Esteemed Florida resort destination celebrates the completion of a multi-year renovation and reintroduces tailored, bookable group experiences

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Grande Lakes Orlando, the 500-acre luxury resort destination set at the headwaters of the Florida Everglades, has completed a transformative, multi-year renovation of its meeting and event spaces across both The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes and JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes. The award-winning resort destination is home to the #1 and #2 Best Hotels in Orlando, as recognized by Condé Nast Traveler.

Complementing its newly enhanced meeting venues, Grande Lakes Orlando offers an extensive portfolio of elevated group experiences designed to inspire connection, collaboration, and celebration. From rejuvenating wellness retreats and exceptional culinary programming to championship golf tournaments and guided eco-adventures through the resort’s pristine natural surroundings, every experience can be customized to meet a group’s unique objectives. Dedicated event planning professionals and comprehensive on-site support ensure each gathering is flawlessly executed from start to finish.

Guests can enjoy luxurious accommodations, legendary service, world-class dining, an award-winning spa, championship golf, outdoor adventures, and distinctive seasonal programming. Whether hosting an executive retreat, incentive trip, corporate conference, or social gathering, Grande Lakes Orlando delivers thoughtfully curated experiences that foster meaningful connections and create lasting memories.

The Grande Reveal: A New Era of Meeting Spaces
In recent years, Grande Lakes has undergone meaningful renovations to both hotels. Inspired by the surrounding beauty of Florida, these renovations mark the culmination of a resort-wide transformation that began with guest rooms and now brings a bright, refined sensibility to group gathering areas across the property. True to The Ritz-Carlton brand, the Orlando hotel brings forth airy, bespoke meeting services across its diverse ballroom and indoor and al fresco event spaces.

Similarly, the JW Marriott Orlando features elevated convention space with sophisticated design ballrooms, breakout rooms and outdoor venues. The elegant event spaces at Grande Lakes encompass more than 169,000 square feet of space, with venues tailored to every occasion – whether a property-wide group buyout, lavish gala, intimate executive retreat or board meeting in one of the resort’s 56 breakout rooms.

Curated Adventure: Bespoke Group Experiences
Groups at Grande Lakes are invited to enjoy bespoke experiences designed to delight, inspire, and connect. Golf lovers can choose from half-day private golf tournaments led by knowledgeable professional forecaddies and twilight glow golf on the 18-hole championship Greg Norman golf course—both ideal for networking, team building, and simply having fun. For those seeking water-based entertainment, options include wakeboarding clinics, guided paddleboard and kayak experiences, and luxury cabana pool days. Adventure seekers can explore the lush property grounds through an energetic mix of friendly competition and casual fun, including archery, pickleball, biking tours, and scenic 5Ks. One experience that may be new to guests is laserskeet, a fun and interactive skeet-shooting experience using harmless infrared “shots,” with guidance from the Grande Lakes Golf Team. Additionally, a thoughtfully curated selection of group fitness experiences allows up to 100 guests at a time to participate in dynamic movement, outdoor strength training, guided meditation, and immersive sound healing, all designed to inspire balance, vitality, and well-being.

Beyond the resort’s active offerings, groups can immerse themselves in the natural beauty of Grande Lakes through guided eco tours along Shingle Creek, catch-and-release fly-fishing experiences led by expert instructors, sunrise safaris offering wildlife encounters across the 500-acre property, and mountain biking through scenic forest trails. For a truly unique experience, guests can participate in a hands-on falconry program, learning about birds of prey before taking to the field alongside an expert falconer. Groups can also connect through immersive culinary experiences, from hands-on pasta and pizza-making classes at MICHELIN Recommended, Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Primo to curated grazing board and wine-pairing experiences led by a Primo sommelier. At Highball & Harvest, groups can discover the stories and techniques behind signature cocktails with a specialty mixologist, complemented by charcuterie and the restaurant’s famous Southern spread.

Seasonal and resort programming gives groups even more ways to gather, from exclusive winter ice-skating and fireside lounge buyouts on the Da Vinci Lawn to private Oasis Fireside Lounge experiences at the JW Marriott, complete with cabanas, daybeds, plunge pools, and a firepit. For a more elevated poolside escape, The Ritz-Carlton Cabana Experience offers exclusive access to the Solaire Pool, private cabanas, and plush daybeds, creating an effortless setting for groups to relax, connect, and celebrate.

Moreover, groups may gather around the resort’s distinctive culinary offerings, from elegant receptions in the JW Primo Garden, surrounded by fresh herbs and greenery, to the Taste of Grande Lakes, which brings together signature dishes from the resort’s acclaimed restaurants in one open-air experience. For smaller groups, the Art of Kobe offers an intimate five-course dinner featuring authentic Kobe beef, a live cooking demonstration, and sommelier-led wine pairings for an elevated evening of culinary discovery.

Wellness Redefined: Group Retreats and Mindful Escapes
Wellness takes center stage at the 40,000-square-foot Ritz-Carlton Spa. Groups seeking deep connection and rejuvenation can enjoy immersive yoga retreats, mindful nature immersions, sunrise yoga and meditation, tai chi and aromatherapy classes. Unique treatments are available for guests including Aescape, a fully customizable, technology-driven massage where the Aertable uses advanced sensors to map and understand the body’s unique contours and tension spots; Ammortal Chamber, a high-tech wellness pod that combines red light, sound, vibration, breathwork, and hydrogen/oxygen, to accelerate physical recovery and shift the nervous system into a restorative state; and Cryotherapy, exposing the body to extremely cold temperatures to stimulate natural recovery, energy, and mood-boosting systems.

Elevated Entertainment: Endless Options for Every Group
For groups, the fun may never stop as they are invited to participate in countless entertainment offerings on-site. Visitors can enjoy the resort’s leading Magic Show with acclaimed magician and America’s Got Talent finalist, Drew Thomas, and his award-winning colleagues. Grande Lakes also has an exclusive partnership with Corsa HQ, wherein guests can rent high-end vehicles during their stay, including Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, and more. Additionally, an exclusive space-themed package is bookable with Kennedy Space Center, offering guests a one-day, concierge-guided adventure via EC-130 helicopter, where they can partake in NASA tours, immersive attractions, a scenic luncheon with expert talks, and a celebratory champagne toast. For families, Ritz Kids offers a supervised drop-off program for children ages 4-12, featuring age-appropriate activities, interactive play and meals while parents enjoy the resort’s other offerings. Groups can also enjoy customizable Coastal Wake excursions, combining sightseeing and watersports with private captains, professional wakeboarding and surf coaches, and equipment.

Seasonal programming awaits groups as they can take full advantage of the resort’s existing seasonal special events to complement your program. ‘Summer by the Lake’ offers an Oasis experience where you can host an outdoor event and complement it with existing Saturday night fireworks experiences.  Fall guests can partake in ‘Fall at Grande Lakes’ with fall crafts, laser skeet shooting, canoeing, and more, while the winter season brings a real-ice skating rink and the return of the resort’s renowned Christmas Market.  The Christmas Market and ice rink can be used to elevate a group outing as an exclusive event. 

More information can be found at grandelakes.com. Images of the resort can be found here.

About Grande Lakes Orlando:
Hidden in the heart of Orlando, Grande Lakes sits on 500 lush acres at the headwaters of the Florida Everglades. The resort features a 582-room Ritz-Carlton, 1,010-room JW Marriott hotel, the 40,000-square-foot Ritz-Carlton spa as well as three picture-perfect pools. The Ritz-Carlton Golf & Tennis Club, which hosts the PNC Championship, includes an 18-hole Greg Norman-designed championship golf course. A dozen celebrated dining venues throughout include Knife & Spoon, a steak and seafood restaurant led by award-winning chef John Tesar, and Primo, Mediterranean/Italian fare by multiple James Beard award-winning chef Melissa Kelly, a leader in the farm-to-fork movement. Grand Lakes restaurants source fresh ingredients from Whisper Creek Farm, an on-property 18,000-square-foot working farm, as well as on-site apiaries. The resort features a wide array of additional activities: kayaking, eco-tours on Shingle Creek, falconry, mountain biking and fishing school. Conference and meeting attendees have their pick of meeting space options located across 150,000 square feet plus more than 100,000 square feet of outdoor space. Grande Lakes is located 15 minutes from the Orlando International Airport, five minutes from the Orange County Convention Center and minutes from the major theme parks.

For more information about Grande Lakes and its group offerings, please visit www.grandelakes.com.

Follow Grande Lakes Orlando @grandelakesorlando on Instagram and grandelakesorlando on Facebook. Also, The Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott on Twitter @RC_Orlando and @JW_Orlando, Instagram @ritzcarltonorlando and @jwmorlando and Facebook ritzcarltonorlando and jwmarriottorlando.

For more information, visit www.grandelakes.com.

Media Contact:
The Brandman Agency
Andrew Cosenza
grandelakesorlando@brandmanagency.com

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SOURCE Grande Lakes Orlando