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Let the Games Begin
New Activity Room Now Open!
The New Year will bring a welcome addition to the Moody Gardens Hotel. A new activity room adjacent to the hotel lobby is scheduled to open in January. The Garden Cay will feature a cozy lounge area, billiard tables, large screen TVs and a full service bar. Covering approximately 3,500 square feet, the new area is designed to accommodate a variety of functions, from casual gatherings to private receptions and adds yet another top-of-the-line amenity for guest enjoyment.
Guests will be drawn into the Cay by a front-porch style entry made up of intricately carved wood columns and elegant tempered glass panels embellished with tropical flora and exotic birds. Once inside, a bamboo ceiling, carved moldings and rich mahogany accents lend a Hemingway-esque feel.
The lounge is designed to offer a casual, homey atmosphere and boasts large plasma TVs and comfortable, rattan armchair seating. The cozy area is carpeted and features a fireplace and large windows offering spectacular views of not only the Moody Gardens grounds, but a new outdoor fireplace as well. Interior design work for the new activity room was undertaken by Design Trends, Inc. Carol Wilhite, president of Design Trends, notes that the intent in the design was to create a space that feels “elegantly casual” and also conveys the sense of being in a different place and time.
The rich and warm colors used throughout “The Garden Cay” flow naturally from the lounge area into the billiard/bar area with a tile floor that simulates wood plank. The billiards area also features a custom wall mural accentuating the island theme of the new space. Two professional sized billiard tables will offer hours of entertainment while a custom-built billiard armoire will house a large 42” plasma television. A long granite countertop will adorn the wall adjacent to the tables providing a handy place to set drinks and personal effects.
In addition to the full service bar, a coffee bar will service both the lounge and billiard areas. The coffee bar also can be set up for snack or buffet food service while more elaborate catering is available from the hotel kitchen.
Golf in the Forecast for Moody Gardens
Moody Gardens has taken over management of the Galveston Municipal Golf Course and has begun a $14 million renovation that will make the course one of the finest in the area.
The multi-million dollar investment is a contribution to the city on the part of Moody Gardens and the culmination of the vision to provide a first-class public golf course for local residents and visitors to the Island. The City of Galveston will retain ownership of the newly renovated municipal course and will in turn reap the full benefit of any revenues generated.
Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design, a renowned firm drawing on the expertise of PGA Tour professionals Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy, is already hard at work on the course redesign. The completely new par 72 course is scheduled to reopen as “Moody Gardens Golf Course on Galveston Island” in April 2008. The completed course, which will measure over 6,900 yards from the back tees, is expected to rank as one of the best links courses in Texas and will rival the state’s three great municipal courses, Memorial Park in Houston, Tenison Highlands in Dallas and Cottonwood Creek in Waco.
Jacobsen Hardy’s attention to detail will provide Galveston residents with a premiere public golf course and also add to Galveston’s many tourist attractions. Among the many improvements, the firm is incorporating the use of two new state-of-the art strains of paspalum grass renowned for its sodium tolerance: Sea Isle I for the fairways, roughs and tees and Sea Isle Supreme for the greens.
To keep those fairways and greens in shape, an extra $2.8 million has been allocated for a new water treatment and irrigation system. Not only will the new system keep the fairways and greens in tip-top condition, but it will allow the course to be landscaped in lush tropical beauty, much like the grounds of the Moody Gardens Hotel. Additionally, the redesign incorporates the use of upland and lowland “native areas.” The incorporation of these areas will improve the definition of the golf course, while creating interesting environments unique to the Moody Gardens Golf Course and Galveston Island.
In addition to a completely redesigned course, new amenities planned for the facility include a new, larger driving range that will measure 300 feet wide x 300 yards long and will accommodate the use of drivers, a new golf cart fleet, a new maintenance barn roughly three times the size of the current facility, and a newly remodeled clubhouse and proshop, which will incorporate a catering kitchen and banquet facility to accommodate 100 people.
The stunning eighteen-hole links-style golf course, completely surrounded by Sydnor Bayou, will feature five par 5’s, eight par 4’s, and five par 3s.
When the redesigned course opens in early 2008, guests will be afforded access to the Island’s premiere golf course and will be able to choose from a selection of customized stay and play packages designed to please even the most discriminating aficionado of the game. The Moody Gardens Golf Course also will be ideal for groups and corporate outings, further enhancing the appeal and flexibility of the resort’s meeting and group event offerings.
