Ritz-Carlton ??s

[wintergreen]

We are going to Orlando a day earlier than originally planned in July, so DH said he wanted to stay at the Ritz-Carlton our first night (how could I refuse?). We booked a golf package so that DH and I can have a bit of Mommy and Daddy Time before hitting WDW for a week. For anyone who has ever stayed here before, I have a couple of questions.

1) Which restaurant should we eat at for dinner? DDs are 9 and 11. Norman's looks great to me, but are (well-behaved) kids welcome?

2) We are going to subject the kids to the Ritz Kids Camp, even though they are getting a bit too old for this kind of thing (unless they tell us that they would rather play 18 holes of golf). Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks for any other thoughts that you can give me as well.

By the way, I thought that the rates being quoted were amazingly low for a property like this.

 

[UKDEB]

DH said he wanted to stay at the Ritz-Carlton our first night (how could I refuse?)

It would be churlish not to! You won't be disappointed with your choice! We love the Ritz-Carlton. Norman's is fabulous (we've eaten there twice), but it really isn't a place for kids, IMHO. Yes, they'd be welcome, but I'm not sure that they (or you) would enjoy it.

I was pleasantly surprised with the 'standard' restaurant - The Vineyard Grill. We also love Fairways (the golf clubhouse) for lunch. Primo at the JW Marriott next door (easy walking distance) might be a good compromise - upscale enough for adults, but less formal for family dining.

Can't help you with the Kids Camp (our girls are 21 and 18), but you can use the pool at the JW Marriott, which includes a lazy river.

What's the Wintergreen/Virginia connection? We flew into DC last April, then drove down through the Appalachians/Blue Ridge Parkway, onto Charleston and Savannah and then to Orlando. We considered staying at the Wintergreen Resort, but eventually opted for a log cabin in Boone.

I'm with you on the champagne, btw - my favourite drink! Well, that and margaritas.

 

[wintergreen]

Thanks for the response, UKDEB! We are really looking forward to this trip. DH was convinced by the golf. I'll look at the Marriott website to check out the restaurants at the JW.

On the Wintergreen thing, we have a vacation home at the resort. It is a great place, if you ever have a chance to be back out this way!

Champagne, margaritas, caiparinhas . . . I could go on and on!