Waterbury, CT – Hotel Offers Kosher Swim At Indoor Water Resort

Waterbury, CT – Holiday Inn management and staff here have worked with kosher caterers for years now, since the days when the hotel was run by Connecticut Grand and then Sheraton.

The growing local Orthodox community, many of its members transplanted from New York and New Jersey, as well as observant Jews from those states, celebrate their big simchas at the hotel. In addition to relationships with no fewer than 11 kosher caterers, the Holiday Inn boasts the fourth largest ballroom in Connecticut.

So before the new CoCo Key indoor water resort opened at the hotel in October, it was natural to consider a request from representatives from the Orthodox community for “kosher” swim sessions.

“They were helpful in educating us,” says Kate Terricciano, CoCo Key’s director of marketing and sales: Curtain the windows, staff the special male- and female-only swims with lifeguards of the corresponding gender, offer Orthodox family swims. The after- and before-hours sessions draw families and institutional groups from Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.

The hotel offers Shabbat packages for Orthodox groups, with special swims scheduled after Ma’ariv services and a kosher Continental breakfast. “Kosher Swim Day” overnight packages are scheduled for late January, when many yeshivot throughout the Tri-State area are on break.

Since November, CoCo Key has scheduled separate swims for 2,000 adults and children, including groups from yeshivot, synagogues, and schools. “They can have fun and not have to worry about modesty issues,” Terricciano says.