Tag Archives: Orlando

Amelia Island Omni
Amelia Island, Florida Keys, Key West, Miami Beach, Orlando, South Walton, Stay, Trip Ideas

Family Style Easter Escapes in Florida

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Easter is a great time to shake the last of winter by taking the family to Florida for a few days of sunshine and relaxation. And if rabbits and eggs are still a thing for the youngsters, there are resorts that can add an extra dimension to the stay, while also giving the adults a full-spectrum vacation experience. Here are five properties across the sunshine state that makes the Easter weekend special.

Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, Destin

In addition to their regular range of family friendly activities and amenities, this popular beach resort hosts an annual “Eggstravaganza” celebration over the Easter weekend. Children receive treat baskets delivered by the big bunny, and can take part in coloring contests and an egg hunt. There’s a special Sunday brunch and the on-site Serenity by the Sea Spa is offering Easter spa baskets for mom, and golden eggs with a prize or discount inside.

Hilton Sandestine

The Hilton Sandestin Beach offers Easter extras for the entire family. Children receive treat baskets, adults can indulge in spa specials and the entire family can enjoy a holiday brunch. Photo: Hilton Sandestin Beach

Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek

Centrally located just minutes from the Disney parks, the Bonnet Creek resort is an ideal home base for taking in a number of Easter centric events staged by the theme parks. In addition, the resort is the site of the Give Kids the World Easter Village, which is presided over by Mayor Clayton. A six-foot tall rabbit is available to pose for photos, and share gingerbread bunny cookies as a thank you for those who support this charity.

Hilton Bonnet Creek Orlando

While area theme parks offer a wide range of Easter activities, families staying at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek can also meet the big bunny at the property’s on-site Easter Village. Photo: Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek

Omni Amelia Island Plantation

Easter themed fun kicks off with the resort sponsored Bunny Hop 5K and a children’s fun run on Saturday. Next comes the annual Easter Parade, where visitors are encouraged to decorate a rental bike and join the locals in a festive pedal. The rest of the day is devoted to the Easter Carnival, with egg relay races, beach fires, magic shows, and an Easter Bunny tuck-in at bedtime. Sunday begins with a non-denominational sunrise service, followed by an Easter egg hunt and a special brunch.

Amelia Island Omni

On Easter weekend, the pool deck and grounds of the Omni Amelia Island Plantation will host a variety of special activities, including egg hunts, magic shows and appearances by the Easter Bunny. Photo: Omni Amelia Island Plantation

Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort, Miami Beach

The two-bedroom suites at this oceanfront property give families plenty of space, and easy access to area Easter events. Jungle Island’s Mega Eggs features 50,000 eggs, 800 pounds of candy, and visits with the Easter Bunny. The Miami Zoo adds egg safaris, a petting zoo and special treats for the animals, while Bunny Palooza returns to the Miami Seaquarium with continuous egg hunting, South Florida’s largest Easter Parade and five acres of rides, slides and bounce houses.

Miami Newport Beach Resort

The spacious suites of the Newport Beachside Hotel and Resort provide families with a comfortable base for excursions to a number of Easter- themed events in the Miami area. Photo: Newport Beachside

Parrot Key Hotel & Resort, Key West

If the kids have outgrown the Easter Bunny, but are still part of a family Easter break, a good alternative is a Keys getaway for water sports fun. Parrot Key Resort is a five-acre waterfront oasis away from the revelry of Duval Street, but is still close to Key West’s prime attractions. For a unique and memorable Easter tradition, book passage with Fury Catamarans for their Easter Sunday Ultimate Adventure to a private island for PWC, parasailing, kayaking and waterpark fun, plus a special holiday lunch menu.

Parrot Key Resort Key West

Family-friendly Parrot Key Resort is ideally located in the heart of Key West, conveniently located to attractions, but away from the crowds and late- night revelry of Duval Street. Photo: Parrot Key Resort

Little Palm Island
Amelia Island, Clearwater Beach, Florida, Florida Keys, Miami Beach, Naples, Orlando, St. Augustine, Stay, Trip Ideas

Florida’s Best Valentine’s Getaway Surprises

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Resorts all across the sunshine state roll out the bubbly and the rose pedals in anticipation of Valentine’s Day. Couples seeking a romantic getaway have many options, as numerous properties offer special perks and incentives on romantic getaway packages. From this rendezvous roster, we’ve selected a sampling of unique, memorable and even decadent choices that go beyond the expected, and elevate the getaway experience to new heights.

Island Escape

No time for a trip to Tahiti? Book a Love, Island Style package at Little Palm Island Resort & Spa in the Florida Keys. This private palm-shrouded island once doubled as a South Pacific movie location, and still looks the part. Receive a dozen long-stemmed roses upon arrival, sip champagne in a soaking tub on the deck of a thatch-roofed bungalow, enjoy a private sailing trip in tropical waters, and cap the day off with a private beachfront dinner. The program is available through the month of February.

Little Palm Island Resort

The bungalows of Little Palm Island are nestled into a garden landscape, and feature private terraces with soak tubs and outdoor showers. Photo: Sammy Todd Dyes/Little Palm Island

Montage Moments

The Amelia Amore package at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation packs in enough togetherness elements to create a rom-com movie montage. Start with a horseback ride on the beach, a couple’s paddleboard session, and a sunset cruise on a luxury yacht. Linger over a private dinner, and then toast your memories at a custom champagne station. This special pairing is offered through Feb. 25. 

Amelia Island Omni

Amelia Island Plantation sits on 1,350 acres on a barrier island off the Northeast Florida coast, offering oceanfront accommodations, championship golf and a full-service spa. Photo: Omni Amelia Island

Water Romance

In addition to romantic getaway staples— strawberries, champagne, rose petals and robes— the Plantation at Crystal River can offer an additional enticement to a romance package: sparkling water. This liquid isn’t served over ice however, and instead bubbles up from underground reservoirs to fill spring basins that become wintertime havens for manatees. Guests of the Plantation can come face to face with these gentle aquatic giants on a personalized in-water encounter cruise. Romance and encounter packages are ongoing, but manatee encounters are more likely in winter months. 

Rock Star Love

Get rock star treatment in Miami’s fabulous South Beach district with the Lovers Rock package at the Nautilus. You will be picked up by private limo, and find personalized his and hers spa robes and a refresher of Perrier-Jouët champagne waiting in your ocean-view room. Enjoy a couple’s massage on the balcony, take in the sights on a helicopter tour of Miami, and linger at a personal poolside cabana with spa service. End the evening with an in-room dinner with wine pairings, rose petals and candles. This ultimate splurge is offered only during Valentine’s week. 

Nautilus Cabana

The heated saltwater pool at Nautilus hotel offers luxurious poolside lounge and cabanas, and is just steps away from the sands of South Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Photo: Nautilus

A Day in Bed

Check in to a water-view suite at the Edgewater Beach Hotel during the Be Mine at the Beach promotion and you and your significant other can toast on Veuve Clicquot while dressing for an intimate dinner at the resort’s signature Coast restaurant. Next morning, a luxury beach bed and umbrella are reserved for your exclusive enjoyment. After two nights and days of romance and indulgence, you can sleep in to enjoy a late checkout. This package is available for stays between February 10-19, 2017. 

Naples Edgewater Hotel Florida

The pool at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Naples. This all-suite property is located directly on the Gulf of Mexico, fronting a seven-mile stretch of powder-fine beach. Photo: Edgewater Hotel

Stokes and Rubs

There’s no need to compromise with the Valentines Weekend package at Palm Harbor’s Innisbrook Golf & Spa Resort. After the champagne and sweets that await in your executive suite, you can decide whether to start with 18 holes at one of the resort’s four golf courses, or indulge in the complimentary couple’s massage. Whatever comes first, the day will end with a special dinner at the property’s acclaimed Packard Steak House. The package can be booked for one or more nights during the week of Valentine’s Day. 

A Ride Through History

Spend a special weekend in the nation’s oldest city at one of Florida’s most iconic hotels. Casa Monica Resort & Spa offers Love, St. Augustine Style, which begins with the requisite romantic essentials such as in-room flowers, chilled champagne and chocolate-dipped fruits, adds in gourmet breakfasts and makes the evenings memorable with a romantic carriage ride through the heart of the town’s historic district. The package is offered well beyond Valentine’s Day, just in case. 

Casa Monica St Augustine

Built in 1888, the Casa Monica Resort & Spa is a St. Augustine landmark. Following a complete renovation, it remains the area’s premier luxury resort destination. Photo: Casa Monica Resort & Spa

Around the World

Fulfill that promise to give your special someone the world at Orlando’s Mystic Dunes. The resort’s Valentine’s Day Deal includes two complimentary tickets to the Disney theme parks, including the Epcot World Showcase, which features the culture and cuisines of 11 different countries. Back at the Dunes, a luxurious one-bedroom condo provides a haven for relaxation in a private hot tub, or becomes a base for recreation on the 600-acre property, which includes a championship golf course and a water park. Enjoy this special during the month of February. 

Florida Manatee
Clearwater Beach, Florida, Florida Keys, Key West, Orlando, Play, St. Pete Beach, Trip Ideas

Florida’s Best Manatee Encounters

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The first time you see a manatee, it’s amazing. And even after hundreds of encounters, I still get excited when I come across one of these huge “sea cows.” They can be 10 feet long and weigh more than a ton, but they are harmless to humans. In fact, it’s humans who pose a threat to the manatee when we don’t treat them with respect. Fortunately, there are responsible ways to interact with wild manatees, and plenty of sites all across Florida where they can be found. Here are a few of my favorite places to watch them, get up close and even swim with them.

Blue Springs Manatee

Central Florida’s Blue Springs State Park provides a refuge for manatees escaping the colder waters of the St. Johns River. In winter, the spring run may host hundreds of these animals. Photo: Stephen Meese/iStock

From Shore

When wintertime water temperatures drop below 70, manatees look for a place to warm up. They find it in the constant 72-degree water that flows from Florida’s underground springs. A great place for manatee watching is Blue Spring State Park, which is about an hour’s drive north of Orlando’s theme parks. I make at least one trip a year to Blue Springs, and never get tired of seeing as many as 100 of the big sea cows gathered in the clear waters of the preserve. In addition to natural springs, manatees have learned to take advantage of the warm water discharge from coastal power plants. Several utility companies have created viewing stations next to these discharge lagoons, and two of the best are Tampa Electric’s viewing station at Apollo Beach, and the brand new $5-million Manatee Lagoon visitor’s center in Riviera Beach. At these sites, winter months are best, but a few manatees always seem to hang around throughout the year.

On The Water

When they aren’t bunching up to escape winter cold, manatee spread out into rivers, bays and lagoons all around Florida. The areas where they are most often seen become designated manatee zones, with posted speed limits to prevent powerboats from running over these slow moving mammals. I always watch out for manatees when driving a powerboat, and keep my distance. For an up-close encounter, I use a kayak. By loosing the engine noise and moving slower, paddlers stand a greater chance of meeting up with a manatee. One of the best places to do this is the Jupiter Inlet Aquatic Preserve, which is just a few miles north of the Palm Beach area. Other good manatee paddles include the Weeki Wachee spring run, Crystal River and the mangrove islands of the Florida Keys—especially the wooded shores of Key Largo’s Tarpon Bay and the backcountry shallows near Key West. Kayaks are available for rent in all these areas, and most offer guided tours.

In The Water

Back in the day, when there were more manatees and fewer Floridians, there were a number of places where you could get in the water with manatees. To prevent hordes of swimmers from driving the sea cows from their favorite habitats, many of these sites are now designated preserves, with no swimming allowed. Two exceptions to this are the coastal springs at Crystal River and Homosassa, which are about an hour north of Tampa. A number of tour companies run sanctioned manatee encounter programs that allow snorkelers to get a first-hand look at the animals in their natural habitat. Winter months are the best, and because things can get chilly—at least by Florida standards—tour companies will usually supply wetsuits along with snorkel gear. Aside from these sites, there’s always a chance of a manatee swim-by when you are swimming or snorkeling. I’ve been treated to a number of these visits over the years, and always keep an eye out for the swirl of a manatee’s tail, or their car-size underwater profiles.

Downtown Orlando
Florida, Orlando, Plan, Trip Ideas

Orlando: 10 Reasons to Go

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It’s taken some time, but Orlando, Florida has grown out of its reputation for being the land of magical theme parks. Disney and other theme parks are, deservedly, still a huge draw, but the city has come into its own with cultural offerings, world-class performance art venues, fine dining, classy cocktails, designer shopping, natural beauty and more.

1  Improve Your Handicap

Central Florida is more than just a place for year-round golf; a visit to Orlando can help drastically improve your skills. Take lessons at Annika Academy, where hall-of-gamer Annika Sorenstam offers personal instruction based on her experience as one of the most celebrated female golfers of all time and a suite of high-tech gear to analyze every aspect of your game. 

Orlando Golf

The central Florida area is home to more than 100 golf courses, including everything from novice-friendly fairways to some of the nation’s top-ranked and most challenging courses. Photo: iStock

2  State of the Arts

The spanking new Dr. Philips Center for the Performing Arts brings a cultural side to the downtown Orlando scene. Broadway musicals, symphony performances, jazz musicians, avant-garde acts and more build around staples like the Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soliel’s La Nouba and the annual Fringe Festival to solidify Orlando’s emergence as an arts-centric city.

3  Family Fun

Visitors going to Orlando with the entire family will find it easy to secure a place to stay that’ll satisfy all ages and tastes. Have breakfast and dinner with Mickey and friends at Walt Disney World Resort’s Chef Mickey’s restaurant housed in the Contemporary Resort. At the other end of the accommodation spectrum, sophisticates can enjoy a champagne brunch at the downtown Grand Bohemian Hotel. The hotel features a jazz brunch and an extensive collection of original artwork is displayed throughout the hotel’s public spaces.

Orlando Disney

If you love a parade, Orlando’s theme parks are the place to be. Disney is best known for staging elaborate daily processions, but other parks also get in on the action. Photo: Andres Balcazar/iStock

4  Delectable Dining

Options abound when hunger hits in the City Beautiful. Independent restaurants specializing in fare from gourmet sandwiches to pork belly have added spice to Orlando’s dining scene, and a trip to restaurant row, south of downtown, lets you take in some of the classics, like the Hawaiian fusion cuisine at Roy’s Restaurant, founded by celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi.

5  On the Waterfront

Those looking for natural bodies of water won’t have far to go. Kayakers, canoers and paddleboarders can put in at Shingle Creek or the Wekiva River for some of the area’s best paddle runs surrounded the region’s natural scenery, and maybe an alligator or two. Long chains of lakes in the city and nearby Winter Park offer great paddling and some of the state’s best freshwater fishing. For the saltwater experience, a short drive can take you to the Intracoastal, Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico for a true challenge.

Orlando Kayaking

Central Florida still has a wild side, with a number of scenic lakes and wooded rivers awaiting exploration. Kayaks and canoes are favorite choices for viewing wildlife. Photo: Sherry Yates/iStock

6  Sweet & Sassy

Downtown Orlando’s nightlife has grown up considerably since the rave-heavy days of the 1990s. The cosmopolitan crowds head to the city’s “speakeasies,” like the Courtesy Bar and Hanson’s Shoe Repair to sip gin- and rye-based cocktails (among others) in settings designed after 1920s prohibition-style bars.

7  Adult Themes

Taking a stroll through the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland or battling with superheroes at Universal Orlando’s two theme parks is a no brainer for those with kids, but Orlando’s theme parks offer plenty of grown-up entertainment. Universal’s over-the-top roller coasters bring in the adrenaline junkies, while Downtown Disney and Universal City Walk offer upscale dining and several spots for fine cocktails. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, now including Diagon Alley, is a must for fans of all ages.

Universal Studios

The iconic logo of Universal Studios greets park visitors. This movie and TV-themed attraction combines rides with a chance to go behind the scenes of favorite shows. Photo: Andres Balcazar/iStock

8  Cool Down

Orlando is landlocked, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a nice beach. Sea World’s Aquatica, Disney’s Blizzard Beach and Universal’s retro Cabana Bay Beach Resort offer inland beaches experiences that slope into swimming areas washed by man-made waves. Beat the summer heat by soaking yourself in a lazy river or dropping down sheer waterslides. Aquatica adds dolphins to the mix, which swim around the enclosed slide as you take the plunge.

9  The Wild Side

Get up close with ancient reptiles and creatures from the deep. The jumping, rolling and wrestling alligators at Gatorland have been an Orlando tradition since the park opened as a roadside attraction in 1949. For a more resort-like wildlife experience, Sea World’s Discovery Cove lets you don a dive helmet and walk the bottom of a massive, man-made coral reef with tropical reef fish swimming all around you as you go, in addition to feeding stingrays and swimming with dolphins.

Dolphin, Seaworld

At the Sea World theme park, visitors can get up close and personal with a range of marine animals, and enjoy immersive programs such as swims with tropical fish and dolphins. Photo: iStock

10  Fashion Frenzy

Orlando built its reputation as a shopping destination around its outlet malls, where savvy shoppers go for great deals on brands like Coach and Ralph Lauren. Those looking for the absolute latest fashions can shop boutiques by Prada, Kate Spade and more at the upscale Mall at Millennia and Winter Park’s trendy Park Avenue shops.