(Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Aquatic Attraction

Massive water slide opens at P.A. Inn

Jan 31, 2020 | 2:27 PM

Six months after construction began, Prince Albert’s latest attraction has already been making quite a splash with riders since it opened a week ago.

“We’ve had great feedback from the guests so far,” Daniel Gauthier, assistant general manager at the P.A. Inn told paNOW.

The hotel’s new 227 foot water slide spirals through the air outside of the hotel.

Gauthier was the first person to test it.

“It was a little scary because obviously being the first one, you never know,” he said. “It was a lot faster than I expected, we ended up turning the pump down a little bit just to bring it to a more kid friendly speed after that. It’s still a lot of fun though.”

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City council approved plans for the attraction in May.

To accomodate Prince Albert’s icy winter weather, the water is heated to a high temperature before pumping it to the top of the aquatic chute.

“So we overheat it at the start and the constant flow of hot water through the slide keeps it thawed out,” Gauthier explained. “I actually went down a couple weeks back when the windchill had us down around minus 50 and it was all good.”

Right now, access to the slide is restricted to hotel guests and those who have booked the pool for a birthday party.

But Gauthier said in the future, they may consider selling tickets to the public.

He added the hotel’s new attraction positions it as an ideal place for families to stay.

“A lot of our clientele fly in from the North. They don’t have a car with them,” he said. “We’re kind of a great place where mom and dad can go to the casino and we’ve got a restaurant and a lounge on sight, and then we just brought in something new for the kids.”

Mist rises off the bottom of the slide. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom