Travel

Looking for a family friendly place to stay in Orlando, FL? Here’s a little photo diary from our last trip to the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes. We’ve traveled a good amount and this is our all time favorite family vacation spot. The grounds are massive and there’s something to do for everyone.

This is the entrance to a relaxing lazy river that meanders around the hotel property! Tubes are provided by the hotel.

The JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton (these sister properties are connected) offer scheduled family activities throughout the day. S’mores, fish feeding, crafts and snow cones are a few of our favorites.

This kids pool and playground is perfection if you have little ones. It is located at the Ritz Carlton Orlando, Grand Lakes and is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the JW Marriott pools. We typically pool hop throughout the day because there are so many great swimming options.

I love seeing the updates and upkeep from year to year. This playground was a fun new addition.

There are a couple hotel restaurants with couch dining that make an easy dinner spot for tired kids!

I have to point out that there is a full Starbucks in the JW Marriott! My day doesn’t start without a good morning latte.

We’ve done Discovery Cove for a day on our past two trips. It’s a short drive from the hotel and provides a full day of all-inclusive entertainment. Discovery Cove is a paradise of rocky lagoons surrounded by lush landscaping, tropical reefs, winding rivers, waterfalls, and pristine white-sand beaches. You can feed tropical birds, snorkel through a saltwater reef and play inches from a family of otters….

Unlimited access to Sea World comes with the purchase of one day at Discovery Cove. There are lots of rides for children, and the Shamu show is always fun.

If you’re looking to venture of property, Disney Springs is another great option that is nearby. They have a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique if you have a little princess, a large LEGO store, a large World of Disney store, live entertainment at night, and lots of fun restaurants/shops to walk around.

Now that I’ve relived our trip to the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes through this blog post, I’m ready to go back. It’s one of those places you can’t top!

HAPPY TRAVELING!

Look a la Mode hits the road! Vacations are personal. Like holidays, we all feel differently about them, celebrate differently and have vastly differing expectations. As a family, we enjoy relaxing spots with warm weather, few crowds, good food and plenty to do. In case you have the same idea of the perfect getaway, I’ve included all the details from our latest trip…

The Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa (Florida)

Bathed in sunset views over Estero Bay, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point is an oasis with innovative restaurants and a semi-private island beach. To top it off, they just opened a brand new 3-acre pool complex with a meandering lazy river, slides, and activities for the entire family.

Arrival:  

We flew into RSW, rented a minivan, and were at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort within 25 minutes. Parking is included with a hotel stay and conveniently attached to the resort.

Activities:

This kid-friendly hotel offers scheduled crafts and activities (poolside hula hoop contests, slide races, bubbles, etc.) throughout the day as well as giant Jenga, giant Connect Four, a putting green, corn hole, and rock climbing. Our kids made up silly water games and practiced new swim tricks.

There are two slides attached to the zero entry pool- You must be 42” to ride the larger light blue slide. Both of these were a HIT! My daughter barely made the 42” cutoff {phheww!} and my son stuck to the dark blue baby slide.

The Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort shares a property with Hyatt Coconut Plantation, A Hyatt Residence Club, which is only a trolley ride/short car ride away. You’ll want to check out the pools and lazy river here at least one day. They do require a wristband that you can pick up at the concierge desk before leaving the hotel.

Vacation Highlights (from the kids):

Hunting for lizards -There are a lot on the dock leading to the boat ride.
Roasting s’mores- Two fire pits are running every night and s’more ingredients/sticks are sold in Cool Beans.
Repetitive trips down the water slides.
Lazy River (both hotels have one).
Breakfast on the balcony.
Hotel arcade with little trinkets and candy machines.
Pool inflatables that you can rent/buy. Go ahead and buy one on the first day of your trip!

Each morning we’d wake up and sit on our balcony with an iced coffee and pastries from Cool Beans. The kids found this to be exciting and fun looking down on the pools they would soon take over. Our room view was spectacular! We reserved a Bay Suite that had a bedroom, two bathrooms and a living room with a door in between. The Bay Suite is very spacious, to the point that it has four separate balconies. You’ll even find a balcony in the guest bathroom. It worked perfectly for putting kids to bed while still having our space.

Every guest room has free internet, a mini fridge, and a whopping 65″ TV with built in Chromecast that allows video content from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, the Google Play Store and other services. It was perfect for streaming our kid’s favorite shows!

Private Beach Info:

Walk down a roughly .3 mile boardwalk and hop on a boat that runs back and forth every hour. On the days we went to the beach, we packed lunch in our cooler and spent the afternoon there. Bathrooms and picnic tables are available but no food or drink vendors. We scored great beach chairs and an umbrella courtesy of the hotel, and alternated walks along the beach, sandcastle building, and splashing around in the ocean.

You can and will likely want to bring your stroller to carry tired kids, beach gear, food and towels to the beach. We learned the boat allowed strollers after our first trip lugging four towels, a cooler, beach bag and two kids there and back.

The beach is extremely shelly in spots so be careful when your little ones are walking around. I brought a few bead strings with us, and we made shell necklaces on the spot. <3

We saw numerous dolphin and other wildlife on the boat ride to the beach.

Looking at the beach we veered left and zipped to the chairs at the far end. They were away from others and near the restrooms and beach picnic tables.

Restaurants we dined at during our visit:

Cool Beans– Starbucks coffee and fresh bakery treats to garden salads and sandwiches on the go.
Tarpon Bay Restaurant– Our absolute favorite! My mouth is watering just thinking about the BASILICO dish (capellini pesto deliciousness).
Corkscrew– An outside restaurant for dining around the pool or at one of their umbrella tables.
Tanglewood– Offers a dinner buffet every weekday. We enjoyed this as an easy dinner one night when the kids were tired, and we wanted to eat at our own pace.
Coconut Jacks– You’ll have to drive to this one, but it is a fun getaway and your typical seafood joint with a nice patio overlooking water.
Big Hickory Fishing Nook Marina Restaurant– Another off-site spot, but somewhere I would recommend. The restaurant overlooks the gulf and is an actual boat dock that people motor over to for dinner. The food is A+ but I was disappointed they don’t offer frozen drinks.
Alberto’s on Fifth– Located off site in Naples, FL.

[Cool Beans]
[Cool Beans]

[Corkscrew seated dining behind me] [Swimsuit: Kate Spade]

The last day of our trip we decided to head over to Naples (a 30 min drive) for some shopping, dinner, and sunset at the Naples Fishing Pier.

It ended up being a DATE NIGHT at Alberto’s on Fifth!

[Naples Pier]

We’ll chalk this one up as a GREAT vacation and the perfect destination to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. Kids need the chance to make their own unscheduled, event-free fun from time to time—and moms need to build sand castles and indulge in nightly s’mores once in a while too. We’ll be back Bonita Springs!

Listening to live music from an event hosted at the hotel.