The African-themed resort will include an outdoor adventure park, hotel, convention center, spa and salon, golf course, retail shops, full-service restaurants and indoor and outdoor water parks.
With hundreds of jobs, tens of thousands of square feet of new convention and meeting space and acres of adventure-themed activities, the newest resort to the Pocono Mountains is about to plant its flag in the tourism stakes, the Bethlehem (Pa.)-based Lehigh Valley Business reported.
If successful, Kalahari Resort – Pocono Mountains, which opens on July 15, could bring a colossal economic impact to the region by attracting not only groups of fun-seeking families, but businesses looking for fresh venues to conduct meetings and host conventions and trade shows. It also means nearly 900 jobs at the start, with more to come upon a planned expansion to be completed in two years, Business reported.
Officials from Wisconsin-based Kalahari Resorts & Conventions disclosed details for the $350 million entertainment/recreation destination at a groundbreaking ceremony at Pocono Manor Golf Course in October 2013. And now a site tour this month shows signs of construction nearing completion for the region’s first African-themed resort, Business reported.
As workers toil away at pouring concrete for the indoor waterpark, colorful slides and water coasters rise in the foreground. And in the nearly finished 20,000-sq. ft. ballroom, workers are hanging massive cone-shaped chandeliers, Business reported.
The company owns African-themed resorts and water parks in Ohio and Wisconsin. The site includes an outdoor adventure park, hotel, convention center, spa and salon, golf course, retail shops, full-service restaurants and indoor and outdoor water parks, bringing hundreds of construction jobs to the region. And this is just the first stage of development, Business reported.
“Phase two will begin right when we open with phase one,” said Steve Magnuson, vice president and general manager.
The second part, to be completed in March 2017, includes adding 400 guest rooms to the hotel, bringing the total number of rooms and suites to 857. Also in the works are a 100,000-sq. ft. addition to the indoor water park space and a planned expansion of the outdoor water park by two to three acres, Magnuson said.
Since this second part of construction is already designed, it will not affect the opening of the first part of the resort, Magnuson said. Phase two will include all the features of the first part of the project, essentially doubling what’s already there, Business reported.
Near the entrance to the indoor water park, the resort has areas for games, miniature golf, bowling, laser tag and other activities, plus a swimsuit store and concession stands with displays of food behind glass panels. In the hotel, workers are putting in guest-room furniture, laying carpet and completing three of the eight floors of the hotel, Business reported.
Workers are finishing all restaurants, completing the custom-designed flooring in the lobby and building out the wet area and 30-person whirlpool section. Soon, the entryway to the site off Routes 940 and 314 will be finished, Magnuson said.
Workers also are laying the terrazzo and marble floor in the lobby leading to several food stations and a candy shop that will greet visitors once they go through the main entrance. Food will be a central draw for the resort. All told, Kalahari Resorts will have eight restaurants, eateries and lounges when it opens, Business reported.
The additional convention space at Kalahari Resorts will open an entire new industry of opportunities in which the region could host large groups. For the first part of the project, the resort will have 65,000 sq. ft. of flexible space, Business reported.
“We have not had that large amount of square footage for convention space,” Wilgus said. “It will bring more visibility to the Pocono region.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.