The American water park giant is entering the European market and has chosen the United Kingdom as its first destination. Its debut indoor resort, complete with pools, slides, and family-friendly attractions, is planned for Bicester in Oxfordshire.
A Great Wolf Lodge spokesperson told The Independent, “We’ve been exploring opportunities to expand our signature indoor water park resort experience beyond North America, and we’re excited by the growth potential of the UK”.
Founded in Wisconsin in 1997, Great Wolf Lodge has grown to become the largest operator of indoor family resorts in the United States and Canada. With more than 20 locations, the chain attracts around 10 million visitors a year. Often described as America’s answer to Center Parcs, Great Wolf Lodge offers a similar combination of accommodation, indoor leisure, and year-round water fun.
The company says the resorts will attract tourists and investment while providing hundreds of jobs.
The UK resorts will follow the North American model. Each will feature a hotel with around 500 guest rooms designed for families of four to twelve people. The centrepiece will be a huge indoor water park kept at 29 °C all year round with splash pads, slides and multiple pools. Guests can also look forward to evening entertainment, restaurants, an arcade, rope courses, mini-golf, bowling and virtual reality games.
Great Wolf Lodge says that each of its resorts will create 500–600 jobs once operational, plus another 400–500 jobs during the construction phase. The company also claims that its resorts will generate around £1 million in visitor expenditure for the local economy. The company cites its US resorts as an example, where nearby businesses typically report revenue increases of 20–30% after a lodge opens.
Three potential UK sites have been identified: Basingstoke in Hampshire, Derbyshire and Bicester in Oxfordshire. However, the Oxfordshire project, which is located on the site of a former golf course near Chesterton, has faced strong opposition from local councils. They warn that it will cause traffic problems and describe it as ‘completely wrong for its surroundings’ and an ‘eyesore’.
Will Boucher-Giles, the county councillor for Chesterton and Launton, told the Oxford Mail:
“I believe that the few jobs the project will create and the revenue it will generate will be far outweighed by its adverse effects on the local infrastructure, its impact on residents and visitors as an eyesore, and its colossal environmental impact, particularly in terms of flooding”.
Although intended as the flagship resort, the development in Bicester has been temporarily paused. The company says it has already completed infrastructure improvements at the site, but is now reviewing the Derbyshire and Hampshire locations, “to reach more families and provide a stronger entry into the market”.
Should it proceed, the Bicester lodge is budgeted at £200 million (€234 million) and will include a water park and an ‘Adventure Park’. No opening date has been announced yet, but overnight stays and day passes are planned.
Stays are not expected to be cheap. While promotional material suggested lower nightly rates, early indications suggest that a four-night stay for a family could cost up to £1,709 (€1,958), which is significantly higher than some European Centre Parcs options.
