401-room oceanfront family resort, championship golf, the reimagined Magnolia Spa, the most reliably family-programmed booking on the Atlantic Florida coast.
"The Omni is what happens when an Atlantic Florida resort decides its central proposition is a family of four arriving on a Saturday and not wanting to think about anything until Wednesday. Three courses, nine restaurants, and a children's programme that runs without interruption."
Book the Omni for an oceanfront Florida family resort that does breadth well: Atlantic beach, championship golf, a Magnolia Spa reimagined and reopened in early 2026, and the Camp Amelia kids' program, at roughly half the Ritz-Carlton next door. Rooms start around $273. The trade-off is scale over polish, with guests flagging variable housekeeping and pricey dining.
Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa opened in 1974 (originally as the Amelia Island Plantation, a real-estate development with a hotel anchor) and was acquired by Omni Hotels & Resorts in 2010, at which point Omni invested $85 million through 2018 in a comprehensive renovation that updated the rooms, public spaces, dining, and amenities. The property occupies 1,350 acres on the southern half of Amelia Island, fronting the Atlantic with three miles of beach, and divides its accommodation across two main areas: the Oceanfront Tower (the conventional hotel rooms) and the Villa-style accommodations scattered through the wider plantation property (one-, two-, and three-bedroom condominium-style units with full kitchens, ideal for the longer-stay family booking).
The 401 rooms (and the additional villa accommodations the Omni manages on the property) divide between Oceanfront Tower rooms (the standard hotel-format booking, all with Atlantic views or garden views, refreshed in the 2018 renovation), the Villa accommodations across the property (one-bedroom and larger condominium units with kitchens), and the Ocean Suites at the headline category. Standard tower rooms run 350 square feet; the larger Ocean Suites approach 800. The villa accommodations, which Omni books through the same reservations system as the tower, run from one-bedroom 800-square-foot units up to four-bedroom 2,500-square-foot houses with private pools.
Two championship golf courses anchor the resort: Long Point (Tom Fazio, 1987, the oceanfront-finish course) and Oak Marsh (Pete Dye, the original Amelia Island course), joined by the 10-hole Little Sandy short course; the former Ocean Links course closed in 2017. Beyond golf, the resort runs the Magnolia Spa (completely reimagined and reopened in early 2026, with a new courtyard, relaxation room and private treatment nooks), the Falcon's Nest tennis facility, the Camp Amelia children's programme, the Beach Club at the oceanfront, and nine on-site restaurants ranging from the Marché Burette French-style deli through to the Sprouting Project farm-to-table dinner room and the Verandah Restaurant for the contemporary-American option. The 80,000 square feet of meeting space gives the property the conference-resort tone that the Ritz-Carlton next door deliberately avoids.
Omni Amelia Island's central distinction is that it is the family-resort booking on the island, the Ritz-Carlton at a higher price point delivers the Forbes Five-Star service standard, but the Omni delivers the larger key count, the broader on-property activity range, the championship golf, and the family-villa accommodation type at half the average per-night rate. For the multi-generation American family booking, for the corporate retreat that needs both meeting space and recreation, and for the longer-stay condominium-style booking on the Atlantic Florida coast, this is the address. The 2018-completed renovation cycle keeps the property in the Forbes-mentioned tier without crossing into the Ritz-Carlton-Cloister price range.
The Omni is the family-resort booking on Amelia Island. The villa accommodations (one- to four-bedroom units with full kitchens, washers/dryers, private pools on the larger units) are the standard multi-generation booking; Camp Amelia runs supervised programming for ages 4 to 12; the Beach Club, the family pool, the bicycle network, and the kids' tennis clinics handle the structured activities. The Marché Burette deli and the in-room kitchens make the in-and-out family meal pattern work without the booking pressure of restaurant reservations.
Anniversary stays at the Omni calibrate well for the contemporary-resort register at the Forbes-Four-Star price point: an Ocean View Tower room for a quiet weekend, an Ocean Suite for a milestone year, a one-bedroom villa for the retreat-and-reset version. The Sprouting Project handles the formal anniversary dinner; the Verandah is the casual one; the Magnolia Spa runs couple's-treatment days; the dune-walk-at-sunset is the canonical post-dinner activity. Pair with a Cumberland Island ferry day-trip for the version that adds the unique-to-the-Georgia-Florida-line excursion.
The Omni runs a credible wellness-retreat base on Amelia Island: the reimagined Magnolia Spa, the Sprouting Project farm-to-table dining concept, the on-property organic garden, the beach-front yoga and meditation programming, and the bicycle and beach-running infrastructure. The villas with full kitchens make the longer-stay wellness booking practical for clean-eating self-catering, and spa pricing sits well below the Forbes Five-Star Ritz-Carlton spa next door.
39 Beach Lagoon Road
Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
United States
Southern half of Amelia Island; 50 minutes north of Jacksonville International Airport (JAX); 1 hour from St. Augustine; 90 minutes south of Savannah
401 rooms + villa accommodations
Tower Garden View rooms from $273/night
Ocean View rooms from $399/night
Ocean Suites from $899/night
One-bedroom Villas from $599/night
Three-bedroom Villas from $1,250/night
Check-in: 4:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Opened 1974 as Amelia Island Plantation; Omni since 2010; $85M renovation completed 2018
Two championship courses + Little Sandy short course
Magnolia Spa (reimagined 2026)
Nine restaurants
Camp Amelia family programme
Beach Club & family pool
Falcon's Nest tennis
80,000 sq ft meeting space
1,350 acres on the Atlantic
Across recent reviews on Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Yelp and Expedia, guests consistently praise the staff as warm and genuinely hospitable, the rooms as spacious, and the beach and family facilities as a highlight. The recurring complaints cluster around value: several reviewers feel the nightly rate plus resort and parking fees outpaces the experience, point to inconsistent housekeeping and turndown, and find dining expensive with limited evening options. Many of the dated-room complaints predate the 2025 to 2026 renovation now refreshing all 401 rooms.
Three things would lift this resort. Bring dining value in line with the rates; smaller, more consistent menus at fairer prices would do more for sentiment than another amenity. Tighten housekeeping and turndown reliability, the most repeated service gripe. And communicate the renovation clearly, so guests booking mid-transformation know which rooms and outlets are affected. This is a resort that wins on breadth and beach, not boutique polish, so travelers wanting intimate, design-forward luxury should look at the Ritz-Carlton next door or the 25-room Elizabeth Pointe Lodge.
Yes. The resort is open throughout its multi-phase transformation, which began in November 2025 and is completing through spring 2026. All 401 oceanfront rooms are being refreshed and the Magnolia Spa was completely reimagined and reopened in early 2026. Guests booking mid-renovation should ask which rooms and outlets are affected for their dates.
Two championship 18-hole courses, Long Point (Tom Fazio) and Oak Marsh (Pete Dye), plus the 10-hole Little Sandy short course. The former Ocean Links course closed permanently in 2017, so older descriptions citing three championship courses are out of date.
The Magnolia Spa was completely reimagined and reopened in early 2026, adding a new courtyard, relaxation room, upgraded locker rooms and private treatment nooks. Treatments pair with the resort's oceanfront yoga, organic garden and farm-to-table dining at the Sprouting Project, making it a relaxed wellness base rather than a clinical destination spa.
Tower Garden View rooms start around $273 a night, Ocean View rooms from about $399, Ocean Suites from $899, and one- to three-bedroom villas from roughly $599 to $1,250. Expect resort and parking fees on top, a frequent point in guest reviews. Rates peak over spring break, summer and holiday weeks.
Yes, it is the family-resort default on Amelia Island. Camp Amelia runs supervised programming for ages 4 to 12, the villas offer one- to four-bedroom units with full kitchens, and the Beach Club, family pool, bikes and tennis cover the rest. The in-room kitchens and the Marche Burette deli ease the family meal routine.
Choose the Ritz-Carlton for Forbes Five-Star polish, finer dining and a more adult, design-led feel. Choose the Omni for more space, championship golf, villa accommodation and family programming at roughly half the rate. Families and golfers lean Omni; couples wanting refined luxury lean Ritz-Carlton.
From $273/night for a Tower Garden View room. Ocean Suites and the larger villa accommodations book three to four months ahead for spring break, July/August, Thanksgiving, and Christmas weeks; the corporate-retreat block dates require advance group reservations.
See Current Rates →Florida's only Forbes Five-Star Atlantic-coast resort, 446 oceanfront rooms with private balconies, the Salt Forbes-Five-Star spa.
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