On July 15, Schlitterbahn Beach Resort will open its beachfront hotel and year-round indoor waterpark next to the popular South Padre Island water park. With the hotel and mini-water park, Schlitterbahn expects to extend the busy season for both the resort and the island as whole. The sprawling water park, which attracts up to 5,000 on the hottest days, is already the island’s largest employer. The hotel and indoor park with its 200 employees should almost double the company’s island workforce.

When Schlitterbahn owner Jeff Henry learned the former Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort was up for sale, the opportunity for creating a year-round, beach-side water resort with retractable roof and walls was irresistible.

“The timing was right. With the location of the hotel so close to water park, it all just fit together,” said Rene Valdez, resort manager.

Construction began last November. The guest rooms in the two buildings were gutted, the

balconies removed, and then the 221 rooms were enlarged. New Braunfels-based Schlitterbahn brought down its in-house carpenters to craft the room’s bureaus, mirror frames, bed frames and wall decor. The goal was quality, with no particle board or plywood being used. Yet old-fashioned skills have paired with high technology. Entry to guest rooms, elevators and activities is accomplished with a wristband that has embedded RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip technology and is worn by every guest.

The carpenters’ handiwork is visible throughout the wood-accented hotel, beginning at the pecan front desk in the reception area and continuing to cedar posts and black walnut accents. The children’s roofed play area features paneling of loblolly pine rescued from Bastrop and shows char marks from last year’s wildfire. Giant, shaped tree trunks anchor the Grand Carousel space nearby a three-story adventure area for kids. The transporting of some park elements, like the frog and dragon, to South Padre Island was filmed for the television show, “Shipping Wars.”

Convertible roofs (like those used at ball stadiums) have been installed over some sections of the mini-park to provide water-based family fun year round. The blue-tiled Torrent Tantrum river, complete with machine-generated waves, meanders through the new property. Three-story water slides and two sand beaches complement the children’s playground, which together form part of the ‘indoor’ area. The island created by the new river offers little kids a fish-shaped slide to crawl through and a goofy pirate boat to climb over. Adults will discover the Watering Hole, a swim-up bar shaded by a generous palapa. The hotel addition is connected to the main water park by a marine-themed tunnel.

For more of this story by Eileen Mattei, pick up a copy of the July edition of Valley Business Report, on news stands now, or visit the “Current & Past Issues” tab on this Web site.