A new premium property opened up with Disney theme park benefits, the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa. But how does it compare to alternatives?
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Location
At the entrance to the Walt Disney World Resort, a section of hotels that partner with Disney but are not owned and operated by Disney offer guests something more. Just 2.3 miles from the Magic Kingdom, and with great food and shopping (as well as quick access to I-4) the hotel is located as close to Disney as possible without being a part of Disney.
Address: 14900 Chelonia Pkwy, Orlando, FL 32821
Phone: +1 407-919-6300
Benefits
I was recognized as both a Marriott Bonvoy Gold member, and more importantly, as a American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts client. I have spoken about how hard it can be to derive value from the Platinum card benefit that provides a $200/night credit in addition to the benefits. This was a rare case where I was able to redeem the perk.
Though we didn’t need them all, we had the option of:
- Early check-in
- Late check-out
- $100 onsite credit
- Confirmed upgrade to the next category room
- And Daily Breakfast for two in the hotel restaurant
These benefits are also available through qualified travel agencies and the Marriott Stars & Marriott Luminous programs like Scott & Thomas.
Property
For a premium property, especially this specific property, I was a little surprised by the approach. The hotel boasts more than 500 guest rooms and suites and though it’s located in Orlando, Florida with good weather year-round, the pools seemed entirely inadequate for the size.
We stayed for Mother’s Day and while the hotel was busy it didn’t seem close to full, yet by 9 AM, half the seats outside were gone. I can’t imagine how crowded the pool area must be during other peak times.
On-site there is a restaurant, lobby bar, coffee shop, spa, fitness center, parking garage, two pools, and a conference center. The pools are split between family and adults-only and come with a list of rules and requirements. The pools are dramatically smaller than other hotels of a similar size in the premium space around Orlando. In fact, the Bonnet Creek development, where this property is located, competes with the mid-tier (but very nice) Hilton Signia and the adjoined Waldorf-Astoria which has a water park with a lazy river. For a 500+ room hotel, it’s unacceptable.
Restaurant
The hotel separated out its normal breakfast service from the Mother’s Day service which would be available outside of the bounds of included breakfasts and required us to vacate the dining room at 10:30 which was fair enough.
For our breakfast, there were some elevations and some outright failures. A specialty coffee bar with not one but two working baristas were spinning out incredible coffee for other tables. We got more of a traditional buffet service. A server who has been doing the job longer than I have been alive whisks into our table with a pot of hot coffee and two mugs. We ask for iced coffee and instead of offering us the menu of specialty coffees (for which we would have gladly paid a surcharge) she simply brought a pair of cups with ice. Not great.
Offerings were certainly a level above a standard business hotel breakfast buffet with some nice items like a crepe station and crab benedict. But the crab benedict was prepared in advance and placed in a warming tin, and the person making the crepes was also the chef in charge of the omelet station and service times suffered. If you didn’t want to wait for an omelet, you could help yourself to soupy buffet eggs which I have never full understood – liquid on the bottom, flat but cooked in the middle, and then a drying skin on top – who eats this?
There was a fruit station that I believe offered fresh juice – I couldn’t say if it was for an extra charge or included. It was staffed during our visit but the person never came to speak to me. Brûlée grapefruit was an interesting option. I would have been happy to pay for a fresh green juice to start the day, though at nosebleed high prices, it felt like it should have been included.
The server, who also had us waiting for a silverware rollup until we were essentially ready to leave, was apologetic, but clearly more concerned about conveying the bill than serving our table.
Room
What can I say? Know thy self. I’m just not a big Marriott guy. My favorite properties owned by Marriott were from non-Marriott brands that Marriott acquired like SPG’s Le Meridien, and St. Regis, or the Ritz-Carlton brand. The room had all of the hallmarks of a premium room. Taller than average ceilings, a great desk to get some work done, big heavy furniture that sends a message of stability and quality.
But other than that, there wasn’t anything special to the room itself. We were there after turn down so I am not sure if they would place the little service towel at the side of the bed with slippers, but I didn’t get the impression they would.
The hotel was set to open in 2020 but due to COVID it was delayed until the summer of 2022. Despite the relatively recent construction, the plugs had some odd quirks. There weren’t a ton of them, not USB-C, but then there was this really suspicious plug that didn’t clearly offer any additional benefit. It was so suspicious that I examined the black screen at the top to see if it was a camera because why add two outlets to a two outlet plug?
We overlooked the pool, and based on what we saw, it seemed like the architects did too.
I do appreciate a hotel that features a smart TV with Netflix (and other streaming services) pre-loaded. It makes life so much easier and better, especially with kids.
The room had a smaller than expected closet, a smaller than expected bedroom chair, coffee station and mini-fridge.
One more important note: Do not pick up the phone at this hotel. Should you use it, for some reason, to call anyone outside of the hotel or 9-1-1 you will be met with a $21 fee and $2.50/minute. I despise this and thought this model was dead and gone. It preys solely on unsuspecting guests either non-English speakers or the rare few without cell phones and taxes them entirely unnecessarily. I beg anyone from the JW Marriott brand or this hotelier to defend this policy with a straight face.
Bathroom
The strongest sense of a premium finish to the property was in the bathroom. A large stone soaking tub was to the right with a large vanity at the back wall, and to the left a closed-door water closet and large shower.
The trend of doing away with small toiletries that are bad for the environment (but great for people that want to take them home) usually means wall-mounted bottles. But this can feel cheap (especially when they are locked up) and pose a number of other issues. At the JW, simply by leaving them outside of a cage – “free range shampoo” – it felt more premium and I didn’t really mind it. There’s a card on the vanity that states you can enjoy them while you’re checked in but if you choose to take the bottle home then they will charge you. It seems reasonable to me.
Service
I don’t want to be ambiguous about the service outside of the buffet. Our check-in experience was nothing short of five-star. Elsewhere, staff made an effort and were conscious of expectations. That said, it’s not a five-star hotel without all-night access to food. We checked in late and by the time we were upstairs in our room and very hungry, not even cold items were available. This was odd to me.
Value
We paid $390 before a bunch of taxes, fees, and charges. By the time we left with parking it was closer to $500 not counting the AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts $200 credit. The Waldorf-Astoria on the same grounds (Bonnet Creek) was priced about the same, would likely have the same extra costs, but if everything else was at the same level, the pool it shares with the Hilton Signia next door alone would be a better experience. Though this is priced at the lower end of the premium/luxury scale, we simply didn’t find it special and probably would recommend another property that has all-night food available, better service at breakfast, and a pool on par with a premium resort in sunny central Florida.
What do you think?
I feel so dumb. I didn’t know the way to make iced coffee is by pouring it over ice. All these years I’ve been using coarse coffee grounds immersed in water for a minimum of eight—and up to 24—hours. The mandatory 18% tip explains the attentive and personalized service you received. It’s a good thing you were not entertaining business clients you were intending to impress.
I’m old enough to remember when phone calls were free by virtue of Marriott gold or platinum (perhaps even silver) status in the days before Bonvoy.
And a $45 charge for the toiletries? I guess that applies to the mouthwash.