ORLANDO, Fla. -- Rosen Shingle Creek golf resort and hotel has opened its doors to guests. The 1,500-room resort is just off the International Drive tourist corridor and just minutes from the Orange County Convention Center and Orlando International Airport.
The resort, with Spanish revival architecture and an idyllic, 230-acre setting on Shingle Creek, boasts a David Harman-designed championship golf course ranked one of the "Top 40 Best New Courses in the U.S." by Golfweek Magazine, along with four outdoor swimming pools, two lighted tennis courts, and basketball and volleyball facilities. Situated on Shingle Creek, headwaters to the Florida Everglades, Rosen Shingle Creek offers seasonal canoe trips, nature trails, fishing and other eco-tourism activities.
The $300 million-plus resort will employ 1,500 residents in full-time jobs, generating $30 million a year in income. Purchases from third-party suppliers will create an additional 1,900 permanent jobs in Orange County alone.
In addition, the resort will generate $80-90 million a year in direct output, including guest rooms, food and beverage and other services, and it will add an estimated $4.3 billion in value-added dollars and wages to the community over a 20-year period. During its construction, it was one of the largest building project in the Southeast and one of the top 10 in the country.
"This is a landmark day for tourism in Orlando and in Florida," said Bill Peeper, president of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc., at the grand opening. "The fact that Shingle Creek booked nearly a million rooms before it ever opened its doors speaks volumes for the growth of the meetings industry in Orlando and the popularity of the destination among leisure travelers."
The resort also features the 13,000-square-foot Spa at Shingle Creek, and nine lounges and restaurants, including fine dining restaurant, Cala Bella, along with 445,000 square feet of meeting/event space and one of the nation?s largest column-free ballrooms, measuring one and one-half the size of an American football field.
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