I received a night at Soaring Eagle Waterpark and Hotel in exchange for a blog post. All opinions expressed are my own.
Last week we had the privilege of visiting Soaring Eagle Waterpark and Hotel in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, for a night. Thanks to our map-themed basement and our world globe, my 5-year-old is obsessed with traveling and going on “vacationts.” {Hehe} Lucky for us, going to a hotel and sleeping in the same room as us is a big enough deal for her, so she was ecstatic to learn we would be heading north for a night away. We left baby boy with auntie for for this trip, so it was extra special for all of us.
Getting to the hotel was a breeze, as it’s a straight shot up US-127N. It took us 1.5 hours to get there from our home in Howell. The hotel is less than a mile off the expressway and is located among plenty of shops and restaurants. With that said, you don’t even need to leave the hotel for anything, but it is nice to be close to things just in case.
TIP: The hotel is within a few miles of a Meijer, Celebration Cinemas, plenty of restaurants, and is even next door to a Starbucks. Score!
We were greeted by a friendly staff member who let us check in a bit early {I called ahead to see if our room would be ready}. My first impression was that the hotel was SO clean! The hotel opened in 2012, but still seems brand new. The rooms were immaculate and I loved the color palette and original artwork from Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe members used throughout.
TIP: I assumed the hotel was connected to the casino, but it actually is a completely separate property, but does have a shuttle to the casino.
TIP: All of the standard rooms have a microwave, mini-fridges and a sink — all great features when traveling with kids. Don’t be afraid to pack some snacks!
My daughters were enamored with all the tribal touches and asked tons of questions about the images of “people dressed in beautiful clothes.” It truly was an awesome opportunity to discuss the Native American culture with them.
After settling into our room, it didn’t take my girls long to spot a play structure and fountain in the courtyard outside of our room. There also was a fire pit and putting course, too.
Before long, we were hearing cries of “We’re ready to go swimming!” We walked down to the water park and were again impressed by the cleanliness inside.
I’ve been to several water parks, and I have to say — this was fantastic for kids. There was a giant fortress complete with a bucket for dumping, and details such a spraying cat tails and frogs. The lazy river was a fun way to just relax with the girls, and they loooooved the hot tub too, which had lots of bubbles! There also was a regular pool for swimming with basketball nets, a climbing wall to jump in the water from, a wave rider, and more.
Additionally, there are two water slides on the property, and although my kiddos were too short {you have to be 48″ to ride them}, I had no problem trying them out. I loved the tube one especially, and had a blast going down…and maybe screaming just a few times 😉
I thought there was a great mix of activity for a variety of ages, and the space was well designed.
TIP: All children under 44″ must wear life vests for some of the areas. We brought our own puddle jumpers, but there are life vests you can borrow.
After enjoying the water park, we checked out the arcade — which again — was very clean. We were able to load tokens on a card, which then was inserted in each game they wanted to play. They won tickets at all of the games, which led to their favorite part — prizes! After much hemming and hawing, they landed on a few small items, which helped entertain them at dinner.
I had considered going out somewhere else for dinner, but we all were all whipped, so we decided to just stay and eat at the hotel’s family restaurant, Nbakade. I was glad we did. We got a large pizza for $15.95 and it was pretty tasty! {View more of what’s on the menu here.}
The next morning, we decided to check out early so we could visit the Ziibiwing Center, which highlights the history of the Anishinabek people who make up the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. After giving the girls a few options for things to do, my heart just about exploded when they said they wanted to visit the center because as a history nut, I wanted to visit it too!
This museum was so great for educating young and old alike about the history of the tribe and their impact on our state. They loved stepping inside a wigwam, seeing the arrowheads made from rocks for hunting, and admiring the beautiful items made from birch tree bark {or as my girls say “paper trees”}. They also enjoyed learning some new words along the way, too. It was such a fantastic experience for all of us. It took us about an hour to get through with our 3 and 5-year-old, but I’m sure I could’ve spent more time there.
TIP: Children 4 and under are FREE at this museum. Adults are $6.50 and children {5-17} are just $3.75.
My Kinley admiring the beautiful ceremonial clothing worn by the tribe
Overall, we had an amazing time on our mini vacation. I cannot wait to visit again and see the Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum, canoe the Chippewa River and visit Dow Gardens in Midland! There’s lots of fun to be had in mid-Michigan 😀
Where are your favorite water parks in Michigan?
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Soaring Eagle Waterpark and Hotel offers great promotions and packages. All of these would make excellent Christmas presents, right?! Suites for larger families available, too.
Follow Soaring Eagle Waterpark and Hotel for great offers and giveaways on Facebook and Twitter. See more photos of our stay at this Facebook gallery.
We drove by there a couple weeks ago and it looked amazing. Thanks for the pics of the inside, looks like we will be planning a trip soon!!
It was great! It wasn’t crowded this time of year either. I think we’re going to plan a fall trip from now on 🙂