Central Florida’s new $1.5 billion Evermore Orlando Resort to open next to Disney
Walt Disney World is about to get a $1.5 billion neighbor resort, Evermore Orlando Resort, that aims to take the vacation home business into a new level of luxury and sophistication.
Texas-based Dart Interests has announced the creation of the 1,100-acre mega-resort, an imaginative development of upscale hotel, villas, and flats (apartments) right on Disney’s doorstep that will feature a grand 20-acre tropical beach complex and crystal lagoon.
The resort will be anchored by a 433-room Conrad Hotel—which will compete with the five-star Four Seasons Hotel just a few miles away on Disney property—but also offer an extensive mix of hundreds of mansion-esque villas, family-style vacation homes and flats that provide a total of 10,000 bedrooms.
The first phase of 1,500 bedrooms will open in 2023, and the rest of the massive resort will be built in several phases over the next five to six years.
Evermore Orlando Resort effectively takes over from the Villas of Grand Cypress and the Grand Cypress Golf Club, which dates back to 1984, on the eastern edge of Walt Disney World. The golf club originally consisted of 45 holes, including a Jack Nicklaus-designed 18-hole links-style New Course.
Dart bought the golf club in 2012 and added almost 1,200 extra acres in adjacent land more recently. Now they are ready to create one of the biggest resort complexes in Florida, in a style that they claim will be “an entirely new hospitality category that will change the landscape of vacation rental homes.”
The full extent of the resort will feature:
- Houses – 5- to 11-bedroom vacation homes with private pools
- Flats – 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom units on the shore of a specially created lagoon
- Villas – 2- and 4-bedroom classic units with patios and spectacular golf course or lagoon views
- Conrad Hotel – a 433-room hotel by the luxury Conrad brand featuring family suites and 5-star amenities
While the villas and flats promise to be extremely opulent, the most eye-catching feature is likely to be the 20-acre tropical beach complex and Evermore Bay, an 8-acre crystalline water amenity by Crystal Lagoons. A proprietary design, it will incorporate unique, environmentally sustainable technology that uses up to 100 times less chemicals and only 2% of the energy used by conventional swimming pool systems, creating ideal conditions year-round.
The surrounding beach areas will feature zero-entry swimming access, bars, cabanas, private fire pits and an aquatic adventure section with a waterslide, rope swing and a variety of watersports. Other amenities will include a lively food hall and gourmet market, a casual resort restaurant featuring views overlooking the golf course and Bay, and a two-story Boathouse that will stage weddings and private events.
Dart Interests president Christopher Kelsey explained: “We are creating the first-ever wholly-owned, large-scale community of purpose-built vacation rental homes and operating them with hotel-quality standards and world-class resort amenities.
“Our approach solves the number one problem for vacation renters: uncertainty in the quality of the home. Almost all vacation rentals are owned by individuals, each with their own unique tastes and willingness to maintain the properties. Our centralized ownership model makes it possible for our guests to be certain they are getting a first-class home with superior safety standards.
“Our scale also means we can deliver a wider array of services to our guests, making their visit easier and more enjoyable. Plus, our range in sizes—from two bedrooms to 11—makes us the perfect destination for any group, including large multi-generational or multi-family gatherings.”
The luxury Conrad Hotel will debut with 433 rooms, including 51 regular suites and 10 spacious family suites offering oversized accommodations that deliver all the comforts of home.
There will also be 40,000-square-feet of meeting space, a tranquil spa, and numerous dining options, including a signature rooftop experience. For our post-COVID-19 world, the hotel will open with Hilton CleanStay, Hilton’s premier standard of cleanliness and disinfection developed for its hotels around the world.
Finally, the resort will feature a completely new Nicklaus-designed 18-hole golf course, replacing the three nine-hole courses, alongside the existing New Course, which will remain open through the redevelopment.
Bookings for Evermore Orlando Resort are scheduled to open in 2022, with the grand opening for first guests in summer 2023.
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