Water parks are leisure and tourism facilities aimed at a family public of all ages. For this reason, the variety of attractions must be balanced so that each age group finds its own area of activity and satisfaction. A water park must therefore combine and integrate more intensive attractions, such as slides, wave pools, adventure pools, etc., with others that are calmer and quieter. In this way, both those looking for physical activities and those hoping for moments of relaxation and recreation will find their ideal place and that results in a longer stay in the water park.
When designing water parks, Amusement Logic takes the utmost care, not only to have this balance of attractions, but also to distribute them over the area so that the enjoyment of some of them does not interfere with the rest. In this case, we are going to deal with the areas dedicated to tranquillity and relaxation. These include lazy rivers, spas and hydrotherapy areas, solariums, garden areas, etc.
Let’s look specifically at spa areas, hydrotherapy and specific treatments such as massages, etc. An appropriate design of these spaces will make them places with a flexible operation, in a way that opens up possibilities for the business model. A good example of this would be a design that allows a double and independent access to its facilities. On the one hand, visitors can enter the spa from the water park. On the other hand, other users will have access to the wellness promised by the spa from the outside and independently. This arrangement will allow for a combined operation of the facilities, which will produce a higher return on investment for the developer.
Finally, it should be added that the phased construction of water parks, with the staggered implementation of their various attractions, including spas, minimises the initial investment. It is also a way of presenting new attractions in the waterparks’ different operational seasons, with the incentive for visiting that it offers to users and tourists year after year.
By Pablo Vidal, senior architect in the Architecture Department of Amusement Logic
