Grand
Harbor Resort and Indoor Waterpark
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Opened
on Dec. 6th, 2002, America's
River features a 200 room Mississippi
Riverfront Hotel called the Grand
Harbor Resort and Waterpark,
built by Platinum Holdings, LLC.
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This destination
hotel has breathtaking views of the river,
spacious dining, and meeting facilities
and will connect to the Mississippi River
National Education and Conference Center.
Platinum
Hospitality President Jim Rix (a Dubuque
resident) says, "Iowa's first major
waterpark hotel will create a new tourism
base in the Tri-State market and 'kids'
of all ages will come to experience the
fun and come back to share quality time
with family and friends." |
Visit the official
website at
www.grandharborresort.com
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Grand
Harbor Cuts the Ribbon!!!
December
5th, 2002
Photo
Gallery 11!
The
doors open on Dubuque's newest
masterpeice!
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Also...what
on earth are U2's
Bono and Ashley Judd
doing at the Grand
Harbor Resort? Yep
you hear right!
Click
Here!
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Or
choose any of the past photo
gallery updates, click a gallery
below...
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New
Information on Grand Harbor's Amenities and Rates!
Book a Room Today!!!
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The
entire staff at the Grand Harbor Resort & Waterpark
would consider it a pleasure to host you and your family.
Please allow me to outline a few of the outstanding
features of our hotel.
- 25,000
sq. ft. Family Fun Indoor Waterpark with exciting
tube rides,thrilling
waterslides, a variety of pools, hundreds of family-oriented
aquatic activities, and relaxation on the meandering,
indoor lazy river.
- Large
interactive arcade; Games for all ages!
- Every
room includes a refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker,
hair dryer, iron and ironing board
- 31
spacious suites to include magnificent views of either
the city of Dubuque or the picturesque Mississippi
River; Plus select luxurious whirlpool suites.
- Restaurant
and lounge with 200 seats and additional seasonal
patio seating overlooking the Mississippi River.
- Complimentary
parking
A deluxe
city view queen room over the weekend
would be $199.00 plus tax and would
include waterpark tickets for each
registered guest. Suite prices begin
at $229.00 and go up to $349.00 for
the fireplace full suite with Jacuzzi.
To
make reservations please call 563-690-4000 or e-mail
me at smoran@mcleodusa.net.
We are anticipating
opening on Dec. 6th of 2002.
Sincerely,
Sue
Moran
Senior Corporate Sales Manager
Platinum Hospitality Group
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If
you Name it... -
A 365 Photo Archive (Gallery 3)
On Wednesday morning, May 8th, the riverfront hotel and
waterpark got a name, The Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark.
With local dignitaries looking on along with the Vision Iowa board
led by Pulitzer Prize winning Chairman, Micheal Gartner, Jim Rix
and his staff of developers unveiled the name of the resort that
will open in November to the public. In a ceremony that included
a beam signing where all present were invited to sign a steel beam
just before it was raised into place, the hotel developers announced
not only the name, contact information and website
(www.grandharborresort.com)
for the hotel complex, but also announced many lucrative future
bookings already set for conventions at the resort which will bring
in hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy.
Once again
Dubuque365.com was there for the event and we have a photo
gallery to share with you. Relive the event by clicking on the
images below to see a photo retrospective of the historic morning.
They
named it... (Mike Gartner speaks)
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They signed it...
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They
put it in place!
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365's
Bryce Parks & Platinum's Jim Rix
Stairs
of glass behind a wall of glass!
Anyone
for a hotub...a big hottub!
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Making
Progress - A
365 Photo Archive (Gallery
1)
We're keeping
tabs on the construction progress of every area of the America's
River Project. Platinum Hospitality's hotel project is slated
to be the first major project completed. After many revisions
and updates to the construction plan (see the variations in
the preview sketches above), a tentative completion date is
set for November, 2002. Just in time to enjoy an exciting new
indoor waterpark through the otherwise cold winter. A skywalk
will also connect the hotel to the National Rivers Education
and Conference Center when it is completed the following year.
Check out what's happening on the hotel construction site with
up to date images and descriptions. Click
Here!
Hotel
Construction Site Tour!- (Gallery 2) Spring 2002
Platinum
Hospitality President Jim Rix takes 365 on an exclusive tour
of the new Riverfront Hotel. What we saw was nothing short of
amazing. Jim shared his knowledge of the building's coming amenities
and highlights. These included a glass spiral staircase behind
the Hotel's expansive rounded glass center, a giant game room,
a plush restaurant and bar area with a vast patio that will
connect directly to the Riverwalk. Views from the restaurant
range from the river bluffs and the city skyline, to a convenient
and entertaining peek into the paddlewheeler themed waterpark.
In fact, every room in the facility had a amazing view and as
we made our way up one floor at a time, the view just got more
breathtaking. The view from the roof not only allowed you to
survey the mighty Mississippi for miles north and south, but
it gave a great birds-eye shot of the construction effort on
the ground, especially the layout of the indoor waterpark which
already has a giant hottub in place! Amazing automated scaffolding
that raises to a staggering height of 250 feet, the first use
of such equipment ever in Dubuque, is just one example of the
variety of construction technologies being put into action on
this project. While the upper floors were still just concrete
slabs, some were fully studded out into separate rooms. It was
a real treat to watch Mr. Rix look at an empty area and be able
to vividly describe to us what use or design detail would occupy
any given square foot of the structure. He obviously knew every
last facet of the project, which is why we left convinced that
there was absolutely nothing left out of this hotel. Take a
look at what we saw in our hotel construction archive's Gallery
#2!
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What
will the Grand Harbor Resort look like?
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Breaking
Ground -
Sept, 21 2001
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On
September 21, 2001, there was a groundbreaking for the
hotel featuring many civic leaders, area legislators,
and dignitaries. Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack (Pictured
Left) was on hand to commemorate this vital portion
of The America's River Project, the first project in
Iowa to benefit from a program he created, the Vision
Iowa Project. Dubuque365.com was on hand to capture
the early morning ceremony on video and digital stills
to share with you.
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Wet
Behind the Ears
The Platinum group was certainly not naive in realizing
the tourism and community entertainment value of creating
Iowa's first major indoor waterpark hotel. The 24,000
square-foot, Mississippi-themed, waterpark will have
four-story waterslides, waterfalls, lazy river tube
rides, flume rides, water basketball, whirlpools, and
many more aquatic discoveries for children of all ages.
The park will remain open year-round to hotel guests.
To see a larger image of the plans pictured to the left,
click here or on the
image. You can also still see the original artists interpretation
of the waterpark here.
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365TV
Waterpark Preview! Click
Here!
It's
not the same, but it's pretty darn close. To get a
better idea of what you can expect from Iowa's first
major indoor water park, watch this 365
TV feature which details the attractions of a
similar themed waterpark elsewhere in the country.
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Mississippi
Themed Waterpark
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Jim
Rix - President, Platinum Hospitality |
In
His Own Words
- 365
mp3
Platinum
Hospitality President Jix Rix is very excited and proud
of the opportunity to bring this quality family destination
to the city in which he lives and raises his own family.
He and his staff worked hand-in-hand with the City of
Dubuque and the Historical Society to make the America's
River dream come true. Click
here or on his image (to the left) to download an
mp3 of Mr. Rix describing the hotel project and its role
and impact on the America's River Project, as well as
the Dubuque community. |
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Feedback
Ifyou have any questions or comments about the
Grand Harbor Resort, waterpark, or any aspects
of the America's River Project, Click
here to send us an e-mail. If we don't know
the answer, we'll ask someone who does!
You can
also read any previously posted questions and comments here!
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