Navigating the Orlando hotel scene can be a challenge, even when presented with a limited set of parameters. I had a chance to review the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort on a recent Disney trip and was pleased with the value despite some initial challenges.
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Location
The resort is located less than five miles from Epcot Center and amongst other Disney properties such as Disney Springs Shopping, Disney Caribbean Beach, and Disney Hollywood Studios. Most importantly, it’s close enough to see the fireworks each night from your hotel room or from the pool area. It’s accessible from Interstate 4 and less than 30 minutes from the airport.
The property shares pools, restaurants, and shuttle services with the Waldorf-Astoria next door.
14100 Bonnet Creek Resort Ln, Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 597-3600
Why I Chose This Property
When writing about a glitch in pricing I found for the Waldorf-Astoria, a reader wrote in with some helpful advice:
“Having stayed here before on a free night, this is an incredible waste of points. Better to stay at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek next door, still have access to the Waldorf and amenities within walking distance, and pay half the points.” – Marvin
“I agree, the Hilton bonnet creek is an excellent property.” – Fred Marshall
I can’t argue with that. While it wasn’t quite half price (I had gotten the Hilton website to price the Waldorf-Astoria Orlando for 80,000 points per night, Bonnet Creek was 50,000), it was close. What made it more enticing was that I was booking two nights for two rooms. Switching from 80,000 points per room, per night meant a cost of 320,000 points plus resort fees, my cost was reduced to 200,000.
I also wanted to give our family an option for a premium experience in the event that our day at Disney didn’t go as planned or we would want to switch to a pool day for the second of our stay. The 3-acre lazy river on-site, multiple pools, and easy restaurants made a lot of sense for our trip. The nature preserve and golf course behind the hotel add natural beauty.
It’s also an official Walt Disney World Resort “Good Neighbor” hotel which gives guests the same privileges they would have staying at a Disney-owned hotel. Diamond members have the daily resort charge (about $30 at last check) waived. For those that are shopping online without Honors status, the rate does not include taxes, gratuities, parking, daily resort charges, or incidental charges.
Room
The room is the epitome of standard. It was clean and up-to-date, but it was a standard hotel rectangle: walk into the room, the bathroom is to the right, followed by a desk and drawers to the left with a TV over the top, and two queen beds to the right. A window at the back showed the golf course and pool area.
For the expensive cost of the hotel (either points or cash), I was disappointed that the bathroom was a shower over tub with bar soap. This was later swapped for shower gel.
Breakfast
Frankly, I had not yet been to a full-service Hilton that followed the Diamond breakfast policy (complimentary Continental breakfast) to the letter of the law. This property does. It is a mega property but so is the Hilton Waikoloa and they offered full breakfast to Diamond guests and the other guests in their room without hesitation. I can’t be mad about the hotel following the policy, even though other properties go above and beyond.
The Hilton Bonnet Creek Orlando breakfast buffet is offered to Gold and Diamond guests (who receive free continental breakfast) for an upgrade of $10 each and that’s more than fair considering what’s included. Those who prefer to stay within the confines of the free breakfast can choose from a limited buffet or make selections from the Harvest Bistro at the restaurant’s entrance.
Complimenting a full hot buffet with made-to-order eggs and omelets are fresh fruit, charcuterie, and pastries.
Pool
A collection of pools are the key differentiating factor of this property. In addition to zero-entry pools, there are a number of hot tubs amongst the deck chairs to keep both kids and parents happy. Wrapping around those is a lazy river with a gentle current and a number of inflatable rings available for any of the guests of the property. We didn’t golf at the course just outside of the pool area, but we did get a chance to spend an evening watching the fireworks and swimming in the lazy river, pool, and hot tub. Late into the evening, the patios were packed with families eating and kids playing. Private cabanas are available through the concierge though there is limited availability over select dates.
Service
The hotel reached out with a standardized text response survey “How are we doing on a scale of 1-10?” Following a response that failed to garner a 9 or a 10 because of the bar soap and a misunderstanding with regard to breakfast, they conveyed the breakfast policy and shower gel awaited us upon our returned from the parks. Rather than judge any service situation by an initial issue it’s advantageous to gauge the property’s response. When I brought these issues to the attention of their staff, they reached out with a solution and provided an unexpected result.
While the hotel was fully booked and I didn’t receive an upgrade, the staff went out of their way to show us that they appreciated our business. That gives the hotel a premium feel and gave us a reason to leave fully satisfied.
The services offered in 2021 Hilton worldwide resorts are subject to change as the world recovers from COVID.
Value
The cash price for the room during our stay would have been $400+/room/night, pretty steep for a standard Hilton, but given this was over a holiday weekend and the hotel was fully booked, it’s probably fair. While the hotel nightly rate is subject to change and based on occupancy we have seen it swing as low as $200 per night. We used our points to pay for the stay and received about twice the average rate for Hilton properties ($.008/point as opposed to $.004/point). For everything the property offers, the proximity to the parks, and the service onsite, I thought the value for money was pretty good.
Do you have a favorite Orlando property you prefer?
When visiting Disney, the choices are to splurge in the hotel or go cheap,enjoy shows and have elaborate dinners. When staying at a Disney operated resort, the guest has early access to the park selected for the specific day and use of most of any resort’s facilities.
The Four Season’s spa and lazy river pool are without a doubt the most impressive. Saves a chunk of money considering Volcano Bay is about $80/person.
We prefer skipping the morning blitz (Matthew is just the opposite) and instead, going late. We might try the Four Seasons on our next visit to the Parks, great tip!
I’ve never payed $400 per night at Hilton Bonnet Creek. I have found rooms for $151 with AAA discount per night or 50,000 per night. This is my favorite property every time we visit Walt Disney world.
Kelly, it sounds like you got a great deal for a cash price. We had shopped over a holiday weekend and during peak season, so perhaps that is what contributed to the higher cash rates. I would however also state then that the rate of 50,000 points per night is a terrible valuation as you would get a rate of just $.003/point which is one of the worst I have seen. Keep in mind that on top of those points you would have to add the resort fee as well. That being said, it was a lovely property.
We stayed at Waldorf next door while they were having special Visa promo. I think out of pocket cost was around $150. We got upgraded to a very large suite facing the parks so we got to see all the parks fireworks. We asked for the sofa bed to be setup but they missed it. When I listed on the survey the FO manager called me personally to apologize and comped the resort fees. We stayed the week just after Thanksgiving. As a diamond, we also got full breakfast throughout the stay plus addtl F&B credit from the visa promo.
That’s a fantastic deal!
Was the complementary continental breakfast given to both rooms? I ask because my benefits was provided to three rooms I booked at the Hilton in St Augustine this December. I have booked three rooms at Bonnet Creek and curious if they are as generous.