Opening Date Set For Gurnee Great Wolf Lodge

GURNEE, IL – After more than a year of extensive renovations at the former KeyLimeCove in Gurnee, the building's new owner, Great Wolf, has announced it would be reopening its updated water park and resort on July 1. The resort is now accepting reservations and is offering up to 30 percent off some of its suites through Dec. 30, 2018, for those who book before March 9.

The indoor water park has nearly doubled in size – now with 80,000-square-foot of space and, like other Great Wolf destinations, will be heated to 84 degrees. More details on the water park attractions can be found here.

The Great Wolf, at 1700 Nations Drive in Gurnee, will also have 414 guest suites, several restaurants, a ropes course, miniature golf, a rock climbing wall, arcade, bowling and more, the Daily Herald reports.

Standard room rates start at $199.99 but the resort offers a variety of different themed and premium suites as well. Those wishing to get the 30 percent off discount should use the promo code "GRAND" when looking for specific dates and rates.

Great Wolf replaces Key Lime Cove officially, which officially closed in April after nine years in Gurnee, the Daily Herald reported. Great Wolf Lodge runs waterpark resorts in Wisconsin Dell, Wis., as well as in Ohio, California, Texas and other states. Gurnee's Great Wolf will be the first in Illinois.

"Our paw print is expanding across the country, and we are excited to bring a Great Wolf Lodge to Illinois," said Rubén A. Rodríguez, chief executive officer for Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. "Chicago is the third largest market in the U.S. and while we are fortunate to have an established fan-base here, we believe the added convenience of having a resort in closer proximity to the metro-area will allow even more families the opportunity to experience a Great Wolf Lodge getaway."

In total, Great Wolf was expected to invest $65 million in new construction and at least $100 million on updates to renovate the Gurnee water park, according to the Daily Herald. A revenue-sharing agreement approved by the Gurnee Village Board in February with Great Wolf Lodge will allow Great Wolf and the village to collect $550,000 per year in hotel/motel taxes.

Once both have hit that mark, Great Wolf will collect 100 percent of that tax revenue, village officials said. The agreement will run through 2029 and allows the resort to collect up to $18 million.

This agreement would take the place of the cost-sharing agreement the village formerly had with Key Lime Cove.

Under that agreement, the village was only bringing in, on average, about $400,000 per year from Key Lime Cove since the water park and resort opened in 2008, according to the Chicago Tribune.

More On Patch

• Great Wolf Moves Forward With Renovations at KeyLime Property
  
• A Sneak Peak At Great Wolf's Plans For Gurnee Water Park Resort
• Great Wolf Lodge Aims to Take Over, Renovate Key Lime Cove

Photo credit: Great Wolf Lodge