Westgate Branson Lakes Resort in Branson, MO, has completed an $8.2-million renovation, adding seaside touches to its spaces. The resort has updated its 152 guest villas, lobby and marketplace, fitness center, sales preview gallery and pool. The design team sought to turn the property, which overlooks Table Rock Lake in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, into a contemporary, Nantucket-style resort inspired by a nautical theme with modern style.
Mark Waltrip, COO, Westgate Resorts, said that when Westgate acquired the hotel, it had been in decent shape but that over time, the design had become obsolete and needed a refresh to elevate the guest experience.
“Our goal in designing a resort is to make it feel like a part of the community and deliver highly immersive experiences that connect our guests with the location,” Waltrip said. “Our process starts with an envisioning session to develop the theme of the property with a hyper-focus on why people visit the area and the experiences they’re seeking at the destination. Each property has a unique story that we try to tell through the interior design, signage, landscaping, amenities and activity programs.”
Because of COVID-related scheduling challenges and constraints, Waltrip said that Westgate used a decentralized design process.
“Once the conceptual design was completed, [the design process]empowered our development team to have complete autonomy over the project, including designing, sourcing, FF&E partnership and execution of the renovations. Westgate believes that we hire people to drive results, not simply follow directions—and this product is proof of that,” he said.
Each of the renovated villas has new furniture, appliances, flooring, ceiling fans, light fixtures and draperies, along with new kitchen countertops and backsplashes, and walk-in showers and vanity tops with makeup mirrors in the bathrooms.
The design pieces encompass a “Nantucket-inspired” feel, meaning they’re clean in design with soft, neutral tones and hints of coastal colors.
“Nantucket design is typified by a classic, yet elegant coastal inspiration that brings the ocean into the living space,” Waltrip said. “This design is driven by light and airy colors of whites, creams and ocean blues with hand-painted and slightly weathered furniture, and wood flooring that blends both rustic and elegant design elements. We took this inspiration and blended it with contemporary stone counters, specialty lighting, artwork and selected furniture pieces.”
In addition to the accommodation updates, new lounge seating has been added to the lobby and marketplace, as well as new reception and concierge desks, retail fixtures and new flooring throughout. The fitness center has also been updated with new flooring and equipment.
Although all aspects of the renovation point to relaxation, the design process didn’t always tell a similar story. And while all design projects present challenges, not all are done under the influence of a global pandemic.
“Our greatest design challenge was sourcing quality products in an environment where many of our current factories and shipping agencies were operating in a highly restrictive environment,” Waltrip said. “Luckily, we were able to move much of our manufacturing from overseas to North America. We are fortunate to have a wide range of partners all over the world that we could leverage in the most difficult of times. As mentioned above, by empowering our design team to make quick decisions, they were able to ensure that the design and product quality was maintained while staying on schedule.”
To meet new guidelines, Westgate Branson Lakes Resort follows WestgateCARES, Westgate’s health and safety protocols.
“We re-engineered all of our guest touch points to eliminate direct physical contact through the use of technology, physical barriers, masks and social distancing,” Waltrip said.
Westgate has created a drive-through check-in process at many of its resorts where guests don’t even need to leave their cars to check-in using their smartphone. Additionally, there’s a host of contactless family activities available such as in-room cooking classes done via video conferencing technology.
Waltrip noted that these are just a few of the many things Westgate is doing to keep guests safe, but also, make sure their experience is upheld.
“This product is a direct reflection of our team’s passion and commitment to providing an excellent vacation experience to our guests,” Waltrip said. “In spite of the many challenges caused by the world-wide pandemic, our design and renovations team completed this project under budget and ahead of schedule. More importantly, we achieved our goal of making our guests feel like they are at their home-away-from-home at Westgate Branson Lakes Resort.”
