Tony and I recently took a road trip to Burlington, Iowa. I have never been here before but this would be Tony's second time. Tony does a lot of traveling for work, we had actually just got back home from our vacation in Florida. We did not expect his job to put him on the road right away. I think we spent a day at home after driving for about 20+ hours. We were both honestly so pooped from all that traveling. We also had so much fun in Florida, honestly, so far that was the best vacation we have ever had. We can talk about that trip more in another post. So stay tuned for that. But yes, I didn't want to stay home alone and had decided to go with him since Burlington, IW is a 7-8 hour drive from where we are.
The drive there wasn't so bad. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be as cool as it turned out. I thought it was going to be pretty boring honestly, and my plan was to spend time at the hotel catching up with my blogs and work. So we get there and I'm in shock! My husband mentioned a casino but I guess I didn't expect it to be a family resort as well.
We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites which is located in the Catfish Bend Casino. We got there at night and the next day Tony had to work. While he was at work I decided to do a workout in the fitness center and later check out the casino to grab some food. I asked the security guard at the entrance if they served food at the bar inside the casino and they gave me a map. Turns out no they do not have food inside the gaming area but if you keep walking through the hall there was SO much more to it than I had thought.
I had lunch at the Boogaloo Sports Bar & Grill which is located in the Pzazz/Catfish Bend Casino. It was really nice, clean, and pretty spacious and our waitress was really nice. Tony was done with work pretty early and was able to meet me for lunch. I ordered fried cauliflower and had asked if they can add buffalo sauce on it. It was so good. I was full before I could finish my dish.
I sat at a booth in the back and was surprised to see a tiki bar in the backyard area, also a water park. I thought, 'wow! This would be a great place to bring our kids.' It was closed at the moment, which I'm pretty sure is because of winter, not sure what their restrictions have been due to COVID. I'm hoping that in the summertime they will open up and we can come back and visit with our kids. So anyway, I was done with my food by the time Tony arrived so he decided to order Pizza Hut instead. After lunch, we decided to browse the area some more, and right next to the Boogaloo there was an arcade area called Family Fun. It was HUGE! I did not expect that.
The Family Fun area looked amazing! It was so sad to see nobody there and it was empty, at the time I wasn't sure if that was due to COVID restrictions or just nobody booked with kids. According to their website, the arcade, kingpins bowling, and go-karts are open. Guess it was just empty that day. I love that they have indoor go-karts, I can't wait to check that out! But, Huck's Harbor, indoor & outdoor waterpark, Lazertown, Ballocity, Sky Trail, and Candy Alley are currently closed at this time. Literally so much to do there in just one place.
Also located inside Catfish Bend Casino is Pointsbet Sportsbook and a cute little gift shop, Catfish Bend Inn & Spa, golf, event centers, and more. Next door to the casino, there are places to eat like Coldstone Creamery, Panera's, and Pizza Hut. This is such a great place for a family getaway, with your partner, friends, or alone. Overall, I give the place five stars and looking forward to coming back.
While we were in town on our last day we decided to grab lunch at Gator Grill & Spirits before getting back on the road. The food was amazing! Tony ordered the Country Fried Steak, with Mash Potatoes and Fries. I ordered the Shrimp Jammers Breaded (shrimp stuffed with jalapeno cream cheese. Served with chipotle ranch). I really want to learn how to make those because it was so darn good, I also had buffalo cauliflower again. Great place to eat if you are in town!
(country fried steak)
Thanks for stopping by!
Tony + Tee
Looks like a great hidden gem to visit, looking forward to your next trip!
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