Wisconsin-based operator Great Wolf Resorts is planning to spend US$90m (€82m, £57.6m) on transforming a partially-finished Renaissance Hotel into a family resort centred around a waterpark, expanding on its chain of 13 resorts across North America.
Pencilled for an opening date of Q3 2016, Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs will include 311 bedrooms, a waterpark, five restaurants, children’s entertainment areas and 20,000sq ft (1,858sq m) of meeting space.
Work is set to start on the development within a month after Great Wolf Resorts purchased the unfinished Renaissance on 22 July. The project has been idle since 2009, when the original developer ran out of finances for construction.
The 65,000sq ft (6,000sq m) indoor waterpark will be the largest in Colorado. Also included in the development will be an arcade, miniature golf, mini-bowling, a high ropes attraction, a spa and amenities for children.
Once open, the resort will employ 500 staff. Rooms will start at about US$250 (€228, £160) a night, which includes admission to the water park for two days. The former Renaissance is roughly half complete, with the US$90m figure covering the completion of the hotel, construction of the waterpark and amenities, and the US$18m (€16.4m, £11.5m) used to purchase the property.
Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs will be part of a wider retail complex home to cinemas, restaurants, an entertainment centre and shops.
