Massanutten Resort is Not What It Used to Be

Eagle Trace is not family friendly! We requested a two bedroom through RCI, and had good experiences before at the older Mountainside Villas, but Eagle Trace was another thing.

Two bedroom units are not adjoining, they are stacked. There is an outer door that cannot be deadbolted or night-latched, and the inner unit doors require a key at all times. Thus we had to use a key to go back and forth between units. This kind of setup would only work if two couples were traveling together.

The upstairs unit has the Jacuzzi, but it has two double beds in the one bedroom, and a sleeper and partial kitchen in the livingroom.

The downstairs unit had a tiny bedroom with a double bed, and a standard tub/shower. Full kitchen was in the living area, plus two sleepers. I asked the resort staff what they had available for us since we were using both units... surely we were not the first ones to use both at the same time? I got a "wow, never thought/heard of that." I thought maybe they had a "club" or something to prop against the outer door for privacy and safety at night, as the outer door had no night latch or deadbolt.I was told that they wanted it that way in case different groups used the A and B units. That way A couldn't lock B out. Vice versa.
What I feared came true. Employees would enter the outer door at will, never hesitating to knock on the outer door. Day or night!

We tried the first night to sleep downstairs with the deadbolt holding our door ajar (with a shoe to keep it closed). Our children used the upstairs unit. This worked out OK for the older children, but the younger ones ended up with us on the sleepers. We ended up keeping both doors shut and using the keys to go back and forth.

Heating was poor in these units. Because of the door situation, and the poor workmanship of the unit (gaps around the doors) we had a terrible time getting the downstairs unit up to a comfortable 68 degrees. Finally figured out that if we switched to the more expensive Supp.heat option on the heat pump and cranked it up to 80 degrees, that it would warm up in there. I don't know why it would never warm up if it was set at a more reasonable temperature. The gas firelogs were nice, but I think the vent was so large in it, that it drafted the cold air through the unit. It provided minimal heat. The weather the week we visited was in the 50's and 60's during the day. I don't know how anyone keeps warm there when it is actually cold!

The unit was clean. And the furnishings appeared to be fairly updated. There was NO storage! Only three small drawers in the TV stand. One TV stand in each bedroom and living room.


If it's Eagle Trace--Stay home!

Blue Ridge Buffet is the newest restaurant at Massanutten Resort. It is on the third level of the WaterPark building. Three of the walls are all glass, and overlook the waterpark, one for the indoor park, and two for the outdoor park. (The outdoor park was closed while we were there). We were there at night in January, and had to ask for another table because we were put in the corner of these two windowed walls. Drafty. The staff cheerfully accommodated us.

The price for dinner is $12.95 an adult $6.95 child with a $1.95 charge for the soda. (Slightly less for lunch 8.95 and 6.95 I think). The atmosphere and presentation is more upscale than a Golden Corral Buffet, and the price reflects it. The food was delicious and had a ham carving station. Of particular note was the barbecue beef, fried shrimp, beef with noodles and the cobblers. Service was nice. This was probably the only positive note in our most recent visit. I would eat there again. I would compare this to a local restaurant that has a Sunday Buffet, rather than those chain buffets. Fewer offerings, but high quality.

After dinner you can go downstairs and let the kids play at the arcade, or you can all play a few rounds of duckpins at their electronic bowling game (two lanes). Our children loved it.

The much heralded waterpark is now here. Hooray.
Been there, done that, didn't buy the shirt.
Can you tell how excited we are?
After paying $38 a person for each of us over 42" tall (which included our 5 year old) and another $10 for a locker (oh you get $5 back if you return the key). We headed to this indoor water-mecca.

We rambled around the park, attempting to figure out what was there. There are no visible signs, that say "this way to lazy river" or "this way to water slides" but there are lots and lots of small print disclaimers and rules.

There were three slides on the "play structure," which is surrounded by the lazy river. These are fun, and open, and all the kids can use them. The large water slides were fun, there are two tubes (89 stairs up) that you slide down on your back. One is translucent, the other is opaque. Kids liked it, but adults felt each bump all the way down.

The day we went was great for us as there were few people there. So each time we climbed the steps to go down a tube slide, we could immediately turn around and go back up!
"Great!" said the kids.
"Oh my gosh." said the parents, panting.
"Let's just wait here a moment while mommy catches her breath!"

There were 3 slides you could use a raft on; easy, medium, and extreme. You could use a raft for one or two people on any of the slides. Easy was nice and fun, translucent, you could see all the way down during daylight. Medium was similar, except that the tube was opaque, so you couldn't see a thing. I wasn't going to even try extreme. The very word scared me. We decided to take a three person raft up. The two kids and Me. After we got up there (did I tell you it was 89 steps?) they told us that the 3-person raft can ONLY go down the Extreme! Trying to act calm, because the only way down was either back the way we came, or to press on, I chose the latter. With my little 5 year old on front, we went down. It was fun! As we hit the "catching pool" at the bottom, though, he went airborne! Fortunately, he grabbed on tight, and loved it! The next time down, which of course we had to do, I wrapped my legs around him tighter, and it worked. My daughter, on the other hand wasn't so fortunate. She went down with her dad and sister, the raft went all the way to the steps before it stopped, she caught her foot on the step, which required stitches and ended our fun. We had been there an hour, and had done everything, so we weren't too upset, except for the cost.

There are TONS of lifeguards present, unfortunately none of the four in the small "catching pool" put out a hand to stop a raft, and prevent injury.