Amelia Island, FL
"Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax" - Unknown
Amelia Island (AI) is the northernmost barrier island on Florida's Atlantic coast and is located 45 minutes north of Jacksonville. Chris and I discovered AI on an anniversary trip five years ago and thought it would be a great place to come back to with the girls. The four of us have been coming back every year since. It's become a special place for us and is our go-to destination when we want an easy and relaxing long weekend away together. We always stay at the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island. The standard rooms here include one king bed and a queen pull-out which is super convenient for our family of four. The resort is situated oceanfront on a beautiful beach and is elegant and luxurious but not stuffy or pretentious. It is exactly what you would expect from the Ritz Carlton brand - luxe comfort, exceptional customer service, and five-star amenities. Highly recommend visiting in April, May, or October. The weather is usually picture-perfect and you'll avoid a lot of the crowds.
We like to spend 3-4 nights at the resort and our days tend to look something like: beach, pool, cocktails (for mom & dad), beach. Repeat. We typically start our day at the First Drop coffee shop for a quick breakfast and coffee and the kids always ask to lunch at Coquina (the poolside bar and restaurant) each day. A dinner reservation is a must one evening at Salt, our favorite restaurant in AI which conveniently located onsite at the Ritz. And don't miss the evening tradition at the Ritz Lobby Bar called "first call" that features a custom house-infused bourbon made available daily from 5pm until it's gone. We often grab cocktails here (a "first call" for Chris, champagne margarita for me, shirley temples for the girls) and many times we order dinner and make a night of it. The sushi menu here is awesome and there is live music nightly so we find ourselves a cozy corner with a game or books and hang out until we're ready to call it a night. Because we enjoy these evenings so much, our girls have started to tell us that they "love a good lobby bar" when we travel - ha. The resort's Tidewater Grill is also good for a super casual and easy kid-pleaser type of dinner spot.
We typically rent a car when we travel to AI, but it's not totally necessary if you are just doing a short trip and don't plan to leave the resort. The Ritz does have a complimentary Mercedes you can borrow (first-come, first-serve) if you want to leave the resort grounds and explore the area. Downtown Fernandina is only a ten minute drive away and is the Island's main spot for restaurants, shops, bars etc. We have visited the downtown area many times to grab dinner, ice cream, play mini golf, or just wander and explore. It's quaint and super walkable - no super memorable restaurants here for us, but it is a nice change of scenery for when you want to get off resort grounds. We have also visited Fort Clinch State Park nearby which features hiking trails and a historic Civil War fort.
We were lucky enough during a couple of our visit to witness the annual AI sea turtle hatchling release. It's pretty easy to see evidence of sea turtles like nesting sites from May to October, with the best visibility during hatchling releases in July to September.
And last but not least, I can personally vouch for the resort's Spa. It's top-notch. There is an adults-only pool adjacent to the spa which I've snuck away to a few times after my treatment for some extra R&R while Chris and the kids do something fun together. Also worth mentioning that the the fitness center was newly renovated and is five-star now. It was the one part of the resort that needed some love and it got it.
Already looking forward to booking our next long weekend away here. The girls continue to say it is their favorite place to go as a family and I can totally see why. It's really one of those spots for us that will never disappoint.
some photos courtesy of Ritz Carlton Amelia Island
