Lake Ida Beach Resort — Hotel in Winter Haven

We have usually stayed in nice hotels with well known names, so when my husband told me he booked us in a lake cottage well under $100.00 a night I was skeptical. BUT...The Lake Ida Beach Resort is a treasure! The proprietors are most caring, generous, and attentive. They even picked a fresh mango from the tree next to our cottage and left it on our kitchen table after we mentioned the fruit. And it was delicious! This is a very vintage place. The cottage we stayed in (#16) did not have a lake view, but it was quiet, immaculately clean, had all we needed (Kitchen:coffee pot, toaster, microwave, self start gas oven and cook top, lots of cupboard space and place settings for four. Cooking utensils including a corkscrew. Pots, pans, etc.Bathroom:hair dryer, clean towels every day, soaps, shampoos, lotion, etc. Bedroom:dresser, nice closet, clock, and very comfortable bed. And of course Air Conditioning!) If there is anything else you need they will find it for you! We went to visit my grandmother in her retirement building, BUT......LEGO-LAND IS JUST 4.7 MILES FROM THIS COTTAGE DELIGHT! We visited Universal Studios one day and the entire theme park area is just 30 minutes away depending on traffic. There is a dock you can fish from, and lots of lake creatures to watch from the dock. You cannot swim in the lake (the same is true for almost all lakes in Florida) due to the possibility of alligators, but the pool was cool and clean! Each cottage has a table and two chairs outside as well. As for bugs.....we had NONE in our cottage which is not typical for any place in Florida (even the well know hotels) for it is the south!!! We actually got a bit choked up leaving as we said good bye to the management. We will go back there, we really felt we were very important and appreciated guests, but even more...

We have usually stayed in nice hotels with well known names, so when my husband told me he booked us in a lake cottage well under $100.00 a night I was skeptical. BUT...The Lake Ida Beach Resort is a treasure! The proprietors are most caring, generous, and attentive. They even picked a fresh mango from the tree next to our cottage and left it on our kitchen table after we mentioned the fruit. And it was delicious! This is a very vintage place. The cottage we stayed in (#16) did not have a lake view, but it was quiet, immaculately clean, had all we needed (Kitchen:coffee pot, toaster, microwave, self start gas oven and cook top, lots of cupboard space and place settings for four. Cooking utensils including a corkscrew. Pots, pans, etc.Bathroom:hair dryer, clean towels every day, soaps, shampoos, lotion, etc. Bedroom:dresser, nice closet, clock, and very comfortable bed. And of course Air Conditioning!) If there is anything else you need they will find it for you! We went to visit my grandmother in her retirement building, BUT......LEGO-LAND IS JUST 4.7 MILES FROM THIS COTTAGE DELIGHT! We visited Universal Studios one day and the entire theme park area is just 30 minutes away depending on traffic. There is a dock you can fish from, and lots of lake creatures to watch from the dock. You cannot swim in the lake (the same is true for almost all lakes in Florida) due to the possibility of alligators, but the pool was cool and clean! Each cottage has a table and two chairs outside as well. As for bugs.....we had NONE in our cottage which is not typical for any place in Florida (even the well know hotels) for it is the south!!! We actually got a bit choked up leaving as we said good bye to the management. We will go back there, we really felt we were very important and appreciated guests, but even more...

stayed here during our vacation this year. we stayed for 9 days and the rate was GREAT. our cabin was clean, air conditioner worked amazingly. our cabin had its own kitchen, dining area, living room, bedroom, bathroom. dishes provided in the cabinets, coffee maker and filters, oven/stove, microwave, cold fridge with freezer. the whole 9 yards. i loved pulling up and coming back to our own little place rather than a hotel with so many other people all around. we loved going outside in the morning and walking around in the grass and looking out at the lake. we went fishing off the dock and caught a few pumpkin seeds. we went swimming in the pool which had plenty of space and was clean ; shallow enough for my son to have fun on one end and deep enough for a swimmer like me to have plenty of space and range on the other end. the owners were very nice and always available if we needed anything.

it was a perfect spot for us on our vacation this year. I highly recommend for a solo trip or a small family trip especially if you're someone who likes your own space and not stacked into your typical...