October 23, 2024
Plaza del Canòdrom in Barcelona, Spain
An exciting project at the Canòdrom and a Berlin novelty from the rope factory: the Berliner Masche. This innovative new…
5. January 2023
Play Area for exclusive Family Resorts
Along the 25 km long sandy beach on the north coast of the Greek Mediterranean island of Crete you will find the two 5-star family resorts Lyttos Beach Hotel and Lyttos Mare Exclusive Beach Resort. The exclusive hotels, which belong to the S Resorts-Sapounakis Group hotel chain, are located barely 5 km from the town centre of the community of Hersonissos and 20 km from Heraklion Airport. Lyttos Beach Hotel was taken over by another hotel chain in 2009, while Lyttos Mare Exclusive Beach Resort opened in 2021. Guests are allowed free access to the respectively other hotel, which increases the available space and the variety of offers enormously. Vacationers, primarily from Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands, can take advantage of the sporting and family-friendly offers on more than 20 hectares and escape the stress of everyday life. Professional tennis courts, football fields, basketball courts and golf courses as well as a diverse pool landscape with Olympic-sized pools invite guests for free use or guided training. The surroundings and nature can be explored with a mountain bike tour, in the fitness area you can dedicate yourself to your own workout and in the spa you can treat your body and mind. In addition, there is a water park with various slides that offers fun for the whole family.
As an additional offer for the children, there was a wish for a spacious play area. “This new area is being built near the water park and the entrance and should create a wow effect for those arriving,” says Mr. Pantelis Sapounakis, CEO of S Resorts, during the process of construction in May 2022. Three tennis courts were reconstructed for the 1,800 m² area. The planning of the new “Lyttopia” was done with Elite Areas, the distribution partner of Berliner Seilfabrik in Greece, and took about four months. The newly created area includes a sheltered seating area with a bar and snacks for the little ones, a music garden with percussion instruments, as well as mini golf courses and a 900 m² playground. The construction work for the redesign of the tennis courts started in February 2022, and the playground was installed by mid-April. It was also important for the design of the playground to include inclusive elements so that children with physical disabilities can access playground equipment and children of different abilities can play together.
The little climbing beginners can test and develop their skills in a playhouse combination. The Spoo and Roo playhouses, developed especially for toddlers, stand on small posts and are connected by bridge elements. They offer different entry options such as stairs and a ramp for easier access and can also serve as a retreat. A slide leads back down from the higher of the three houses. A seesaw, a rotating disc and a nest swing can also be found in the toddler area. Due to the low entry height, the nest swing is also accessible for children with physical impairments.
The highlight of the new playground is the Greenville Combi with the 7.5-metre-high central mast structure, to which a playhouse has been added on top. From the so-called PentaBoo, a suspension bridge leads the somewhat more experienced children to the neighbouring climbing tower, which is also 7.5 meters in height. From there, the path can lead directly down the large tube slide or further through a net tunnel into a smaller playhouse. The Trii-houses, which are connected via an additional net tunnel and a suspension bridge, can also be reached via a ladder or access nets. There is also a lower slide here for children who do not yet dare to climb up into the tower via the differently arranged nets. The bright colours of the play equipment combination, light green, orange and yellow, are attractive and make it an eye-catcher not only because of its impressive height.
Apart from the PentaBoo, there are two other spatial net structure units: the two DNA Towers are also connected by a net tunnel. The combination of purple and light green tubes as well as the light green tensioning balls and ropes has a bright and cheerful effect and encourages to climb. At the winding tower, which is over 7 meters high, there is a sliding pole for an alternative descent at just under 2 meters. The tower, which is just under 6 meters high, has a banister that children can slide down. For the Hula Loop, a rocking device, balance is required to let a small aluminum ball circle in its tracks while standing. Swings are considered rather standard equipment, but are always very popular among children. That's why the new Lyttopia also has two swings to round off the great fun.
“The Client’s desire was to design a playground facility that would be a benchmark for playground facilities in the hotel industry. Some of the most interesting and challenging parts regarding this project were the size, capacity and functionalities requested. Therefore, there was a selection of very high and impressive rope structures, also acting as an attraction beacon, in combination with smaller ones. By this, the play structures will be utilized by different age groups, and it will be easy to achieve high-simultaneous capacity. The design approach of Lyttopia provides the ability to children to play on their own, along with their parents and/or under the presence of animateurs,”, says Aimilia Kyrili, Marketing & Communications Director of Elite Areas. Matching the rest of the exclusive hotels, an impressive play area is created that is sure to keep children of different ages and abilities on their toes and moving. While parents can relax, chat and get to know each other in the adjoining bar and seating area.
