DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando Hotel Review
DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando is a Disney Springs Resort Area Hotel on Walt Disney World property. This review covers our stay at the hotel, featuring room photos, thoughts on the DoubleTrees’s amenities, and how it compares with other hotels in the area.
As with other Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels, the DoubleTree has a solid slate of amenities (pictures of these are interspersed among the transportation discussion below). It’s a full service hotel with a pool, fitness center, laundry, bar, and restaurant. Depending upon how you book your stay, you might get free breakfast at the restaurant–it’s fine, but I wouldn’t pay out of pocket for it. I wouldn’t say that any of these amenities are stand-outs as compared to other hotels in the area. One thing that is a stand-out is the addictively-delicious cookies they hand out at check-in.
We don’t focus on in our earlier Disney Springs Resort Area Hotel reviews is the walking distance from Disney Springs. In large part, that’s because those reviews were written prior to the pedestrian bridges being added, along with the host of worthwhile dining options that we’ve come to love, so we never really made an effort to walk over to Disney Springs. Now, the location of these hotels near Disney Springs is a much bigger selling point…
During this trip, we stayed at several of these hotels, and walked to Disney Springs at least once–usually twice–per day. All of these hotels are walk-able, but the DoubleTree is the farthest from Disney Springs, and is just under a 15-minute walk.
For our off-season visit, this worked really well for us, as it allowed us to close out the parks each night, and then go to Disney Springs for a late night meal before walking back to Disney Springs. We also did early lunches at Disney Springs on several occasions before heading to the parks.
Driving or taking the bus to Disney Springs would also be an alternative, but both also come with downsides. While the drive is short, driving means parking at the DoubleTree, and that comes at a $22/night (!!!) cost. This still might be a worthwhile expense for some of you, as the Disney Springs hotels don’t offer Disney’s Magical Express, and the bus service leaves a lot to be desired.
That bus service is probably the biggest downside of any of the Disney Springs hotels. It’s advertised as running once every 30 minutes to the parks, but it doesn’t operate on a consistent/published time schedule so you could be waiting close to that long for a bus. Once you’re on the bus, it’s stopping at other hotels in the area, before continuing on to the parks. Yes, parks–plural.
In some cases, we used this bus transportation and it was a smooth process. We got picked up right away, made a quick stop at one other hotel, continued on to the park, and were there just as quickly as we would’ve been had we taken a bus from a Disney-owned hotel. In other cases, we waited 20+ minutes, stopped at a few hotels, and went to two parks (or got dropped off at the Ticket & Transportation Center when going to Magic Kingdom).
We ended up trying to avoid this bus service to the greatest extent possible. We’d often use Uber/Lyft if we wanted to be somewhere in a hurry, or walked to Disney Springs to have a meal before then continuing on via Disney transportation. In part, I can understand why this transportation system is not more efficient–in many cases, even after stopping at multiple hotels, the bus was only 25% full.
The good news here is that the DoubleTree and all of these Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels are already becoming more popular with Walt Disney World guests thanks to them now offering Extra Magic Hours and the 60-day FastPass+ booking window. (We used Extra Magic Hours multiple times without issue during our stay.)
Walt Disney World hotels continue to experience high occupancy, with rates likely to max out with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the 50th Anniversary. Because of this, even more guests are going to be pushed to options like these Disney Springs hotels.
As these Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels grow in popularity with Walt Disney World guests, I hope that this bus transportation is re-evaluated and improved. The cost in time of using this “free” shuttle service is often too high.
Anyway, enough about transportation, let’s take a look at the rooms…
The biggest selling point of the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando is unquestionably its spacious rooms, all of which are suites. These guest rooms start at 540 square feet in size, which is over double the size of a Value Resort room.
It’s also larger than standard Deluxe Resort rooms, with 100 square feet more than the largest (Grand Floridian). You can see how this size compares to Disney hotels in our Hotel Room Sizes at Walt Disney World post.
Each suite features a living room with a queen-sized sofa bed and LCD HDTV, dining room that seats four with an adjacent kitchenette, and private balcony. These include Keurig coffeemakers, microwave, mini-refrigerator, sink, and in-room safe.
The bedroom is likewise spacious, and features either two queen-sized beds or one king-sized bed, plus another LCD HDTV. All told, this room will sleep up to six guests comfortably. If you need something larger, two-bedroom suites sleeping up to eight are also available.
While it was just the two of us, we liked the space that this room provided. I tend to get up really early, and with this room I was able to get up and take my laptop out to the living room to work and watch TV while waiting for Sarah to get up.
For us, this was nice convenience, but not a strike necessity. If we were choosing the ideal hotel for us at Walt Disney World–or even in the Disney Springs area–this would not be it. I’d rather have something with a more convenient location or better transportation. For parents with kids or larger parties, I could see the large size of these suites being a much bigger selling point.
My only criticism of the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando’s rooms is that they were pretty bland in terms of style. It was tough to tell whether they were dated or just had a really vanilla style, but there was nothing memorable about them. I know with some hotels, this is exactly the point–choose a generic style that will age well so it doesn’t need to be updated too frequently. On the plus side, the room was excellently maintained, and the style choices are only a minor quibble. The huge size of the room is a much bigger deal.
The DoubleTree advertises rates starting at $109/night, but based on what I saw when pricing out nights, you should probably expect to pay between $160/night and $200/night for most dates. I’d recommend mentally adding another $20/night to that cost, with the expectation that you’ll end up using Uber or Lyft once or twice per day. (Full disclosure: our stay at the DoubleTree was comped for the purposes of this review.)
Overall, we really enjoyed our stay at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando, but it’s not going to be the right or best option for everyone. Whether this is the ideal hotel for your Walt Disney World vacation is going to come down to one simple question: do you want or need the extra space? If so, this is by far the least expensive option on Walt Disney World property. If you don’t need a suite, there are better options for you, including within the Disney Springs Resort Area.
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
Have you stayed at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando – Disney Springs? What did you think of the experience? Is this a hotel at which you’d consider staying? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I have stayed in this hotel twice and enjoyed it. The hotel is well maintained, the rooms are big, the cookies are great, and unlike the other Disney Springs hotels the Double Tree does not charge a resort fee as others have pointed out. I am a DVC member so I usually stay at DVC resorts but if I am ever out of points and I have to pay out of pocket, this is my go to hotel.
If anyone wants to make a reservation at this hotel or any other Disney Springs hotel, I highly recommend booking through this site – https://disneyspringshotels.com/. Both times I have stayed at the Double Tree I have booked through the site and gotten special Disney Springs Promotion rates that were very good (around $130 per night before taxes) that also included free parking (a $22 per day value).
For those who wonder how you make 60 day fast passes when staying at this hotel or any other Disney Springs hotel, just link your reservation on My Disney Experience just like you would if you were staying at a regular Disney Resort. My Disney Experience will recognize your confirmation number.
Hotwire has the double tree DS as a hot deal often. You don’t know what hotel it is before you book with these “hot deals” but it will often give you clues, such as a room picture and it is easy to determine which hotel it is going to be before booking. I got a Weeklong stay for June 2020 for $93/night!
Is free parking at the parks a benefit of staying at this hotel as it is with the WDW Resort hotels? I know since our stay at WDW in February, they have added a resort parking fee, but it is still free parking at the parks for resort guests. With the comments regarding transportation at this hotel, my family would likely drive to the parks if we decide to stay here rather than a WDW resort next year, but we don’t want to pay for parking at the hotel and the parks.
I just noticed that this hotel has room options with 2 queen beds and a sofa bed, which is a big plus. I haven’t seen any other on-property options that have this, but I am wondering if I am missing any hotels/resorts that do.
Hilton Lake Buena vista. Has rooms that have 2 beds and a pullout couch and It is across street from Disney springs. Its their jr suite but not crazy priced. Also those rooms are 1 1/2 times the size of regular room. It usually runs 160-220 during the times I have rented their. We have 5 in my family so we need the extra bed. Tom has a review on the hotel in last 20-30 days.
Ok, I’ll look into that. Thanks!
We loved our stay at Doubletree in January. They were just starting the EMH for DS hotels. No issues. Cannot beat the space for the price.
And just an FYI-disneyspringshotel.com or other sites will often run specials that when you book the fees (parking/resort) are waived or greatly reduced. I had the parking fee waived due to one of those specials in January. And a resort fee waived at B Resort in November (Thanksgiving week).
And with the announcement today of Disney resorts money-grabbing parking fee added(!!!) for overnight resort parking- I think it will be DS hotels from here on out for us if we aren’t in our timeshare!
Thanks for the advice, but I see that the proper link is disneyspringshotels.com (plural hotelS)
I stayed at this hotel in November. I really liked that they don’t charge $30 per night resort fee that most other hotels in the area charge.
On my September stay at Saratoga Springs, I spent an afternoon walking over to and onto the properties of all the Disney Springs area hotels.
The Doubletree was my least favorite due to it’s most distant location and the extremely sterile front entrance & lobby.
I’m sure the large room/suites are beneficial, but I found it lacking the charm of it’s neighbors.
Can I ask how you determined you were able to attend the extra magic hours? From what I was gathering, when the announcement was made, was that you had to book a disney package (room & tickets) with one of these hotels. We’re APs staying at a disney springs resort for the Star Wars race weekend and we’re just waiting to hit that 30 day mark to book our fast passes. I’m so curious to know the details on this because the internet has NOT been that helpful.
I am not sure if it has changed since I was there last but staying at the Hilton Lake Buena vista. We just showed our room key and told them the hotel we were staying at when going threw TTC and they let us right threw when going to extra magic hrs in the mornings.
I can confirm that we could book fastpasses at the 60 day mark and we did not book a package.
I agree the anouncement made it seem that the FP perk was only available through the package but that was not the case for us.
Thank you so much for the input! This is our first time at a disney springs hotel and I was so excited to here about the new perks, but have been going crazy trying to figure it out.
HI Chris,
How did you book the fast pass? Did Disney website accept double tree confirmation number or you had to call them?
Abhi
My wife and I booked our late April stay at the Double Tree Suites specifically for the suites. We have a 9 month old boy and having a separate area for him to sleep in is going to be a life saver.
We payed $149/night and there is nothing else that comes even close to the value that this hotel provides. Any Disney suite will be easily several hundred dollars more a night. That plus the added value of a 60 day FP+ window and extra magic hours made this a no-brainer for my family.
On the other hand, the parking fee is very high. This was the only thing that made me pause because typically my family would drive from these Disney Springs partner hotels to the park. For us, using a Lyft for the baby and baby gear will certainly be an added hassle, but even so the overall value remains excellent for anybody who needs the suite.
I’m sure this would be frowned upon, but would it be possible to walk from any of these DS hotels to Saratoga Springs to utilize their bus transportation to and from the parks? I struggle with whether any of these hotels would ever be cheap ENOUGH to really justify the inconvenience of the transportation.
I have done it many times but you cant go directly from DS to any park. You must go to a resort then take a bus/monorail or boat to one of the parks. The buses also don’t run to DS early in the morning as the shops are not open. Its a good option if you want to go to any of the resorts to eat or shop.
Normally when I went from DS to a park would be if I was eating lunch at DS and took bus to Comtempoary and then walked or rode monorail to MK. But using this as your primary mode to get to parks is not a good option.
he did say the hotel offers a transportation system. We haven’t stay at this hotel, but we stayed at a similar hotel, and used their shuttles. We would get dropped off to the TTC, and then would use Disney transportation to get where we needed to go. Probably more efficient than walking to DS, taking a bus to a resort hotel, then a bus or whatever transportation to a Disney park.
Yep! Easy stroll to Saratoga Springs, then just hop on the WDW transportation from there!
I have never stayed at this hotel for the reason you listed (15 min. Walk to Disney springs)
We have stayed at the Hilton Lake buena vista directly across the street from Disney springs and with over the road bridge has made it even better.
I didn’t see in the review if they charge a daily resort fee at the Doubletree.
That is the down side of staying off site at many hotels with:
Parking and resort fee at least at the Hilton running around 50 extra bucks a nite.
We spend our non park days eating and hanging out at Disney springs and find it well worth the price to be across the street and a 5 min walk to be in the action and able to come back quick if you get tired and no driving or waiting on any bus.
Plus we like the Benihana in Hilton if your staying in lake buena vista.
Also quick note about buses at the Hilton. The Hilton has full size tour buses to each park like at a Disney resort. I found that early in the am and at end of park hours the bus could be full and have to wait 30 min for it to run and return. I have paid to park many times so I can be at park the exact time I want to go and return on my timeline which can be another cost!
Since buses do not leave Disney springs and go direct to a park. To catch a Disney bus to a park you would have catch a Disney bus from DS to a resort and catch a bus to or monorail to park from a hotel. I have done that few times say if I am at DS I would take bus to contemporary and then ride monorail to MK.
But it’s a great plus to have access to go direct to all the Disney resorts to eat dinner. Just walk to DS and catch a bus to the hotel you are having dinner at.
Sorry about off topic comments a lot of side things to consider when choosing offsite hotel but has been good for me in the past.
Totally agree with the lack of consistent bus service – it’s a problem. The convenience to Disney Springs is great and a 24 hr lobby coffee/snack shop was truly appreciated when catching a 4am ride to the Princess 5k (This was at Wyndham). It’s also a good perk to be able to use points for a night’s stay but still the Disney Resorts are superior in the Disney Service and Magic business which is always something to look forward to.
I suspect that as the guest demographics at these hotels start shifting more towards WDW vacationers and away from convention-goers, we’ll see an improvement in the bus service. At least, I hope so!
I know this isn’t exactly the purpose of this particular blog, but what are your thoughts on Disney extending Extra Magic Hours and 60 day fast passes to hotels like this? Do you think your opinion of the hotel would change much? Personally, I was quite annoyed when they announced the change, since I paid a premium to stay at a Disney resort and at the time those were listed as benefits available only to resort guests.
I’m in favor of the change. Once Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge opens, I fear WDW hotels are going to operate at 98%+ occupancy rates year-round, meaning discount availability will significantly decrease (barring an economic downturn). As someone unwilling to pay Disney’s exorbitant rack rates, I’d like to have options that are still budget-friendly and offer many of the same benefits.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Walt Disney World retools its “Good Neighbor” hotel program to partner with some other hotels (e.g. Bonnet Creek) or even upscale off-site hotels to extend some perks.
I can see that side of it. I hadn’t given any thought to how Star Wars might impact things, since I’m pretty new to Disney World. I wish they would have only offered 45 day fast passes to non-Disney resorts to give the resorts a slight benefit, but I guess they aren’t concerned about capacity at the resorts, like you said.