If you’re in a hotel loyalty program, you know the drill – stay for work, stay for pleasure, stay some more for work, and build up your points stash to eventually cash in for a top-shelf getaway.
If your loyalties lie with Choice Hotels’ Choice Privileges program, take note of a new vacation option: Plantation on Crystal River.
The Citrus County resort is now part of the Ascend Hotel Collection, a worldwide network of one-of-a-kind hotels known for authentic local experiences and a commitment to great service and amenities.
Plantation on Crystal River is authentic through and through, an off-the-beaten-path vacation destination for more than a half-century that is equally welcome to golfers, boaters and manatee lovers.
There is nowhere better to interact with manatees than Kings Bay, where the animals love to spend winter in the 72-degree-steady waters and humans can sidle right up next to them.
The golf is noteworthy too, with an 18-hole championship course that offers plenty of birdie opportunities plus a nine-hole “Lagoons” course that is a great place to sharpen your wedge game.
As I’ve mentioned many times on this blog, I’m a former Citrus County resident and loved its uncrowded, unhurried space. Plantation, in the northwest corner of the county with access to the water, is the county’s most enduring vacation spot and it feels just like Citrus. From a round of golf to a boat ride to dinner in the hotel’s fine West 82 Bar and Grill, there’s just a relaxed feel all over.
So if you’re part of Choice Hotels’ loyalty program – or just looking for a truly authentic Florida getaway -- put Plantation on Crystal River on the wish list.
If you go
Plantation on Crystal River
9301 W. Fort Island Trail
Crystal River
800-632-6262
plantationoncrystalriver.com