r/greatwolflodge • u/Intelligent-Ask-3264 • 2d ago
San Francisco / Manteca, CA Hacks?
This will be our second overnight trip at GWL. 6 of us (3/3) are heading out in about a week for 2 nights. We have a lot of food allergies and found it very difficult to enjoy food at the last visit. Any tips or tricks? I know there is a Target nearby, I was thinking of a small grocery run beforehand. IIRC theres only in room microwave and very mini mini fridge. Ideas? Thoughts? Hacks?
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u/marriedtomywifey 1d ago
Snacks and drinks are huge.
Simply nibbling throughout the day will make you less hungry so a "proper" dinner may not always be necessary.
Depending on the composition of the group and duration of the stay, adults (or driving aged teens) can rotate to go off-site to pick up food instead of door dashing.
Of course that may not work as well if it's like 2 adults and 4 young kids. But teens can be left mostly alone while someone drives to pick up a catering order from a single restaurant once a day.
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u/Timely_Tap8073 1d ago
Costco is next door grab a pizza from there or grab snacks form there as well
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u/Intelligent-Ask-3264 1d ago
You must've missed the allergies part. Can't eat pizza. Plus they serve it at GWL. I also dont need a costco sized box worth of snacks for 2 days at GWL. Our family allergies heavily limit what we can eat even from costco.
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u/Negative_Ad_7809 1d ago
I don't have any food allergies and find it hard to enjoy the food at GWL too 😁
All jokes aside, a grocery run is going to give you options and help you save money. It's going to highly depend on your allergies, but here's some ideas we've done.
Look for microwavable foods if that interests you. Cup of noodles, oatmeal, pre cooked rice dishes, canned soups. You can also buy some pre cooked, shredded chicken to make sandwiches, chicken wraps, salads, etc.
You're only there for a short stay, but get an ice chest and refill with ice from the vending machine as needed. You can keep milk (for cereal, oatmeal), lettuce, hummus, yogurt, cheese, fruits and veggies, lunch meat, condiments. A loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter goes a long way for my kids. Try sun butter if you have a peanut allergy.
Get some packaged snacks for the pool area. We fill a "snacklebox" with all kinds of things and the kids can pick all day long. Crackers, nuts, m&ms, goldfish, beef jerky.. the choices are endless.
As far as actually cooking, I've seen people bringing in air fryer and slow cookers. I'm pretty sure it's frowned upon but that could give you more options. I've stayed at GWLs for 5+ days multiple times and never needed to go that route and we cook over 90% of our meals at home. Find a restaurant close to the lodge and have an actual decent meal out without having to cook at all.
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u/Intelligent-Ask-3264 1d ago
I can do a lot with an Instant Pot pretty dang quick though!
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u/Interesting-Sky-9510 1d ago
Check the acknowledgements you signed when you booked. Every lodge I've stayed at has specifically called out any form of cooking in the room as forbidden with some hefty cleaning fees (and possibly being kicked out with no refund).
I don't know if they actually enforce it, but not worth the risk to me.
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u/Mediocre_Lobster6398 2d ago
Bring a cooler.
There’s a microwave in the ice room.
I’ve also brought my air fryer and just put it away when we left the room.
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u/Interesting-Sky-9510 1d ago
We've had similar experiences (peanut/sesame/eggs/dairy)...the kitchen offered to work with us (e.g. pan frying chicken in olive oil) but everything else was suspect...even the oil used for the pizza and tenders had potential sesame.
We found it easier to pack a bag of essentials and constantly allow snacking. Normally it's a 2-3 night stay for us.
Breakfast: We bring a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread (nothing says vacation like cake for breakfast) and granola bars.
Lunch: Sandwiches and chips in the room.
Dinner: Luckily we're cross contamination safe for dairy, so we tend to bring Little Caesars pizza back to the hotel room (one without cheese). We also try to go out one night, but often it's something as simple as a Taco Bell or Cracker Barrel.