Waldorf Astoria Orlando Review June 2016

ladyelizabeth

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
We just got back from a wonderful stay at the Waldorf Astoria in Bonnet Creek. It is now our favorite resort in Orlando and where we will be checking first about rates when planning our visits. We were able to get a AAA rate of $193 for a deluxe room with a Disney view (this doesn't include the resort fee or valet or taxes). Since we are Gold Hilton Honors members, we were entitled to a free room upgrade if available and we got a suite! It had a golf course view instead of a Disney view, but we didn't mind! The suite was awesome and it was available when we checked in at 11:30am. So win-win for us.

Here is a tour of our suite, Room 844:

When you enter the room there is a table with chairs in a wet bar area.
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There was a lot of storage in this area for food items and a full-size trash can in the left-most lower cabinet. To the right is a fridge that had two racks for wine bottles and an espresso machine on the counter above. Pods were replaced when house-keeping came twice daily. The room came with two complimentary bottles of water located next to the ice bucket (these were replaced by housekeeping) and two Evian bottles were available for purchase. There was no mini-bar.

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The living room was very comfortable. This sofa is a queen sleeper sofa. We did not need it but housekeeping would have made up the bed if we wanted it. It seems I didn't take a picture of the tv and storage unit in the living room. There was A LOT of storage! Three closets in addition to many drawers.

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The bed was extremely comfortable. We asked for extra pillows and were offered foam or feather. The window in the bedroom overlooked the balcony.

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The bathroom was quite spacious. All rooms come with robes. One was placed in the bathroom and the other was in the bedroom closet. I believe you could ask for an extra robe if you had more than two guests to a room. All requests were fulfilled quickly by the staff.

The products provided in the bathroom were Salvatore Ferregamo. Mouth wash was also provided. If anyone wants me to take photos of the bath products, I can - I brought a stash home (haha!).

Many towels were provided and they were changed twice daily by housekeeping. The bath towels were large and two floor mats were provided so one could be used for the shower and one for the bath.

The shower was very large with good water pressure and the water heated quickly. I wish I could have brought the shower home! Haha.

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The bath was just a normal bath. No jets. We don't take baths on a normal basis and prefer stand alone showers, but I understand with kids the need for a bath tub.

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Just another angle of the throne.

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This desk was located in the bedroom. Very spacious with Ethernet hook-up. We were provided premium wifi as Gold Hilton Honors members. Worked very well! Wifi is provided for all guests and is free in public areas.

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Panoramic photo I took from our balcony. In the distance is the Gaylord Palms and Raddison Resort in Celebration.
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I'll come back with some more comments later on dining, pools, and the valet!
 
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Thanks for your review. I'm diamond and staying on points in October. I used enough points to get a 2-queen suite for me, wife, and two daughters. I'm hoping they upgrade me to a suite with a King room and 2 Queens. That would be awesome. Its was available, but was more than double the points. I hope it stays available. I also got a room for my mother in law on my account/points, so there's a chance she'll get a suite too.

Did you take the buses to the parks? We're considering renting a car, so I await your discussion of the valet. Still deciding on that question. Subscribed so I don't miss your updates.
 
Thanks for your review. I'm diamond and staying on points in October. I used enough points to get a 2-queen suite for me, wife, and two daughters. I'm hoping they upgrade me to a suite with a King room and 2 Queens. That would be awesome. Its was available, but was more than double the points. I hope it stays available. I also got a room for my mother in law on my account/points, so there's a chance she'll get a suite too.

Did you take the buses to the parks? We're considering renting a car, so I await your discussion of the valet. Still deciding on that question. Subscribed so I don't miss your updates.

Thanks for the reply! I wasn't sure anyone was following along!

Definitely let the desk agent know that you are a diamond Hilton honors member. We brought that up and mentioned that we were entitled to an upgrade, asking what were our options. We had Melissa and she was very kind, offering us a couple options along with which room types were already available. We also received extra drink coupons because we were Hilton honors members that we could use at Peacock Alley. Each guest gets two welcome drinks, but Hilton Honors members get additional coupons. So we had a drink each evening after we returned from the parks!

I hope you have a wonderful trip and enjoy the resort as much as we did! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on your stay!
 
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Valet and Buses

We did not take the buses while we were staying at the Waldorf, choosing just to take our car to the parks.

Here is a link to the bus schedule: http://www.bonnetshuttle.com. We noticed that there was a lot more service to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot than the other parks, particularly in the evening. The buses looked very nice. They were motorcoaches.

Valet was very quick and professional. They asked that we call down about 15 minutes prior to wanting our car. That was no problem for us and each time we came downstairs our car was wanting for us and we got chilled bottle water each time (you do have request this). I will say that around 4-6pm each day, the valet got a little busier with check-in. This created a bit of a back-up one day and we waited about 5 minutes before I could hand my car over after returning from the parks (I'm a little paranoid and don't like to just leave my car running, so I always wait for an attendant). While I was waiting, I did see a Tesla drive up, so that was exciting! Other days, we had no problem. There were always 2-3 valet attendants at the front.
 


Pool

We loved the pool area. It was very relaxing! There were two pools, the one closer in this picture was larger and had a zero entry. During the day, there was towel service and the attendants would put down chair covers and give you large towels to dry off. They would also open umbrellas if you liked. Behind us was the golf course, making the pool area quiet. The pool area certainly had families, but it wasn't very loud or crowded. We also were able to use the pools at the Hilton, but we never made our way over there. While the Waldorf Astoria guests can use the Hilton pool (which has a lazy river), Hilton guests cannot use the Waldorf Astoria pools.


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This was a view of the dining area for aquamarine, the poolside bar and restaurant. Waitresses came around the pool area, so you can order drinks and food and have them brought to your chaise lounge. I saw many people with personal-sized pizzas by the pool!

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Clubhouse Grill

Our first day, we headed to the Clubhouse Grill for lunch. It was recommended to us by one of the staff members. You do have to walk out of the lobby and over to the golf clubhouse (which did initially confuse us). We had a great lunch! It was very quiet. There was indoor and outdoor seating. Here is a link to the menu: http://www.waldorfastoriaorlando.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Clubhouse-Menu-December-2015.pdf

We ordered the spinach and artichoke dip and split the Cobb salad wrap. Both were very fresh and tasty. The service was great and we had a lovely view of the driving range.

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Here is a view of the outside dining:

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I forgot to include this earlier and there is a 10 photo limit for each post. Here is a photo of our bedroom after turndown service:

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So helpful, @ladyelizabeth! One question, does this Waldorf have a club or executive lounge for HHonors elite members? We are trying to decide between this property and the Hilton LBV for an upcoming stay and wasn't sure if the Waldorf had a lounge. Thanks again for your detailed review, this is a great thread!
 
So helpful, @ladyelizabeth! One question, does this Waldorf have a club or executive lounge for HHonors elite members? We are trying to decide between this property and the Hilton LBV for an upcoming stay and wasn't sure if the Waldorf had a lounge. Thanks again for your detailed review, this is a great thread!

Thanks for the reply!! I do not believe there is a club lounge, but I might be wrong! I do know we received extra drink coupons to use in peacock alley for being HHonors members. You can always give them a call!! I'm sorry I'm not more helpful!
 
@ladyelizabeth I wanted to thank you for the wonderful TR. We are staying there in October prior to our cruise and after reading your report I don't regret not booking a Disney Resort. Looking forward to some relaxing! :hourglass

Thanks again!

Liz
 
Valet and Buses

We did not take the buses while we were staying at the Waldorf, choosing just to take our car to the parks.

Here is a link to the bus schedule: http://www.bonnetshuttle.com. We noticed that there was a lot more service to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot than the other parks, particularly in the evening. The buses looked very nice. They were motorcoaches.

Valet was very quick and professional. They asked that we call down about 15 minutes prior to wanting our car. That was no problem for us and each time we came downstairs our car was wanting for us and we got chilled bottle water each time (you do have request this). I will say that around 4-6pm each day, the valet got a little busier with check-in. This created a bit of a back-up one day and we waited about 5 minutes before I could hand my car over after returning from the parks (I'm a little paranoid and don't like to just leave my car running, so I always wait for an attendant). While I was waiting, I did see a Tesla drive up, so that was exciting! Other days, we had no problem. There were always 2-3 valet attendants at the front.
I snagged a great 170.00 aaa rate for next february before the resort fee. Was there somewhere in the waldorf lobby to get coffee? We will be traveling with DD age 5 so any tips for food at either waldorf or Hilton for kids? Thanks!
 
I snagged a great 170.00 aaa rate for next february before the resort fee. Was there somewhere in the waldorf lobby to get coffee? We will be traveling with DD age 5 so any tips for food at either waldorf or Hilton for kids? Thanks!

Yes! In the mornings (6am-11am), there's a coffee bar in Peacock Alley. Also, you can walk over to the Hilton (we always walked through the convention center, but there's also a golf cart shuttle out front over to the Hilton) and go to Muse, which is open 24/7. Aquamarine, the poolside restaurant at the Waldorf, has a "Young Adult" menu. Folks eat near the pool, which can be great when you have a child that you have to coax out of the pool to eat. Harvest Bistro at the Hilton would also be a great option for dinner. It's very casual and quick, which is sometimes good with the little ones!

That is such a great rate! Gotta love AAA. I hope you have a wonderful trip! I think you'll love it!
 

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