Hyatt Grand Cypress, Lake Buena Vista

The resorts in Orlando are like resorts in Hawaii! You can feel blissfully happy soaking up the tropical atmosphere. It's worth it to stay at a resort rather than just an ordinary hotel because it will add so much to your trip, and sometimes the cost is almost the same. Compare being in a plain-old hotel room looking at four walls with being at a resort lazing by the pool while waterfalls splash down over caves and your kids happily slide down the waterslide. Which would you rather be doing?!

One of my favorite resorts in Orlando is Hyatt Grand Cypress. What makes it unique is that there is so much nature around. The rooms have large windows and the outdoor area is astounding! You are charged a resort fee of $40 a night but it is worth it. There are a ton of activities to do, but the best of all is the bike riding. There are many bikes to choose from, including comfy beach cruisers, and bikes with toddler seats attached, and they supply the helmets for young kids. There are also surrey bikes (too hard to pedal) and bikes with attachments on the back for bigger kids to ride with you. Families can bike around the property beside a forest with Spanish moss, past beautiful open spaces and the lake. You have a huge, wide road all to yourself, mostly! It's wonderful and the whole family is in a good mood by the end! After your bike ride, have a turn at the rock-climbing wall! There are four different routes and they are quite difficult!
It's impossible to be unhappy at the gorgeous pool. Here, waterfalls splash over deep caves evoking an exotic feel. Kids, and adults, love to take the water slide over and over again! Sit on the pool chairs under swishing palm trees and have a meal from the bar. It's B-L-I-S-S!! My only complaint is that they don't heat the cave part of the pool so you can't swim inside the caves unless you don't mind 68 degree water. This is a real disappointment. Only a small section of the pool is heated. At night the pool looks absolutely gorgeous lit up and it's so romantic to sit on the pool chairs listening to the splash of the waterfalls. Magical for kids is the splash pad (near the hammocks on the lake) which is lit up at night in changing colors. It looks incredible, like hot lava volcano eruptions and then cool green shooting water, then pink, then blue, then purple...Kids gets so inspired as they dance around the colorful shooting water for an hour. There is a pedestrian rope bridge over the pool that is fun to walk across, and beautiful tropical gardens with sculptures and colorful flowers. Some of the huge trees have lanterns in them which look lovely at night. A fine white sand beach with hammocks is beside the lake, which has alligators! Stay close to your kids because of alligators, and don't let them wade in the water or sit too close to shore. 
The lobby is modern with a ceiling 18 floors high and it's super fun for kids to ride the glass elevator to the top. It's very fast and looks like you are going to crash when you are coming down toward the ground. Kids want to do this over and over again! And older kids like it just as much!
Don't book a room on the pool side on weekend nights if you want to get good sleep because last time we were there they had a band playing loudly until 11pm at night (not so good when you are bringing kids to Disney World at 8am the next day). I like the Buena Vista side with its expansive view of Orlando and all its forested areas.
If you have time one night, leave the hotel and eat at Bahama Breeze on Vineland Ave, a Caribbean restaurant with a giant outdoor patio where you can sit in a tropical setting and listen to a reggae musician playing a steel drum and singing. We eat here every time we go to Orlando because it's so fun! See link to Fort Myers branch for photos of what this restaurant looks like. 
For a counter-service breakfast place eight minutes drive from the hotel, with fresh healthy ingredients and nice big windows looking out on greenery, check out Panera Bread. Nearby, you can pick up supplies at the Publix supermarket.
When you run out of things to do at the resort, spend a day at Magic Kingdom!

Directions

The hotel is located at 1 Grand Cypress Blvd, Lake Buena Vista FL 32836.
Panera Bread, 8600 Vineland Ave, Orlando, FL 32821.

Click on map for interactive view