Orlando may not be the first place that comes to mind for luxury resort destinations, but Grande Lakes Orlando makes a strong case for itself. Spread across 500 acres, it’s the kind of place where you can happily spend an entire stay without ever feeling the need to leave, even with Disney World just around the corner. There lies a surprisingly natural side of Central Florida embodied here, where you can kayak through wetlands alongside alligators, explore bike trails, try falconry, or dine on ingredients harvested right from the resort’s own farm. It makes you forget you’re in one of America’s busiest tourism hubs.

Grande Lakes is a natural fit for families, but it never feels exclusively geared towards them. You’re just as likely to spot a corporate retreat as you are a girls’ weekend, which is exactly what brought us here.

The Property

Sitting squarely 15 minutes from Orlando International Airport and 20-minutes from Walt Disney World, some might say Grande Lakes has nestled itself into the perfect location.

The resort is home to two distinct properties: a 582-room Ritz-Carlton and a staggering 1,010-room JW Marriott hotel – the latter a natural choice for conferences. The two are connected by an indoor concourse and a network of winding sidewalks, making the walk between them an easy 10 minutes. Better yet, guests at either hotel get access to the amenities across both properties. The result is a resort that feels almost limitless, with more restaurants, pools, activities and experiences than most could fit into a weekend.

The Rooms

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton, where we stayed, are somewhere between contemporary and upscale. Every room comes with a private balcony, along with a large 65-inch television and enough conveniently placed charging ports to keep every device powered. A woven rattan cabinet discreetly houses the Nespresso machine, and evenings end with turndown service and the hotel’s signature chocolate waiting on your pillow. The all-marble bathroom felt especially spacious, with dual sinks, a separate toilet area, plenty of hooks for your bathing suits, and enough counter space to comfortably spread out all our makeup. A soaking tub sat apart from the walk-in shower, while details like Marvis toothpaste and plush terry robes added to the luxury.

The Dining

Orlando is home to an unexpectedly vibrant culinary scene, and Grande Lakes is a microcosm of it. Whether you’re craving Southern comfort fare, fresh seafood, or rustic Italian, the resort’s dozen or so restaurants deliver beyond what you’d expect from a theme park destination. At no point did it feel like we were dining at a hotel. Every meal was marked by local ingredients and creative presentation, leaving us eager to try each spot.

By far the highlight of our eats was dinner at Knife & Spoon, a Michelin recommended steak and seafood restaurant in the heart of the resort. Get a little dolled up for the occasion, the space sits somewhere between trendy and elegant. The kitchen pulls from locally sourced ingredients and its open design puts everything on full display, from raw and lightly chilled seafood to cuts of beef ranging from 45-day to an impressive 240-day dry-aged.

We began with the Crab Rice and the Knife Steak Tartare, before moving onto our main event: the Dayboat Catch, a beautifully prepared red snapper served over a lentil-cauliflower purée in a green curry that did in fact feel like a comforting bowl of Thai. Along the way, expect a few playful amuse-bouches and well-timed touches. The staff are knowledgeable without being overbearing, and the wine list is expansive enough to impress seasoned drinkers. We managed to snag glasses of a Bordeaux Grand Cru, that rarely, if ever, makes it onto a by-the-glass list elsewhere.

Poolside, the menu is bite-sized and will confirm your decision to never leave the water. The Blackened Fish Tacos are a must, topped with a mango salsa and a creamy avocado-lime finish. The salads hold their own as well, our favorite being the Watermelon Salad, featuring a jicama, tajin and goat cheese smear. To drink, the Pricky Pear Margarita blends reposado tequila and Grand Marnier with a pricky pear purée, resulting in something dangerously smooth and far too easy to keep ordering.

Breakfast found us at Highball & Harvest, a Southern-comfort spot that runs through all three meals. We leaned into the Southern part of this menu wholeheartedly, with an order of both cornbread waffles and the poached eggs on buttermilk biscuits. And yes, the bacon is extra crispy. Just as memorable as the food was the service, warm and unrushed, Southern in the best way possible.

Elsewhere around the property, you’ll find Primo, an Italian restaurant where the decadent Lobster Cacio e Pepe and Braised Beef Cheek were equal winners. Primo’s offerings comes about as close to farm-to-table as it gets. Everything from the Kaffir lime to the lemon verbena are grown right on-site at Whisper Creek Farm, the resort’s own 18,000-square-foot organic garden, while much of the seafood is sourced locally from Florida waters and whole pigs, chickens and ducks arrive from nearby farms with long-standing ties to the resort.

We spent a few hours with Farmer Leslie, the woman responsible for keeping the gardens thriving.

“I always wish I could tell every visitor that we’ve been planting your meal for a year”

…she says to me laughing as we walked amongst fields of her herbs. “We’ve spent months growing and harvesting for the ingredients that end up on your plate. Once you meet the people behind your food, it changes the way you think about it. Most people don’t realize how much effort and care goes into every meal.” Don’t leave without the Farmer Salad, a dish that puts the garden’s own harvest front and center.

The Amenities

The pool experience itself is one of Grande Lakes’ biggest draws. Over at the JW Marriott, a winding lazy river connects multiple pools, weaves through waterfalls, tropical landscaping and hidden alcoves that make the entire area feel like a waterpark designed for adults or families. Meanwhile, the Ritz-Carlton is equipped with complimentary SPF 50 sunscreen and aloe stations poolside. In other words, all you really need is your bathing suit and a good book.

We happily spent an entire day at one of the poolside cabanas. These ones are semi-private, sheltered from the outside world but open enough to socialize once the margaritas are flowing. Each cabana comes equipped with a daybed, T.V., and even a stocked mini-fridge, making it incredibly easy to lose track of time.

Back on dry land, Grande Lakes Sports exists almost like its own self-contained world. Beyond the pools and waterslides, the resort offers an impressive lineup of outdoor activities. From kayaking and fishing lessons to falconry experiences and guided nature tours through the wetlands, there’s no shortage of ways to stay occupied.

Early one Sunday morning, we grabbed kayaks as part of an eco-tour excursion. In a scene that felt somewhere between The Notebook and The Jungle Book, we kayaked through the glassy, swamp-lined waters, gliding past alligators basking just below the surface. A Great Blue Heron kept us company, as we made our way down the Florida Everglades. The animals kept to themselves, something our guide attributed to the area’s strict no-feeding policies. And while it (thankfully) wasn’t in our cards that Sunday, you might even catch a glimpse of Toby, the area’s legendary 14-foot alligator on your visit.

Golfers can tee off on the 18-hole championship course, home to the annual PNC Championship, while complimentary bicycles are available to guests who want to cycle through the miles of trails that wind through the property. Pickleball, bocce ball, and table tennis provide a few more ways to spend an afternoon. And for those seeking the opposite of activity, the 40,000-square-foot spa offers just about anything you need to unwind.

There are surprises all over the hotel, and the longer you stay, the more of them you seem to uncover. One rainy evening, before our dinner reservation, we wandered into a magic show by Drew Thomas, a former America’s Got Talent contestant who blends illusions with plenty of humor, often incorporating members of his own traveling magician family into the act.

The Verdict

Grande Lakes is a winner in our books because it offers much more than a place to sleep between theme park visits. With two luxury resorts and enough activities to fill a weekend, it reveals a side of Orlando that most visitors never see – one defined as much by wetlands, heartfelt hospitality, premier dining, and outdoor adventure as it is by pools and resort living.