Jellystone Park™ Mammoth Cave — Hotel in Glasgow

Just returned from a week long family trip to Jellystone Mammoth Caves. We discovered Jellsytone for the 1st time last year - one of the locations in Michigan - and the kiddos LOVED it. Unfortunately that location really did not do well with the activities - we often showed up to find nobody there to put on an event or craft, several times they didn't have the supplies for the advertised craft, the movie night we tried to do they couldn't get the projector to work - and even the activities we did get to do, seemed so chaotic and unorganized. Happy to report Jellystone Mammoth Caves NAILS the activities. We were absolutely delighted with them - a paper craft every morning (with staff present who quickly refilled the supplies needed for it if they got low), an amazing selection of shirts to purchase for tie dye - we brought our own because they didn't have correct sizes at the Jellystone we visited last year - but we wound up buying 2nd shirts from the Rec Center because they had such a great selection. Activities were always on time, organized, and never out of supplies.||That said - as much as we loved the activity schedule - I do have some small complaints I'm hoping staff will see. The first is that for the most part the activity schedule online tells you if a craft costs extra (& even how much), so you can avoid showing up to something you don't actually want to pay for and having kids cry about it. I got comfortable assuming if it wasn't listed as an extra charge, it was free. And then we showed up for the "fizzy bomb painting", and wound up with crying whining kids because I wasn't spending $50 on a craft. I swear, its the most expensive one, at $25 per kid - and its the one that isn't marked as being an extra charge on the app list. Very frustrating.||Then we showed up to do the movie night one night - kids were pretty excited since we had otherwise been having an unplugged vacation - and the idea and space are great but its just not set up right. There were only about 8 chairs available and only the 2 or 3 closest to the projector could actually hear the movie. Of course someone was already occupying those ones, so we stayed about 15 mins but having no idea what was going on in the movie, we wound up leaving early. They need to get some kind of speakers for that...||And then lastly - the way the water obstacle course, We-Bit, is run isn't properly explained at all. Staff just kind of fails to tell you how that works. We showed up for it one morning, and were told it doesn't open til 11 - so we were an hour early. So we went to the pool, killed some time, came back about 11:30 or so, only to find out the We-Bit is sold out until much later in the day. Nobody had mentioned to us that it had time-slots or even that it was capable of selling out. (and the last Jellystone we visited had the same We-Bit thing, but did not have time slots, you just paid for an hour of play).||All smaller issues that could be easily corrected though.||Otherwise - all the included amenities we used were fantastic. Both the pools are great - only change I would make would be more shaded seating for parents not swimming. My 6-year olds LOVED that the "activity pool" is only 4 feet at its deepest, so they could touch anywhere in the pool. The splash pad was great for the 1 and 3 year olds. They got a little crowded but never too bad that we felt we needed to leave. The jumping pillows were a HUGE hit too - and we loved there being multiple playgrounds in the area. We fed the fish at the fish pond, the kids did the little trike track (though the bouncy pillows stole the show, so they didn't do the trikes long lol). We loved meeting with the bears too.||The Gift shop area is really nice. Lots of themed souvenirs - we did ice cream one day up there, which was decent (though a long wait). They have lots of the little things you might have forgotten to bring on your trip. Very well stocked.||For accommodations we were in the Cozy Cabins. On the plus side - they were a decent price, they have a wonderful AC window unit that really kept us comfortable in a heat wave - and unlike the cheaper cabins at the other Jellystone we've visited, they have their own bathroom - so we didn't need to bother with the communal bath house.||On the down side- they say they sleep 8. 2 people were supposed to be able to sleep on the fold-out couch, but when we arrived it was broken, and did not fold out. Maintenance was able to come and remove it so we could put an air mattress in that space, and still slept all 8 of our people. But we didn't get any kind of ...I dunno, discount or anything for having paid for beds for 8, that turned out to be only beds for 6. And we made the mistake of actually bringing 8 people for this cabin.... which I frankly don't think they should advertise it to fit that many people in the first place. We all slept, but you couldn't all stand in the cabin. Its waaaayyy too crowded for 8 people - even with half of them being kids.||The other thing about the cabin was that even though the signs and rules clearly say the cabin firepit should be empty after a guest leaves, we arrived to one filled with charred wood and other trash (bandages, egg shells, even a plastic bottle). It was mentioned to the front desk and to maintenance, but the whole time we were there it was not cleaned out - so we never wound up making a fire.|Of course, we were kept busy with other activities and trips out to the caves, so I didn't harp on it or go back up to complain a third time, maybe I should have.||All in all, some minor issues - but I would return! And we are going to keep looking for Jellystone locations on...

Since it looks like my review was removed, I figured I would attach screenshots of my stay confirmation, where the funds were removed from my account, etc. so it doesn't get reported as spam and be removed again. I hope you take your time to scroll through my review. If you do, you'll see I checked out at 10 am on Sunday, May 9th and no one has still contacted me.

I arrived at 3:15 pm to pick up the keys for our cabin (check-in was at 3). They stated the cabin was not ready which was a little surprising. She explained that during peak season they can't guarantee having keys available at 3 pm. My bad for not reading the very fine print. Online it said the office closed at 4 and at 3:55 pm I still hadn't heard from anyone. I went back into the office and asked for an update and they said they were waiting for keys from their cleaners (and that was the cause of the delay was cleaning). I asked what happens if y'all close and I still don't have my keys. She said the keys would be in the door when it was ready. At that point in time, a manager had walked up to the desk. She said she had to inspect the cabins to check the cleanliness and they would be in contact shortly. I received a call at 4:05, assuming telling me I can finally check in, but no it was to say the manager was on her way to check it. After another 15 minutes I received another call that I was finally able to check into our cabin (4:22 pm to be exact). Another thing I did not realize until getting into the cabin is none of the linens were included. So again, very confused on why we couldn't check in at 3 pm. I personally own and run an Air BnB, turn it myself, and I can typically have it complete in 2 hours and this is an over 2000 sqft home, 3 bedrooms, and two bathrooms. The linens are the longest process. I've been open 12+ months, with a 5 star rating (super host) and I have had 0 complaints on cleanliness.

Sidenote: all of the employees I was speaking with were super nice and seemed to be understanding. My sister parked her camper down the way from our cabin and it was a great location, the site was clean, and we were able to setup her up pretty quickly. The events for children were great and my nephews had a great time! The beach area was also super nice and clean.

After further walking around our cabin, it was super dusty. The walls, light fixtures, ceiling fans, just dust everywhere. At least 50% of the blinds were not operational, the sink drains had popcorn kernels in them, one just had some sort of black goop, and when taking out the trash the bottom of the can was horribly disgusting (as you can see in the photos). Again, very confused on why we couldn't check in on time when the excuse was due to cleanliness of the cabin. The next morning, we were having coffee on our porch (which was screened in and VERY nice to enjoy) and some cleaning girls pulled up across the street to begin a turn. For the first 30-45 mins, one girl was just playing on her phone while the other girl is dumping whatever she had swept into the dust pan outside.

Upon checking out, I spoke to another representative about the frustrations and she said she would have a GM contact me. I checked out AT 10 am on Sunday and I have yet to hear from anyone.

With all of that being said, I would have been way more understanding of the situation if we could have checked in on time and prices weren't so steep. There's a campground maybe 15 mins from downtown Nashville that actually used to be another Jellystone location. The new owners of the campground offering cabins for less than $200/ night and look much nicer online. I paid over $700 for two-nights. I understand it's a tourist location but I don't believe that's a reasonable amount with the conditions...

First the facts: we are a family of 4, we stayed here in late march ("off season"), we used our camper not a cabin

First things first, this park clearly has an "old part" and a "new part"... our site was right on the line between these two parts. Bathrooms are very important to us, as we use the park bathrooms/showers over the one in our camper. The bathrooms in the "new part" are AMAZING! hot and cold water shower just like you have at home (not a button you have to push every 30 seconds or anything), and the shower is located inside a family bathroom, no male or female with shower stalls, you walk into the family bathroom lock the door and have your own toilet sink and shower.... perfect, couldnt ask for a better setup. they were always clean as well. The bathrooms in the "old part" are ok... they were clean, but more dated, and more "typical" to a campground. no private family room, just one large room with shower stalls and such. Even if you HAD to use these bathrooms, its not worth loosing any sleep over. Next, the amenities. As with all yogi bear campgrounds, they revolve around the kids. The jumping pillows are great, the playgrounds (yes there are several small ones and one central large one) are nice and well kept. My only complaint here would be that the large playground is full of orange pea gravel that will turn your kids into orange oompa-loompas... but your camping, so they will get dirty one way or another. The put putt course here is in serious need of repair/replacement. its definenlty in the "old part" of the campground. I cant speak for the pools as they werent open yet (we were told of this ahead of time) but they look very nice and fun, as does the waterslide. The sheer size of this park is mind-blowing. they must have 100 rental cabins and 250+ sites... its huge. We dont like crows, so staying here in march, there was MAYBE 15 other families here, it was ideal for us. If this place is FULL in the summer, i can only imagine the crowd. The staff here was all great. The check in staff, the store cashier, the maintenance people (our water hydrant leaked) were all friendly and personable. The location of this park is great. close to the expressway, but far enough away you dont hear the road noise. your about 15-20 minutes from mammoth cave. There is a dollar general just a few minutes up the road as well incase you forgot anything.

Its also worth mentioning, this place is built into the side of a mountain, ITS NOT FLAT! bring some extra blocks to help level your rig. Its not a big deal, as long as you come prepared. Also, im the guy that always gets the cheapest available site... which i did here as well. After seeing the more expensive sites now, it may be worth the upgrade... the expensive sites are flat, come with a pull through cement slab to park on, include a glider bench, very nice picnic table, oversized fire pit, and a grill... i feel like with this place, you get your moneys worth when you upgrade to the better sites. if i was coming back, id look at sites near the new restrooms =) also, with some of this park being "new", there are few to no trees... so if trees are what your looking for, this may not be the place for you.

overall, i have to give this Jellystone a solid 4.5 stars... they seem to be investing alot of time and money into improving the park, the staff is great, the amenities are great.... what more can you ask for?

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