JW Marriott Orlando (Part 1): My Family Loved It

HOTEL GUESTS -Who stayed at the JW Marriott Orlando
Mom, Dad, very energetic three and one-year old kids, and Grandma in two connecting rooms (one with king bed, small sofa-bed, desk; second room with two double beds and desk) stayed at the JW Marriott in Orlando for six nights. We chose it because it’s removed from the Disney hotels and International Drive’s hotel row and traffic.

HOTEL DESCRIPTION
It's a large luxury hotel with 1,000+ rooms and suites, pools, spa, fitness center and golf course. Situated on 500 acres and a lake, it's popular with business travelers and families. The JW Marriott shares the grounds with the Ritz-Carlton Orlando next door (Marriott guests have full privileges at the Ritz-Carlton).

UPSIDES – Why we loved the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes…

• Top-notch children’s activities, so good that we skipped two days we originally planned to be at theme parks
• Large pool area with a winding “lazy river” and a zero entry area at the river’s entrance
• Separate toddler pool with a delightful resident crocodile (FREE swim diapers are available at the pool’s shop, Caribbean Soul)
• Hotel location is a great buffer from theme-park mania (2 miles to SeaWorld, 10 miles to Disney World)
• FREE shuttles to Universal Studios and SeaWorld (we used the shuttles to avoid parking hassles and fees)
• FREE breakfast/brunch buffet at onsite Citron for children under six
• Very comfy beds and soft, crisp bedding (duvets, no hotel bedspreads!) and FREE cribs
• Roomy marble bathrooms with separate shower and bathtub; Laptop-sized in-room safes
• Radios with nature sounds (the ocean sounds lulled my son to sleep every night)
• Lush tropical gardens with beautiful birds and other wildlife (my son used his binoculars to spot birds during our lakeside walks)

NOTE: We had reservations for the Ritz-Carlton Orlando for the last two nights, but cancelled after we saw the rooms and property features at both hotels. (The Ritz-Carlton’s rooms were larger but the JW Marriott had more kids onsite, a better pool area, and was cheaper by almost $150/night. The Ritz-Carlton does have special “children’s suites” and a separate kids’ check-in area and a welcome gift for children.)