When you disembark from a Disney cruise, life is sad – very, very sad. But, when you extend your vacation by one night, you can gently help ease yourself back into the real world…
I booked the Waldorf Astoria for a one-night stay after our seven-night Eastern Caribbean Disney cruise because our flight back home was the day after disembarkation. Rather than stay at an Orlando airport hotel, we wanted to check this place out. We were in for a treat!
I originally had booked a Deluxe Suite on the Waldorf’s website. After booking, the hotel’s “suite attache” (what a title!) emailed me and asked if I wanted to upgrade for a nominal fee. For only a $100 more, I upgraded to the Luxury Suite.
I’d never stayed at the Waldorf before. All of our previous Orlando stays had been at the Four Seasons, which we absolutely love. I was a little nervous that the Waldorf would not live up to our high (spoiled) expectations.
Well, I had nothing to fear! After an hour-long drive from the Kennedy Space Center, which we visited after disembarkation, we arrived and were pleased to see a modern version the famed Waldorf clock in the lobby:
Here’s another scene from the lobby – spot any hidden Mickeys?
Upon check-in, I almost had a heart attack, as I was informed that the Luxury Suite that we had booked was no longer available due to it being Labor Day weekend…..but, we were going to be upgraded to the Presidential Suite!!!! O.M.G. My jaw nearly dropped to the ground. What a way to celebrate the end of our trip and our wedding anniversary (even if we had a kid in tow)!
You can read all the gory details of our less-than-24-hour stay in pure luxury in my TripAdvisor review. That review doesn’t have any photos, so read on (i.e., scroll down)!
Here is a visual tour of nearly 3,000 square feet of living space (bigger than my own house!), which included three TVs, three balconies, two bathrooms, two dining areas (total seating for 13), a butler’s kitchen, a study, and five thermostats.
First, the double-door entrance (in case you’re hauling any major furniture or other party items into the suite):
Look at all the chairs!
Interestingly enough, there is only one bedroom, so they had to bring a rollaway bed for my son, which you can see between the two dining areas.
Here is the gorgeous vanity in the living room’s half-bathroom, which my son used:
The living area, which had a massive TV:
A study, which was adjacent to the living area (of course, with its own TV):
The butler’s kitchen, which had a full-sized refrigerator:
Views of all three balconies:
The golf-course view from one of the balconies:
The master bedroom:
The master bathroom:
One thing that the Waldorf is well-known for is its room service. In fact, they created room service for the modern hotel era! We weren’t about to venture out of our penthouse sanctuary to eat (even though there are twelve different places to eat or drink at the Waldorf and adjacent Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek), so we decided to order our dinner.
Room service lived up to the Waldorf reputation! We ordered an artisan cheese pizza (amazing hand-tossed crust!) and various pastas, which included fresh bread with the best butter I have had outside of Europe (because the butter was from Normandy!):
After enjoying our feast, we had to go to bed relatively early for our morning flight back home. It was an absolutely amazing stay and the best way to end our magical Caribbean cruise vacation!
As your vacation concierge, I can offer you complimentary amenities during your stay at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, such as a resort credit, free breakfast, early check-in/late check-out, and a room upgrade (subject to availability).
This post may also be viewed on the Disney Cruise Mom Blog.