Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort, Bonnet Creek
14651 Chelonia Pkwy., Orlando, Florida, 32821, United States, Orlando, Florida, USA
Why We Like It
Surrounded by Disney, and yet remote enough to feel quite separate from theme-park frazzle, this resort has a lot to offer families, with multiple pools and activities for the kids, all only 15 minutes from the Magic Kingdom. But, traveling couples can find just as much pleasure here, with the full-service spa, golf courses, choice of pools, and sophisticated dining options.
Fodor's Expert Review
This award-winning, family-friendly resort hotel feels serenely remote, despite being surrounded by Disney property. The entrance meanders through pristine Florida forest and bamboo-laden landscaping, creating a sense of distance. The hotel itself sits on a lake shared with several multistory Wyndham time-share units with an architectural style echoing Florida's Spanish heritage. An upscale restaurant and bar, full-service spa, and fitness center are on-site. Hotel guests can play at the nearby Waldorf Astoria golf course, and guests can take advantage of the time-share pools, from a pirate-ship water park for kids to a more genteel space with cabanas by the spa.
You Should Know This hotel is part of a time-share resort, thus you may encounter sales staff who would like you to buy into the property.
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Room
Roomy standard accommodations feature soft neutral colors, and either two queen or one king bed, with deluxe linens, a refrigerator, 40-inch flat-screen TV, and a coffee maker with Wolfgang Puck™coffee. Desks with ergonomic chairs make working while on vacation a breeze. Some deluxe rooms have bunk beds and balconies with woodland views.
You Should Know Wi-Fi and other amenities are included in the steep resort fee.
Bathroom
Standard room bathrooms are supplied with Institut Karite Paris bath products, and tub/showers have massaging shower heads. The tub and WC area is separated by a door from the single sink vanity, allowing more than one person to use the facilities.
Lobby
The impressive lobby features substantial, Minoan-modern style columns, with a stone compass image in the floor, surrounded by discrete seating areas, and full-length windows overlooking the pool and lake. The large registration area sits to the left, and to the right, a wide corridor with pool-view windows leads to the restaurant and bar area, where a pianist entertains most evenings.
Pool
Adjacent to the Wyndham Grand, the Oasis pool offers a serene spot to sunbathe and dip a toe in the cool waters as you relax in a cabana. The larger time-share resort, spread in substantial towers around the lake, has several pools open to guests at the Wyndham Grand. Next door, the Tower 6 pool features a wrecked pirate ship, water slide, and playground. In Tower 5, a lazy river pool offers the chance to float through palm-tree bedecked landscape. Around the lake are several more pools, lazy rivers, playgrounds, and even a mini-golf course, all of which welcome resort guests. Towels are supplied.
Spa
Blue Harmony, a 5,700 square foot full-service spa at the Wyndham Grand, offers the chance to shake off the stresses of travel, golf, and theme-parks through relaxing massage and other treatments. The spa features separate men's and women's locker rooms, relaxation lounges, steam rooms, an outdoor spa garden and hot tub, and chromotherapy showers, in which the rain shower changes colors. Six treatment rooms offer a menu of massages including Swedish, deep tissue, aroma, and hot stone treatments. The spa also offers facials, manicures, pedicures, and aqua immersion therapy in which couples soak away their troubles in twin tiled baths filled with gently bubbling water.
Gym
The resort has a 1,900 square foot fitness area, with equipment for both cardio and strength training.
Dining
Fine dining is on the menu at deep blu Seafood Grille, a very pleasant space overlooking the water, with an expansive open kitchen, and a menu of exceptional seafood, sushi and more. A hearty breakfast buffet helps you get started at Tesoro Cove, where you can get cereal for the kids, or waffles and pancakes to order. Casual lunches and dinners are served at Back Bay Bar & Grill, right on the lake.
Drinking
Back Bay Bar & Grill pours a mean Mojito, Margarita or Pina Colada in addition to a wide selection of Central Florida’s finest craft beers. Bar 1521 offers cocktails made with locally sourced spirits and has a popular daily happy hour.
Golf
Guests have access to the Waldorf Astoria Golf Club right next door, where an 18-hole championship course designed by Rees Jones meanders through Florida's wild landscape past stands of regal cypress trees. Guests may also play at any of the Disney courses.
What's Nearby
Getting Around
While the resort does provide free shuttles to Disney parks, they can be slow and crowded. A car or ride-share service is probably your best bet for efficient travel around the vast expanses of Disney World and will be absolutely necessary if you want to venture farther afield.
Restaurants
You could pop next door to the Hilton/Waldorf Astoria complex (5-minute drive) to sample the fine dining offered there. The award-winning Bull & Bear offers steakhouse classics such as its signature Dry-Aged Tomahawk Rib Eye, Escargot & Gnocchi, and Flaming Lobster on the Spit. Oscar's Brasserie serves a substantial breakfast buffet or an a la carte menu. If you want a wider choice, head for the entertainment and dining complex at Disney Springs (10-minute drive) where about 50 restaurants vie to please your palate.
Bars
If you want a sophisticated libation, the Hilton/Waldorf Astoria complex (5-minute drive) has a half dozen spots for drinks, including the Waldorf's Peacock Alley, a lobby bar offering creative cocktails such as the signature Peacock Egg, made of lavender lemonade, gin and blue curacao, served in a hollow egg made of ice, which glows blue. The bar offers a wide wine selection and live entertainment. If that doesn't wow you, get a ride-share over to Disney Springs (1o-minute drive) where you'll find dozens of establishments serving everything from Guinness to bourbon to beer.
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