Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples
Orlando
Architect: Cooper Carry
Landscape Architect: LandDesign
Aquatic Designer: Martin Aquatic Design & Engineering
Builder: PCL Construction
Construction Management: The Hardy Group
photo: Martin Aquatic Design and Engineering
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Fun meets luxury
This particular golf resort lacks direct access to the ocean, so its owners decided to upgrade an existing pool area into a complete waterpark to make it an even more appealing final destination, even for those who don’t play golf.
The team recognized that vacations now tend to include more of the extended family, so it set about designing a waterpark with something for every generation. The answer was this waterscape with a lazy river measuring 630 feet, a slide tower, adult pool and children’s wet activity tower. The river snakes around the slide tower, which has three 30-foot-tall water slides — two body slides going to runouts, and a one-person inner-tube slide that drops visitors off in a splash pool. This marks the first lazy river and raft slide in the Ritz-Carlton chain.
The adult pool, measuring 1,600 square feet, is designed for lounging, with six private, rentable cabanas and plenty of space for lounge chairs. The children’s play pool features a zero-depth entry and multilevel play structure with several sprays, including water cannons, rain showers and toddler slides. This body of water, less than 1 foot deep, was outfitted with a UV sanitizing system for added safety.
While the waterpark needed a diverse set of offerings for all ages and life stages, it needed a single focus in its aesthetic — to blend with the hotel chain’s branding of luxury and quality. To achieve this, the team began by closely controlling the scale of the slides so they could appear sophisticated and elegant while providing fun. They then chose a color scheme of cool blues and a stark white to add a crisp, modern element to the hotel’s feel.
To help stay within budget while delivering complete impact, the team used an advanced simulation technology called Computational Fluid Dynamics modeling. This determined the exact number and placement of thruster pumps for the lazy river, assuring it would receive enough water flow without waste.
Suppliers
Control Systems: BECS Technology
Filtration: Evoqua Water Technologies
Heaters: Lochinvar
Interactive Water features/slides: WhiteWater West
Lighting: Pentair
Pumps: Marlow Pumps, Current Systems Inc.
Rails: S.R. Smith
Safety: Recreonics
Sanitization Systems: ETS UV Technology
