A castle opened in the Waterpark Capital
Dellshire Resort opened 208 rooms in Wisconsin Dells in May 2026. The architect's own design account ran on the Wisconsin Hotel & Lodging Association feed on 14 September 2026.
Architectural Design Consultants wrote the account, and Julia Silvers, a marketing specialist at the firm, is the named author. The piece promotes the firm's own work.
The property sits at 2277 Dellshire Drive.
Golspar guards the gate
Golspar stands at the entrance with a propane fire system. The account calls the sculpture a 70-foot reality. REBusinessOnline reported a 70-foot-long piece from the Las Vegas metal sculptor Kevin Stone that weighs nearly 17,000 pounds.
ADCI partner and vice president of design Jason Ryan found Stone's work and took the concept to Steve Uphoff of Uphoff Ventures, the owner. The account states Stone built a 15,000-pound steel model of Drogon from Game of Thrones.
The resort's FAQ states guests can watch the dragon roar every 20 minutes between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
Stone laid by hand, windows from Scotland and Ireland
The account lists three architectural ideas: massive stone masonry, gothic windows and sweeping rooflines. ADCI worked with County Materials and masons at Kraemer Brothers to hand-lay oversized stones.
Ryan drew the gothic-arched windows from castles in Scotland and Ireland. The curved rooflines took a technical partnership with Kraemer Brothers as well.
The site is the former home of Fort Dells. Ryan and Neil Pfaff of Vierbicher and Associates stated the building could not have shifted 12 inches in any direction without compromising the design.
Inside the walls
The building holds a 208-room hotel and a family entertainment centre. The team balanced the existing slopes, and the result offers vantage points over the Wisconsin River and Hulbert Creek.
ADCI senior interior designer Lauren Johnson threaded foliage and greenery through the castle for a druid storyline, on the account's own line. The north tower holds suites over Hulbert Creek with no direct neighbours.
The resort's FAQ describes Serpent's Bay as an indoor-outdoor pavilion with five aquatic experiences, including a 21-and-over pool with access to the Scale Cove swim-up bar. The West Wing event space carries 13-foot ceilings and ornate chandeliers.
The money behind the build
HALL Structured Finance lent $41.1 million against the project in May 2025. Nuveen Green Capital added $27.8 million in C-PACE financing, and JLL arranged the debt for Uphoff Ventures LLC.
REBusinessOnline described a four-storey hotel with a 222-seat restaurant, six pools, a swim-up pool bar, a 9,500-square-foot arcade and family entertainment centre, ATV rentals and approximately 6,500 square feet of meeting and event space. The account names no square footage for the event space.
The project is the first phase of a 40-acre master plan. The site sits approximately 55 miles northwest of Madison.
Pyramid runs it
Pyramid Global Hospitality manages the property and announced the opening in June 2026. REBusinessOnline carried the announcement on 11 June 2026. The resort sits in Pyramid's Benchmark Resorts & Hotels collection.
The operator calls Dellshire the area's first new-build resort in more than two decades. REBusinessOnline reported rooms from $200 a night.