Featuring turquoise water and 20 acres of sandy beach, Evermore Bay is convincing enough that some guests choose the Evermore over actual beach destinations, said Dart Interests president Chris Kelsey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The Evermore Bay experience is a pretty darn good facsimile of what it’s like at a Caribbean beach,” Kelsey said. “And some people seem to [prefer] it because it doesn’t have anything dangerous or dirty, or waves.”<\/p>\n
And beyond standard beach amenities like cabanas and kayaks, Evermore Bay has hot tub boats, a 12-foot-deep swimming hole with a rope swing and floating pickleball courts.<\/p>\n
Kelsey said that Dart Interests invested roughly $2.5 million per acre in its lagoon. So far, the return on investment appears to justify the outlay. Kelsey credits Evermore Bay with helping drive rate across the property’s rentals and 433-room Conrad Orlando hotel: A search for early November rates showed the latter was commanding higher prices than the nearby Waldorf Astoria Orlando.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Kelsey said, the resort’s top-tier cabanas with overwater hammocks, which start at $650 per reservation, often go for more than the cost of its accommodations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Okana-Resort-&-Indoor-Waterpark-in-Oklahoma-Ci.jpg\" "\\"The")
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The Okana Resort & Indoor Waterpark in Oklahoma City has a man-made lagoon with a sand beach. Photo Credit: Okana Resort & Indoor Waterpark<\/p>\n
Crystal Lagoons a market leader<\/p>\n
Evermore Bay was developed in partnership with Crystal Lagoons, a company founded by Chilean biochemist Fernando Fischmann, who began developing his patented lagoon technology as part of a real estate project more than 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
He launched Crystal Lagoons<\/a> in 2008, and the business has since expanded to over 80 operational projects globally. While Crystal keeps the specifics of its technology under wraps, the concept’s core advantage is efficiency at scale, Benjamin Fischmann said, with the lagoons filled once and operated in closed circuits.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Once you fill it up, we reutilize the water year-round,” he added, saying each lagoon uses precisely dosed chemicals applied “at strategic points in algae development and cycles throughout the day.”<\/p>\n Among Crystal’s latest hospitality projects is a 2-acre lagoon under development at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Villas<\/a> near San Antonio, Texas. The lagoon is part of a major renovation.<\/p>\n “Water was top of mind,” said King Scovell, managing partner at Woodbine Development Corp., the resort’s owner and developer. “We knew we couldn’t move the resort to water, but with the lagoon, we could bring water frontage to the resort.”<\/p>\n A lagoon is under development at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Villas near San Antonio. Photo Credit: Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort<\/p>\n A similar philosophy prompted the Okana Resort & Indoor Waterpark<\/a> in Oklahoma City to debut a 4.5-acre lagoon. The 404-room property, which opened in February as part of a $450 million development by the Chickasaw Nation, partnered with waterpark specialist Aquatic Development Group to develop a lagoon that features a real sand beach to match the Gulf Coast.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Brian Szydloski, Okana’s waterpark general manager, said the feature is a breakout amenity for guests looking to build sand castles and lounge in beach chairs — just as they would at an actual beach. “It’s the closest you’re going to get to a pristine beach experience without having to load up the minivan to drive down to one of our coasts,” he said.<\/p>\n Fun for families<\/p>\n Landlocked destinations are not the only ones embracing artificial lagoons. Although Carnival Cruise Line’s Celebration Key private island<\/a> offers plenty of natural Grand Bahama beachfront, the $600 million development has two lagoons — the adults-only Calypso Lagoon and family-friendly Starfish Lagoon — that together span close to 7 acres.<\/p>\n
His son, Benjamin Fischmann, the company’s U.S. regional director, said Crystal uses 2% of the energy of traditional swimming pools for water treatment and about 100 times fewer chemicals.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/A-lagoon-is-under-development-at-the-Hyatt-Regency.jpg\" "\\"A")
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![\"Carnival](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Carnival-Cruise-Line's-Celebration-Key-on-Grand-Ba.jpg\" "\\"Carnival")
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