JACKSONVILLE
“Jacksonville’s location makes it a great base for
visiting both the Florida and Georgia coastlines and tourism hot spots such as Savannah, St Augustine and Daytona Beach.”
ANDREW BIRD, DIRECTOR, PURELY AMERICA
Known as Florida’s Golden Isle, it measures 13 miles (long) by two miles (wide) and has an excellent choice of accommodation ranging from the fi ve-star Ritz-Carlton and Omni Amelia Island Plantation to quaint B&B inns. As well as pristine beaches, attractions include championship golf courses, tennis, spas, boat tours, bird-watching, an old fort, and the elegant Victorian architecture of Fernandina Beach. Golfers are well catered for throughout the Jacksonville region. The area is home to more than 70 courses, many designed by top names such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Major venues include Windsor Parke, Champions Club and Queens Harbour, while Ponte Vedra is an annual stop on the PGA Tour. A two-hour drive from Orlando and just 30 minutes from the Georgia border, Jacksonville
provides a good base for exploring the region. Highlights include the historical cities of St Augustine, the oldest in the US, to the south and Savannah, Georgia, to the north. “Most clients that do the Jacksonville area
have already experienced a lot of Florida,” says Vacations to America Reservations Manager Julie Lovell. “They are looking for a different area
to explore or are heading south from the Carolinas and Georgia on a fl y-drive tour.”
What’s new Hotels:The Omni Amelia Island Plantation
(
omnihotels.com) has completed an $85-million facelift. Work includes 155 new seafront rooms, 26 new suites, a new lounge and restaurant, a miniature golf course and shops. Major renovation of the Sawgrass Marriott
Golf Resort and Spa (
sawgrassmarriott.com) is due to be completed in October. Features include a new lobby and 80 refurbished golf villas. The 63-acre resort is home to golf’s richest tournament, the Players Championship. Boutique property the Aloft Jacksonville Tapestry Park (
aloftjacksonvilletapestrypark.com) has re-opened after a $4 million refurbishment. The former Holiday Inn Baymeadows has joined Wyndham Hotel Group and been rebranded as the 146-room Ramada Jacksonville/Baymeadows (
ramada.com). The 200-room Jacksonville Airport Hotel
(jacksonvillefl
airporthotel.com) is set to become a Doubletree property on completion of exterior renovations costing six million dollars. Airlines: Twin-centre holidays with the Bahamas are easier with Silver Airways’ (
gosilver.com) introduction of weekly fl ights
www.sellinglonghaul.com
September 2013 25
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