$250M Naples resort takes step toward completion as reservations open

Great Wolf Lodge has reached a construction milestone at its new resort in Naples and has started accepting reservations for the first visitor to arrive October 2024.

Suffolk Construction placed the final exterior building block Wednesday, signaling that vertical construction is complete. With the topping-off now done, Wisconsin-based Great Wolf says in a statement that it has a better idea of the timetable for when it can fully open. It announced that it has started taking reservations beginning Oct. 1, 2024, with the hope that it can move up the day as construction continues.

Setting an opening day is not necessarily a science. The Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor announced in 2022 that it would begin taking reservations for a planned opening in May of this year. But first Hurricane Ian and then a fire delayed construction and pushed the opening back to October.

Great Wolf Resorts is a family-friendly chain of experience-based hotels with each location coming with an indoor waterpark. The $250 million Naples resort — Great Wolf Lodge South Florida — is being built on 20 acres on the eastern end of Collier County, near the Paradise Coast Sports Complex.

Collier County commissioners have approved $15 million in incentives.

With the exterior work done, the focus now shifts inside with Suffolk working alongside of Neuman Pools and ID3. The resort, when complete, will include 500 suites, a 90,000-square-foot indoor water park, a 60,000-square-foot family entertainment center known as Great Wolf Adventure Park and several dining options. There will also be 8,000 square feet of conference space.

As for how much work has already been completed, Great Wolf says in a statement that Suffolk has installed 1,200 tons of steel and amassed a total of about 200,000 work-hours on the project.

The company says it expects to hire 600 people by the time the resort opens.