Like drive-in theaters, golf courses
and ice skating rinks, some businesses are just not cut out for
year-round financial gain. Being that Central New York is a hotbed of
snowfall, many regional ski resorts see a tourism boom during the long,
cold, lonely winters, but then go desolate as the ice slowly melts and
the warmth returns. So the trick becomes, how do you get Mother Nature
to let one season shake the weathered hands of another?
Greek peak president Al Kryger speaks
during the grand opening for the Hope Lake Lodge and Indoor Waterpark. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTOS
Greek Peak Mountain Resort in Virgil,
which had almost exclusively operated as a ski destination since its
inception in 1958, decided to combine disparate seasonal recreation by
cutting the ribbon on Hope Lake Lodge and Indoor Waterpark in December.
One hope is that the new facility will keep people signing the guest
ledger throughout the year.
“Basically, there just wasn’t any
business,” said Greek Peak president Al Kryger of summer months during
a fireside chat at the Hope Lake Lodge formal opening on Dec. 10. “We
tried dude ranches, we tried music festivals, we tried everything, but
there wasn’t enough mass here to really make any money. And the whole
ski resort industry suffers from that unless they have something like
an indoor waterpark to help them sustain in the off months.”
Hope Lake Lodge boasts 106 furnished
condominiums and the 41,000-square-foot waterpark—only accessible to
guests at the lodge—features a wave pool, waterfall, three-story tube
slide and indoor-outdoor pools and hot tubs. The moderately intense
water rides won’t provide the adrenaline rush of shooshing down the
slopes, however; operatives wanted a more family-friendly atmosphere.
And the fact that Greek Peak constructed an indoor waterpark to attract
people in the summer—when you’d think most would want to water-slide
under the open air of, say, Enchanted Forest—were decisions that had to
be resolved.
“We looked at the possibility of an
outdoor waterpark many years ago,” continued Kryger. “But the outdoor
waterpark was questionable because of potential rainy weather in the
summertime so we decided not to do it because it wasn’t feasible. And
it wasn’t until they started putting {waterparks} inside that we went
back and said, ‘Let’s look at this thing again,’ because it is a good
match for a ski resort.”
During its five decades of business,
Greek Peak has expanded to include 257 skiable acres with eight lifts
that bring skiers to 32 runs with a top elevation of 2,100 feet. The
trails are open day and night seven days a week from late December
until mid-March. With only four months of consistent operation, it was
easy to see why they wanted to take advantage of that eight-month
dormancy. But while it may be easy to envision, realizing the project
proved to be a more formidable task.
“The idea of trying to become a regional
destination resort started in 1973 when the gas crisis had limited how
far people could drive on odd and even days and so on,” recalled
Kryger. “We started noticing in the parking lot many New Jersey and
Pennsylvania license plates and we realized we were just a day-trip
resort. So we began talking that we should put a restaurant here and do
this there and fortunately I had a board of directors that didn’t just
want to create a strip development, but wanted to create a nice resort.
“So we decided to option as much land as
we could and put the master plan together and did a lot of creating and
in 1975 developed a concept that said we were going to have so much
open space, put a sewer there and have this kind of water and those
kinds of things. And the evolution of the resort started with the ski
area, then the lake and now the indoor waterpark, which will guarantee
year-round business.”
Opposing views of the waterpark provide a glimpse
into the wet and wild action.
A New Hope
The $33 million Hope Lake Lodge and
Indoor Waterpark construction was funded through a loan package by a
consortium of banks, which included Tennessee Commerce Bank in
Nashville as the lead bank, with M&T Bank in Binghamton
administering the loan. Other participating lenders include Mid
Atlantic Financial Partners based in Germantown, Md.; Green Lakes from
Tully; First Community Financial from Franklin, Tenn.; and HSK Funding
from Binghamton.
Local and regional investors also
provided $9.5 million in equity. Job development grants were awarded by
the New York Empire State Development, Cortland County Business
Development Corporation/Industrial Development Agency and National
Grid. New York State Environmental Research and Development Authority
provide a grant that recognizes the outlook of the project’s green
environmental construction standards and LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) certification. The town of Virgil obtained a
Multi-Modal grant for the Clute Road relocation construction work,
which was secured by state Sen. James Seward (R-51st), who was a big
proponent of the project from the very beginning.
“Whenever Al {Kryger} was involved and
needed some help with this project, I tried to do whatever I could do
from the state level to be supportive because I shared his vision for
what this project will mean to this region,” said Seward at the Hope
Lake Lodge grand opening. “When Al first talked to me a number of years
ago about his vision to create a year-round destination resort, I
became a very early and strong supporter for this project because by
making this a year-round operation, it’ll mean good things for this
region.”
Greek Peak employs more than 600
part-time and seasonal employees that tend to the estimated 250,000
annual skiers that visit the resort. With the Hope Lake and waterpark
expansion, more than 250 new jobs have been created, on top of the 270
construction-related jobs the building phase required. Seward also said
he believes this expansion will create more jobs ranging concentrically
outward into the region, as more tourists are expected to descend upon
the area than ever before.
“This is a transformational project and
it helps to transform our local economy,” continued Seward. “With this
coming year, on a year-round basis, it creates many more jobs. And with
strong economic development, there’s a ripple effect, and not only here
at this location, but throughout Cortland County and throughout this
region and New York state. And the fact that we’re opening this in
tough economic times, I think, says a lot.”
Kryger believes they captured lightning
in a bottle with the timing of the opening, as he thinks the sour
economy actually benefits regional destinations like Greek Peak. People
just aren’t vacationing as far out as they used to. “When you have a
down economy, regional resorts tend to do better because people can go
there more economically and they can drive and don’t have to fly and it
won’t be as expensive as a vacation,” opined Kryger. “People would
probably rather want to go skiing out West, but here, the mountains are
a little smaller, but they can stay at the hotel and do it for the half
the price.”
A full kitchen in the lodge’s rooms provides a
home-sweet-home feel.
Speaking of price, reservations are now
being taken for the lodge, which can range in price from $255 to $800
depending on the night and type of room you select. Each room features
an adjacent split room that can be booked as a pair, or single, and
features a full kitchen, fireplace and flat-screen TVs. If you’re a
high roller type and want to skip the standard room fee, there is also
the option to purchase a quarter share, which is similar in structure
to timeshares, and allows someone to purchase a unit and reserve it for
13 weeks out of the year. If you engage in a quarter-share option, you
could make a 60 percent return on your investment if you rent your
condominium out during the time you had it reserved.
But whether you rent or purchase a room,
there is plenty to keep you occupied during the stay. Aside from the
waterpark, there is also a 5,500-square-foot indoor spa called
Waterfalls, which was designed using Feng Shui to promote serenity and
positive energy throughout the space. Each room also has
color-changeable lighting, which in the 1960s would have blown some
minds, man, but now can cater to the mood of any individual using one
of the spa’s features, which include: massages, body envelopments,
hydrotherapy, facials, manicures and pedicures, teeth whitening and
salon services. Services are available based on individual treatments,
private consultations or by increments of time.
If you’re not in the mood to cook in
your room, there are two dine-out options on the premises. The Acorn
Grill is a more formal option, while the Edgewater Café incorporates a
family atmosphere and features several menu items the youngsters love
to make a mess with such as burgers, fries and onion rings. A childcare
and activity center as well as a large arcade can keep the kids
occupied while the adults use the fitness center.
The opening of Hope Lake Lodge and the
Indoor Waterpark is just phase one of Greek Peak’s three-phase
expansion plan over the next few years. Phase two includes expansion
and updates to the existing ski resort including new lifts, five new
trails, new base facilities, a mountaintop lodge, a new welcome center,
an upgraded ski shop, and a major new snowmaking expansion. Phase three
will include additional quarter share condo/hotel units, an 18-hole
golf course and expanded conference facilities.
The
changing colors of a tub in the Waterfalls Spa sets the tone for a
relaxing mood.
