It was a Sunday afternoon and it was time for me to leave the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Bonita Springs, Fla., where I had just spent an unusually hot December weekend as an invited guest.
The problem was, after an early morning round of golf at the resort's Raptor Bay Golf Club, followed by a gluttonous brunch of seafood, fine cheeses and mimosas at the Tarpon Bay dining room, I didn't much feel like going anywhere.
So, after checking out, I headed not for my car but to the resort's giant shaded back veranda, where I read on a couch until I drifted into a 30-minute power nap.
In my travels around Florida covering hotels, few have charmed me as much as the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, and that big veranda is part of the puzzle. The 454-room resort has a sort of Southern elegance to it, and without any of the haughtiness that one often finds at high-end resorts.
During this December visit, my main journalistic mission was to experience the hotel's new $7.1 million Lazy River Waterpark. Officially open since November, it features two speed slides, each three stories tall, as well as one inner-tube slide. The waterpark takes its name from its 1,095-foot lazy river.
I rode each of the attractions, especially enjoying the two speed slides, which were curvy and fast enough that the torque to my neck reminded me of each of my 44 years. When I was done sampling the slides, I readied my camera, then snapped shots as a child who I figured must be about 8 years old ran repeatedly to the top of the inner-tube slide for more trips down in tandem with a woman who I assumed to be his mom.
Lazy River Waterpark is a strong family-friendly addition to Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, and it augments what was already an expansive complex of swimming pools, including an adult's-only lap pool.
Swimming pools, however, aren't the only way to get wet at Coconut Point. The hotel sits on 26 acres overlooking the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve and is separated from a waterfront marina by a few hundred yards of mangroves. As such, guests have to work just a little to get the resort beach, which is on the private Big Hickory Island, a pleasant 15-minute boat ride from the marina.
On my ride out to Big Hickory I saw bottlenose dolphin and plenty of birds, including a relatively rare Florida gem, the pink-feathered roseate spoonbill.
A view of Hyatt Regency Coconut Point towering over the mangroves. Photo Credit: Robert Silk
From the dock, I walked for a few minutes on a trail surrounded by native vegetation before reaching the beach. The reward was a quiet spot, appointed with comfortable lounge chairs, that while not exactly isolated, definitely feels like a more a remote outdoor experience than one typically finds at a resort.
Indeed, one of things I like about the Coconut Point property is that many of the amenities are similarly just a little out of the ordinary. Another example is the Raptor Bay golf course, which unlike so many Florida courses, doesn't wind its way through a string of housing complexes. Rather, architect Raymond Floyd carved the course so carefully around wetlands that it was the first in the world to receive certification by Audubon as a Gold Signature Sanctuary. During my two rounds there I saw an alligator, numerous wading birds and even a raptor (not sure which type) flying with a fish in its beak.
The Hyatt Regency Coconut Point also features the 19,000-square-foot Stillwater Spa, two-full service restaurants, the Mangrove cocktail lounge and the poolside Corkscrew cafe. Additional family-friendly options include a climbing wall and the Camp Hyatt activities program for children ages three to 12.
Among the resort's 454 rooms are 28 suites. My 18th-floor king room was appointed in a contemporary mix of browns and oranges. It came complete with a 65-inch television, a fresh robe that was laid out on the bed and a broad view over the Southwest Florida landscape.
Visit the resort's website for more information.