Hilton Hotels & Resorts will expand its luxury Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand with a new resort and luxury spa in Orlando, Florida, by the end of the year.

Named Conrad Orlando, the 433-key property will be home to a two-floor, 10,000sq ft spa inspired by Florida’s natural freshwater springs, as well as a 12,000sq ft immersive Water Garden – an aquatic oasis offering a circuit of hot and cold bathing experiences that will be the jewel in the Conrad Spa's crown. The outdoor space will include a vitality pool, a cold plunge pool, a warm whirlpool and private soaking tubs.

Conrad will also enhance the offering with a selection of wellness-forward guest rooms adjacent to the water garden.

Spa and wellness consultancy Under A Tree was appointed to conceive the property’s wellness concept which emphasises the healing power of water.

Amy McDonald, owner and CEO of Under a Tree, said: “With crystal clear water and unique ecosystems, Florida’s natural springs are spectacular.

“The Florida Aquifer is a vast system that flows through an area of 100,000sq miles beneath the ground and is responsible for more than 1,000 natural springs in Florida – the largest concentration of springs in the world.”

Programming at the 11-treatment-room facility will consist of traditional spa rituals as well as salon and nail services. The spa will also be home to a salon, a fitness centre and an outdoor lounge.

Additional facilities at Conrad Orlando will include a private pool area with a splash pad, private cabanas, a fitness center, an arrival/departure lounge, 40,000sq ft of indoor meeting space and numerous dining options.

The bigger picture

Conrad Orlando will form part of the billion-dollar Evermore Orlando Resort – a vast 1,100-acre resort complex neighbouring Disney also due to debut in Q4 2023.

Evermore will provide almost 1,500 vacation rentals and luxury hotel accommodations, paired with high-end amenities.

The destination is being developed by US real estate development and investment firm Dart Interests – also the property owner – which appointed Under A Tree to create an overarching wellness concept that would be applied to both Conrad Orlando and Evermore.

Thanks to this, Under a Tree’s water-centric concept is also being used within the wider Evermore development, which will be anchored by a 20-acre tropical beach and an eight-acre crystalline lagoon created by Crystal Lagoons.

The surrounding beach areas will feature zero-entry swim areas, bars, cabanas, private fire-pits and an aquatic adventure and watersports area.

Other amenities will include a food hall and gourmet market, a casual resort restaurant, two Jack Nicklaus-designed 18-hole golf courses and more than 150,000sq ft of indoor/outdoor event space.

Newly built from the ground up, the Evermore resort complex is a comprehensive redevelopment of the former Villas of Grand Cypress Golf Resort.

Dart says the vision for the property is to completely reimagine the needs of families, friends and business groups travelling together.

"We designed Evermore to introduce an entirely new hospitality category that will forever change the landscape of luxury vacation rental homes,” said Christopher Kelsey, president of Dart.

“Evermore offers a vastly superior short-term rental experience by solving the inconsistency problems of renting someone's personal home while also providing hotel-like service and security.

"Within the resort, we’ve created whole neighbourhoods of resort-owned, purpose-built vacation rental homes in concert with a true luxury hotel to provide high-quality, bespoke experiences for all sizes and types of groups from couples to large conferences, particularly including multi-family and multi-generational vacations."