I don’t know about you, but we desperately needed a break from reality this month. So, we hopped in our car and headed to Omni Amelia Island Resort. It was just what my family needed to disconnect from the world. Read on to find out why your family will love it, too!
Disconnect from The World with Your family at the Omni Amelia Island
As much as I love a good bustling family vacation loaded with theme parks and activities, right now just isn’t the right time for that. With everything going on in the world, we just wanted a nice and calm getaway. No crowds, no craziness. Just totally relaxing and, of course, safe.
We found all of that and more at the Omni Amelia Island Resort. We’ll get to my favorite moments from our getaway in a moment. First, though, since you can’t plan your own getaway there without knowing where it is, let’s go over that quickly.
Where is the Omni Amelia Island?
Omni Amelia Island Resort is, obviously, located on Amelia Island in Northeastern Florida. More specifically, it’s in the Fernandina Beach section of the island, right across from St. Marys River in Georgia. It’s only about a 45-minute drive from the heart of Jacksonville, for those flying in.
What is Amelia Island like?
Amelia Island is absolutely beautiful in every way, from the weather to the beaches to the friendly vibe. During the summer, expect 90-degree days with a few thunderstorms throughout the rainy months of August and September. In the winter, it stays around 65 degrees during the day. Not quite beach weather, but definitely warm enough to explore all Amelia Island has to offer.
With everything from arts centers to nature walks to a very cute downtown area loaded with local restaurants, it’s never hard to find something to do that everyone in your family will enjoy. It wasn’t very crowded, and everyone was just so nice. I noticed that they were all respectful of social distancing guidelines. Of course, the Omni has plenty to do right at the resort, too, if you’re not quite ready to venture out into the world much just yet.
Why stay at the Omni Amelia Island?
We spent four wonderful nights at the family-friendly Omni and loved every minute of it. The staff is absolutely wonderful, the atmosphere is very relaxed, and the views are just spectacular. The resort offers different suites and rooms designed for all families and budgets, from huge apartment-sized suites to smaller guest rooms (even those are super roomy). All rooms overlook the sea. Ours had a breathtaking view of both the pool and the ocean.
Regardless of which room you choose, you’ll find all the amenities your family needs. From Serta Pillow Top mattresses for a blissful night sleep to coffee makers with premium blends for the perfect morning, they really thought of everything. They even include amazing exclusive skin care products in the bathroom. Everything has a real modern beach vibe to it.
Given current events, there’s one more important thing to consider when booking a family vacation- cleanliness. Of course, we always want to stay in a clean place, but with the recent illness, it’s even more important. The Omni has a special Safe & Clean CDC-certified protocol in place to make sure your family stays safe. All employees wear masks and regularly disinfect everything, including the remote control in the room. We felt so safe and forgot about all the crazy stuff going on now for a few days.
Okay, now that we know a bit more about the resort itself, let’s get to the really fun stuff: activities and food!
Things to Do at the Omni Amelia Island
With so many fun things to do right at the resort, you don’t even have to leave the property to have a wonderful time. Take a look at our favorite activities.
Private Beaches and Poolside Fun
We spent a lot of time on the gorgeous beach and in the pool area. The Omni has a 3.5-mile private beach, so it’s never crowded. In fact, we basically had it all to ourselves most of the time. There’s plenty of room for everyone to sprawl out and keep their distance.
Along with beautiful beaches, the Omni has two huge heated pools plus a splash park. When we weren’t at the beach, you could usually find us hanging out at the pool. My kids loved having smoothies by the pool and we really enjoyed ordering the shrimp and calamari appetizer. Definitely give it a try. Shrimp is a local favorite.
The pools are only open from sunrise to sunset, but there’s actually a great reason for that. Amelia Island is home to several sea turtle species who make their way there from May through October to nest. The sea turtles need low lighting, and the resort is very respectful of local sea life. You may even catch a glimpse of some during your strolls around the property.
Mini golf
Along with two first-class regular golf courses, the Omni offers a mini golf course for families. Heron’s Cove, named after the island’s signature bird, sits beneath a gorgeous shaded live oak canopy. The 18 nautical-themed holes are just so much fun for all ages. Since it is a “pay to play” activity, if your family really loves golfing, I recommend grabbing the family pack.
Bike rides
Get some exercise and see the sights by renting bikes and heading onto 7 miles of outstanding paths. It’s such a calm and relaxing activity. The trails take you past some of the resort’s neatest spots, like Aury Island and Walker’s Landing. Grab a map to hit the hot spots or just explore on your own and see where the ride takes you. Just stop by Amelia’s Wheels to grab your cycles. They also have Segways, baby joggers and more.
Nature trails
Omni Amelia Island Resort has some of the most beautiful nature trails in Florida. We really enjoyed walking them and exploring. Make sure you stop by the Nature Center and grab all of your exploring needs. They even have a neat Build-A-Turtle station so your kids can make their own Tanner the Turtle.
Other fun family-friendly activities include:
- Arts and crafts by the pool for the kids
- Tennis courts
- The Sprouting Project, where you can blend your own hot sauces and more.
- Camp Amelia, with interactive excursions for kids from ages 4-10
- Family campfires complete with s’mores
- “Dive-in Movies” in the pool area
Omni Amelia Island Dining Options
After all that fun, you’ll definitely work up an appetite. Good thing, too, because the Omni Amelia Island has some amazing eats! A couple of the dining options are currently closed due to current events until further notice, but don’t worry, there are still plenty open.
Our absolute favorite was breakfast at Marché Burette. We ate there every morning. All of the ingredients are super high-quality and fresh, plus the coffee was amazing. It’s a very casual and relaxed deli/café/market-style eatery. After breakfast, shop their selection of groceries and even wines from local farms and treat artisans.
Other dining options include:
- Bob’s Steak and Chop House- A lively restaurant that really focuses on making you feel like a regular. It’s a great place to grab steak and seafood.
- Oceanside – Casual enough for flip-flops by day and classy upscale dining by night.
- Falcon’s Nest- Perfect if you’re in the mood for pub food. You can even build your own burger.
- Natural Slice– A pizza joint with a surf-inspired twist, they only use fresh ingredients.
- Seaglass– Open only to registered guests (not the public), this is the place to be if you want to grab a cocktail and sit on the patio.
- Sprouting Projects Dinner– A true farm-to-table meal, most (if not all) of the ingredients come from the Sprouting Project on the resort’s property. While it’s a pricier meal, it’s actually a whole dinner event, complete with tours of the greenhouse and garden.
You can also just order pizza, and have it delivered to the room or sit in one of the outdoor tables by the pool or beach with your own bottle of wine (which you bring from home or grab at their market). So nice!
While we found plenty to eat at the resort, there are tons more dining options just a 15-minute ride away downtown. Oh, and of course they completely sanitize the tables before you sit down.
Overall, we had an incredibly relaxing family getaway. The Omni Amelia Island is the perfect place to disconnect and relax, something that I think we all need more of right now.
Thank you to the Omni Amelia Island Resort for hosting our wonderful stay! Check out their website to book your tranquil family getaway.
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