Great Wolf's 18th property announced for Arizona
Great Wolf, which is scheduled to open new resorts in Georgia and Illinois later this year, has announced it’s working on a new indoor waterpark destination in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Great Wolf Lodge Arizona will be built on an 18-acre (7-hectare) site within the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian community at Salt River Fields, Talking Stick. Great Wolf Resorts has signed a contract with the Native American community allowing them to lease the land for up to 100 years. It’s slated to open in the second half of 2019.
The resort, the company’s 18th, will feature a hotel with 350 bedrooms and an 85,000sq ft (7,900sq m) heated indoor waterpark with interactive aqua play zones, a lazy river, wave pool, family raft ride, water slides and more. Dry activities include a 27,000sq ft (2,500sq m) Great Wolf Adventure Park FEC with ropes courses, mini golf and MagiQuest arcade games zone, as well as a Great Wolf first – a 3D-mapping animation called the Northwoods Friends.
Food and beverage options will include Dunkin’ Donuts, Ben and Jerry’s and a Barnwood farm-to-table restaurant with a locally-sourced menu.
“As we look to expand the Great Wolf Lodge experience to new markets across North America and beyond, we are excited to place our newest resort in Arizona and provide visitors across the Southwest with a destination that brings immense joy to families,” said Murray Hennessy, Great Wolf Resorts CEO.
“The family friendly environment fostered by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community makes Talking Stick the perfect location for a Great Wolf Lodge. We look forward to being a part of this community as it continues to grow into the Southwest’s premier family destination.”
Delbert Ray, president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, added: “Hospitality has been a constant common value of our Community – from providing aid and shelter to settlers making their way westward, to welcoming tourists to our several award-winning hotel properties at the Talking Stick Entertainment District today. Tourism is a key economic driver for us, and we believe Great Wolf Lodge will give families another great reason to visit our Community, thus strengthening our economy as well as the East Valley region of Phoenix and the State of Arizona.”
In 2016, the company opened new resorts in Garden Grove, California, and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Great Wolf Resorts waterpark indoor waterpark Scottsdale Arizona Salt River Talking StickGreat Wolf opens first of three new resorts
Great Wolf chooses Minnesota to open 15th indoor waterpark resort
Great Wolf names three new executives to senior team
LaGrange, Georgia, to welcome US$187m Great Wolf waterpark development
Ruben Rodriguez named new Great Wolf CEO
Abandoned hotel development in Colorado to become US$90m waterpark resort
FEATURE: Analysis – Seasons of the Wolf
AI firm Midjourney enters wellness with spa, fitness and body scanning concept
Hot spring wellness community Ameyalli sells residences and breaks ground on resort and spa
OMA completes New Museum transformation with landmark expansion and Oberon restaurant
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance, hospitality and public programming. The latest addition, Oberon, extends the visitor experience beyond the gallery, reflecting a growing trend for museums to become all-day destinations.
The New Museum in New York has entered a new chapter with the completion of a major
David Rockwell creates immersive magic destination, The Hand and The Eye
Montana Heritage Center by Cushing Terrell opens after US$107 million investment
Universal launches new theme park model with Kids Resort
'Minor wellness hotels' recorded the strongest growth across top KPIs in 2025, finds RLA Global
Great Barrier Reef attraction set for AU$180 million reinvention
Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere, has architecture by Leach Rhodes Walker and interiors by Bergman Design House.
Marriott International partners with Fitwel for wellness solutions across its residential portfolio
Preidlhof Luxury DolceVita Resort to unveil new spa in February 2027
Places Leisure is working with Roberts Limbrick to build £60m wellness flagship in Basingstoke
Hoshino Resorts opens Kai Kusatsu as it expands the Kai onsen ryokan brand
Qiddiya and Populous share details of Saudi Arabia’s National Tennis Centre
Disney confirms US$30 billion investment programme as it highlights its economic impact
Until combines multiple disciplines at new Canary Wharf club
Sea Lanes opens following a partnership between The Eden Project and Canary Wharf Group
Bas Smets brings water and wilderness to Vitra
Expo 2030 Riyadh will create a permanent global destination
Luxury resort coming to Hunter Valley will have longevity spa
'Data chocolate', dreams made real and artworks shaped by visitors’ emotions: Refik Anadol’s AI art museum launches in Los Angeles
London Museum reveals 2026 opening date for new Smithfield home
BIG unveils Eve Music Hall as Croatia venue nears completion
Bob Rogers hands BRC to long-serving leadership team
Palazzo di Varignana launches family wellbeing and longevity retreat in Emilia Romagna
Anasa Wellness and Spa debuts at Patmos Aktis as it joins Marriott
Design-led Koru Health Club combines high-performance training with recovery
Wellness care hospital opens in Vilnius with innovative spa and hospitality concept
Universal and Puy du Fou projects point to rise of Oxford–Cambridge corridor
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’ planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism investment.
For years, the corridor has been associated primarily with science, technology, housing and university-led economic growth. However, the clustering of large-scale visitor attraction projects along the
All-inclusive eco-wellness development Auko to open near Vietnam’s Son Doong caves
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres






















