We Love The Grove Resort & Water Park in Orlando and You Will Too

An amazing location, spacious rooms and suites, a WATER PARK (!!), and amazing amenities are just some of the reasons you will love a stay at The Grove Resort & Water Park on your next visit to Orlando, FL.

There is so much to do in Orlando, FL — theme parks, dinner shows, amazing entertainment, outdoor activities, and more. If you’re looking for a quiet place to relax after a busy day — The Grove is the perfect choice. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a place to keep the fun going — The Grove is the perfect choice. Ha!

How can one place be both quiet and relaxing and filled with fun and entertainment? We’ll explain.

My kids and I stayed at The Grove Resort & Water Park for a few days to get all the details for you. We had a blast, and we know that no matter what type of lodging you’re looking for, The Grove can fit the bill. Here are 5+ of the best reasons you’ll love a stay at The Grove Resort & Water Park during your next visit to Orlando.

1. Location, Location, Location

Located just six miles from the Walt Disney World Theme Parks, The Grove Resort & Water Park is centrally located to some of Orlando’s most popular attractions and restaurants.

We loved that it was close enough to the parks, but not in the chaos of it all. The Grove was really easy to get to, and traffic was a breeze for us.

During our stay at The Grove, we visited Disney Springs for dinner one evening and it was super easy. It was pretty much a straight shot to get there, and didn’t take much time. I can imagine that getting to the parks would be the same.

Note: The Grove also offers a shuttle service to some of the nearby theme parks! More info about that can be found below.

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2. Beautiful, Spacious Rooms

If you’ve ever stayed at a Disney Resort then you know what I’m about to say is true: the rooms are small and expensive, or large and really expensive. It’s just a fact. If you’re looking for something more spacious and less expensive, The Grove is it.

There are two accommodation options: The Grove and The Terraces at The Grove. Both offer a wide array of room and suite options.

We stayed in one of The Grove’s three-bedroom condos and it was amazing! We had three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a full kitchen, dining space, a living room, a screened-in balcony, and a full-size washer and dryer. It was so nice to be able to spread out and the space was absolutely gorgeous. Our condo was clean and bright, and we instantly felt at home.

You will find 2- and 3-bedroom condos at The Grove and 1- and 2-Bedroom Suites, as well as Studio Rooms at The Terraces at The Grove. The Grove’s condo options are perfect for families, while The Terraces at The Grove offer a more laid-back, adult-centric vibe.

3. The Water Park

Usually when you go on vacation to Orlando, your hotel isn’t the main attraction. When it comes to The Grove though, it very well may be. Why? Because it has its very own Water Park on site!

Surfari Water Park is open year round and offers dual water slides, a 695-foot lazy river, a kids’ activities pool, and a zero-entry pool.

We LOVED this water park. It’s small but full of fun and adds so much to your Orlando experience. A trip to Surfari Water Park is included with your hotel stay so you can make the most of it. We also leveled up and got a cabana for the day (starts at $175) — and it was awesome. We had our own lounge chairs, dining table and chairs, TV, cooler, and waters. The best part for us was our server, who took our poolside order and delivered it right to our cabana at lunchtime. It was amazing and took all the stress out of our day.

Another great option are the Poolside Seating rentals. Lounge chairs and seating are available to everyone on a first come, first serve basis, but if you want to take the stress out of finding a spot together, the Poolside Seating rentals are a great option. Starting at $60, this option includes two lounge chairs, an umbrella to keep you in the shade, poolside service, a cooler, and a lock safe for your personal belongings. I thought these were a great option, and had some of the best views of the water park.

Overall, we adored the lazy river and my daughter thought the water slides were great. Now that we’ve experienced a water park at our hotel, we’re spoiled for life! If you’re in Orlando for a theme park vacation, The Grove’s Surfari Water Park is perfect for a resort day.

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4. The Amenities

Not only does The Grove have an onsite water park, they’ve got so many other great amenities too!

• FlowRider Double Surf Simulator. The FlowRider Double Surf Simulator ($35) is located at Surfari Water Park, and it just so happens to be one of the only double surf simulator FlowRider® machines in the United States. You can make reservations for this, which I recommend — it seemed very popular while we were there!

• Flip Flop’s Family Fun Center. Summer in Orlando means afternoon rain, and the best place to pass the time has got to be Flip Flop’s Family Fun Center. You’ll find glow-in-the-dark indoor mini golf, video games, and classic arcade games like Skee-Ball and claw games. This was a huge hit for us — my son spent all his time playing the Jurassic Park immersive game, and my daughter focused on winning tickets for a big prize from the Prize Hub. It was great!

• Kids’ Activity Center. On Saturdays and Sundays, the Kids’ Activity Center is where it’s at! Kids will have a blast with the events and activities scheduled here. You’ll find things like creating a new friend in the Build-a-Buddy workshop, or creating colorful sand art.

• Lake Austin Pier. Lake Austin is so pretty, and the pier here is a great way to enjoy views of the nature preserve that surrounds it. You’ll also find catch-and-release fishing, kayaking, and even family-friendly swan boats for rent here.

• The Springs Pools. The Water Park isn’t the only way to keep cool at The Grove — they’ve got some amazing pools too! The Springs Pools include three full-sized pools, and oversized hot tub, a children’s splash area, and private cabanas. These pools are gorgeous and are kept at 83 degrees for year-round enjoyment. The Springs Pools are open from 8am – 10pm every day, which is awesome and makes planning a breeze.
  
  There is also a resort pool located at The Terraces. The Terraces Resort Pool features private cabanas, a poolside bar, a hot tub, and a cozy firepit area — perfect for rest and relaxation.

• Gyms. Both The Grove and The Terraces feature a 24-hour fitness center that offers a variety of exercise machines, free weights, and televisions for entertainment. These gyms are so nice!

5. Dining Options

Hungry? Don’t worry! You don’t even have to plan ahead — The Grove has you covered as soon as you arrive with some amazing Dining Options. Your room has a kitchen, so you are welcome to make your own meals — but if you really want to relax on vacation, The Grove has some really great dining options for you.

• Valencia Restaurant. Valencia is the main restaurant at The Grove and it’s available for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. On Saturdays and Sundays, you’ll also find an amazing Breakfast Buffet from 8am-Noon.
  
  The Breakfast Menu features waffles, omelets, pancakes, and more. Their Lunch Menu includes burgers, salads, and sandwiches, and their Dinner Menu features amazing options like steaks, risotto, and salmon. You’re sure to find something everyone will like here.

• The Springs Bar & Grill. The Springs Bar & Grill is located right next to The Springs Pools and is the perfect spot for appetizers, entrees, cocktails, and refreshing beers from the nearby Valencia kitchen.

• Longboard Bar & Grill. Longboard Bar & Grill is located at Surfari Water Park and overlooks the FlowRider Double Surf Simulator. You’ll find great lunch favorites and some awesome drinks too. My kids ordered chicken fingers and a burger from here during our Surfari Day, and gave high marks to both.

• Alfresco Market. The Alfresco Market, right next to the front lobby when you check in, is the perfect place to grab any last minute items. You’ll find food, drinks, groceries, and souvenirs here, and they serve Starbucks coffee here too. They also have grab-and-go sandwiches, snacks and more.

• Dyve Bar. You can grab a cocktail at Dyve Bar at The Terraces. This poolside bar is open everyday.

Tips & Tricks

As we’ve mentioned, we loved our stay here and can’t wait to go back. We truly loved all the wonderful onsite options and how clean and spacious our condo suite was. On our visit, we learned a few things that we want to share with you!

• Check-in is at 4pm at runs until 2am. If you arrive earlier and if your room is ready, they do allow early check-in from 1pm-4pm for an extra $75 fee. We arrived almost exactly at 4pm and our check-in line moved fairly quickly. The line to check-in seemed to hit its peak between 5-6pm.

• This resort is large! The main amenities like the water park, pools, pier, and family fun center are all within easy walking distance of each other, which is great. Finding your room can be a bit tricky though! We were on the 7th floor in Building 1 and our first day required us to really learn where we were and how to get to places. There are different buildings, floors and parking garages so it may take just a little bit of time to get it all figured out.

• If you don’t want to or can’t get a cabana or a poolside seating reservation, I think the lounge chairs by the lazy river next to the entrance to the water slides offer some great, slightly-shaded spots.

• Your room comes with a kitchen and Keurig coffee maker, so don’t forget to bring your coffee pods! Alfresco Market also sells them.

• If you don’t want to travel with food and drink for your kitchen, there’s a Publix about 7 minutes from the resort. Alfresco Market also sells a lot of essentials.

• The Grove has an app you can download and you can order food from the resort restaurants through it, which is amazing and super helpful. The Alfresco Market can make pizzas, so we put in an order for one on our arrival day and it was a perfect first meal!

• Our condo included a small basket that had dish soap, a couple of dishwasher pods, and a small box of laundry detergent to get us started — which was so nice!

• The Grove does offer a complimentary shuttle service to some of the nearby theme parks. When we visited in July, they offered a 7am shuttle to SeaWorld, a 7am shuttle to Universal Studios, a 9:20am shuttle to Magic Kingdom, and a 10:45am shuttle to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Return shuttle services were offered in the evenings as well. Reservations are required.

• There is so much to do at this resort that if you wanted to make a stay here the whole vacation, I wouldn’t blame you. Have fun!

Book Now: The Grove Resort & Water Park