The name is unusual, so let's start there. The Rosen Shingle Creek is named, first, for Harris Rosen, who now operates seven hotels in the Orlando area. He's a man with a vision, who treats his employees like family - I ran into several staff members who have stayed with a particular Rosen Hotel for years, often since the day it opened. Particularly for younger people in the hospitality industry, as many of them were, this is quite unique.
Mr. Rosen named his newest resort Shingle Creek after the creek on the property, the headwaters of the Florida Everglades which are some 140 miles south. Back in the 1800s, settlers used the creek to log cypress trees which would be used to make shingles for the roofs of houses.
Rosen Shingle Creek is big - at 1.7 million square feet, it is among the largest full-service convention hotels in central Florida. Despite being a mile down the road from Orlando's Orange County Convention Center, the resort has nearly a half million square feet of state-of-the-art meeting space.
It's not all business at Rosen Shingle Creek, either. The David Harmon-designed golf course makes it easy to mix business with pleasure. You can book a lesson at the on-site Brad Brewer Golf Academy, and you may need it; the par 72 course was ranked one of the toughest courses you can play by the Orlando Business Journal. There are also four swimming pools, two lighted tennis courts, a hiking trail to Shingle Creek, and a full-service spa.
Besides being so near the convention center, Rosen Shingle Creek is around the corner from SeaWorld and the new Aquatica water park opening next year, a few miles from Universal Orlando theme parks, and about a ten minute drive from Orlando International Airport.
Learn more about this new luxury golf resort, Rosen Shingle Creek, and take a photo tour of the resort.