The Ohioan Hotel & Event Center
The corridor's top-rated pick, with two pools
About this hotel
The Ohioan Hotel & Event Center posts the strongest overall rating in this entire Zoombezi Bay corridor, combining contemporary rooms and suites with two pools, a restaurant and a pub on site. Some rooms include a kitchen, useful for a longer family stay, and full-service laundry means a family does not need to pack for the entire trip in one go. It sits a short taxi ride from Highbanks Metro Park and Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, giving a family both an outdoor stop and a dining option beyond the hotel itself. Breakfast costs extra here rather than coming included, which is the one gap against the free-breakfast properties in Dublin. For a family weighing several options in this same price range, that detail alone can be enough to decide between two otherwise similar hotels.
- Two pools on site
- Restaurant, pub and room service
- Some rooms include a kitchen
- Full-service laundry for longer stays
Our take
This is the strongest overall rating in the corridor, and two pools plus a restaurant and pub make it a genuinely complete base for a longer Zoombezi Bay trip. Families wanting breakfast included as standard should budget for it separately here or look toward Hampton Inn or Fairfield by Marriott instead. That combination of amenities and location is what makes this pick worth the extra look compared with the rest of the corridor.
- ✓Use the full-service laundry on a longer stay rather than packing enough swimwear for every day.
- ✓Book a kitchen-equipped room if cooking some meals matters, since not every room includes one, it is worth the extra minute at booking.
- ✓Visit Firebirds Wood Fired Grill for dinner one evening as a change from the on-site restaurant.
Why we love it
- Two pools on site
- Restaurant, pub and room service
- Some rooms include a kitchen
- Full-service laundry for longer stays
Why guests love itWe stayed five nights here and the two pools kept the kids entertained on the one day we skipped Zoombezi Bay entirely for a rest day. Full-service laundry meant we packed light, and the pub downstairs became our regular spot for a quiet dinner once the kids were settled for the night. None of that changes the core trade-off of staying in this corridor: a car remains part of the plan for every trip in or out of the zoo gate.