Grande Lakes Resort J.W. Marriot

by terri mchugh

This blog post is kindly sponsored by Grande Lakes Resort J.W.Marriot. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Having a family of five (soon to be six) means we are always on the hunt for travel destinations that have something for all ages. Believe it or not, that’s not an easy task! When I do happen to find places my entire family can enjoy, I hold onto these gems and share that wealth of knowledge and experiences with friends and family. That’s what I’m here to share with YOU today!

The Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando is a magical place. For those of you who may not know too much about this location, it happens to be Central Florida’s premier, multi-hotel resort. Anchored by The Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott luxury hotels, the resort offers tons of amenities, including spa treatments, championship golf, gourmet farm-to-table dining (so yummy), and world-class pools with new deluxe cabanas.

My family and I headed out there for our 2023 Spring Break and it exceeded our expectations. There was SO much for the kids to do. From enjoying the enormous pool with a lazy river to the newly renovated water park. They could not get enough of those water slides!

There’s also other fun experiences on the property for those younger kiddos like a sandy playground area. The J.W. Studio offers indoor video games stations, arcade games, scrabble, a schedule of daily crafts/ activities, plus outdoor pool tables and foosball tables. One of my kids favorite activities was the water obstacle course! They get harnessed in and are able to walk around a watery obstacle experience.

In my opinion, it’s the perfect balance of water fun and games/ entertainment. We looked forward to something new everyday! Honestly, there’s no need to visit the theme parks when you have all of this going on in just one place… but if you do happen to visit the nearby parks during your stay, it’s a great resort to come back to at the end of the day.

Now let’s talk about my favorite part, mostly because I’m currently five months pregnant 🙂 The dining is UNBELIEVABLE. So so yummy! I think I ordered a fruit platter every day we were there. The fresh cut fruit was just what we needed while we were poolside. You can order all kinds of snacks/ meals/drinks from the pool restaurant Knife Burger. All from the convenience of your phone and have it delivered to where ever you’re sitting at by the pool. You can also stop in an enjoy your meal at the restaurant. It’s outdoor, casual atmosphere is so relaxing. This is a covered space providing shade from the sun or rain, with ceiling fans which makes it so nice and breezy!

On our last day there, we had the pleasure of using one of the rentable cabanas for the day and it was incredible. We felt like royalty, haha. The cabana life is the life I was to live! No but seriously, it was great. We had resort staff come by and check on us every 10 minutes providing us with fresh towels, removing wet towels for us, a Knife Burger server who brought over meals from the restaurant. A fully stocked mini fridge with water, sodas, and my hubby’s favorite; Evian face mist. I highly recommend renting a cabana during your visit, it will enhance your pool experience in so many ways!

Being a Florida girl, I have visited many places in the Orlando area throughout the years and I have to say; of all the places I’ve seen, this resort is so special for families. Incredibly family friendly. So many kids! My kiddos made friends with a boy who was on vacation from Canada. I think those are the things that make these type of trips memorable.

For those wondering, it’s minutes from all the theme parks too! It was a quick 17 minute drive to Disney Springs, 10 minutes away from Sea World, etc… Definitely a central location just out of the way of all the hustle and bustle.

Be sure to add the J.W. Marriot Grande Lakes Resort to the top of the list of resorts to visit while in Orlando. This is a place you don’t want to miss out on, trust me!