Amelia Island- Ritz Carlton
We did a family trip to the Amelia Island Ritz Carlton with our 1 year old for 4 days in October.
Check In: valet parking is required, our son got a little lion plushy though! We had asked about early check in the day before and were told we could book it for $120, which we did. The other family we were traveling with chose not to (we told them their daughter could nap in our room if need be) and their room was ready 3 hours early. So probably a waste of money but oh well!
Pool: waiters walk around to take your order for drinks and food. They do have a kids menu! Kids under 2 eat free. Very nice to not have to get the kids dressed and ready for lunch, and just have lunch poolside. There are coolers all over the pool deck with bottled waters on ice. They have towels available for you.
Beach: it’s a bit of a walk over the dunes- but oh my gosh it’s beautiful. You get 2 chairs and an umbrella and towels!
Coast: open breakfast lunch and dinner. Great offerings! Lots of egg free options at lunch and dinner which is great due to my son’s allergy.
Coquina: the food you order from the poolside servers come from here and was delicious. Corn tacos, market fish sandwich, Cuban, tuna bowl, all incredible.
Tidewater: a little overwhelming for our kids. TVs with sound on everywhere. They didn’t seem prepared when we asked for high chairs. Amazing food though! The desert trio was incredible, as were the Brussel sprouts.
Lobby Bar: my husband had some sushi and said it was delicious. They also have servers who walk around here, and live music!
Activities: we tried to rent bikes, and had some issues. It cost $50 to rent a bike with a child seat from their 3rd party they work with as they don’t provide them. The child seat we were given was soaking wet so our son wasn’t the most comfortable. The bike path were were directed to was along a highway so perhaps not ideal for someone with a small kid!
2 families with 1 year olds on slightly different nap schedules meant we didn’t leave the hotel much- we did 2 meals in downtown Fernandina at the Patio(amazing) and Salty Pelican (fine.)
Overall a nice stay! I know when traveling with kids I love to know stuff in advance so hopefully this helps someone out.