FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Heidi Fendos, PR Counsel, (414) 778-0766 or heidifprconsulting@sbcglobal.net
WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. — As Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort celebrates its 10th anniversary, resort officials today announced that they are about to embark on their largest expansion to date; a massive $150 million project which includes the development of a new lodge and banquet center, a Foil Tec enclosed waterpark where guests can tan year-round, a new 18-hole championship golf course, and the expansion of locally renowned Field Brothers’ themed restaurants concept.
Glacier Canyon Lodge and Banquet Center
According to Joe Eck, sales and marketing director for the Resort, “The demand for our current vacation villas, condos and cabins has been so great that starting this fall, the resort will begin construction on Glacier Canyon Lodge, an upscale 224-unit condominium resort with its own banquet center and outdoor waterpark.”
The new lodge will be on the opposite side of the Lost Canyon, on the southern edge the resort’s property, and it will consist of a variety of 2-Key and 3-Key fully-furnished units currently ranging in price from $349,900-$400,000.
The design of the 2-Key, 1,300 sq. ft. condominium will include a spacious center room with kitchen, dining room, great room, bathrooms and master suite. Adjacent to this area is a smaller bedroom unit with its own private bathroom that can be accessed from the main unit, or locked off and entered only from the hallway area. A 3-key, 1,600 sq. ft. unit will have a similar design with an additional entrance that includes another bedroom, bath and mini-kitchenette. All units will be fully-furnished in a rustic theme.
According to Eck, Glacier Canyon Lodge will also boast an estimated 25,000-square foot banquet facility with indoor seating for 500 people and an additional 200-person outdoor capacity, which will allow the Wilderness to become a bigger player in the Midwest’s meeting, wedding and convention market.
In addition, the Lodge will have its own 3.2 acre outdoor waterpark. The new area will include an interactive adventure river system, tentatively named the Lost World River Adventure, which will be over 1,600 feet long. The innovative raft and tube ride will take guests through winding canals that include a series of rapids and lazy river sections. It will also include changes in elevations, speeds, and other features that will connect with slides, rides, towers, a lake arena, kids’ play features and additional activities.
Plus, Glacier Canyon Lodge intends to build upon its Ice Age theme by building a snow tubing hill with snow making capabilities, an ice skating rink, and a 14,000-square foot service area featuring a warming house and arcade. All of which, according to Eck, is sure to reinforce the Dells winter appeal.
It is anticipated that Glacier Canyon Lodge will open in July 2006.
Foil Tec Indoor Waterpark
As part of the expansion, Wilderness officials are also planning to enclose their existing Great Wave outdoor wavepool at the main resort with a state-of-the-art Foil Tech structure. This Foil Tech cover, which will be a first for waterparks in the Midwest, not only allows plants to grow, but also lets guests tan year-round.
Eck commented that he expects the 68,000 sq. ft. enclosed area, which will fittingly be named the ‘Wild KingDome,’ to be a very popular place particularly with those seeking to get a little tan in the winter. The Dome will also include two high-energy family tube rides that will careen through winding tunnels covering over 22,000 sq. ft.
The new indoor waterpark is anticipated to open in March 2006.
New Golf Course
The resort has also purchased 200 acres to the east of their current Wilderness Woods Golf Course, which used to be Sullivan Quarry in the town of Lake Delton, and has plans to build a new golf course on it.
The new 18-hole course will be designed by Hurdzan/Fry, creators of such noteworthy courses as Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. (site of the 2008 US Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship); Desert Willow in Palm Desert, Calif; Calusa Pines, in Napal’s, FL; Devil’s Pulpit and Devil’s Paintbrush courses north of Toronto; Old Stone Wall in PN; and Napal’s National, in Napal’s FL; many of which are being hailed as the top 50 best modern courses and top 100 courses in the country.
According to Dr. Mike Hurdzan, “The new course is guaranteed to be one of the top 5 courses in the state when completed. It will not only fulfill the challenging and strategic expectations of the individual golfer, but also blend in with the natural assets of the land which was once a quarry to create a truly memorable experience.
“It has always been our approach to respect environmental and ecological parameters and to design in harmony with them, and this new course will be no exception. Having once been the site of a stone quarry – there will be many interesting highlights to this course.”
Construction of the new course is already underway. As a result, 9 holes of the current Wilderness golf course, Wilderness Woods, are already closed. The resort anticipates keeping the other 9 holes open for most of the 2006 golf season. The new course is targeted to open in summer of 2007.
Field’s Themed Restaurant
The Glacier Canyon Lodge will feature a new family-focused restaurant with an ice age theme, games and retail. Wisconsin Dells’ restaurant owner Robert John Field, a longtime friend and now partner with Tom Lucke, will be spearheading the project. Field, together with his brothers, who are well-known in the hospitality industry in the Dells, will make this new restaurant a true experience serving outstanding cuisine in an amazing themed décor with excellent hospitality,
History of the Wilderness
When Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort opened in 1995, it featured 75 rooms and one indoor waterpark. Today, it has over seven football fields of indoor and outdoor waterparks.
It is the only hotel in the region with two separate indoor waterparks (totaling over 135,000 square feet) and two outdoor waterparks (totaling 135,000 square feet). Other family attractions include a 30,000-square-foot, four-story, dry foam play park called Timberland Play House and Little Links executive par three course perfect for teaching children the game of golf.
In addition, the resort now has 443 wilderness themed guest rooms to choose from, as well as a variety of other upscale lodging options including 40 two-bedroom villas, 76 three-four-bedroom condos, 19 four-five-bedroom deluxe cabins and 16 three-bedroom cabins. In 2003, the resort also opened Wilderness on the Lake, an upscale 108-unit two-three bedroom condominium resort overlooking beautiful Lake Delton.
“Our property has been witness to the national trend of consumers wanting more upscale lodging options for extended families and larger groups,” said Eck. “Glacier Canyon Lodge is our response to this trend. It is the upscale adventurous lodging option our guests have been asking for. ”
Located on 310 acres of pristine woodlands in Wisconsin Dells, the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort is easily accessible from Interstate 90 and 94, and located just minutes from popular attractions such as Dells Boat Tours, the Original Wisconsin Ducks, Ho-Chunk Casino, and Devil’s Lake and Mirror Lake State Parks.
For more information on this project visit the resort’s website at http://www.wildernessresort.com/index/glaciercanyonlodgerealestate or call
1-800-867-WILD (9453).
