Recently I covered how we took our older son, Miles, to Disney for the first time, which was quite the adventure. During our trip, we spent three nights at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World, and I’d like to share some thoughts on that stay.
The Four Seasons Orlando is a fascinating property, because it’s Four Seasons’ highest room count property globally, with 443 rooms and suites. But I think this property also perfectly captures what impresses me most about Four Seasons — the brand is remarkably good at delivering consistently high quality and friendly service (even at properties of this size), all while being spectacularly kids friendly, and having expansive amenities (a massive gym, an unbelievable pool complex, etc.).
Full disclosure — through his travel agency, Ford had a voucher for a complimentary Four Seasons stay to redeem before the end of the year, so that was used for this stay. All opinions expressed are my own.
With that out of the way, let me share some thoughts on the property, in no particular order…
In this post:
The Four Seasons Orlando is a huge, pristine hotel
The Four Seasons Orlando opened in 2014, and as you pull it certainly gives the impression of being a huge hotel (which I’m typically not a fan of, though we’re talking about Orlando and not Courchevel, so…).
Despite its size, the Four Seasons Orlando felt remarkably not crowded during our stay, despite being at high occupancy. I think that’s because while the main hotel structure is just one building, everything else is really spread out, including the huge number of amenities. On top of that, the hotel has a combination of conference guests and people visiting parks, so they don’t necessarily spend that much time in the main parts of the property.
The lobby has a lot of marble and feels grand, but still has a ton of personality, especially with a lot of holiday decorations during our stay.
The hotel’s rooms and suites are modern and luxurious. It’s worth noting that the hotel also has lots of rooms with views of Walt Disney World, where you can even see the fireworks from your room. That’s pretty cool!
Speaking of the parks, the Four Seasons is located in the gated Golden Oak community at Walt Disney World, and offers (very posh!) shuttle service to all the Disney parks, so you can be there within minutes.
The Four Seasons Orlando has flawless, family friendly service
If you ask me, the single thing that most sets Four Seasons apart from the competition is the consistent level of friendly and high quality service. There’s not a hotel group of this size that delivers so consistently in that regard. I was curious if Four Seasons’ highest room count hotel could deliver in that way as well, and it sure did.
In a word, I’d just describe Four Seasons service as frictionless. I know that sounds silly to some people, but so many hotels — especially ones of this size — struggle with that. This is even true of little things, like when you call room service, they pick up on the first or second ring, and they deliver the food exactly when they say they will, with everything exactly as requested.
Unsurprisingly, this is also a very family friendly Four Seasons, even more so than unusual. At check-in, they have kids do their own check-in “registration,” where they have to fill out a form with their preferences, and then they get a lollipop as a reward. Adorable.
In the room, they had a plush toy for Miles, as well as a bathrobe and slippers for his size. Like, how flippin’ cute for a three-year-old!
Housekeeping was also excellent, and in addition to being very detail oriented, it was cute how the plush animals were placed on the bed when the room was serviced. It’s all the little details that really add up.
The Four Seasons Orlando has expansive amenities
I imagine that most people staying at the Four Seasons Orlando are there to visit the parks, so it’s almost problematic how much there is to do on-property. The hotel has a five-acre water park, called Explorer Island.
If you want to get away from kids, don’t worry, there’s an adults only pool, which is beautiful.
Then there’s a massive pool for families.
Oh, there’s also a huge lazy river.
Then there’s a small splash pool of sorts, for kids.
Then there’s yet another pool at the kids club.
Oh, and there are also water slides (and rock climbing, and a pickelball court, and tennis courts, and…).
As usual, the hotel also has a huge gym, along with an expansive spa (which I didn’t even have the chance to check out).
The Four Seasons Orlando has impressive dining
The Four Seasons Orlando has several dining outlets to choose from, and a couple of things stood out. For one, breakfast is served at Ravello, the hotel’s Italian restaurant. It has an excellent breakfast, with the choice of an extensive buffet, or a la carte dining.
On select days each week, there’s even a Disney breakfast with Goofy and his pals, which Miles loved.
The Four Seasons Orlando also has a Michelin-starred rooftop steakhouse, Capa.
I also appreciate the little ways that Four Seasons tries to differentiate the experience, like complimentary coffee in the lobby in the mornings…
…and even a free basic happy hour for guests a few hours per week, with complimentary red and white wine.
The Four Seasons Orlando is priced at the top end of the market
It’s worth acknowledging that the Four Seasons Orlando is priced at the top end of the market, as is common for Four Seasons (though I think especially in Orlando, the Four Seasons really offers a differentiated experience). Rates vary massively throughout the year, but generally you’re looking at somewhere around $800-1,500 per night for a base room.
I’d say the “curse” with the Four Seasons is that so many people going to Disney are out and about morning to night, and only want a hotel room to sleep in. Like, confession time — we were so exhausted after our two days at Disney, and we were going to spend our last day enjoying Explorer Island with Miles. But I think Disney was so overwhelming and active that he got sort of ill on the third day, and just spent most of the day in bed (or he was just manipulating us for screen time, I dunno!).
If you want the best resort in Orlando and appreciate the consistency and quality of Four Seasons, by all means stay here. Do everything in your power to build in a day or two to actually take it easy and enjoy the resort.
However, if you’re coming to Orlando to visit the parks, and if you’re deciding whether to splurge on the Four Seasons Orlando or another Four Seasons (or other luxury) property where you’re likely to spend more time actually on property, I’d go for the latter.
Bottom line
If you ask me, Four Seasons is the world’s most consistent major hotel group, and even the brand’s highest room count property, the Four Seasons Orlando, lives up to the brand promise. While this is a huge property with a lot of guests, I found the service to be just as good as at any other Four Seasons property.
On top of that, the resort had all the things you expect from Four Seasons — an extremely kids friendly vibe, great dining, and very impressive facilities, from five pools with waterslides, to an extensive gym. The resort is a destination in and of itself, so if you do stay here, be sure you leave enough time to actually enjoy the resort.
@Ben How are you traveling with the two kids right now in hotels? Would be curious about room preferences, gear, etc.
We had our second recently and now have two under three. Are you doing double pack and plays? Is Miles in a bed? Do you prefer adjoining rooms vs a larger suite? Any other tricks you could share? One was easy enough to request a crib but looking at a trip to NYC and can't figure out the best way to make it happen.
The Four Seasons Sydney has 531 rooms and the Four Seasons Macao has 649 rooms, if you include the Grand Suites Tower.
If one must be in Orlando, and wants to over-pay, sure, why not. But, yeesh, these days, no thanks, if you can avoid it. (I know, Ben, you're already in Miami, but, like, oof, central Florida, yikes.) Glad Disney went well for you and yours, regardless. Happy holidays.
It's very much worth noting that (based on the photos) you got one of the updated rooms. They are still in process of doing this refresh and if you get an older room, they are extremely tired. I tend to agree with all of your reviews but in this case, I think you got a bit lucky (pun not intended). Having been there earlier this year and I frequently have clients there, I rank it...
It's very much worth noting that (based on the photos) you got one of the updated rooms. They are still in process of doing this refresh and if you get an older room, they are extremely tired. I tend to agree with all of your reviews but in this case, I think you got a bit lucky (pun not intended). Having been there earlier this year and I frequently have clients there, I rank it towards the bottom of the barrel in their portfolio (not even accounting for the high rates). Their concierge team is incredible, and I enjoyed the Ravello and Capa, but that was the extent of it. If you're there for the parks, you're quite a long way from them (the fireworks views are ok, but way in the distance). The service overall is just okay, and the food outside of the two main restaurants was very mediocre. There's also a ton of construction taking place while they build the residences, though that will go away soon. While the rooms have undergone a refresh (at least most of them), the property itself felt very tired to me.