Disclaimer: this post is in partnership with Hilton Bonnet Creek. We were provided a complimentary room to review along with other perks during our stay. All thoughts are our own.
Even though we now live in Orlando, we still find ourselves staying on property from time to time. There is something special about booking a little staycation and leaving the parks to a resort room, instead of facing a drive home late at night. We have done a few one night stays using our Disney Vacation Club points since moving here, but we do have a limited number of DVC points. We decided it was the perfect time to broaden our horizons and start checking out some other nearby hotels and resorts. We recently booked a weekend getaway at Hilton Bonnet Creek. Read on to hear all about this resort…
The Resort
Bonnet Creek is an area of land that sits within Disney property but is privately owned and operated. (To give you an idea of where it is located, the two closest Disney resorts would be Disney's Pop Century and Caribbean Beach Resort.) The hotel is part of a complex that also includes Waldorf Astoria Orlando. These sister properties share many amenities such as conference space, restaurants, and resort areas and are surrounded by a relaxing 482-acre nature preserve. Another benefit to staying at Hilton Bonnet Creek is the access to benefits similar to guests staying at Walt Disney World resorts such as:
Access to FastPass+ reservations 60 days out
Eligible for Extra Magic Hours
Bus transportation to the parks (independent buses and schedule)
Disney tickets available for purchase
An official Disney gift shop
Select Rooms with theme park and fireworks views!
The sign heading into the property.
The check-in area.
A stairwell near the lobby.
Some vintage swim decor.
Hilton Bonnet Creek is a tower style hotel. The overall style feels clean, sleek, and spacious. While the decor feels modern there are also some nods to a vintage style. (Check out these cool images on the ceiling in the lobby!). It doesn’t feel “Disney-ish” but does has more character than other Hilton brand hotels we have stayed at. As soon as we walked in we were warmly greeted and enveloped in a fresh signature scent and noticed the soundtrack playing had a mix of popular hits from different decades (we heard a lot of 80’s songs we loved while hanging in the lobby). Overall we really liked the upscale and relaxing vibe that seemed the perfect tone for our adult weekend getaway.
A view of the lobby and bar area.
Our Room
Upon our arrival, we explored our recently updated room that featured a bright minimalistic design with soft neutral tones. The decor was simplistic and more abstract. This was certainly less in line with thematic rooms at a Disney resort, and more on par with a hip HGTV remodel. But the room was relaxing (and quiet). We found the king bed very comfy and got some great sleep with the blackout curtains as well. The layout of the room is pretty typical for a hotel with a desk area, tv, and storage. The size was quite large with plenty of room to spread out with luggage. It’s good to note there is a mini fridge under the TV and the resort fee covers two bottles of water each night too.
The comfy king size bed.
A cozy reading spot.
A simple desk that hopefully most people don’t need to use.
The desk/tv/storage combo unit.
The bathroom had plenty of counter space and an awesome light. There were some nice toiletries from Crabtree & Evelyn provided and Julie found the hairdryer very high quality. The shower was a standup style with glass door which is so much nicer than the tub kind. The only thing that we would recommend to improve is the shower head. It was perfectly fine of course, but a cool waterfall style option could make it even better. It’s good to note there was a closet that contained a robe, iron, and luggage rack too.
The light in the bathroom was awesome!
Thank you Hilton Bonnet Creek for the welcome snacks!
Lovely Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries.
We loved the look of this modern walk-in shower.
One of the best parts of our room was the amazing view! We could see down below to the pool area, as well as the golf course. And off in the distance we could see the theme parks as well. The only thing that would have made this room better is a balcony (since we love sitting outside), but we understand that is not common in a tower style resort.
Dining
Let’s just say Hilton Bonnet Creek is the perfect destination for foodies! Between the two hotels, there is an impressive selection of dining options ranging from quick and casual to top rated high dining experiences. Since the resorts are connected it was easy to walk or request a quick golf cart ride to enjoy a meal at either property. Here is a list of all of the options (as well as some notes of our experiences):
Restaurants at Hilton Bonnet Creek
La Luce — a modern Italian country kitchen serves dinner featuring regional cuisine, thin crust pizzas, Mediterranean-inspired cocktails, and a Trattoria-style wine program. (Also rated #1 Italian restaurant in Orlando on Trip Advisor!)
REVIEW: please see our full dining reviewZeta Asia — offers a sophisticated setting to enjoy traditional and signature sushi rolls, sashimi and innovative, hand-crafted cocktails, wines and beer
Muse — located in the main lobby and serves coffee, pastries, parfaits, sandwiches, and salads and is open 24 hours.
REVIEW: this little shop has a wide range of snacks, delicious pastries and sandwiches. We enjoyed some breakfast options that were all plentiful and tasty. (Chorizo burrito, ham/egg/cheese muffin and a quiche). They have Lavazza coffee drinks too!
Myth Bar — overlooks the pool area and serves innovative cocktails along with delightful small plates.
REVIEW: We stopped here one night for some drinks and a lighter dinner. We enjoyed delicious burger sliders ($16) and hot Italian pizza ($23) here that were plenty big to share and have some leftovers. We love the outdoor area overlooking the pool and thought the fire pits were a great touch.
Beech — this vibrant restaurant and pool bar has a flair for creating a good time. The menu features zesty salads, sandwiches and wraps, burgers, pizza, wings, small plate appetizers.
REVIEW: we ordered from Beech while hanging out pool side. We enjoyed a Quesadilla (14.50), Beech Tuna Tacos ($15) and a Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($16). (Make sure to upgrade to fries because they are amazing! We enjoyed a few beverages as well. Loved the Caribbean Colada ($15.50) and Hibiscus Margarita ($16.50) most! Seriously we can’t believe that even the pool food is top notch.
Some frozen drinks from Beech.
A Quesadilla made a perfect snack to share.
Harvest Bistro — offers a casual dining environment featuring simply prepared American classics for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All dishes are made with the finest farm-fresh ingredients and prepared with meticulous detail. (The buffet is $28 per person.)
REVIEW: we were hosted here one morning for breakfast and were blown away by the buffet! With options ranging from healthy to decadent the list of items goes on and on but includes items such as made-to-order omelets, yogurt parfait, fresh pressed juice, a charcuterie bar, a range of fresh baked goods, a gluten free station, and more. This probably was the most impressive hotel breakfast we have ever seen, and we recommend to come hungry! We loved having a relaxing table outside with a view of the pool, and our server Julio was very prompt and attentive.
Harvest Bistro is located below the lobby.
Our table for two had a nice pool view!
Restaurants at Waldorf Astoria Orlando
Bull & Bear — the highlight of our stay was a fancy meal at this signature restaurant that features a signature 32-day dry aged Tomahawk Ribeye, Fried Chicken, hand-crafted cocktails, and an extensive wine list.
REVIEW: please see our full dining reviewPeacock Alley — small plates, creative libations, and live entertainment nightly
Aquamarine — a poolside bar similar to Beech
Oscar’s Brasserie — offers an expansive breakfast buffet or an a la carte menu. The menu includes American dishes and re-interpretations of classic dishes such as Eggs Benedict – a hallmark of the original Waldorf Astoria in New York. (The buffet is $36 per person.)
REVIEW: we were hosted here for another breakfast and loved this buffet as well. Similar to the Harvest Bistro the options were expansive and impressive. We loved that there was also a few extra made-to-order stations here such as for crepes! We also really enjoyed the coffee and tea varieties here as well. When comparing the two this restaurant felt more upscale which would be expected.
Resort Amenities
One thing to be aware of when staying at Hilton Bonnet Creek is there is a daily resort fee of $45. Now with that comes a lot of things to enjoy. It is stated that the charge includes:
WiFi & local calls
2 waters daily
24 hour Fitness center access
Golf practice facility access
Free club rental after 2pm
Disney shuttle
Pool towels
Lazy river tubes
20% off spa & 10% off cabanas
(Another charge to be aware of is for parking. The self-parking fee is $30 per day while valet is $40 per day.)
A peek at the robust fitness center on site.
This shuttle stop is located between the two resorts.
Bonnet Creek is truly an expansive resort with offerings such as The Waldorf Astoria Golf Club — a public course designed by Rees Jones playing to a par 72 (make sure to check out our golf review coming soon!)— and The Waldorf Astoria Spa featuring 22 luxury treatment rooms and tranquility lounge areas. There are also a daily resort activity schedule as well as special events during the year such as Food & Wine Weekends (Sept 13-Nov 23) and Summerblast (Weekends Memorial Day–Labor Day). The one thing we did make sure to enjoy on this weekend getaway was the amazing pool areas. The resort-style pool at Hilton Bonnet Creek features a lazy river, private cabanas and a water slide on the Hilton side. The Waldorf is more of a relaxing pool atmosphere with two pools (one zero entry) and private cabanas.
What we liked about the Hilton pool deck was how sprawling it was across the various areas. They had plenty of deck chairs/loungers right next to the pool in the middle of the action and some a little off the beaten trail in case you wanted a quieter, more relaxing experience. We opted for a quieter area that was still right on the lazy river which made for easy in/out when the time came to take a few laps around. There were also cool features like a hot tub, water slides, and water falls.
There are also plenty of servers roaming the pool deck and guests are able to order from the Beech poolside restaurant menu, which is quite extensive. One downside to being in a quieter corner is that the service is a little slower as they don't come around as often. We had to flag someone down to order but once we did get their attention, they were very attentive and very friendly.
UPDATE: we also recently experienced a private cabana. Check out the full review of the experience here!
A view of the pool and the Beech pool bar/restaurant.
Enjoying the lazy river.
Our daily waters were included in the resort fee.
Andrew forgot flip flops and picked these up at the on-site Disney gift shop!
Overall Thoughts
We were curious to see how we would like staying at a resort near Disney that wasn’t a Disney property. We have to say that Hilton Bonnet Creek blew our expectations out of the water. The hotel was beautiful and relaxing with a location that really can’t be beat. Our room had an amazing view and the options for dining were excellent. The customer service we encountered throughout our stay was outstanding (dare we say even more impressive than what we have been experiencing from some cast members lately).
With the extra “Disney benefits” Hilton Bonnet Creek really does compare nicely to a an actual Disney resort. It may be missing the theming but this wasn’t a show stopper to us. We found it the perfect place for a weekend getaway. We could easily go to the parks, but we could also escape to a great pool area or fancy dinner out.
Hilton Bonnet Creek is a higher end resort and that does come with a higher price tag compared to other off-property options. But dollar for dollar we found what sets Hilton Bonnet Creek apart is the value of what you get. We think that this resort is actually a better choice than paying rack rate for some of Disney’s deluxe accommodations. The fact that you can access amenities at the Waldorf make the Hilton even more bang for your buck.
All in all this was the perfect spot for a relaxing adult weekend getaway. We loved what we explored so far and can’t wait to plan a future trip to come back and experience more such as the golf and spa offerings. Thank you Hilton Bonnet Creek for the opportunity to experience a great resort option and keep up the great work. We hope to see you again real soon!
