The Best Luxury Hotels in Orlando

Today you can choose from several Orlando luxuy hotels. Four Seasons Orlando opened in 2014 inside Disney World’s vast property. This deluxe resort offers every imaginable nicety, including:

• A regal main building in Spanish Revival style
• Verdant grounds with immaculately manicured landscaping
• Spacious, handsome guest rooms
• Separate pools for families and adults, and a Lazy River for aquatic lounging
• Four Seasons' deluxe camp for young guests, Kids for All Seasons
• An exceptional spa
• Excellent restaurants, from a rooftop steakhouse to an Italian trattoria to a weekend brunch featuring costumed Disney characters
• Fully equipped fitness center and tennis courts
• A Tom Fazio-designed golf course (details below)
• On-site Disney information, ticket counter, and fast-track park entrance
• And a complimentary shuttle to Disney attractions

No hospitality detail was overlooked at Four Seasons Orlando. This is a true luxury hotel.

• 443 guest rooms and suites are set in a graceful tower and private villas
• Design standards are uncompromising, with exquisite marble and sculpted wood finishes everywhere

• Rooms are comfortable and appealingly decorated in crisp whites, vibrant orange, sand subdued seafoam
• Rooms have private balconies or terraces, perfect for viewing Epcot’s nightly fireworks display
• Marble and mosaic bathrooms feature a soaking tub, walk-in glass-walled shower, partitioned john, in-mirror TV, Bigelow toiletries
• in-room amenities include a flatscreen TV; iPhone/iPod  station; USB charging outlets; Nespresso coffeemaker and pods; laptop-size safe
• Energy-efficient LED lighting
• Complimentary wifi and bottled water

• Capa, an alluring, Spanish-style rooftop steakhouse, serves prime beef cuts, tapas, and fresh Florida seafood
• Ravello, an Italian-Mediterranean trattoria, features indoor and outdoor seating, a show kitchen, and wood-burning pizza oven
• PB&G (Pool Bar & Grill), a lively Southern-style smokehouse and rotisserie, serves barbecue, a kids' menu, and frozen cocktail cocktails
• Lickety Split, a lobby coffee bar, delights with house-made pastries, sandwiches, gelati

Orlando has no shortage of golf courses. But given the area’s mostly flat terrain, few are destination courses worth seeking out.

One exception: Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Resort Orlando.

This par-71, 18-hole course debuted in October 2014 following a tee-to-green renovation of the former Osprey Ridge course. 

• The clubhouse has been completely refurbished, lending an elegant, upscale feel to the property
• Fazio’s renovation improved turf conditioning and made the course’s wide, tree-lined fairways and white sand bunkers more enjoyable to play

Among Tranquilo's highlights:

• Tiff-Eagle greens
• Top-line Titleist AP1 rental clubs
• Tranquilo info and photos

• Four Seasons Resort Orlando website
• Here on Luxury Travel, a look at the iconic Four Seasons hotel brand

Note: This Four Seasons Orlando story and photo were contributed by Guest Author Michael Hiller, who also wrote about Orlando's luxury attractions.

The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes is a large resort reminiscent of an Italian palazzo complex. Its vast estate is lushly planted and landscaped, with a border formed by peaceful Shingle Creek.

Guest service is of the renowned Ritz-Carlton variety. On-property diversions are endless, and the Ritz Kids program is catnip to young guests.

The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes is convenient to everything you want to do in Orlando.

• Walt Disney World Resort (10 miles)
• Universal Orlando Resort (10 miles)
• SeaWorld (two miles)
• Shuttle transportation is covered in the resort fee

The resort's 582 guest rooms are spacious and well-appointed.

• They include 56 Club Level rooms, 60 Executive Suites, two Presidential Suites, one Royal Suite
• Rooms begin at 480 square feet, with soothing taupe and gold décor and private walk-out balconies
• The club floor lounge provides enhanced concierge service and nearly round-the-clock food and drink presentations; see if a club-floor upgrade is worth it to you

The resort offers no fewer than ten dining and drinking establishments ranging from haute to casual. (Some venues are steps away at the neighboring JW Marriott). Highlights:

• NORMAN'S showcases celebrated Florida chef Norman Van Aken's New World fusion cuisine, melding Latin, Caribbean, Asian, and American flavors and traditions
• Highball & Harvest features Southern-style farm-to-table cuisine, with produce from the hotel's own garden; expect enlightened barbecue and soul food
• Citron calls itself "an American brasserie," with a focus on fresh Florida fish and seafood and locally farmed ingredients
• Primo fuses classic pan-Italian fare with a focus on seafood recipes and market-fresh produce

More Relaxation at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes

• The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando, Grande Lakes promises 18 Greg Norman-designed holes and vivid bird life (it is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary)
• The Ritz-Carlton Spa offers a range of pampering services including private spa cabanas and a lap pool
• Kids' programs include an Open Play hour, Ritz Kids, and Kids' Nights
• Private and group Adventure Experiences include kayaking, fishing, eco-tours, birding expeditions, and more

• Property website
• Luxury Travel's story about the Ritz-Carlton hotel brand 

Waldorf Astoria Orlando, unfurled in 2009, is one of the most sophisticated and elegant luxury properties in this visitor magnet.

• The resort provides complimentary shuttles to Disney World Theme Parks and Downtown Disney^.

498 sunny, high-style rooms come in seven room categories.

• They range from Deluxe Rooms of 448 square feet to the 2,840-square-foot  Presidential Suite
• All accommodations flaunt Italian marble bathrooms

Numerous distinctive eateries appeal to hotel guests and Orlando visitors. Our favorites:

• Bull & Bear was inspired by the legendary steakhouse at New York's Waldorf Astoria. You'll savor meaty classics (like the signature 32-Day Dry-Aged Tomahawk Rib Eye) plus unique recipes like Flaming Lobster and Escargot & Gnocchi
• Peacock Alley offers small plates and divine cocktails in a plush, lounge-like setting. Fridays and Saturdays, you can indulge in its Bar du Chocolat

• Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, an 18-hole championship designed by Rees Jones, is set within a nature preserve
• The full-service Waldorf Astoria Spa
• For guests ages 5 to 12, the WA Kids Club daily and Astoria After Dark on Friday and Saturday nights

• Resort website
• And its deals and packages
• Here on Luxury Travel, the magic of the Waldorf Astoria hotel brand

Disney runs over two dozen hotels and resorts in Orlando. The Grand Floridian is the most upscale, and the pinnacle of Disney digs.

• Many Orlando visitors regard this elegant resort as a destination in itself
• The Grand Floridian is connected by monorail to other Disney attractions, and is one stop from Disney's Magic Kingdom

The Grand Floridian is indeed a grand hotel.

• It's a big, bustling property with a legendary aura and a see-and-be-seen lobby that invites guests to participate in the social life of the hotel
• Its estate is vast, covering three golf courses and a fishing lake

This gracious hotel makes you feel you're in Old Florida.

• It resembles a turn-of-the-century Sunshine State resort such as you find in Palm Beach and Boca Raton
• Its look: a Spanish Revival palace with towers, glass domes, and potted palm trees
• A live band in the lobby plays Dixieland, ragtime, and the kind of peppy early jazz now thought of as "cartoon music"

The resort's 867 rooms occupy two main buildings. 

• Ten categories of accommodations  range from comfortable king rooms to massive suites that can sleep an extended family.

All rooms are furnished in pleasing Victorian style, with patterned wallpaper, floral bedspreads, and ornately carved headboards.

• Many rooms have balconies
• Wifi is free everywhere

Aquatic Playgrounds at The Grand Floridian

The resort is renowned for its water wonderland, including:

• Seven Seas Lagoon, a tropical environment with a sand beach and a 111,000-gallon pool
• A nearly 200-foot waterslide
• Cabanas galore

The resort is an acclaimed dining destination for guests, other Orlando visitors, and locals.

• Over a dozen eateries cover it all in style and cuisine
• There's fine dining and casual bites, breakfast with Disney characters, afternoon tea, late-night cocktails, and much more

Victoria & Albert's is Orlando's highest-rated restaurant.

• AAA has awarded Victoria & Albert's its rare Five Diamonds every year since 2000
• TripAdvisor members ecstatically rank it #1 of 3,200 restaurants in Orlando

This elegant eatery is named for the Queen of England (and Empress of India) who ruled from 1837 to 1901. Her beloved consort, Prince Albert, fathered her eight royal children.

Victoria & Albert's is not a drop-in restaurant. This is "slow food" and a guaranteed memorable evening.

• The atmosphere is suitably Victorian. Servers are clad in handsome period garb, and diners tend to dress for the occasion, too
• Victoria & Albert's Chef's Table is an ultimate experience, serving a customized menu for up to 10 diners in a private alcove

The cuisine at Victoria & Albert's is regally deluxe and quite modern.

• The dining format is a multi-course prix-fixe menu
• Dishes are luxurious, like lobster with caviar and fennel-crusted sea scallop
• Wine pairings are global and adventurous, and may include sake and port
• More on the property's dining

• Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa website 

The Alfond Inn is not in Orlando proper. It is six miles away in Winter Park, an arts center for all of central Florida.

Winter Park was founded as a Florida getaway for "snowbird" artists and writers to spend the winter (hence the name). Today, Winter Park is the home of Rollins College and many arts organizations, galleries, and museums. It is a favorite side trip from Orlando.

The Alfond Inn, opened in 2013, is the place to stay in Winter Park. A stay in this charming, elegant hotel and its small-scale surroundings provide an invigorating balance to big, showy Orlando.

The Alfond Inn is a true boutique hotel, with only 112 rooms in eight categories.

• They range in size from 325 to 1,000 square feet
• The look is crisp and modern, with burnished wood details and accent colors of turquoise and chartreuse
• Room perks include free wifi and bottled water
• The Alfond Inn is decidedly pet-friendly; dogs are welcomed with a gift basket and signature treats at turndown (see what a truly pet-friendly hotel policy involves)

• The hotel's social lobby is a popular place for guests to lounge with their iPads
• The 24-hour fitness center is fully equipped
• And the outdoor pool is long enough for lap swimming
• The pool is surrounded by loungers, many under shaded pergolas, with strong wifi
• Concierges can be counted on to really know what's going on in artistic Winter Park

Winter Park is a dining destination, and The Alfond Inn is a prime draw for leisurely feasting. Hamilton's Kitchen is a hotspot that serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, Sunday brunch, and also a lounge menu. 

• The four-course tasting menu and five-course chef's table menus with wine pairings are outstanding values

The in-house restaurant, Hamilton's Kitchen, is a successful attempt to channel an old-fashioned Southern homestyle dining. The upshot: hearty farm food for modern palates.

• The chef favors locally sourced ingredients from Florida farms and waters
• Think honey-gazed pork belly, oxtail-and cod "surf & turf," olive oil-poached Atlantic snapper, corned-beef hash breakfast burrito

• The Alfond Inn website
• Hotel deals and packages

• Visit Orlando website
• Here on Luxury Travel, the sophisticated side of Orlando (including Winter Park)