Beat the Winter Blues at Hershey's Water Works Indoor Swimming Complex

As we settled into the month of December I began feeling that overwhelming sense of "oh crap, how am I going to keep my boys entertained indoors for the next 100+ days?" that usually hits right about the time the temperatures begin to dip into the low 30's. I think I can safely say that at one point or another, all moms who are forced to, well, mom, during the icy, cold winter months have these or similar freak-out moments when faced with the task of planning activities to keep kids busy indoors for weeks on end. 
One thing that has helped me personally has been planning a weekend getaway or two that involves some sort of hotel pool that helps to  break up the monotony of cold winter weeks spent at home and indoors.
It was during the first weekend of December that we took our annual trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania's Hershey Lodge, home of the new indoor water park known as Hershey's Water Works. We arrived shortly after check-in and it wasn't long before we made it up to our room and into our swim suits to burn off some of the cooped up energy from the long car ride, but only after consuming some Hershey's chocolate that welcomed us upon our arrival. 

We've been to several indoor water parks as a family and while this was one of the busiest and most packed that we've visited, it was hands down one of the most fun as well. Since the indoor swimming complex caters to a variety of swimming abilities and ages, there was something to enjoy for everyone. 
If we're being honest, I also appreciated the presence of the on-site bar and concession concession stand, Cocoa Cabana. With a variety of starters, salads and snacks to offer, we took full advantage of the food here and made this our dinner during our second night's stay.

The boys loved the sand castle climb-on, complete with slides, spray zones and kid-controlled water features. Our youngest took full advantage of the zero entry pool and even joined in on a basketball game or two. While we're not quite at the parenting stage of "sit back and watch," both my husband and I agreed that even we had tons of fun chasing the boys around inside Water Works.

Located just outside of the pool area is the game room, chock full of traditional arcade games like air hockey and skee-ball. It's the perfect reprieve for when your little ones (and big ones, too) get too water logged and need a short break. 
If you're looking for a sweet getaway, (get it.. sweet as in Hershey chocolate sweet...) I highly recommend a night or two at the Hershey Lodge. With package rates starting as low as $169 per night, kids can play, splash and eat for free and the best part? They sleep well too, given how much energy they've expended doing all of that swimming,splashing and playing! With so many different amenities that cater to families with young children, the Hershey Lodge is my favorite place to stay, especially when we visit Hershey during the holiday season. 


This post is brought to you in partnership with Hersheypark and my working relationship as a Sweetest Moms ambassador. In exchange for my honest opinions as expressed above, we received a complimentary stay.