Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld - PHOTOS
The SeaWorld Orlando Resort includes some of the best attractions to be found anywhere. With one major theme park, a beautiful water park, and a very special all-inclusive natural park there's definitely something to do for everyone. That being said, the SeaWorld Orlando Resort as a whole has always had three major issues:
- Even though it has multiple parks in the same area, they are not connected with each other;
- There's not a proper shopping district attached to any of the parks (the third-party gas stations and restaurants outside the parks are not connected to each other);
- Lastly, there's not an official SeaWorld Orlando hotel, even though there were/are plans to fill this void.
Regarding this last problem, we are sure you are aware of the fact that there are actually a few unofficial hotels located all around the themed resort, and especially one of them stands out as being one of the nicest in the area. We are talking about the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld, a Marriott hotel. Despite the fact that it is not SeaWorld's hotel (and therefore it doesn't share the same theme of the rest of the SeaWorld Orlando Resort), the interior areas and the Guest areas in general look very nice. Let's take a quick look inside:
The hotel is located right in front of SeaWorld Orlando's parking lot, and is clearly visible when inside the park:
The valet parking drop-off area
The hotel's entrance:
The lobby area:
But the real star of the hotel is the atrium:
It may not be as beautiful as the main atrium of the Gaylord Palms, but it is certainly a nice place:
Some snack bars, restaurants, and shops:
Very luxurious place:
Of course, SeaWorld Parks are advertised here and there:
Of course, SeaWorld Parks are advertised here and there:
The pool area:
A view of the pool from above (it is actually a picture of a picture):
And that's all. Let' head back home now...
As you can see, even though we hope to see an official SeaWorld Orlando hotel in the near future, we can definitely say that the Renaissance Orlando hotel would definitely be a great choice when staying near SeaWorld.
You may be interested to know that SeaWorld used to have a nighttime district known as Florida Festival. The park closed traditionally at 5:00, so this area was meant as a way to keep guests entertained after park closing. (the name FF to it's Team Members still exists today, as does the road running along side the Renaissance Resort) HBJ closed the area back in 1985. A year or so later, the area reopened, minus the "tents" as A Place To Meet, which was a convention area that actually was connected by a covered walkway to the hotel. SeaWorld opened the area in 1979, just a few years after The Marketplace opened in LBV. The area is what is now the HR building and parking lot.
ReplyDeleteWhen AB took over the former HBJ parks, the Stouffer Resort (now the Renaissance Resort) was included and SeaWorld owned the land beneath, as well as a 50% interest. Even though AB had experience in resorts, they decided to get out of that particular business as AB/InBev was preparing to divest its interests in the parks.
Here's a link to a picture of what it used to look like.
http://swampysflorida.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012-0405-OrCo-FloridaFestival-PC.jpg
Thank you so much for your very interesting comment, Jeff! We never knew about the existence of the Florida Festival! It's such a shame that they don't think about doing something similar (but better) today. Maybe after Antarctica they may start at least thinking about that... We'll see.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for sharing that with us!