Top 10 Off-Site Hotels Near Disney World
If you’re looking to save money or get more bang for your buck with better luxury accommodations, this list of the best third party hotels at and around Walt Disney World is for you. There are many great resorts in Orlando that are near the parks, including several that are on-site and others that are actually closer to the parks than Disney-owned properties.
What we do not cover here is whether you should stay off-site to begin with–this post assumes that you’ve already made that decision. In Off-Site vs. On-Site at Walt Disney World, we cover the pros and cons of staying off-site. One thing we will note here is that many on-site perks have been eliminated entirely in the last two years.
While things like Disney’s Magical Express are gone for good, some on-site guest benefits have simply changed. Extra Magic Hours has been replaced by Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours. Many of the third party hotels covered here are actually be eligible for one or both perks. See our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World and Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for more eligibility, strategy, etc.
With some 330+ hotels in Orlando, it would literally take an entire year of testing to come up with a comprehensive list. Rather, I want to rank our favorite hotels near Walt Disney World at which we’ve stayed, prioritizing those that are on-site or barely off-site. Consider this a work-in-progress, though. As we continue stay in more off-site/non-Disney/third party hotels, we’ll update and re-rank this list.
This list also doesn’t include the many excellent Universal hotels, a few of which would make the top 5 here. In general, those offer great value for money, on-site perks, unique themes, and efficient transportation to the parks. See our Rankings & Reviews of Universal Orlando Resorts for more on those.
With those caveats out of the way, let’s take a look at which hotels made the cut. Click on any of the hotel names to see more photos and read a full review.
10. Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace — Given the divisive response to my review and mixed reviews on TripAdvisor, I sort of feel bad about including this. Not bad enough to leave it off, as this is my opinion, not crowd-sourced malarky. Not only that, but this property has seen several management changes in the last few years, and should now be better and more consistent.
There’s a lot to love about the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace. The hotel has an impressive slate of amenities, great guest rooms, nice interior design, and is an easy walk to Disney Springs. It’s also a bona fide resort complex, with a sprawling pool area that features Recreation Island and lush landscaping. All of that, plus great bang for buck.
9. Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista – Like many of the best off-site hotels, the Hilton Orlando LBV is a great value for money option offering an exceptional location within walking distance of Disney Springs and solid amenities at a reasonable price. One of the biggest selling points here is the bedding.
Everything has been recently upgraded: Pacific Coast Touch of Down pillows, European 250 thread count linens, and Hilton Serenity Beds with pillow-top mattresses that will have you screaming SERENITY NOW! There are also something like 7 restaurants in the hotel, which overall features a sleek, modern style.
8. Floridays Resort Orlando – There are two villa-style properties on this list, with Floridays being the cheaper option of the two. Floridays makes the list solely because of its value proposition, which offers some incredibly nice villa accommodations for shockingly low prices.
Rooms that are far nicer than they have any business being at this price point. To be sure, it’s not a hotel that’s going to be featured on any Travel Channel specials covering the ritziest hotels in the world, but the value here is too good to ignore, especially given the solid quality.
7. Wyndham Grand Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort – One of the more well-rounded hotels on this list in terms of balancing price point, room quality, amenities quality, and location, the Wyndham Bonnet Creek snuck up on this list higher than I originally expected it would.
It checks off every box that it should, and at the end of the day, there is a lot to be said for reliable, upscale accommodations. There’s definitely a big gap between #7 and #8 as a result. However, due its relatively bland style and lack of a wow-factor, the Wyndham can’t climb above #6.
6. JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa – This is one of the newer on-site hotels at Walt Disney World, and between that and this brand’s reputation, it’s slightly disappointing that the JW Marriott at Bonnet Creek doesn’t rank higher. It’s still very good, just not quite what we expected from this tier of the chain.
We love its smart styling and modern design. Both the guest rooms and common areas are incredibly nice–and to our tastes. It’s luxurious and offers a formidable slate of amenities that should make it appealing to couples or solo travelers looking for a more adult option with convenient access to (or even isolation from) the parks.
The JW Marriott is not for everyone. In particular, we have a more difficult time recommending it to families. It’s not that the hotel isn’t kid-friendly—to the contrary, it’s laid back and not even remotely stuffy or unapproachable. It’s more that other resorts cater to families better. In particular, the pool area is relatively pedestrian, with no waterslide, lazy river, or other fun features you might find at many hotels in Orlando.
5. Waldorf Astoria Orlando — Now that Statler & Waldorf have opened a hotel in the name of synergy, I’d say it paves the way for Rizzo the Rat to open a pizza parlor. Arguably one of the most iconic hotel labels in the world, the Waldorf Astoria offers exceptional quality at prices that won’t make you sell a kidney to afford a stay here.
The hotel is superior to a Deluxe Resort at Walt Disney World in nearly every regard aside from theming, making those prices not at all unreasonable. One of the most luxurious hotels in all of Central Florida, the Waldorf Astoria is arguably the best overall option on this list. I just happen to prefer the top 2 options here.
If you’re looking for a more cost-effective option, the Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek is a sister property of sorts to the Waldorf Astoria. It’s not quite as nice or luxurious, but has a lot of family-friendly amenities, some of which are shared between the two. (The only reason the Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek doesn’t make the list on its own is because we haven’t stayed there since it was recently rebranded and renovated–but we’ve heard great things!)
4. Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress — I have to admit that I’m a total sucker for Hyatt. If there’s such a thing as a “Hyatt Fanboy” (I doubt there is), you could call me one. I think it’s an exceptionally well-managed chain that strives to offer exceptional service, accommodations, and unique style. This is especially true in its Regency, Grand, and Park lines.
The Hyatt at Grand Cypress is no exception, with the most robust slate of activities and amenities at any hotel at which we’ve stayed in Orlando. The pool and water play areas even give the Yacht & Beach Club a run for their money. Chic style, top-notch service, exquisite dining, and great rooms–this Hyatt has a lot to offer. The price is certainly higher than other off-site options, but as far as luxury resort hotels go, it’s by no means bad.
3. Swan Reserve, Swan & Dolphin Resorts — The most “Disney” of the third party options (besides maybe Shades of Green, which doesn’t make the list because it’s not open to the public), Swan & Dolphin is the best compromise between Disney and non-Disney hotels. The rooms are nice, dining is solid, and amenities–especially the pool areas–are top notch. Then there are the perks, with the Swan & Dolphin offering almost everything of Disney Deluxe Resorts, including Extended Evening Hours and access to early Lightning Lane booking windows.
The newest addition here is the Swan Reserve, which is located across the street from the core Swan & Dolphin complex. It’s quite a bit different than the main resort, with more suites and significantly nicer and more modern rooms. The trade-off is fewer in-hotel dining, higher nightly rates, and a slightly longer walk to the parks. If nicer rooms are important to you, either book the Swan Reserve or a suite in the main Swan & Dolphin Resorts.
Essentially one in the same, the Swan & Dolphin are great options if you’re looking for an upscale experience or walking-distance proximity to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios at a considerably lower price point. Swan & Dolphin also win on pricing, with significantly lower rates than comparable Disney-owned hotels in the Crescent Lake area. The amenities and perks offered by the Swan & Dolphin give virtually every Disney-owned hotel a run for its money. But note that unlike the top 2 entries, the Swolphin properties are not luxury hotels.
T1. Four Seasons Resort Orlando – Another hotel that’s on-site at Walt Disney World, this sprawling complex is inside the private Golden Oaks community and behind Fort Wilderness. It’s surrounded by natural beauty, including an Everglades sanctuary, and it feels like tropical paradise meets a country club. Of course, the rooms are luxurious and well-appointed, the dining is phenomenal, and there’s an array of amenities you’d expect from the Four Seasons.
Outside, the grounds of the Four Seasons Orlando are a veritable oasis. The pool areas are brilliantly suited to both kids and adults, with an area called Explorer Island, delightful lazy river, and secluded areas for lounge chairs amidst a lush environment and canopy of palm trees.
It’s simultaneously exciting for kids and relaxing for adults. Orlando has a lot of hotels with ambitious pool complexes, but few (if any) others manage to strike this balance. This is far and away the nicest and most luxurious hotel in Orlando, Disney-owned or otherwise. However, it no longer is the unequivocal #1 pick for hotels near Walt Disney World, because a new contender to the throne has emerged…
T1. Conrad Orlando at Evermore – The newest hotel to join this list, the Conrad Orlando technically is not on-site at Walt Disney World, but it’s a stone’s throw from the Four Seasons Orlando and offers views of the EPCOT fireworks (we could hear the Electrical Water Pageant from our room). Like the Four Seasons Orlando, it’s also one of only three AAA Five Diamond hotels near Walt Disney World (the third is the Ritz Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes, which is a bit farther away).
The 433-room luxury hotel offers upscale accommodations, a range of restaurants (including one of my favorite-ever burgers), and all of the other amenities you’d expect of a luxury hotel. We really like the calming, coastal modern rooms; they feel at once luxurious and relaxed–nice pops of color and stylish.
The Conrad Orland’s marquee amenity is exclusive access to Evermore Bay, Orlando’s first and only beach with 8 acres of crystal-clear water and 20 acres of soft white sand. That bright blue lagoon is eye-catching, stopping you in your tracks when you first enter the lobby and see it out the floor to ceiling windows. And it’s not just superficial, as there are a ton of activities you can enjoy on and around the lagoon, making the Conrad Orlando a true self-contained resort experience.
While the hotel as a whole is nice, the stunning, crystalline Evermore Bay is why Conrad Orlando ties for #1. The Four Seasons Orlando beats it on luxuriousness, overall polish and service. C’mon, it’s the Four Seasons. That’s its whole thing. But the Four Seasons does not have a flagship feature quite like Evermore Bay, and that might be enough to tip the scales in the Conrad Orlando’s favor, making it the #1 luxury hotel near Walt Disney World for many families.
Ultimately, this just scratches the surface when it comes to great third-party accommodations near or on-site at Walt Disney World. Each of these hotels has a lot to offer, and the value proposition is definitely better than staying at a Disney-owned hotel. If you determine a third party hotel is right for you, these are great options!
There are many worthy candidates this list snubs, including but not limited to the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes, Marriott’s Cypress Harbour, Gaylord Palms, Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, and more. Some of these are too far from the parks, while others we simply haven’t done yet. We will keep this list updated as we try out more hotels around Walt Disney World!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you have a favorite non-Disney hotel in Orlando? Thoughts on any of the hotels on our list if you’ve stayed at them? Considering one of these or a different off-site hotel? Do you agree or disagree with our list? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
What is missing from this post, and is possibly more useful would be a review of the Time Share properties near WDW that rent on a nightly basis via Expedia etc – don’t worry, I am not expecting Tom to brave the timeshare sales pitches. The reason that I think timeshare rentals are interesting is primarily for two audiences:
– Parties larger than 4. If you are 2 adults, 2 kids, then Disney has a range of properties at different budgets. But if you have more kids, multiple generations or extended family, then that will involve multiple rooms (or hyper expensive suites) from Disney.
– Longer stays – The Brits like to come to Orlando for a couple of weeks at a time, partly to amortize the cost of the flights as its a long way. Packing a family of 4 into a single room for that duration is going to start to get on each other’s nerves. A timeshare typically has more room, a kitchen, laundry etc. If you are visiting Universal too, and not doing parks every day, it can have a big impact on the budget.
Yes DVC is an option, and regularly gets covered in these articles, but there are a lot of other offsite options that can be booked through the normal hotel sites, with cancellation etc.
For example, staying somewhere like the Holiday inn Orange Lake resort, that has 3 bedroom villas, sleeping 12, and at $375 a night for Christmas week is nearly an order of magnitude cheaper than staying on-site, which would require a grand villa or 3 separate rooms. (Those prices are from 12/8/25, 2 weeks before xmas) This is just one property that I know of, and there are probably more timeshares per square mile in Orlando than anywhere else in the world, and most sell their excess capacity on the common travel booking sites. Some are pretty chintzy, and i have stayed in some of them, others are massive and have multiple golf courses and their own water park.
While the Four Seasons is unquestionably pricey, the laughably outrageous prices for the WDW Deluxe properties makes swallowing the cost a bit more palatable. Especially since Four Seasons actually feels like a deluxe experience.
My wife and stay at the Swan/Dolphin whenever we run out of DVC points. They are quite nice, the dining options are exceptional and being at Crescent Lake is “magical”.
I’d say we prefer the Dolphin over the Swan, but both are great. The lobby bar at the Dolphin is superb!
I really enjoyed the Drury Plaza Disney Springs. Walking distance to Disney Springs, bus service also. Planning to go there again.
Thanks, as always, for this post, Tom! We have always stayed on-site at both WDW and Universal in the past. However, the next time we visit Orlando (likely after Epic Universe is up and running), we might spend our Marriott points on one of the Grande Lakes resorts (the JW or Ritz). Would be very interested to hear your thoughts about them. We’ve taken several park-focused vacations and are intentionally seeking out a trip that has more leisure/pool time away from crowds.
At times I’ve found the Waldorf to be cheaper when booking on Hilton points than any other Hilton property on this list. The poolside food there has been outstanding, the lounge serves food late night for post-park hunger and the access to the fun Signia pool is a great perk. Great choice when the points are right.
Hyatt fanboy is most definitely a thing. Visit any credit card points message board out there.
Thanks for doing this list! It helped me select a resort for a few nights off-site to save money. I chose B resort, and your notes on the bus transportation were spot on, so I went into it prepared to use Uber/Lyft which worked well. Your feedback on the resort itself was correct, however it looked like no maintenance has been done since the resort opened. The walk to/from DS is convenient, when it’s not 90 degrees out.
Hi Tom and Sarah,
I’m a new reader. Love the blog! You have been so helpful in planning our trip. Thank you! I have 2 suggestions that would help new readers a lot. There is an ad that pops up after every picture, and right before every new hotel, so it essentially puts the first picture with the wrong hotel description. (Don’t ask how long it took me to figure that out!) I know you don’t control the ads, but if the pics were in the middle of the description it would solve that problem. Also, if you could put a publication date on blog posts it would be great. The dated updates are super helpful. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into this blog. I know it’s a job for you, but I’m binging all your posts and can really see how much work it is, especially over the pandemic. Thank you!
Why not include the Hilton Bonnet creek?
John, I believe that you are a little confused with the accommodations at the Caribe Royale Orlando. The two bedroom, two bath suite is really their Villa which also includes an equipped kitchen, living/dining room, screen in balcony, and an in room washer and dryer. They also have a 2 room suite. A bedroom and a living room with flatscreen TV’s in each area. It is a very nice hotels close to Disney and has just undergone a full renovation.
I had a great experience staying at the Holiday Inn in Disney Springs. It’s a ten minute walk to Disney Springs, has free buses to the park and is considered a good neighbor hotel so you get the early entry perks as well. The rooms were new and cheerful and they threw in some perks like free drinks at the bar and free bottles of water everyday. Easy Uber or Lyft to the parks.
Tom.
We are going to dosney next august.
Looks like we will book waldorf. Stayed there before.
Prices have shot up recently. Flights are double what they were.
We can live with that and the hotel.
The charges that are a bit tuff to swallow.
Complex charges. Parking at hotel. Breakfast.
There are 9 adults and 7 children 5 rooms.
21 days. Breakfast would be 800 a day just these three things would be 21,000.
Any thoughts. John
We loved Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress for a non park trip, but will stick to on-site for our park trips, mostly due to convenience of Disney transportation. The Grand Cypress has great amenities, is beautiful, and has a convenient shuttle to Disney Springs.
I’ll second Flamingo Crossing. Stayed at Home2 in March 2021 and it was fantastic. Area amenities will improve over time, too.
Walking to EPCOT from Swan/Dolphin is easy. Longer walk to HS, but could take a boat or bus.
Caribbean Beach has a fun pool, but is very spread out so 1) waits for busses (to MK or AK) can i be long at times and getting to the Skyliner (to HS or EPCOt) can take a while as well.
If price point is the same, I’d pick Swan or Dolphin.
Thanks for the previews of the Hilton LBV Disney Springs update and the Four Seasons Resort Orlando review!
I’d try and fit the DoubleTree Suites at Disney Springs into a top ten list, since it looks like Floridays is the only other location with most rooms for up to 6 guests. Looking at three different dates, the prices average out to about the same. While the rooms are not as spacious, the DT’s 3 queen sized beds/sofa mean no fighting over the single king and full beds of Floridays. The DoubleTree property can’t compare to the resort amenities of Floridays unless you like tennis, fresh baked cookies … or Early Theme Park Entry for the WDW parks come this fall. (Hopefully the Hilton update will tell us that the Disney Springs Hotel to theme park transportation is currently closer to “Not Bad!” rather than “Terrible. Just Terrible.”)
What about the Caribe Royale Orlando on World Center Drive? Seems nice driving by, and the price for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite is almost half the price of a one-bedroom villa at Old Key West.
We personally love The Grove Orlando. It has all the amenities, 1-3 bedroom villas with full kitchen and washer and dryer, their own Safari water park, and they have shuttles to the parks. They are about a 10 minute drive to the parks if people prefer to drive. I’ve stayed at many places in Orlando and the Grove has been by far the best.
We just stayed two nights at the Hilton Homewood Suites at Flamingo Crossing and give it a thumbs up. The area is still under development, but there is a Walgreens and some shops and restaurants coming. It shares a nice pool with the Home2 Suites. No hot tub, but there is a slide. Breakfast was good. 15 minutes to the parks (faster than the bus). We spent a week at Pop Century in March, and honestly felt trapped with limited food options. If I could have gone back and done it over, we would have rented a car and stayed off site. Much more comfortable plus cheaper (even with paying for preferred parking at the parks).
Thanks for sharing your experience!
We live near this area and drive past daily–construction is flying on this development and most of it, including the Target, will likely be done by the Christmas season. Should be a great, budget-friendly area to stay with a lot of shopping and dining.
In terms of transportation would it be better to stay at the swan and/or dolphin OR Carribbean beach resort? Do they share buses or get their own? Is it truly walkable to Hollywood studios?
The Swalphin is about a 15 minute walk from either Epcot or HS. I’ve stayed there twice. TheMarriott branded credit cards offer free nights or points depending on the card or deal at the time as a welcome bonus. I am staying on 5 free nights coming up right before Thanksgiving. Those deals don’t cover the resort fee though but still an excellent deal. In the past I’ve got the dolphin for about 110 a night through Priceline express but those deals seemed to have dried up this year.