Stayed at this resort as we were in the Dells for a cheer competition and rooms were blocked here. Had stayed at the Kalahari and Wilderness previously. We were booked in the golf villas. Yes, it was still cold (no golf) but I must say that it was nice to be a bit away from the main resort area and there was ample parking for the villas. Big plus. Check in, as some mentioned, took a bit, and this was at 7pm in the evening. But not nearly as time consuming as the other resorts I mentioned. Specifically:

Check-in: No issues. Waited a little bit, but probably no more than 20 minutes.

Room: In Golf Villas. Big enough room. Stove, small refrig, microwave, flat screen tv. Small kitchenette for sitting, working on the computer, etc. We were literally right across from the main building, so we walked rather than wait on a shuttle. Not a big deal, and the few minutes or fresh air were nice. Clean. Nothing special. We were there pretty much to sleep, so it was just fine.

Waterpark: Got there right when it opened and it was nice....for the first 2 hours. Then it seemed everyone woke up and WOW. Super crowded. No seats if you arrived late. It seemed clean. We left when the crowds started because it was honestly suffocating.

Arcarde: Awesome. Not crowded. Perfect for kids in the 7-11 age group I'd say. Air hockey table, and bizarrely enough....pretty quiet.

Restaurant: Can only comment on Market Fresh (everything buffet style). Nice. Breakfast was reasonable, dinner not so much. If you aren't really going to eat your money's worth, don't go. But I guess that is true of all buffets. We ate away from the resort for most meals.

Internet: Honestly, don't bother. Reception was TERRIBLE and only upon occasion could you get a reliable signal.

It is farther away than the normal resort area, so it's a short drive if you want to visit the outlet mall or have events at the other larger resorts.

Comparing to Kalahari and Wilderness, they all have their pros and cons. Kalahari rooms were SCARY in my opinion. I hated the thought if having to be in them. They have more to do there...a larger waterpark and arcade, movie theater, etc...but it was loud ALL THE TIME. Wilderness took FOREVER (over an hour) for check-in and the service was terrible. Waterpark was nice and didn't seem as crowded as Kalahari.

We stayed in the Golf Villa's and to be honest they were gross. The room smells musty, the carpet is dirty and the room is dark. We could also not find the theromstat so half the room was freezing and the other hot. Tiny bathroom to the point that if you are sitting on the comode you can hardly close the door. The carpets in the hallways were dirty and stained and the rooms narrow and small. All this for the low low price of $240 a night. One high note was the outdoor hottub was clean and hot and they have a kitchen area in the room that is clean and new and a fireplace in the corner that is nice and works. Everything else is old and smelly. Very dissapointing. We did not use the water park as this was a girls shopping trip. We have stayed in the main hotel before and the rooms were ok and the waterpark fun, especially for little kids but our days of staying at the ChulaVista are over.

My husband and I stayed at this resort this past weekend with my family and their kids for a family trip/girls spa weekend. A day before we left we wanted to confirm our reservation. I called 3 times and was on hold for several minutes each time and was never was able to get through to talk to the front desk. Upon checking in our reservation we were informed we only had one $50 spa credit whereas we were quoted 2 spa credits when booking. We were finally given the second credit we were told when booking. Also we never received an email confirmation when booking with the price of our hotel room. When checking in our room was over $200 a night which we remember being under $200 but we are unable to verify because we never got a confirmation with the price we were quoted over the phone.

After our expensive spa treatment during the day we were awoken at 3 am to a very loud party in the room above us. It did not help that the walls were paper thin (we could hear their toilet flush) but adults were screaming at the top of their lungs. We called the front desk twice to take care of this matter and after maybe an hour they were somewhat quieter. We paid about $500 for the room for weekend and it was not worth the price at all. While this could be a good place for a family with small children or a wild bachelor/bachelorette party, it was a scam for any sort of relaxing weekend. We will not be returning here.

My adult daughter and I took advantage of the mid-winter "Great Escape" package offered in the January - early March timeframe for $199 plus $20 gratuities and $40 in taxes. This included a 2 night stay, two full buffet dinners, two full buffet breakfasts and a lunch. Virtually all (reasonable) beverages (coffee, soda, wine, beer and well drinks) were also included. The front desk check in was very disorganized and a long wait - we got there early and hoped the room would be ready, but it wasn't, so had to return four hours later and stand in line again. When we got to the room, it was not the kind we expected (a fireplace, but not a whirlpool I had upgraded to), so we were told to return to the lobby and stand in line a third time. Frustrated, I was told that the fine print on the upgrade indicated it wasn't guaranteed. From then on, the trip was much better. The food throughout was truly excellent and there was plenty of it. The wait service staff in the restaurants and bars were plentiful, but very spotty. They would just disappear. Very strange. They were accommodating, though, as my daughter has food allergy issues. Overall, we would return, because it was an incredible value and a very relaxing get-away, but don't expect perfect service.