of trash was a real turn off.
- I question the safety of some of the play areas for children. In particular, the large play area in the center has rope ladders for kids to climb up to the upper levels, but they were tattered and torn, exposing kids to the bare metal framing supporting the structure.
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Overall, I was happy with the $90 I paid for the hotel room and $30 for the water park passes. I also was not expecting a Kalahari type caliber water park. However, the cleanliness of the water park really left a lot to be desired. With some much garbage left around, I wondered how the rest of the facility was being maintained and whether the water was sanitary.
My in-laws are trying to plan a similar trip down to Cincinnati, and we have already discouraged them from going to the Coco Key Water Park.
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