Last Updated on March 18, 2024
During a February 2024 stay at The Equestrian Hotel in Ocala, FL, I’d throw open the curtains each morning to let in the sunlight and take in the views: the World Equestrian Center’s Grand Arena and its monstrous video screens awaiting the day’s competitors, the silver rooftops of nearby stables, Miss Tilly’s Lollipops, the local sweet shop, where the tantalizing aromas caused me to salivate. If I craned my head enough, I could catch a tiny glimpse of the Riding Academy Hotel’s roof, still under construction and set to open April 1, 2024.
This new hotel would be the 380-acre World Equestrian Center’s newest addition.
With 390 rooms, approximately 250 of which are one-bedroom suites, designers created the hotel with families in mind.
While I reveled in my luxurious accommodations at The Equestrian Hotel, I realized the World Equestrian Center was missing something: lodging for everyday families at a price point parents could wrap their heads around.
Now, they’ll have it.
World Equestrian Center’s family appeal
The World Equestrian Center has been considered the premier destination for equestrian sports in the Western Hemisphere since it hosted its first competition in December 2020. Its creators also envisioned the property as a space to make the sport more accessible to non-equestrians.
“We wanted to expose the equestrian sport to a broader audience,” Justin Garner, Director of Hospitality at World Equestrian Center, said.
While day visitors from surrounding communities are flocking to the WEC, the opening of the World Equestrian Center Hotel in May 2021 and now the introduction of the Riding Academy Hotel have helped bring this fuller vision to life.
Featuring over 40 weeks of competition a year, participants and hotel guests mingle on the bucolic grounds and in the stables. It is not uncommon to have a horse and rider cross your path while strolling or driving (by golf cart or car) around the property.
Whether catching a warm-up or a competition at one of the dozens of indoor or outdoor arenas, families become quick fans and cheerleaders for their favorite riders and horses. I met one such competitor, Addie, who shared her story, introduced me to three of her horses, and allowed me a quick pet before she tucked them in for the night.
In addition to equine events, numerous exhibitions, festivals, and family-friendly events throughout the year keep visitors occupied. Plus, with half a dozen onsite dining options and over 30 retail shops (with more to come with the Shoppes on 80th set to open in 2025), the resort is structured so that families never have to leave the property.
Ocala/Marion County with Kids
If guests want to venture further into Ocala/Marion County, the region boasts a treasure trove of adventures. Located just an hour south of the Gainesville airport and roughly an hour and a half drive from both Tampa and Orlando airports, the area renowned as the “Horse Capital of World” is a sanctuary for outdoor enthusiasts – and you don’t have to be a horse lover to appreciate it.
While opportunities abound to get a horse fix — riding rescue horses at Cactus Jack’s along dusty trails, getting up close and personal with the massive award-winning Clydesdale’s at Grandview Clydesdale Tours, or spending the day meandering downtown Ocala and its Painted Horse Trail and Walk of Champions — there are also trails to explore by bike or foot in local parks and within the Ocala National Forest. Area rivers, natural springs, and lakes offer paddling, floating, and swimming.
Soaring along a zipline through Big Cliff Canyon across Lost Spring Lake is a thrill.
There is also a vibrant food and music scene to experience, a bustling downtown area, and several museums that cater to families, such as the Appleton Museum of Art, Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing, and the Discovery Center in Tuscawilla Park.
The Riding Academy Hotel
If you decide to make Ocala/Marion County the site of your next family vacation, the rural setting at the WEC and Riding Academy Hotel, only 15-20 minutes from most tourist attractions, is an ideal (and idyllic) place to stay.
I had a virtual sneak peek of the family- and pet-friendly Riding Academy Hotel weeks prior to its opening and cannot wait to experience it in person. The creamy antique white exterior mirrors that of The Equestrian Hotel, and while the latter blends opulent European design with small equestrian touches, the rich elements of Georgian design, pops of color and playful touches at the Riding Academy Hotel showcase luxury, whimsy and the equestrian lifestyle in unison.
“[The Riding Academy Hotel] is just as luxurious as our other hotel with maybe just a few less amenities,” Garner said.
Visitors are greeted in the lobby by the hotel’s namesake mounted on the wall, an antique hand-carved wooden horse with the words “Riding Academy” emblazoned across its flank. Mahogany wood accents adorn the front desk, lobby columns and black-marbled fireplace. Warm textured porcelain tiles and khaki walls give the lobby an expansive yet cozy feel.
Movers had just placed mustard leather couches by the fireplace to form an intimate seating area. I can imagine myself curling up by the fire after a day of exploring Ocala in the future. Added touches like the bronze and leather strapped chandelier in the lobby and horsehair sconces framing the fireplace contribute to a more laid-back aesthetic.
Like The Equestrian Hotel, much of the artwork at the Riding Academy Hotel features dogs, a nod to the founding family’s matriarch’s love of the animal. Unlike the formal portraits in the luxury property, the artwork here is more whimsical, featuring dogs as jockeys and professors or riding on horses, merging the themes of riding and academia into the color-filled canvases.
Each elevator foyer is also a work of art featuring equestrian-themed wallpapers in rich hunter-greens, purples, and creams, and the custom carpets throughout the hotel are an abstract take on kissing horses.
Every element of the design aims to invite families in and give the younger guests something familiar to relate to. Even the hotel’s gourmet grab-and-go market, The Tack Room, carrying fresh sandwiches, pastries and Starbucks coffee, features a dog-head tiled wall depicting various breeds in the hopes that kids might recognize a familiar face from home during their stay.
The hotel also has a state-of-the-art fitness center, outdoor pool and lounge area. The lush landscape design stays true to its Ocala roots, with live oaks dotting the property instead of the palm trees some visitors to Florida might expect.
Riding Academy Hotel Accommodations
I was excited to hear that the Riding Academy Hotel accommodations were just as comfortable and luxurious as those I stayed in at The Equestrian Hotel. The rooms are spacious and inviting and are available as king studios and double queen or king suites. Several offer views of the pool area and have a balcony option.
Suites open into a living space decorated with a small table and chairs and a pull-out sofa. The beds are adorned with riding blanket headboards and the same velvety soft Sferra sheets I slept on.
The designers also included some of my favorite accessories from The Equestrian Hotel such as trophy lamps and horse-bit drawer pulls. Each room also boasts a large bathroom with a walk-in rain shower, marbled tile, and glass doors, as well as a bar area with a subzero fridge and coffeemaker.
Additional amenities include high-speed internet, a shuttle service, free onsite parking, golf cart rentals, and, for those staying in one of the hotel’s pet-friendly suites, an onsite dog park and walking paths for Fido.
Whether Ocala/Marion County appeals to your family because it’s the “Disney World for horse-lovers” or because you’re ready to explore more of central Florida and all its charms beyond the theme parks, a stay at the family-, pet- and budget-friendly Riding Academy Hotel is in order. Its family-friendly amenities, inviting atmosphere, access to dining, entertainment and shopping just yards away and its proximity to area attractions are unmatched.
If you’re kids catch the horse bug and beg you for one after your stay, Mr. Pickles and Sailor Bear Toy Shoppe has a wall of Breyer’s horses ready for a new home, or you can just start planning your next stay.
