ORLANDO, Fla. – With Orlando attracting millions of visitors each year, there are plenty of hotel and resort options – nearly 500 – to choose from, but one is offering something the others can’t: the beach.
The $1.5 billion Evermore Resort, located just a few miles from Walt Disney World property, opened Jan. 1 and is home to Orlando’s only artificial lagoon. Lined with acres of white sand beaches, guests can swim, kayak and paddleboard in the 16-million-gallon Evermore Bay, which is eight feet deep at the center and has several zero-entry points.
Chris Kelsey, president of Dart Interests and the resort’s developer, says there are just 80 to 85 of these crystal lagoons in the entire world.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
“We think of it as Orlando’s first beachside paradise,” Kelsey said. “We’re situated in over 1,000 acres and up against the entire lakes and wetland system, so you’re really kind of isolated in here in this very lush landscape. You feel like when you drive through the entry, you’ve kind of entered an entirely different realm. That’s the oasis experience that we are keenly trying to create.”
Throughout the resort’s tropical aesthetic, you’ll find a diverse range of accommodations, including five-to-11-bedroom vacation homes, four-bedroom apartment-style flats, and two-to-four-bedroom villas, which were formerly known as the Villas of Grand Cypress.
Two weeks ago, another addition to the resort’s lineup opened: Orlando’s first Conrad hotel. Danny Hughes, president of Hilton’s Americas region, called the 433-room luxury hotel the flagship of the Conrad brand in the Americas.
“Having this hotel, which is unique and special and truly, I think, groundbreaking, in a destination that’s now emerging as genuinely one of the world’s great business and leisure destinations is just unbelievable,” he said. “I have five children, so I know there’s a lot that goes on at the theme parks. It’s magical, but it’s exhausting as well, and to be able to come to a true oasis where you can relax, but your kids still have a thousand different things to do, is just special.”
With four different stay options at one resort, it opens the door for groups and families to stay under the same roof without the negatives a traditional vacation rental can bring. The homes, villas and flats all come with full kitchens and laundry rooms.
“Grandpa and grandma may want to bring the adult children and all of the grandkids to a place,” Kelsey said. “The balance between the Conrad as the anchor, but then these larger format accommodations to capture that trend and provide the opportunities for that type of travel, we think, provides a really healthy blend.”
Leaders also believe the resort will be an economic driver for Central Florida. Some 800 permanent jobs have been created property-wide with half of them being Hilton employees.
“Not only are we creating economic activity for the team members who work here, you can multiply the benefits ten times that,” Hughes said. “All of the people who are supplying our food and beverage, the Uber drivers, the taxi drivers, everybody benefits when you open a hotel like this.”
The resort also features 15 restaurants, a boat house venue for events and weddings, cabana rentals, a water slide, and two 18-hole golf courses that were designed by Jack Nicklaus.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: