By Molly Flynn

Have you ever wanted to visit a fantastic waterpark? Or an amazing arcade? You should go to the Kalahari Hotel in the Poconos. The resort is named for the desert in Southern Africa known for its wildlife, which is pretty ironic because Kalahari (the region) is a desert and doesn’t have much water. I will review the shops, food, waterpark, arcade, and more.

One of my favorite parts of Kalahari was all the shops. My favorite was the grocery store.  It had all types of fresh food like muffins, coffee, and other baked goods. It also stocked some of my favorite candies like Lindt Chocolate, Trolli gummies, and Starbursts. Of course, you can find staples like milk, eggs, sugar, and bread. Lastly, it offered cool merchandise like hoodies, hats, and shirts.

Another highlight of Kalahari is the superb food. They have a delicious Italian restaurant called Sortino’s. Some of the best food there is the crunchy bruschetta and the soft onion bread. Another fantastic thing there is the food near the arcade. They have delectable wings and fries. My favorite wings are the spicy, hot, crispy buffalo wings.

The waterpark is the main attraction of Kalahari. It has some killer rides. My favorite was the Screaming Hyena. You go into a purple tube and on the count of three, it drops you. It’s so fun, but water does go up your nose. Another very fun ride (considered the scariest ride) is the Wild Wildebeest. You go into a clover tube and then it lifts you ten feet on a ring that is sideways. This is one I haven’t gone on because it was closed, but the first VR waterslide is in Kalahari. Lastly, there was the Smoke That Thunders. It is one of the most thrilling rides there! It does three drops, then it brings you into a vast opening, and you rock back and forth.

The arcade is another one of the best things there. It has many games that most arcades don’t have. For instance, they have an ax-throwing game. Another amazing thing they have there is an escape room and laser tag. I escaped and although it was hard, it was so fun. It was called Wrath of Anubis. They also had lots of claw machines. They had squishies, stuffed animals, and many expensive prizes, too. My favorite part about the arcade was the ticket shop. After playing many games you get tickets on your arcade card. With those tickets, you can buy prizes. Usually, arcades have small toys like erasers and candy. But, this shop had table tennis, board games, record players, instruments, and candy. There was so much we bought for not a lot of tickets. The arcade was one of the greatest parts of the trip.

Miscellaneous: Now it’s time to wrap up the small details. Firstly, the rooms are nice and big. The beds have two queens and a pull-out couch. Another thing I liked about the room was that the key card was a bracelet. One thing that I liked about Kalahari was there was a waiting room with comfy couches so you could eat your food from the restaurants nearby. Now some things you should be aware of.; 1. It will be packed with people. 2. The lines are long. 3. The vending machines don’t work. One time I wanted a candy bar, and I inserted the money but it said no money was put in.

I hope you can take a lot from this and that you were persuaded to go take a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime trip to Kalahari. (Not the country, the waterpark/hotel.)