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Hershey, Pa., is known as the sweetest place on earth, thanks to its status as the home of chocolate giant The Hershey Company. So when the time came to replace the 40-year-old indoor and outdoor pools at Hershey Lodge โ a 665-room resort and convention center located near the Hersheyparkยฎ theme park โ the facilityโs leadership opted to embrace a tasty motif.
The colorful result is Hersheyโs Water Works at Hershey Lodge, a $13 million, 30,000-square-foot complex that opened in 2016 and can accommodate almost 800 guests at any given time. Highlights include a 3,000-square-foot leisure pool with sprays, floatables and lily pad walks that look like Reeseโs Peanut Butter Cups; a 1,300-square-foot childrenโs pool with geysers and interactive sprays; slides designed to look like Twizzlers Twists; a 1,500-square-foot indoor splash pad with a themed lighthouse play structure; two basketball hoops; a 245-square-foot whirlpool; a 700-square-foot outdoor splash pad; and the indoor Cocoa Cabana dining area. The facility features Pentair pumps, lighting and other equipment that help keep it operating efficiently all year long.
โThe collaboration process included a lot of back-and-forth between us and Hersheyโs teams to ensure that we would provide them what they were looking for,โ says project manager Bill Bornick of Water Technology Inc., the facilityโs prime architect and a longtime aquatic design partner with Hershey Entertainment and Resorts. โWe worked with a consolidated group that was able to really home in on what needed to be done and make key decisions. I like being part of that kind of environment, which is often common on hotel/resort projects.โ
The staff at Hersheyโs Water Works are pleased with how things turned out, too, as the waterpark has generated plenty of repeat business.
โThe most rewarding aspect of Hersheyโs Water Works is watching how families respond to the experience when they return each year,โ says Lindsay Campbell, director of recreation at Hershey Lodge. โIโve watched families come one year and play in the childrenโs pool or slide down the kidโs castle, and the following year they are conquering the Reeseโs Water Walk or the Twizzlers Twists slides. It is also wonderful to see the Hersheyโs brands come to life throughout the facility and to hear how that delights our guests.โ
Powered by Pentair
Several of Pentairโs Aurora 341, Sta-Rite Max-E-Pro and EQ Series pumps power Hersheyโs Water Works, and the pools are illuminated by the companyโs IntelliBriteยฎ 5G white LED lights. Pentairโs Sta-Rite skimmers, floor and wall inlets are among the deck equipment in place, the outdoor spray pad boasts Pentairโs Triton TR 140 sand filter, and lifeguards have access to a Pentair life hook and rescue pole.
โPentair makes very good, high quality products, and thatโs what we want to specify, because we know theyโre going to last,โ Bornick says. โThe company offers a wide range of equipment available in one place and can respond quickly to last-minute equipment changes, if necessary.โ
The inclusion of a variety of Pentair equipment at Hersheyโs Water Works likely will pay long-term dividends for the facility, he adds.
โIt will help the owner five years, 10 years down the road,โ Bornick says. โSourcing so many things from Pentair gives the owner a primary place to go when equipment needs to be replaced, which is really helpful. Pentair is a reliable vendor that prides itself on good relationships. You can call them up regarding an issue, and they will help you resolve it.โ
โWhatever we need, when we need Itโ
WTI works on as many as 200 aquatic projects every year, and usually 25 percent of them fall into the category of commercial waterparks and destination resorts with waterparks, such as Hershey Lodge.
โOur equipment specification process is the same for all of our projects, though the equipment selection itself might vary,โ says Jen Gerber, WTIโs business development leader. โWe identify the owner and operatorโs needs and budget, and we work closely with the entire design and ownership team to ensure that the equipment being specified for that project is the best fit for those needs.โ
โPentair will work with you to make sure the client is happy in the end, and they get us whatever we need, when we need it,โ Bornick adds. โIโve worked with Pentair on several projects, and my experience has always been good.โ
That was certainly the case with Hersheyโs Water Works, which remains one of Bornickโs favorites. โI really like the finished look,โ the 21-year WTI veteran says. โThis project had the most distinct theming Iโve ever done. Itโs not the biggest project, but itโs very unique.โ