Big 4 Emu Beach Holiday Park to add extra accommodation, new bouncy pillow and water park

Albany’s Big 4 Emu Beach Holiday Park has revealed plans for extra accommodation and a new development, including the city’s first water playground and biggest bouncy pillow. Works on the expansion started in November and had been planned for three years, according to the holiday park’s director Luke Shuttleworth. Stage one of the development will add 10 two-bedroom self-contained villas. Mr Shuttleworth said he expected increased demand for accommodation after the COVID pandemic which had boosted tourism to the region. “The last couple of years since we had border closures, we’ve seen pretty steady numbers,” he said. “Caravan sites haven’t been as strong as the accommodation. The accommodation has been a lot stronger through that period from visitors from Perth and around the metro area. “But I think we’re starting to see a bit more of a normal pattern now, we were a bit slower through this winter but summer bookings are looking strong and I think they’ll remain that way.” Mr Shuttleworth said the pandemic had helped people discover or rediscover Albany. “The good thing about COVID was people who hadn’t been to Albany for 20, 30 years, or who hadn’t been at all, have now been down and seen the city and what we have to offer and the majority of them said ‘yeah, we’ll definitely be back’,” he said. The second stage will focus on entertainment facilities, adding a recreation room to the park with an indoor toddler playground, wifi lounge and games arcade. Plans for stage two include a water playground and a new 20m x 9m jumping pillow which will be “the biggest one in town”, according to Mr Shuttleworth. “Probably the biggest thing in this development is the water playground that we’ve planned which is still going through the last approval process with the Health Department and that should be ready to start building in the near future,” Mr Shuttleworth said. “That’s a waterslide structure with a tipping bucket. “That should accommodate the kids through the summer months.” The developments are scheduled for completion by the start of this summer.