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Best for Families: Every Disney resort caters to families, with special menus for kids, video-game arcades, free transportation to the parks, extensive recreational facilities, and, in some cases, character meals. Some, however, stand out in particular. Disney's Beach Club Resort boasts a laid-back seaside charm, a multitude of kid-friendly dining options, and one of the coolest pools on Disney property, making it a favorite with families—and Epcot is literally just steps away. To enjoy wilderness of a different kind, try Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, where the animals of the African savanna seemingly come right up to your doorstep. If you prefer the rustic and woodsy feel of the Pacific Northwest's national parks, head to Disney's Wilderness Lodge.
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Best for Business Travelers: The Gaylord Palms, Marriott Orlando World Center, and Hyatt Regency Orlando towers offer full concierge service, excellent restaurants, spacious lounges, and an extensive array of business services, while the Hyatt Place Orlando Universal is a good option for the more budget-conscious business set.
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Best Location: Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney's Contemporary Resort are on the WDW monorail route, providing easy access to the parks. The Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, and Royal Pacific Resort are within walking distance of both Universal Orlando parks, and there's also quick boat service to the dock at CityWalk.
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Best Pools: All of the Walt Disney World resorts have wonderfully whimsical, themed swimming pools, and usually of irregular Olympic size. Arguably, the best is shared by Disney's Beach Club Resort and Disney's Yacht Club Resort: Stormalong Bay, a 3-acre free-form pool and water park, stretches between them, including a shipwreck for exploring and sand-bottom pools for a toe-tickling experience. Outside the Disney complex, the best resort pool in Orlando can be found nearby at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort. It's a half-acre, lagoonlike, water-world pool that flows through rock grottoes, is spanned by a rope bridge, and has 12 waterfalls and two steep water slides. The 24,000-square-foot lazy river pool shared by the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott Orlando at Grande Lakes, however, definitely provides some stiff competition. Not to be ignored is the rock-'n'-roll pool at Universal's Hard Rock Hotel, with its underwater sound system and fantastic landscaping, or the super kid-friendly water park-style playground pools at the Holiday Inn Resort Family Suites Orlando—Waterpark.
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Inside the Theme Park Resorts: Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, which opened in 1971, have become architectural landmarks, and their location on the monorail system makes a vacation easy and fun, but Disney’s Art of Animation Resort represents the newest and best of the resort’s lowest-priced rooms. Universal’s Sapphire Falls Resort applies a layer of Caribbean style to the budget category and its 16-story Aventura Hotel is brand new and, uniquely for the theme park hotels, a tower. The Four Seasons Resort Orlando, on Walt Disney World property, delivers a level of luxury that’s a revelation among theme park hotels.
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Full-Service Resorts Outside the Parks: Exquisite restaurants and unbeatable pool areas make the Grande Lakes’ JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton two names to beat among Orlando’s luxury resorts, while the Waldorf Astoria translates Park Avenue pomp to Florida style. Taking theme-park flair to a hospitality extreme, the colossal atrium of Gaylord Palms is like a big top for eye candy.
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Affordability Without Sacrifice: Not all affordable hotels are shabby. Drury Inn Suites, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites Orlando Flamingo Crossings, and Fairfield Inn Orlando International Drive/Convention Center offer recently built rooms near the action for around $100 a night, while the B Resort puts you in a South Beach–styled resort right on Disney property for the middle $100s. WorldQuest Resort and Meliá Orlando Suite Hotel at Celebration have style and space without the crowds and offer one-bedroom units from $129.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
