KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort (Gurnee, IL) {Review} {Coupon}

Disclosure:  I received a complimentary nights stay in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

One of my favorite staycations here in Chicagoland is staying at KeyLime Cove.  This past weekend my family and I along with my in-laws headed to Gurnee, IL  to stay overnight at the amazing Key Lime Cove Resort.  What is so amazing about it?  Basically everything you could ask for in an affordable family-friendly staycation, they have.  Huge indoor waterpark?  Check!  Restaurants?  Check! Spa services (for both adults and kids)?  Check!  Friendly staff?  Check!  Comfortable rooms?  Check!

My family has been to KeyLime Cove at least once a year for about four years now and its somewhere we look forward to going to.  We decided to stay on a Friday to Saturday and while I was worried it would be crazy crowded since it was a weekend, it wasn’t.  The waterpark is so big that even though there are tons of people inside, they are spread out all over.  We for so fortunate that even though we arrived around 1:30 PM our suite was ready.  We arrived early because you can start using the waterpark even if your room isn’t ready yet, but it is of course nicer to check in and put your stuff down in the room right away.

We checked into a suite that sleeps up to eight, with two bedrooms, sofa sleeper, balcony, two bathrooms and a small kitchen area (mini-fridge, microwave, countertop and table.)

Here are some pictures of our room:

Two bathrooms:

 

Oh and we even had a Pirate Hunt setup for us by Key Lime Cove, my kids absolutely loved all the clues everywhere!

The 65,000 sq. foot waterpark is broken down into separate areas and like I mentioned its spread out so you don’t feel how crowded it is.  There is a kiddie slide area with gate that closes to keep the kids in, a wave pool, lazy river, basketball pool, kids water fun area with tons to do, four big slides, and even a hot tub.  We did almost a little of everything this time, but in all of our visits we have taken advantage of everything they offered.

I didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked inside the waterpark, but here are some (sorry they are not as good, they were taken with our :

In addition to the waterpark there is also a kids area called Leapin’ Lizards which has hourly free activities as well as you can just pop in any borrow a game like Chess or Monopoly to play.  In the past we have spent hours in here just unwinding from swimming.  There are crafts you can buy to complete as well, but the free activities offered I think are a huge bonus.  To me it is something that adds to your stay and is a shame if you can’t take advantage of.

Right outside the waterpark, there is a huge arcade for kids (and adults of course.)  I say huge because I have seen other hotel arcades be like a handful of games, but this one really is huge.  There are video games, ticket games and small ride on attractions for toddlers.  There is even a few lane bownling alley game!

Bunch of cars connected you can drive, I didn’t want to take a picture of strangers so I just got the sign:

I will say the one thing I most look forward to at KeyLime Cove is the ice cream.  Yes the ice cream.  They have an amazing old fashioned feeling ice cream parlor with my favorite flavors in the whole world:  Superman and Birthday Cake.  Yum!  Super affordable too!

Oh and here is my favorite part, you can charge everything on this bracelet, its your admission to the waterpark and its your room key!  No need to carry anything with you!

For mealtimes there are a bunch of restaurants, including quick serve and sit down.  We like the sit down restaurants for dinner and have never had a problem.  I will say though this time when we went my poor 7 year old threw up literally all over the table and floor as soon as we sat down so I didn’t get to enjoy it but the rest of my family did.  Not sure where that whole illness came from, but it was nice that we were just in a restaurant downstairs from our room rather than having driven somewhere.  I felt so bad though for the other restaurant patrons, staff and my family who had to witness it and smell it.  Oh and I do want to add that all the staff that helped us went above and beyond when it comes to allergies.  My youngest son has all nut/egg allergies.  One staff member went in back and photocopied the ingredients off the box and another even changed out the oil for the french fries in case of cross-contamination.  The chef even came out to talk to our table my husband said, I missed it will taking care of my sickie.

Overall, we have done both a weekend and just an overnight, both times have been great.  Even this time with my boys getting sick (yes my other one got sick overnight) they still said they had an awesome time.  We made the most out of our time there and promised a return trip. We were even able to get a late check-out of noon (its usually complimentary and available unless your room is reserved for early-check-in.)  I am so happy we were able to get a good 5-6 hours in of swimming and fun before my oldest son got sick.  No complaints here and we will definitely be going back.

Goodbye Key Lime Cove, until next time!

VISIT: Check out the KeyLime Cove website for upcoming events and coupons/specials!  Don’t forget to check out the great coupon code below I have to offer!

WIN IT:  (1) US winner will receive a $50 Gift Card to KeyLime Cove (Gurnee, IL)

Need help entering a giveaway?  Check out my blog post for some help!

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This Giveaway Ends March 19, 2014.