The latest (water) resort

Saturday, 29 July 2006

Holiday Inn in Perkins proposed for Hawaii-themed water resort.

By MOLLY LINN
mollylinn@sanduskyregister.com

PERKINS TWP. - Sandusky can say Aloha to its fifth proposed waterpark.

Brighton Hotel Corp. announced Friday it plans to build a Hawaiian-themed waterpark at the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.

The proposed resort would connect the two hotels with an indoor waterpark and a third, four-story 96-suite hotel, called Maui Sands Family Suites, would be built as a part of the park. In all, the resort would have 310 rooms.


The Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express site at Milan Road and Ohio 2 has been proposed as the site of what could be the Sandusky area's fifth waterpark resort. (Register photo/JASON WERLING)
The Holiday Inn will take down its franchise flag and be renamed the Maui Sands Resort, but the Holiday Inn Express will remain a franchise location. Both locations will undergo a Hawaiian-themed renovation.

Construction on the 55,000-square foot wet recreation area will start the end of this year, with the completed resort hoping to open during the winter 2008 season. The park will be the third largest indoor waterpark in the Sandusky area behind Kalahari and the proposed Coyote Falls.

The renovation, real estate and new construction are expected total $40 million, said Scott Emerson, Brighton Hotel Corporation owner.

Other amenities offered at the resort will include a full-service spa, banquet facilities, a 5,500-square foot arcade and three restaurants, including one with an authentic Hawaiian Luau.

Joan Van Offeren, executive director of the Sandusky/Erie County Visitor & Convention Bureau, said the bureau is excited about the new park.

"The Holiday Inn is a mainstay for many visitors, so any expansions and upgrades are certainly exciting," she said.

Van Offeren said even though the waterparks are highly competitive, each park has its own unique theme and audience to cater to, and a Hawaiian-themed park, like Maui Sands, is unique.

The new park could double the workforce at the current hotels from about 125 to 250 employees, Emerson said.

Emerson hasn't taken his plans before the Erie Regional Planning Commission or Perkins Township Zoning Board yet.

Attempts to reach the three existing waterparks -- Kalahari, Castaway Bay and Great Wolf Lodge -- for comment on the announcement of future competition Friday were unsuccessful.

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