Wilderness Club At Big Cedar — Local services in Hollister

" Big" Cedar is a fitting name as there is no end of things to do here. From 5 pools to paddle boats to canoes to pontoon boat rentals you have a lot of options on the water. There are shoppes, gaming centers, restaurants and putt-putt so you're never going to be bored so you can stay on presmies the whole trip if you so desired. We tried almost all the pools and each one had something unique. The 9-hole putt-putt was fun and free. We also rented a paddle boat which had retro painted fiberglass bodies.

They shuttles are plentiful and quick but with Covid-19 lurking we drove our own vehicle around. Parking was mostly fine and was only a problem one evening at the shoppes area. Peak travel time may make parking difficult.

Fun Mountain is great but we only had time to do the gocarts and the upside down bumper cars. They also have an arcade, a restaurant and an underwater themed bowling alley.

We stayed in one of the lodges that was right in the middle of the action called James River Lodge. The lodge did have one elevator which was nice but needed more cart dollies. Rooms were well equipped with almost everything a full kitchen would have: sink with garbage disposal, mini-fridge, a dishwasher and 2 stove elements, a microwave, ceramic plates and cups, and a toaster. Room was pretty clean and contained a king size bed and a fold out couch twin bed. The bathroom was a little small but had great running water that got hot fast. There was a small semi-private porch with 2 rocking chairs.

The staff was helpful over the phone and available 24-7. They left cookies for us every evening on our door. The floor level trash was right outside our room so it was a little smelly on our first night but they got everything the next day.

The entry winding path to the lookout landing was an unexpected bonus - beautiful views! I highly recommend Big Cedar for a fun and...

Our 5th time staying. The negatives: We stayed in a cabin this time. It wasn’t very clean. My son’s feet were black just running around the cabin at night. Floors need a good scrubbing! The area rug didn’t look clean at all. Everything just felt gross and covered with stickyness. Found food wrappers under the bed that weren’t ours. Lots of dirt and dust built up in floor corners. Obviously the cleaners aren’t cleaning thoroughly. Kinda grossed me out. Rooms are starting to look very dated. Even my son said something about the bathtub. That’s fine, but maybe not charge as much to stay. Our first cabin had ants running up the wall, on the counter tops too. Air conditioning wouldn’t work. We finally told them move us to a different cabin. After driving all day an 80 degree room isn’t ideal. We try to pack a lot of food. Prices are very high at all of the restaurants. You could drive into Holister or Branson for cheaper food. The positives: The gym at Big Cedar is amazing. Great equipment and very clean. So many areas to walk, deer everywhere, love the waterfalls. Staff at Bent Hook are great. We took a boat out two times. So fun but very costly obviously. Fun mountain is a hit for the kids. Love the free kayaks! We did the golf cart tour at Top of the Rock. So pretty! The gift shop is SO good. They had a lot of allergen friendly snacks. I appreciated that. Lots of good items to buy. Lastly, they will ask you to do a timeshare pitch. Big yikes. Not worth the gift card you get. Save yourself...

Had a great family reunion at this lodge. My husband and I ended up with a corner room with a fantastic view of the water and sunset.

For anyone with a Tesla, there are EV chargers on the premises. We ended up going to Fun Mountain to get a key to the EV chargers in a nearby parking lot so we could top up during our stay. It’s no Supercharger but it does the trick for overnight charging while you’re in the area.

One downside is that the resort’s restaurants are pricey and the location is outside of Branson where there are more options. I recommend bringing groceries for at least some of your meals to offset costs, as the rooms with suites have a kitchen with a good sized fridge, a stove, and I believe an oven as well.

We stayed for a long weekend but the suites would easily be comfortable for a longer stay.

As for the pools, I didn’t go swimming myself but my cousins said the indoor pool was on the cooler side. The outdoor pools were, of course, cold in mid-April. I wish the pools in the upper part of the campus were heated because the views from there were amazing!

Overall, everyone had a lovely experience...