The Villas of Amelia Island Plantation are another great option right down the street from the Ritz! The Omni hotel will be closed for renovation but you can enjoy all of Omni's resort amenities when staying at the Villas. Visit the website for more info. www.villasofameliaisland.com.

From what I've seen the race is a first time event, so a lot of the festivities (if you will) are going to be at the Ritz-Carlton - whatever welcome, kickoff, sponsor events & goodie bags, start/finish, reception, and all of that. As mentioned, the Ritz-Carlton is about 10 minutes from downtown, so shopping and walking the downtown are definitely an option. You mentioned your family would travel with you and I think that's where the Ritz really shines. They have a kids club with actual classes, a game room, a movie theater, indoor pool and room service (which was my favorite as a kid!) Since January can be cooler in the mornings and afternoon, the indoor pool would probably be the deciding factor for my family. (Although I'm sure my wife & I would split our vote between the golf course and spa!)

Dear Mom,

You might also be interested in the condominiums immediately beside the Ritz, Ocean Place. I am an owner there, although I use a rental company located on the island to handle the renting responsibilities (www.summerbeach.com). I mention this because as dlwinger already said, nothing is more than a 10 minute drive on the island, it would keep you in the action of the race headquarters at the Ritz, it's nice to have a "home" type situation when traveling with children (aka seperate bedroom and full kitchen), and I'm sure the January rental rates for Ocean Place are quite reasonable.

Just a thought :-)

You should consider looking at VRBO.com rentals, they are often nicer than hotels and much roomier, as the above poster said. I've found the units on VRBO are often better maintained than those handled by a resort/management company.

This is a case by case basis. I'm in charge of organizing a 24 person family vacation/reunion every year. I have rented from VRBO on several occasions and have had success and less than success. . .I won't say failure as being with the family is always the most important and enjoyable thing. I will say the cleanliness and repair or disrepair of electronics can be a crap shoot. The bottomline is with a rental company you have someone on premises if you should have any issues . .with VBRO this usually isn't the case. But if you know and are okay with that going in . . . then it can be a great way of finding a nice vacation property. As I said, I have had successes. . .it's really sad that a few owner's and bad experiences can really ruin if for others.