The cure for summer’s end? Florida. At Mission Inn Resort, roughly a half hour from Orlando, you can step into the resort’s historic, Spanish Colonial–inspired elegance. The property’s El Campéon golf course, designed by golf professional and architect George O’Neil, has welcomed celebrated players such as Babe Zaharias, Ben Hogan, Patty Berg, Arnold Palmer and trick-shot artist Joe Kirkwood.
Originally built in 1917 and known as the Floridian, the course was the first in Florida to feature grass greens instead of the era’s common oiled-sand surfaces. After its sale in 1964 the course was renamed El Campéon (The Champion). Modern updates have preserved its classic character while improving playability: the layout features dramatic elevation changes—up to 85 feet across six holes—on land once planted with hardwoods and citrus groves. In the most recent GolfAdvisor.com player survey it ranked second nationally.
To mark its centennial, Mission Inn Resort offered a special 100th Anniversary Golfer’s Getaway running Oct. 1, 2016–Jan. 15, 2017. The package required a two-night minimum stay and included deluxe accommodations, daily golf on the historic El Campéon course with a shared cart, unlimited use of practice facilities, and a generous daily buffet breakfast at La Hacienda restaurant. Guests also received a four-course wine-paired dinner for two on the arrival night at the lakeside El Conquistador restaurant, a commemorative 100th anniversary merchandise gift set, on-site anniversary savings for merchandise and spa services, club storage and cleaning, and late check-out to allow for a final round before departure.
Pricing for the anniversary package began at $194.50 per person based on double occupancy, excluding resort fee and taxes. Guests could extend their stay by adding a third or fourth night for $155 per person per night.
