Keylime Cove Sneak Preview

On Tuesday, 8/27/07, a battery of press and a small regiment of bloggers including yours truly, Kelly of KellyBelly.net, and writers for Chicago Mom's Blog were cordially invited by Michael Rubin of Arment Dietrich for a hard hat tour of the new Keylime Cove indoor water park and resort currently under construction in Gurnee, IL.

I can say one thing right of the bat- this thing is going to be HUGE.

The resort is scheduled to open its doors to the public on February 29, 2008, and features over 400 resort-style suites and staterooms, a 6000 square-foot state of the art arcade and entertainment center, two new restaurant concepts including DW Anderson’s Eatery & Ice Cream Parlor and the Crazy Toucan Margarita Grill, a luxurious KeyLime Cove spa and treatment rooms, and of course the 65,000 square foot tropical themed, indoor water park.

Walking into what would appear to be the front entrance of the building still under construction, you can begin to see the sheer size of this massive structure. I could already hear the excited screams of giddy children, the sound of rushing water, and the chatter of happy families enjoying a day indoors – at a water park! And In Gurnee!

Keylime Cove’s visionary, “Famous” Dave Anderson, award-winning restaurateur, and the man behind great restaurants such as Famous Dave’s Barbecue, and Rainforest Café, was our gracious tour guide and was nice enough to talk to us for a minute about his vision for the grand resort- a place where families can escape the daily grind of life right in their own back yard, where children and adults alike can enjoy some relaxation without having to worry about crummy weather and big crowds.

We were then walked over to the area where the resort will present guests with an indoor water park encompassing 65,000 square feet. We can already see the lazy river and the wave pool taking shape. Dave also pointed to holes in the outer walls that will send tube riders through long water-filled tubes from inside the park, and then outside, only to dump them back indoors in the pool below. How fun is that!

We moved along to what will become one of the resorts 414, resort-style guest suites, some accommodating up to 12 people. Is that a large screen, HDTV I see in the photo?

One question Kelly and I brought up to Dave is whether or not the resort will have general admission prices for guests who only want to enjoy the water park and not stay in the rooms. Dave’s vision of reserving the use of the water park for staying guests only made sense- to keep long lines to the various attractions low, unlike the lines you see at major outdoor amusement parks. I wholeheartedly agree.

I’m looking forward to opening day, and I can see it being a nice getaway during the winter months when cabin fever gets a good grip on me. There will be no putting away the swimming shorts this coming winter…

…I’ll be sipping a tasty margarita by the pool.

Visit the official Keylime Cove Water Resort website.

Visit my Flickr photo gallery for more Keylime Cove tour photos