Margaritaville Resort Orlando
This sprawling 300-acre resort on the southern fringe of the tourist zone is mostly comprised of cute Key West–style timeshare cottages from one to eight bedrooms—you can rent one but they’re highly individual—but there’s a hotel amid the spaciousness. Every room (and they’re pretty big; 470 sq. ft., with giant, delightful bathrooms) has a shady porch with a view of the pool and beyond that, of a pond and nearly no other buildings. The lobby is cavernous enough to serve a hotel four times the size, which gives a sensation that you’re wasting away as the last vacationers on earth. Being so far south makes it much more convenient to Disney than the other parks, but the flip side is that it doesn’t succumb to theme park folderol. It’s hardly a non-stop party—the last bar still closes by midnight—maybe 184 hotel rooms isn’t quite enough to support all those amenities. Weirdly, there’s no Margaritaville restaurant (that’s at CityWalk), and staff can’t always keep up, but the Promenade at Sunset Walk dining-and-entertainment strip mall area on the grounds offers a decent number of upscale bars, restaurants, and a terrific multiplex that serves meals. There’s also a minor waterslide park (Island H2O Water Park, p. ###), but that’s separately ticketed. Between the resort fee and valet, the price is $75 higher than it looks. Resort fee warning: $40/night.
This sprawling 300-acre resort on the southern fringe of the tourist zone is mostly comprised of cute Key West–style timeshare cottages from one to eight bedrooms—you can rent one but they’re highly individual—but there’s a hotel amid the spaciousness. Every room (and they’re pretty big; 470 sq. ft., with giant, delightful bathrooms) has a shady porch with a view of the pool and beyond that, of a pond and nearly no other buildings. The lobby is cavernous enough to serve a hotel four times the size, which gives a sensation that you’re wasting away as the last vacationers on earth. Being so far south makes it much more convenient to Disney than the other parks, but the flip side is that it doesn’t succumb to theme park folderol. It’s hardly a non-stop party—the last bar still closes by midnight—maybe 184 hotel rooms isn’t quite enough to support all those amenities. Weirdly, there’s no Margaritaville restaurant (that’s at CityWalk), and staff can’t always keep up, but the Promenade at Sunset Walk dining-and-entertainment strip mall area on the grounds offers a decent number of upscale bars, restaurants, and a terrific multiplex that serves meals. There’s also a minor waterslide park (Island H2O Water Park, p. ###), but that’s separately ticketed. Between the resort fee and valet, the price is $75 higher than it looks. Resort fee warning: $40/night.
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