The state of Iowa’s Honey Creek Resort is often referred to as a “hidden gem,” but the new operators say that perception is about to change ― and that it must.
“We are going to market it like it’s never been done before to let people know about it because it’s a hidden gem right now and we don’t want it to be a hidden gem. We want everybody to know about it,” said Travis Wiederien, senior vice president of Embergrove Hospitality. The state selected the Mason City-based company to take the place of Achieva Enterprises, which operated Honey Creek from 2023 until a contentious falling out with state officials last fall.
The Iowa Department of Administrative Services announced the contract with Embergrove on Thursday, May 14, and a separate operating agreement with Maxim Golf Solutions of Kansas City, Kansas, for the resort’s golf course.
Both of the contracts will run through February, with longer-term proposals to be solicited this fall.
The new operators both have extensive experience and portfolios . Embergrove’s operation includes 15 hotels and restaurants throughout the Midwest, including several Stoney Creek Hotel properties, one of them in Johnston. It also operates the Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City, the last Frank Lloyd Wright-designed hotel in existence.
Maxim operates 21 golf courses: 14 in Missouri, two in Kansas, two in Utah and one in Arkansas, and in Iowa, the Hickory Grove Golf Course in Oelwein and River Ridge Golf Course in Independence. It also operates a bowling alley in Missouri.
Part of the reason industry veterans Embergrove and Maxim were selected is their ability to get both the resort and golf course up and running as soon as possible, said Mark Campbell, director of the administrative services department.
“Both have amazing portfolios and have the ability to literally have boots on the ground very quickly,” Campbell said.
He said the goal is to have the golf course open within a week and a half ― in time for Memorial Day weekend ― and to have a grand opening at the resort around the Fourth of July, with a “soft opening” sometime in June.
Representatives of Maxim could not be reached for comment, but Campbell expressed confidence in the company’s abilities.
“Obviously they specialize in golf management and these types of courses and truly bring a level of professionalism that we can’t wait to see,” he said.
Maxim already has contacted the Iowa Golf Association about scheduling tournaments, he said, and the company is working with the operators of the resort to create golf packages.
Embergrove VP: ‘We’re very good at turnarounds’
Wiederien said Embergrove is excited about unlocking what it sees as untapped potential for Honey Creek, Iowa’s first and only state-owned resort.
“We’re an Iowa-based company, we’re familiar with the resort, and, you know, we just really wanted to have a part in it,” he said, noting that the facility’s conference center makes it especially suited to Embergrove’s expertise.
“We think we’re the team that can really make this thing successful and bring it to life. We’re very good at turnarounds, and with the conference center piece that’s down there ― that’s absolutely gorgeous ― it fits right into what we normally do,” he said.
Honey Creek features a 106-room lodge, 28 cabins, an indoor water park, the 18-hole championship golf course and a marina. It has been in limbo since last fall, when the state and Achieva disagreed over whether to renovate the waterpark or, as the company advocated, replace it with miniature golf. After a heated meeting in which Terry and Beth Henderson, the owners of Achieva, threatened to close the resort, the Department of Administrative Services moved to cancel their contract and won an ensuing legal battle to oust them.
The state is in the process of having the water park renovated, a project expected to be completed by late summer or early fall.
Despite the acrimonious split between the state and Achieva, Wiederien praised the Hendersons.
“You know, they did a good job for the time they had it, but there’s just so much more opportunity out there,” he said of the resort, which is located on Rathbun Lake in southern Iowa almost 100 miles from Des Moines.
“There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit as far as the opportunity goes and we just feel it needs a good operator that’s focused on guest service to give it that resort feel, and that’s what we feel we learned was missing, is that resort feel,” he said. “This is a destination. It’s not your typical hotel. It’s not your typical conference center. It’s a different feel, and it’s got to have that resort feel to it.”
To that end, Wiederien said Embergrove will be hiring an activities director for the resort.
“When people… drive somewhere, they’ve got to have stuff to do. There has to be stuff happening on the resort that the whole family can enjoy, not just a kid-friendly place, it needs to have something for the adults to do, something for the kids to do,” he said, citing the possibility of live musical performances. “There has to be stuff happening all the time.”
Wiederien said his company is currently working on hiring staff and establishing a website and reservation system. It’s also looking at upgrades, including television replacement in the guest rooms.
Administrative services director says he believes Honey Creek can reach elusive potential
Development of the resort, which opened in 2008, encapsulated several visions when first proposed. It aimed to bring people to a lesser-traveled part of the state that featured an underutilized resource in 11,000-acre Rathbun Lake, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir that is among Iowa’s largest.
The project also was developed to provide an economic springboard to struggling southern Iowa. Appanoose County, home of Honey Creek, has among the highest poverty rates in the state.
The resort was envisioned to be “a gateway to the outdoors and natural resources” providing Iowans opportunities for year-round outdoor recreation while still being able to enjoy amenities. That’s a vision Campbell said he still has for it.
But it has never reached its full potential, even after the Legislature authorized the payoff of its $33 million in construction bonds to give it a boost. A project launched by then-Gov. Tom Vilsack, it opened during the Great Recession and also took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it had to shut down for a time.
Campbell remains optimistic that Honey Creek can ultimately be successful and an asset to southeast Iowa and the rest of the state.
“I think we’re doing our best to dot the i’s and cross the t’s and really making sure we get it right with some amazing partners,” he said. “The support and continued support from the state shows our commitment, and I want to make sure everybody in southeast Iowa knows that, too.”
Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa hires new operators for Honey Creek Resort. When will it reopen?
Reporting by Kevin Baskins, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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