Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I came to the wilderness resort in ***************** ********* on January 27 2023. My boyfriend and I go to this water slide in the ******************** called the black hole. This slide has a weight limit of 250lbs so all riders must be weighed for safety reasons. I get on the scale and not that its important but I weigh 147lbs and stand around 55, the life guard ******* the slide states after seeing my weight you need to lay off the cupcakes and pizza I stood in shock mouth agape, I couldnt believe this worker just publicly fat shamed me. He then goes on to tell me its just a joke and an elderly women once almost pushed him down the slide for a comment he made towards her. I sit in the tube and my boyfriend get on the scale and In reaction to his weight he laughs and says you almost weigh the same, as if I should be ashamed of this. My boyfriend weighs 158. I tell him that theres 10 lbs between us and he shakes his head. He then pushes me off down the slide and yells down to me lay off the burgers it will change your life this was the most insane, unprofessional treatment I have ever had from a worker EVER. This man publicly fat shamed me for a joke. He abused his power to accessing peoples weight and used it to hurt me for no reason. I have just recently lost 40lbs and this crushed me making me feel as if my progress means nothing. People have eating disorders and all types of problems and to publicly shame them in their bathing suit is just plain horrible. This man was in his late forties, black, and had a water gun which he jokingly uses to squirt guests. I cant believe this place allows such a person to man a slide where guests weights are displayed. He deserves to be FIRED. People spend a lot of money to come here for vacation and they DO NOT deserve to be treated like this. This happened at around 6:15/6:30ish pm on January 27th 2023 on the black hole water slide. This man needs to be held accountable I have never felt so violated and disturbed.

  Business response

  02/06/2023

  Wilderness does not condone this type of behavior from our staff.  The comments made were unprofessional and upsetting to hear.  We are embarrassed a member of our staff would behave in such a way.  This issue has been addressed not only with the specific employee but with all staff in general about the perception of Wilderness as a whole. We have apologized to the guest and can assure her we took this concern very seriously. 

  No compensation was accepted at this time. Wilderness is open to future discussion with the guest. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Im filing this complaint in hopes of saving a life or at the very least to prevent another family from having to go through what we went through. The Great Wave indoor wave pool in the ************** Waterpark at the Wilderness is dangerous and has claimed lives. People shouldnt have to die in the name of fun. I understand this is a business and they are there to make money, however it shouldnt be costing people their lifes. When the waves started they were very sudden and aggressive. The wave frequency had to have been turned up too high as we soon became stuck in the wave impact zone. There was no break in the action and the current like pull made it impossible for us to escape. I had grabbed my 4 year old daughter who was within arms reach and was wearing a life vest. The waves were so intense that she kept getting ripped from my arms and we were both swallowing water. They kept coming closer together and it was hard to recover after being knocked down. I kept trying to reach her, but my attempts were overcome by the power of these waves. Eventually a lifeguard came to our rescue. However, I cant help but feel why we werent made more aware of the risks. We almost became a statistic in a wave pool tragedy. After doing some research I was surprised to see how tragedy was not uncommon in wave pools and found there have been a number of drownings and near drownings in this very pool. Isnt it the responsibility of The Wilderness along with their designers/engineers to make certain that all of the design and operational bases for safe use have been covered. They need to recognize that there is a hazard and its not safe, especially for children. Looking at reviews and videos online I see that others have noticed these dangers as well. Something has to be done. Even having a timer displayed to indicate a count down to when the waves begin would give swimmers time to get out of ***** way. This change could be the difference between life and death

  Business response

  12/28/2022

  **********, 

  Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns.  We take the safety of our guests and staff very seriously.  We do have a warning sound which goes off when the waves are about to begin as well as many signs around the park explaining the depth of the wave pool.  All of our lifeguards are certified by the American Red Cross.  We also provide life jackets free of charge to all guests. 

  We understand you have also brought these concerns to the health department back in May as well as spoken with our Director of Aquatics at that time.  We apologize you were not satisfied with the outcome of those findings. 

  Sincerely, 

  Wilderness Management 

  Customer response

  12/28/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  

  I do not feel they take the safety of their guests and staff very seriously. The warning sound (an elephant noise) goes off simultaneously as the waves start. This does not give swimmers enough time to get out of ***** way. The signs of depths are completely useless when there are huge waves that go way above those markers. Also, life jackets were worn. 
  

  Im relieved to hear the ***************** has acted to the safety concerns and Ive not spoken to the Director of Aquatics.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  04/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I booked my stay at the wilderness at ***************** water park. Fir the 26 of April untill the 28th.I booked it over the phone about 2 weeks ago. I then called a week prior to the 26th abs upgraded the room so additional people wanted to come. On arrival to the resort I found out that 1/3 of the indoor water parks were closed and the outside isnt open because of the off season also was the hurricane is closed. Why I wanted informed this when I booked my stay when I called the resort?Why I wasnt informed when I upgraded my room?Even when I arrived at check in no info is n 1/3 of the water parking being closed. I called management a few times got sent a few places waited pretty much the whole day to speak to someone that can actually help. In the end a manager meeting l offered. ************************* told him I didnt drive 4 hours to play at the arcade.He said this is all I can do and that was the end of it I asked him ifwildetness had a complaints department he said no and he handles the complaints. Im contacting bbb. Because 3 out of the 6 guest I bought with me did not enjoy the water park and are disappointed. When I spoke with the manager he was very much against doing anything for me and what he did offer was ******* I was ot my guest were interested in. Im very upset its my 10 yr Anniversary and Ive spend it chasing / Arguing with management Without resolution. I feel that the complaint wasnt taken seriously and that the manager I spoke to was very matter of fact not caring about my. Awful experience that is no fault of mine.When 1/3 of the water parks are closed this is something that should be explained befure and after booking and I booked my stay 2 times. 25 dollar game card is what 5 mins of fun?

  Business response

  05/16/2022

  During the guest stay the guest was compensated with 150 arcade credits as well as $70.00 in compensation.  Our website has all updated hours as well as we base our rates on occupancy, during this visit our rates reflected the closure of one waterpark.  We have 3 other waterparks available for guest use. At this time we will not be offering further compensation. 

  Thank you

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩