By Samantha Chapnick
"The lazy river!" That was my daughter’s response when asked her favorite part of our 11-day Orlando vacation.
Some time later she added others, but the lazy river at the Omni Orlando Resort clearly stood out for her.
The Omni’s pool area was a main highlight for me too, despite some
steep competition among our other Orlando vacation highlights, including living with zebras and giraffes at the
Animal Kingdom Lodge at Disney World, seeing young girls working Diabolos at La Nouba,
the Cirque du Soleil show at Disney World, the playground in Lake Eola park, the pool slide at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa,
and almost having dinner with Anthony Bourdain.
The Omni’s pool area was great for our family vacation because it has something for everyone: an elegant
adult-only pool with cabanas that rent for a comparatively reasonable
$110/day; a zero-entry kids pool; a large slide; a water fountain
feature; a hot tub with a waterfall kids love to stand in, and the
aforementioned lazy river.
The landscaping was a nice change from most hotel pool areas. Cypress
trees separate the hot tub from the zero-entry pool, extensive shrubs
create a nice private niche behind the kids pool (not too private, but
just slightly more quiet), and tall palms lend some tropical atmosphere.