As soon as we enter Amelia Island Plantation's property, we know we aren't in the city anymore. The twisting branches of Live oaks form a canopy across the road and instead of car engines we hear birds twittering. Our airport van drops us at the central reception center. After checking in, another van delivers us and our luggage to our room. We especially appreciate the ease of the check-in process after the weariness of getting up before dawn to catch early flights. Amelia Island Plantation has received AAA's Four Diamond rating every year since 1980 so the good service wasn't a surprise.

Amelia Island Plantation executives like to say that "this resort was green before Kermit the Frog." While Kermit's birth may have predated the resort's by a few years, Amelia Island Plantation was planned to be green. And it wasn't easy -- or even common--to be green in 1971 when planning began or in 1974 when the resort opened. Charles Fraser, known for his creation of Sea Pines, Hilton Head, SC, and a guiding force behind Amelia Island Plantation's development, insisted on maintaining natural habitats while developing resort properties.

To a large extent, Amelia Island Plantation succeeds. Despite offering 610 guest accommodations that include 249 hotel rooms in the Amelia Inn and Beach Club, 361 one- to three-bedroom "villas" (condominiums), plus single family or attached homes in various areas (only a small percentage are in the rental pool), the resort manages to maintain 70 percent of its natural tree canopy.

That's important to us as family. When we look out from our fifth-floor hallway, we see greenery instead of rooftops, a sight that helps us feel as if we're away from our urban home. "Green" isn't just the color of the trees; it's also the award that the resort has won from the state of Florida. The environmentally conscious can feel good about being here. As a Green Destination, Amelia Island Plantation recycles, irrigates the golf courses with reclaimed water, uses and sells spa products without chemicals, parabens or artificial preservatives. In addition, since the resort's golf courses are Audubon sanctuaries, you'll find more than one kind of "birdie" on the courses.

Since each complex in the Plantation has its own pool, the resort counts 20+ pools. Kids, however, tend to congregate in the two beachfront pools, each located on a separate level of the two-tiered deck behind the Amelia Inn and near Kids' Camp Amelia. There's a kiddie wading pool here as well, the only one in the entire resort.

The Amelia Inn with its stucco-like facade and exterior hallways, as well as some of the "villa"(condo) buildings look dated from the outside. And some of the villas -- all individually owned -- are also dated on the inside. Decor varies. For the best rooms, try to book the most recently renovated units. The Amelia Inn completed room renovations in 2007. Sandcastles, an oceanfront complex of "villas" (condominiums) completed renovations in 2008. Every room in the hotel, in Sandcastles and in the other buildings that are beachfront offer full ocean views - no craning of your neck necessary to view the surf. These rooms also have patios or balconies.

Complimentary shuttle buses circulate throughout the property, arriving at designated stops every 15 minutes. On a rainy day when we had a number of packages, the staff happily called a shuttle for us. To get around, many families rent bicycles or Island Hoppers, gas-powered golf carts, from Amelia's Wheels.

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