Hyatt renovating area for water park

The Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa will debut a new pool area that includes three water slides this spring on its property.

“We had a portion of the hotel that was underutilized, and we always look at ways of enhancing the resort,” General Manager Cheryl Phelps said. “We found that a lot of times during the year, the current pool had high demand, so we decided that even though the beach is across the street, we wanted to provide all kinds of options to our guests.”

The pool area will be called Slyders, and will have three water slides — one “baby” slide and two larger ones — along with two splash pools, a children’s wading pool, a large hot tub and a very large, winding pool that resembles a tropical oasis.

Kids will be offered dive-in movies, hair braiding and other activities at the new water park.

“That will allow us to use the main pool as more of an adult area,” Phelps said. The resort plans to add cushions and other amenities to the main pool to make it more upscale.

Also on site in the family-friendly water park will be fire pits, nine cabanas with high-definition televisions and Internet access, and a restaurant called Shubee’s.

“A shubee is a tourist that acts like a surfer, dresses like a surfer and talks like a surfer, but never surfed a day in his life,” Phelps said.

The water park will be installed at the corner of Beach Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway, and takes the place of two tennis courts.

“This is going to be a much more highly utilized area now,” Phelps said. “We’re going to be a unique venue on the coast. There’s really nowhere in the Los Angeles or Orange County area that has a venue like this.”

In the off season, the resort plans to offer day passes to the water park, and hold birthday parties there.

“I think people area always looking for unique venues to take their kids for family activities to do together,” Phelps said.

The resort expects to open the new water park in April, after breaking ground on it last summer.

“It’s really taking shape,” Phelps said.

“It’s very exciting.”

For more information, visit huntingtonbeach.hyatt.com.