Waldorf Astoria - Orlando
- Nick, Editor
- Sep 22
- 8 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
a grown-up haven inside the Disney bubble
Article summary
In this article, you will get our unbiased, independent review and thoughts on The Waldorf Astoria Resort in Orlando
First impressions
The look
Rooms & suites
Editors notes
Spa & amenities
Food & drink
Service & vibe
Location
Price
Verdict
Pros & Cons
Tours & activities
There is something quietly audacious about placing a Waldorf Astoria in the middle of Orlando, a city more known for fireworks and frenetic thrills than hushed elegance. Yet the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, set within the 482-acre Bonnet Creek nature preserve, has carved out a world of refined calm just minutes from the gates of Walt Disney World. It offers a different kind of magic: one defined not by rides or parades, but by orchestral service, timeless design, and the luxury of unhurried space.
The hotel’s arrival is heralded by a palm-lined drive and a façade that channels the original New York flagship’s art-deco heritage, clean lines, limestone hues, and a certain stately restraint. Step into the lobby and you’re enveloped in marble and soft light, the hum of a grand piano occasionally drifting through the air. There’s no gimmickry here, no resort brashness, just a sense of dignity, as though the hotel is gently reminding you that you’ve entered a different class of hospitality.
Set in its own preserve off Bonnet Creek, this is one of those big-shouldered resorts that doesn’t need to shout. It has the poise of a classic, stone, glass, a lobby clock that nods to the New York original, and the bandwidth to make a multigenerational trip feel easy: an 18-hole Rees Jones course, a serious spa, a zero-drama pool scene, and a dining program that delivers without compromise.
It’s also an Official Walt Disney World Hotel, which means 30-minute Early Theme Park Entry and complimentary luxury motorcoach transportation to the parks and Disney Springs, structural advantages that remove friction from a destination built on lines and logistics.
First impressions:
Walk in and the brand grammar is immediate: the lobby’s Peacock Alley, arched, glamorous, newly reimagined with an “Organic Deco” gleam, spills across marble floors toward picture windows framing lawns and water. It’s the Waldorf language translated into Central Florida: haute-hotel polish softened by subtropical light. The check-in is brisk, the smiles unforced, and there’s a well-timed suggestion to grab a table in Peacock Alley if your room needs five minutes more to ready (you should; it’s one of Orlando’s great lobby lounges).
Upstairs, the scale comes into view. Depending on which spec sheet you read, the hotel runs roughly 500 rooms, including 171 suites, and yet it reads intimate in the right places: low, warm light in corridors; palms brushing balcony rails; small, human rhythms threading the day.
Rooms & suites at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando
Guest rooms are a few degrees cooler than Florida’s default, stone and pale woods, creamy textiles, dabs of lake blue. The private balcony is standard in most categories and worth engineering your day around: coffee at sunrise with a golf-course silhouette; a nightcap with fireworks pricking the far horizon. Bathrooms are generous and intelligently lit; blackout curtains and whisper-quiet AC deliver the gold standard of hotel luxury, sleep you don’t have to fight for. Rooms are up to expectations, beautiful in fact.
Suites matter here, and there are many: Chairman’s, Governor’s, Presidential for the “let’s celebrate” crowd; one-bedroom configurations for families who want doors; and Club Level options if you fancy that hotel-within-a-hotel cadence. For more information, offers, and bookings, click here.
Pools, cabanas, and more
The Waldorf’s pool is archetypal resort ease: green lawns, palms casting sensible shade, attendants who appear with waters before you realise you’re thirsty. Cabanas are properly specified, fans, sofa, service, and the kids’ splash zone keeps mini-travellers in their own orbit so adults can read more than three pages. Neighbour and sister property Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek adds a wildcard: a lazy river next door that Waldorf guests can enjoy (there are even “first-come” tubes for cross-property drifting). That bit of shared DNA is one of Bonnet Creek’s great stealth perks.
If your version of water comes with movement, you’ve also got Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, Rees Jones, 18 holes, par 72, threading through cypress and wetland edges like a landscape painting you can walk. It’s on Golf Magazine’s “Top Courses You Can Play,” and reads kinder than it plays if the breeze freshens. Rent a set, roll a few putts on the practice green, and commit to giving the par-3s the respect they deserve.
The spa:
The Waldorf Astoria Spa is a legit decompression chamber, high, bright, citrus-tinged, and refreshingly pragmatic about hours (9-5 Sun-Thu, 9-8 Fri-Sat, subject to change). Think massage that lands where travel tension lives, facials with serious product lines, whirlpools and steam to extend the bliss, and a quiet outdoor area where time dissolves. For a do-nothing day, pair a treatment with Vitale, Spa Café for lunch that tastes like a good decision.
Disney:
This is an Official Walt Disney World Hotel, which in practice means two things that change your day: Early Theme Park Entry (that 30-minute jump is a crowd-skipping superpower if you use it) and complimentary motorcoach transportation. Shuttles loop to all four parks and Disney Springs on a fixed schedule; you’ll sometimes be dropped at the Transportation & Ticket Centre for Magic Kingdom (a slightly longer walk than Disney Resort buses), but the trade is a padded seat and air-con you didn’t have to queue for.
Parents: the resort’s Kids Club runs creative daytime poolside activities and a supervised “Astoria After Dark” evening session Fridays and Saturdays (6-9 pm), prime time for an adult dinner at Bull & Bear or a spa hour. You’ll get back a child who smells faintly of s’mores and seems two inches taller with stories.
Eating & drinking:
Bull & Bear is the headline act and one of the most persuasive arguments for staying in. It’s a theatre of precise excess in the best sense: top-grade beef, “re-imagined steakhouse” flourish, tableside moments (hello, Chateaubriand), and signatures locals talk about, Fried Chicken, Pasta Explosion, that sound gimmicky on paper and land like a hug from a very talented chef. It’s also one of OpenTable’s perennial “Top 100 in the U.S.” picks, which explains the mix of locals and in-house celebrators at 8:15 on a Saturday. Book ahead; go hungry; sit close to the action if you like a little culinary choreography with your dinner.
Oscars keeps mornings civilised with a brasserie-style breakfast (if you’re park-bound, this is your fuel stop), while Peacock Alley turns the lobby into a social salon noon-to-late with a bar program that flatters both martini die-hards and spritz people. For mid-round fixes, the Clubhouse Grille does burgers and salads with a fairway view and a you-earned-it pour. And while it technically lives in the adjoining Signia, La Luce is an easy, excellent fallback, straightforward Italian that pleases picky teens and weary grown-ups in equal measure.
The vibe:
This is one of Orlando’s most successful tonal balancing acts: grown-up without being exclusionary; family-fluent without being juvenile. Service is genuinely Waldorf: crisp, gracious, and anticipatory without the performance of deference. By 3 pm, the pool is a comfortable hum; by 6, Peacock Alley has the social energy of a city hotel; by 9, Bull & Bear is a low-lit, celebratory thrum. And threaded through it all is the knowledge that you can sprint at the parks and still sleep like you planned a holiday, not a heist.
What to do beyond the obvious:
Kayak the Bonnet Creek waterways at first light and listen to Florida tell its pre-theme-park story; the hotel team can arrange guided paddles.
Play nine just before sunset; the Rees Jones routing glows gold in that hour.
Spa & pool stack: treatment mid-afternoon, languid hour at the spa pool, Peacock Alley aperitivo, Bull & Bear late seating.
Cross-property perks: that lazy river next door is the easiest “we have kids” olive branch you’ll ever extend to yourself.
Practicalities & pricing:
Orlando rates swing with the calendar: school breaks, festivals, conventions. Typical nightly rates from £400 in shoulder periods, rising to £800 (and well past four figures for suites or peak weeks). If you can play with dates, late April/early May and September regularly marry gentler weather to friendlier pricing.
A Quick 3-day itinerary:
Day 1 - Float, flirt, feast. Arrive and ignore the parks. Drop bags, claim a lounger, and let the Waldorf pool recalibrate your pulse. Late lunch at Clubhouse Grille or a nibble in Peacock Alley, nap, then dress for Bull & Bear. Order like you mean it (there’s no wrong answer, but the Chateaubriand for two is a flex), and let dessert be your only debate.
Day 2 - Rope-drop, reset, repeat. Use Early Entry to knock off a headliner (or two), then retreat before the sun drills holes in your plans. Spa at three; Vitale by the pool at four; Peacock Alley spritz at six; a lazy loop through La Luce if the mood is pasta; lobby nightcap and a balcony minute before bed.
Day 3 - Greens & goodbyes. Nine holes at dawn, a quick shower, Oscar's breakfast, and a last swim. Book a later flight next time; you’ll want it.
Verdict:
Waldorf Astoria Orlando solves a deceptively complex equation: how to be inside Disney’s gravitational field without surrendering to it. It does so with architecture that borrows the brand’s Manhattan DNA and bathes it in Florida light; with rooms that prioritise sleep and private outdoor space; with a pool and spa sequence that turns a park day into a pleasure again; with an on-property golf course that isn’t an afterthought; and with a dining headliner that would be destination-worthy anywhere. Add the Walt Disney World benefits, early entry, seamless transportation, and you have the rare Orlando hotel that makes both halves of a family happy without anyone keeping score.
Bottom line: If your Orlando plan reads coasters in the morning, cocktails at dusk, real sleep in between, Waldorf Astoria Orlando is the sweet spot, close enough to the magic to feel it, far enough to hear yourself think.
Pros & Cons:
Pros:
Official Walt Disney World Hotel perks: 30-minute Early Entry and complimentary transportation to parks and Disney Springs.
Bull & Bear is a genuine destination restaurant; Peacock Alley is one of Orlando’s best lobby lounges.
Rees Jones 18-hole course on site; scenic, playable, and a proper practice setup.
Serious spa with extended weekend hours; easy “reset” pairing with pool and Vitale.
Cross-property lazy river access next door adds kid-magnet value.
Cons:
Rates surge on peak calendars; resort fees and parking add up. (Check our booking link for current offers)
Magic Kingdom drop-off at TTC can mean longer walks than Disney-operated buses.
Pool can hum at school-holiday peaks; consider a cabana for shade/security of space.
Key facts at a glance:
Location: 14200 Bonnet Creek Resort Lane, Orlando, FL 32821, Bonnet Creek Preserve; 15-20 minutes to Disney or Universal.
Hotel rating: Luxury five-star under the Waldorf Astoria flag.
Hotel vibe: Urbane, resort-calm; New York lineage softened by Florida light. Lobby bar as social anchor, pool as daily reset.
Food & drink:
Bull & Bear - re-imagined steakhouse; OpenTable Top 100; signatures include Fried Chicken, Pasta Explosion, Chateaubriand.
Oscars - brasserie-style breakfast.
Peacock Alley - lobby lounge for cocktails and light bites.
Clubhouse Grille - 19th-hole classics with course views.
La Luce (adjacent Signia), easy Italian fallback.
Hotel amenities:
Waldorf Astoria Spa (9-5 Sun-Thu; 9-8 Fri-Sat, subject to change).
Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, Rees Jones, 18 holes, par 72; Top Courses You Can Play.
Resort pool with cabanas; kids’ splash zone; access to Signia’s lazy river.
WA Kids Club (daytime programming; “Astoria After Dark” Fri–Sat 6-9 pm).
Disney Early Entry; complimentary transportation to parks and Disney Springs.
How many rooms: 502 rooms total, including 171 suites.
Pricing: Highly seasonal; £400-£800/night; £800+ common on peaks; Suites from £1100
Location recommendations & attractions: Walt Disney World (all four parks) and Disney Springs via motorcoach; Universal Orlando and SeaWorld by short rideshare; on-property golf and spa for non-park days. For more tours & activities in Orlando, see below or click here.
All hotels & resorts on The Five Star Edit are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive a small commission from advertisers when using our affiliate links.
Waldorf Astoria Orlando (Florida) Review 2025
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