The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark Review

The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark

Where is The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark?

The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark is located in Monticello, New York, which is in Sullivan County. Located about 90 minutes away from New York City, the Kartrite Resort is in the perfect location for a quick getaway to the Catskill Mountains. The Kartrite Resort is also only a 30-minute drive from New York’s newest theme park, Legoland New York.

Our Review of The Kartrite Resort

When you walk through the doors of the Kartrite Resort and explore the first floor, you’ll likely forget that this resort also has an indoor waterpark and other activities for kids. The Kartrite Resorts screams 5-star hotel from the moment you arrive. The decor is modern and sleek while the furnishings remain inviting.

The Kartrite Resort Waterpark

The Kartrite waterpark is themed as a tropical paradise. It’s covered by a glass dome that lets in natural light and is temperature controlled to feel like a humid tropical setting.

The Kartrite Resort's Indoor waterpark
The Kartrite Waterpark

The Kartrite waterpark is the perfect size for parents with younger kids who don’t need handholding but still require supervision. And for parents who need to accompany smaller children at each attraction but don’t have the energy to go from one end of a huge waterpark to the other and back.

The waterpark is designed in such a way that if you sit in the middle of the waterpark, near the Flowrider, you can turn and have the perfect view of the water basketball area, and the frog petal obstacle course. To the left of that area, you can turn and have a decent view of the entrance to the kids’ splash zone, and the staircase to all the waterslides.

The flowrider at the Kartrite Resort & Indoor waterpark
The Flowrider

One thing that stood out to us almost immediately, is that the Kartrite waterpark does not have a wave pool or even a regular, cold water pool. Behind the lazy river, is an indoor/outdoor hot tub with a door in the pool leading to the outside. The indoor section of the hot tub is the size of a hot tub you’d expect in a waterpark; however, the outdoor section is the size of a standard pool. As the only pool in the resort, this is where you’d find kids who were looking to just splash and swim in the pool.

The Kartrite waterpark may be small but except for a wave pool, it has all the components of a waterpark. Given its size and the type of attractions, it caters best to children under 13 and children who are not a fan of thrill rides. It was the perfect size for my 3-year-old and 8-year-old, who were perfectly content staying there all day.

FAQs About The Kartrite Resort Waterpark

  • What are the hours of The Kartrite Resort & Indoor waterpark?

The Kartrite waterpark is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. everyday.

  • Does the Kartrite Waterpark have an outdoor section?

The Kartrite does not have an outdoor waterpark. They do have a heated outdoor pool, which connects to their indoor hot tub.

  • Does The Kartrite’s waterpark have a section for babies and toddlers?

The Kartrite has a well-designed section for babies and toddlers. The slides have a height limit and are made for toddlers to slide down alone. This splash and play area has built-in seats for parents to sit while they supervise their children.

  • How many waterslides does The Kartrite Waterpark have?

The Kartrite waterpark has four waterslides, not counting the ones made for babies and toddlers. One slide is a racing mat slide, two of them are tube rides for single or double riders, and the fourth one is the most thrilling waterslide with a tube that can fit up to four riders.

  • What is The Kartrite Resort Splash Pass?

A splash pass is what the Kartrite calls their day pass to the waterpark. If you live or are staying nearby and want to use the waterpark without booking a hotel room, you can purchase a Splash pass.

Escape winter & Book Your Stay at the Kartrite Resort & Indoor waterpark Now!

Other Activities at The Kartrite Resort

When you’ve had enough of the waterpark, the Kartrite offers a few dry activities. Keep in mind that the activities are subject to change and may be seasonal and weather dependent.

The Arcade

The arcade is split into two areas. On one side that connects to the entrance of the waterpark, you’ll find arcade games that mostly cater to the younger children, as well as a rock climbing wall, virtual reality games, a 3D ride, and laser tag. The highlight of the arcade Carabiners, the Kartrite’s ropes course.

On the far side of first floor, where the main part of the arcade is located, you’ll find another much smaller arcade. In this section there are two pool tables, mini bowling, and a few arcade games for older kids and adults.

We were a bit disappointed at the arcade hours. By 9 p.m., the arcade was closed and it did not open again until 10 a.m.

Scheduled Activities

The Kartrite has a beautiful outdoor common area, called the Concord Commons, where most of their outdoor activities take place. There are a few activities, like giant connect 4 and Cornhole, that remain in the commons throughout the day. To catch one of the scheduled events, make sure to check the Kartrite event calendar each day.

  • Making Smores

Every day, you can purchase a smores kit, which I discuss in more detail below. We had never made smores over a fire as a family before so we were very excited to try it. Making smores was literally a life changing activity for our family. We had so much fun, we went on our very first camping trip the week after, just to make smores.

  • Movie Night

Movie night is another activity that takes place daily at the Kartrite. During our stay they were showing Inside Out.

There were a few disappointing things about movie night:

  1. All of the stores were closed and the Kartrite did not even provide popcorn for the movie. If you have young kids, you know how important snacks are during movies.
  2. The lobby was not the best setup to keep a child engaged in the movie. The screen was too high, and there was too much light in the lobby. There were too many distractions. Even with a couple of bean bags offered, it was not a very comfortable setup for a movie. We ended up leaving about 15 minutes into the movie and going back to the room.

Activities pro tip: If you want to experience some of the Kartrite’s best activities, or to have a long list of scheduled activities to choose from, it’s best to visit on a weekend and/or during the summer. We visited during the week when kids were still in school, and there weren’t too many activities going on.

Looking for other things to do while in New York? Check out our list of the best museums in New York for Kids.

The Kartrite Resort Room Tour and Review

Walking out of the elevator and through the hallway to our room, I was excited. I loved the color scheme of the carpeting in the hallway and expected the room to blow me away. The room was clean, which is most important to us, but the room itself and its decor was basic.

The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark room tour

Other Rooms Available at The Kartrite Resort

We had a standard double queen hotel room but the resort also offers balcony and patio rooms, as well as suites.

view of the Kartrite Resort & Indoor waterpark from the Concord Commons
View of the Kartrite Resort from the Concord Commons

Check out the rates and availability for your stay at The Kartrite Resort & Indoor waterpark here!

The Kartrite Resort Restaurants & Bars

The Kartrite has six restaurants and bars, and one store perfect for those with a sweet tooth.

Restaurants That Were Open During Our Stay

  • Surfside Grille: The Surfside Grille is where you go to get food without leaving the waterpark. They serve food you’ll typically find at an attraction for kids, like cheeseburgers, french fries, and pizza, but you’ll also find a few healthier options as well. Overall, we were pretty impressed with the food and felt we got our money’s worth in value.
  • Bar Mez: I’m only assuming that this bar, which is located on the second floor in the waterpark, was open because I saw some people walking around with some amazing looking drinks. Aside from cabanas and the bar, there is nothing on the second floor so we never made our way up there. However, after seeing the drinks, which looked like they were made at a tropical resort, and looking at the drink menu, which had non-alcoholic options for a reasonable price, I regret not going to check it out.
  • Harvey’s Wallbanger: Harvey’s is both a bar and a restaurant, and was our choice for dinner. They had options for dinner that would show up on some of the best culinary menus. For a more kid-friendly, wallet-friendly option, you can opt for a freshly baked pizza like we did. It was delicious! Heads up: Even on a weekday, they recommend you make a reservation as the restaurant is small and gets crowded once the waterpark closes.
  • Eat, Eat, Eat: This restaurant is the Kartrite’s buffet. It was open for our stay for breakfast and dinner but we chose not to eat here because (1) we’re not big breakfast eaters and (2) we thought the selection for dinner was not worth the $30 per adult, $16 per child (ages 4-12) cost. Pro tip: Before sitting down to eat at the buffet, ask to look at the options so you don’t end up spending a bunch of money on food your family won’t enjoy.
  • Pops Sweet Shoppe: This store is exactly what you would expect based on its name. They sell candy by the pound, ice cream, and other desserts. We stopped by here after dinner because this is where you buy the family smores kit.
    • Money-saving tip: At the front desk, the smores kit is listed as $20 per kit. When you get to the store, the smores kits are sold separately for $5 a box. The family kit price will likely provide you with four boxes, but one box for our family to have fun making smores and each have a taste was enough.
    • Heads Up: On the Kartrite’s website, Pops Sweet Shoppe is listed as being open until 10 a.m. When we went down to get ice cream, a little after 9 p.m. on a weekday, the store was closed, leaving us very disappointed.

Other Restaurants at The Kartrite Resort

  • The Highline: In the morning, we walked down in our pajamas to The Highline expecting to be greeted by the smells of pastries and coffee. We were disappointed to find The Highline closed for the day, leaving the buffet as our only option for breakfast. As more of a pastries and coffee for breakfast type of family, we opted not to go to the buffet and begrudgingly got into the car and drove to Dunkin Donuts. We never had to leave a resort for any meal before so this was highly disappointing to us, especially now seeing that their website lists the store as being open daily from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • Bixby’s Derby: Bixby’s bar and restaurant is only open from Thursday to Sunday for dinner. From the look of the closed restaurant, which is located on the main floor near the entrance, Bixby’s is very high-end and was not a place we would have eaten during our stay. It did however appear to be the perfect place to relax with a drink or to get a drink to bring back to the room after a long day.

The Kartrite Resort’s Souvenir Shop

The Kartrite’s souvenir shop is located near the entrance to the waterpark. It’s a good place to go if you forgot anything waterpark related or personal hygiene related. One thing we found shocking, is that the Souvenir shop opens and closes with the waterpark. After hours, the only place to get any of the personal hygiene items you may need is the front desk and their options are more limited. The shop also sells medicine, which was not displayed at the front desk for sale.

Check out these top waterpark essentials on Amazon

The Staff at The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark

The first thing I expect at any resort from the staff is good hospitality and a good attitude. They should be friendly and inviting, and eager to help. The Kartrite did not disappoint. Everyone we came in contact with was very friendly and made us feel welcomed.

The second thing I expect from the staff at a resort and/or attraction is for the staff to be knowledgable about the place they work and this is where the Kartrite fell short. There were several occasions where we asked the staff questions that they did not have the answers to. There were too many times when we had to say, “Don’t worry, we’ll find out” or “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out ourselves.”

The area where this was most obvious was during the scavenger hunt, which was listed as one of the daily activities on the Kartrite’s activity schedule. The objective of the scavenger hunt was to answer the riddles to find out which section of the Kartrite you should visit to get a stamp. Every time we would visit an area, the staff seemed more confused than we were about what they were supposed to do. I understand the Kartrite is not Disney, but this made the experience a little less “magical.”

Should You Visit The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark?

If you live close by or are going to be in the area, and you’re looking for a place to visit where you can have some fun but also have time to relax, then the Kartrite is definitely worth the visit.

The Kartrite seems to cater to parents because there were not many activities at night or in the early morning, giving parents more time to relax during these hours with the excuse that everything is closed.

728*90

If you’re traveling with kids under 13 or people with sensory issues, the Kartrite’s waterpark is a good choice because of its size, and the fact that very few of the attractions are thrill rides. Older kids and adults looking for more excitement and thrills may get bored very quickly. The resort is also much less crowded than others and has a more relaxed environment.

If your family fits into one or more of the categories above, we recommend a visit to the Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark. For more reviews on the Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark, click here.

To view prices and/or book your stay, click here.

6 Comments

  1. Monique this looks like a fun time. My wife and I are heading to Kingston, NY in a bit to do some house sitting. We will be just south of the gorgeous Catskills region. Magical place.

    Ryan

    1. Hey Ryan. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and to leave a comment. That’s a beautiful location you’ll be in. Make sure you take some time to do some exploring.

      Monique

  2. The Kartrite does seem like a great place for families to visit, and my daughter would love to go to the waterpark, and that’s great they also have an arcade and other activities. My daughter would also love to make smores! It’s a shame that some of the restaurants didn’t stick to their opening hours, and it would be nice if their staff was more knowledgeable.

    1. Thank you for reading. I hope you and your daughter get to go sometime. If you visit during the summer, you’ll have more activities to choose from and everything should be open.

  3. […] Need a break from museums, check out New York’s only indoor waterpark resort. […]

  4. Nadia says:

    If I could give zero I would give zero several times. First of all, there is only one person at check-in. The staff is not polite, the room accommodations are the only good thing. The photos of the park inside deceive you on the website, it’s small and there’s almost nothing for children to do. I went with a friend and her son, both the same age, 12. We went for breakfast and there is all you can eat, 22.95 adults and children up to 12 pay 12.95, and there are still no breakfast varieties. When I went to check my card they had charged each of us 22.95. There is no bottled water for sale at the resort, only tap water, I have never seen that. For you to use the only two restaurants you have to make a reservation. The food is horrible and expensive, the drinks are the same. We had to leave the building and go to the local Walmart to buy water and some snacks. They have room to build a structure equal to or better than the Kalahari, but they haven’t done it. For the price we paid of $975 for 2 nights, it wasn’t worth a penny. PLEASE CHECK THE REVIEWS BEFORE GOING. If I had done so, they wouldn’t have seen my hard-earned money.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *