North Texas Jellystone Park

Not really good to stay long

This was a horrible idea, in the brochure it clearly states, No Refunds. This should have been a huge red flag! The adventure started by loosing our reservations when we arrived at the gate. Everything had a fee, we felt like we were dollared to death, everything was so expensive. Cabin was dirty, furniture was uncomfortable to use. Screen door on porch was falling apart. The bathroom floor was like walking on a sponge and it felt like you could fall thru at any second as you walked on it. Water park was ok, but had to pay to use a cooler in the water park. Staff were some what courteous, but offer little help. Managers were to busy to help all they people with issues. So none my issues went unresolved.

I want to start by saying that this is run almost entirely by teenagers and they are ALL super sweet and helpful. Some of the best kids I've met. That being said, staying here was not a great experience and I wouldn't recommend it to others unless some things change, which is why I'm writing this review. We've stayed at Jellystone sites previously and had good, low-key camping fun. This one intrigued us though because we always pass it on the highway and it looks like it has an enormous water park attached, so we decided it would be our big vacation this summer. The site itself is huge and there are LOTS of options for accommodations. There are teepees, RVs, covered wagons, silos, cabins...we chose to stay in the pirate ship. Yes, a pirate ship. Seemed perfect for our big, blended family of 8. The website and the reservation system send a whole lot of text, but don't actually tell you a lot of things, so I'm going to break this down and make it as easy as possible to get information. LATE NIGHT CHECK IN The website says you can check in late as long as you notify them. So I called before making the reservation. We would be checking in around 10pm, which is after all of the activities close for the day, however, the park would not waive the resort fees for anyone in our party. They told us the system doesn't even allow them to do it, which I find hard to believe since you can always credit something back in the system AND they run specials all the time discounting or waiving the resort fees. But I didn't quibble; it was important enough to us that we just went with it, even though resort fees for 8 is an extra $176 per day. THE PIRATE SHIP ROOMS The pirate ship is cool, but you need to know that suites are very narrow. It's 3-stories tall and each room has a little patio with a few seats and a table outside of the front door. If you're on the 2nd or 3rd story, you'll have a view of the water park, but you will have to walk up & down all those steps. Our experience was on the 1st story, which was great for access, however, unlike the other floors, there were no windows in our bedrooms. When we walked into our room, it reeked of vomit....a lot. And we quickly learned why. I don't know about the other rooms, but the first floor rooms have zero ventilation. There are 3 windows in the front of the suite and none of them open. There are a couple of ceiling fans throughout and a standard bathroom fan. That's it. I don't know how long ago someone threw up in there, but that smell was there to stay. The room was also not clean. The beds were made and there were towels in the bathroom. But the floor was filthy and blackened the kids feet as soon as they started walking around. We made a "no bare feet" rule inside the suite. We found a price tag for some clothes under one of the beds and a previous guests underwear in the dryer. Yes, seriously. And while the park calls itself a "resort" there is nothing about the rooms