With luxurious beachfront properties, adrenaline-pumping theme park rides and a bevy of summer discounts, Florida is definitely for families.
Family-Friendly Activities
The 98-guestroom Acqualina Resort & Spa in Sunny Isles Beach invites families to the glistening shores of the Atlantic Ocean with the Family Escape package, featuring educational marine programs for young children, fun and physically challenging activities for teenagers, and relaxing spa treatments for adults. Only a few feet of the resort’s outdoor terrace will stand between your clients’ toes and Miami Beach when staying at this five-diamond resort— a Leading Hotels of the World member. This summer, Acqualina is offering a variety of onsite activities for the whole family, such as magic shows and balloon twister for kids, art and hip hop dance classes for teens, and tennis and golf for adults.
In addition, Acqualina has launched the Family Escape package, available through Oct. 1 with rates starting at $425 per night in an Intracoastal room, that includes daily access to the resort’s new Children’s Center, which offers educational marine-themed programming for children ages 5-12; access to the resort’s beachfront basketball and volleyball courts, soccer lawn, foosball and ping pong tables, and an oceanfront king-sized chess board; and a $40 spa credit for up to two adults to use towards a face or body treatment at the five-star Acqualina Spa by ESPA. Rates for guests who book one to three nights starts at $475 per night; for stays lasting four to seven nights rates start at $450 per night; and for stays lasting eight nights or longer, rates start at $425 per night. For more information, call (305) 918-8000 or visit acqualinaresort.com.
Family-Friendly Attractions
Families can vacation on their own terms with the help of an Adventure Ambassadors concierge at the 360-guestroom Reunion Resort in the heart of Orlando, Florida. The Reunion Resort’s Family Free-dom package, available through Dec. 20, 2016, offers complimentary resort amenities alongside tailored Adventure Tracks for guests who want to take advantage of Orlando’s local sites (Authentic Track), plethora of attractions (Theme Park Track) or indoor entertainment venues (Rainy Day Track). The resorts Adventure Ambassadors concierge will be on hand to guide families with maps and itineraries of a variety of Orlando events and attractions. For example, the Authentic Track’s proposed itinerary features Gatorland, the Harry P. Leu Gardens and the Green Meadows Petting Farm. The more daring Theme Park Track itinerary features all of the major theme parks—Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, Wet ’n Wild, etc.—plus Disney Springs, iDrive 360 and Universal CityWalk. Florida is nicknamed the Sunshine State, however for those days when the rain just won’t let up, guests can opt for the Rainy Day Track, featuring WonderWorks, the Orlando Eye and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
All Family Free-dom packages come with spacious Reunion Resort vacation home accommodations; complimentary access to the resort’s 5-acre waterpark, 10 pools and fitness center; complimentary range balls for golf; complimentary parking at the resort; and complimentary shuttle transportation across the resort. In addition, kids under the age of 12 eat free with their families at the Clubhouse and guests receive a $200 pre-paid gift card per 7-night stay to use towards dining, theme park parking, and souvenirs. While staying at the 2,300-acre resort, guests have access to a plethora of entertainment, including Jack Nicklaus-, Arnold Palmer- and Tom Watson-designed golf courses, multiple pools, slides, water playgrounds and a 1,000-ft. lazy river. A highlight for the entire family will be the resort’s chic restaurant Eleven, which features a rooftop pool and nightly views of the fireworks from nearby Walt Disney World. Rates for the Family Free-dom package start at $1,295 per week using promo code FREEDOM for a minimum of seven nights. The Adventure Track does not include attraction tickets, although an Adventure Ambassador can assist with booking or purchasing tickets. For more information, call (855) 421-1125 or visit reunionresort.com.
Family-Friendly Discounts
Traveling on vacation with the entire brood doesn’t have to spell disaster for your clients’ wallets. Several Florida hotels are offering summer savings, with some continuing into fall, for budget-conscious travelers. For instance, in Naples guests of the beachfront Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club (naplesbeachhotel.com) receive their third night free through Sept. 30 with rates starting at $289 per night on weekdays; $319 per night on weekends. At the 474-guestroom Naples Grande Beach Resort (naplesgrande.com), which features 29 Gulf View suites and 50 Bungalow suites, guests can take advantage of rates starting at $124 per night (up to 30 percent off regular room rates) on specific dates including July 31- Aug. 3; Aug. 7-10; Aug. 14-17; Aug. 21-24; and Aug. 28-31 when using the promo code HOTRATE.
In the vacation capital of Florida, ak.a. Orlando, your clients will have to act fast if they want to book the Orlando World Center Marriott’s (marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcowc-orlando-world-center-marriott) Summer Special offer, available through Sept. 6 for stays through Nov. 14, 2016. Rates start at $159 per night and guests who use the promo code SUM receive a $50 resort credit. The seven Disney Springs resort area hotels (disneyspringshotels.com) are having a Summer Salebration of their own with rates ranging from $72 per night at the Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista to $99 per night at B Resort & Spa, Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista and Holiday Inn located in the Walt Disney World Resort, for stays through Sept. 30. In South Florida, the 53-guestroom Chesterfield Palm Beach (chesterfieldpb.com) is running its own 3 Nights for the Price of 2 promotion throughout 2016, with rates starting at $185 per night on a maximum 9-night stay. Not to be left out, Miami’s Mondrian South Beach (morganshotelgroup.com/mondrian/mondrian-south-beach) is celebrating its recent acquisition by Menin Hospitality by offering rates starting at $149 (a 15 percent discount off the introductory rate) for guests who book through Sept. 30, 2016 using the promo code DSSEAS. Guests will also receive early check in, late check out, complimentary overnight valet parking, and access to all of the hotel’s upscale amenities, including the 4,000-sq.-ft. GUYandGIRL Spa, state-of-the-art Mondrian Gym, and the indoor/outdoor Mondrian Caffe.
