We chose the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites with “Great Serengeti Indoor Waterpark” in Owatonna, Minnesota, for a last-minute weekend getaway.

This review will not include a problem with our reservation that was ultimately resolved by the hotel’s general manager.  I will, however, say, that you should double-check your room type if staying there in the near future, since the Holiday Inn website is not completely up-to-date.

There was only one desk agent on duty, and she was professionally dressed and courteous.  Various people were coming and going, as there were families staying in the hotel, people eating in the restaurant, and a wedding reception in the banquet area.

Our room was one of the newly redecorated ones, and was tastefully decorated.  It included a microwave and small refrigerator, placed next to the bathroom door with no counter space.  A closet was spacious, and we also had a three-drawer dresser/TV stand.  Noise from the hallway and from above was noticeable.  The hotel could use more directional signs, as elevators and staircases are not where you’d expect them to be.  I had to call the front desk to obtain a password for the free wireless Internet service.

I made it to the waterpark area just as my husband and children were returning, so most of the waterpark comments are based on my husband’s opinions and my brief walk-through.

There is one adult-sized tube slide and one body slide.  My six-year-old loved the slides, and they were just right for a child his age.

The zero-entry area for toddlers contained one tot-slide and an elephant spouted water, but no climbing or other play area.

A basketball pool area was connected to the zero-entry area.

The “lazy river” is the smallest I’ve ever seen, a simple small oval.  My husband had trouble loading the kids onto their tubes because the waterslide emptied out into the same area.

My husband said it was difficult to keep track of the kids, and that the walkways between pool areas were very narrow.  He saw one lifeguard supervising the entire park on the Saturday evening we visited.

If you’re visiting the Serengeti thinking it’s a big waterpark, you’ll be disappointed.  We’ve much preferred the Atlantis in Wisconsin Dells and the Ramkota in Sioux Falls for little kids, and for older kids places like The Edge in Duluth and Waterpark of America in Bloomington have much more to offer.

We ate breakfast in the restaurant, where up to four children can eat free for dinner and breakfast with purchase of a parent’s meal (in dining room only, not valid for room service or takeout).  This included the Sunday morning buffet.  Children’s drinks were free, but the adult orange juice was $2.50 in addition to the $7.95 buffet price.  The orange juice was served in a large soda glass; had we known that we would have shared one.  It was more OJ than either of us needed.

The buffet had a decent variety of food, ranging from cereal, yogurt, and fruit to eggs, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and French toast.  All were in buffet servers, one of which had a tip-up lid while the others had lids that needed to be lifted off for each food item.  The loose handles made this even more difficult.  An investment in additional flip-lid servers would be useful.  Most of the hot foods were very good, but the pancakes and French toast were very tough, almost impossible to cut.    Service in the restaurant was prompt and courteous.

Parking was convenient to the front entrance, although the lot was quite full with a wedding in the banquet area.  The lobby is very large, with three separate seating areas.  The primary smoking area for the hotel seemed to be right outside the front entrance, at least on the evening we were there.

The Holiday Inn in Owatonna, MN, is located right next to Cabela’s and several restaurants, including Famous Dave’s, and is just a few miles from the Medford outlet mall.

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