Four Seasons Resort Orlando Review

Whenever we go to Walt Disney World, we always prefer to stay at an on-site resort, because it makes the whole trip so much more enjoyable and simple. We recently stayed at the Four Seasons Orlando within the Walt Disney World Resort and had an absolutely fantastic time. Everything about the resort, from the on-site amenities to the Disney World planning assistance made for the perfect trip to Orlando.

DEAL ALERT: As of August 2020, the Four Seasons Orlando Resort is running an Experience More deal, which gives you a credit of up to $500 towards any incidental charges, including dining, spa services, golf experiences, and more. This is a huge deal, because the Four Seasons rarely offers any specials or deals like this, so take advantage of it while you can!

About the Four Seasons Orlando

Nestled beside a lake in a secluded, residential setting, this AAA Five Diamond Resort is packed full of things to do. The grounds are gorgeously decorated with gardens, pools and towering palm trees, making you feel like you’re in a totally lush resort (which you are!). In addition to the resort accommodations, there’s also a golf and sports club, a 5-acre water park, a spa, and several dining options. The Four Seasons Orlando was a great choice for our family trip, with plenty to entertain me, Erik, and Harper!

Location

The Four Seasons Orlando is within the Walt Disney World Resort, which makes it the perfect place to stay if you’re visiting the parks. The Orlando International Airport is just a 30-minute drive away, and we drove the 6-hour trip from Charleston. With complimentary transport to the Walt Disney World Parks and lots of on-site amenities, Four Seasons Orlando is in a perfect location.

Rooms

The entire Four Seasons Orlando Resort features gorgeous Spanish Revival architecture styles with terracotta roofs and arched windows. That stylistic nod to Florida’s Golden Age is carried through in the rooms, which have high ceilings and tasteful pops of color. All of the rooms and suites feature private balconies with expansive views. We stayed in the Park View Suite and it was great! The Park View Suite normally offers nightly views of the Walt Disney World fireworks, but since they’re temporarily suspended, obviously we didn’t see those. Even so, the private terrace offered great views of the resort’s pools, lakes and woodlands. The suite has one bedroom with a king-sized bed, 2 gorgeous bathrooms, and a main living space with a queen-sized sofa bed.

Amenities

Water Recreation

Four Seasons Orlando has a ton of recreation opportunities and amenities, but their pools and water park activities truly stand out! The resort actually offers the only adult-only pool in the Walt Disney World Resort. Explorer Island is home to the Four Seasons Orlando’s pool, lazy river, water slides and more. The family pool is over 7,000 square feet and overlooks the pool, with a sloping beach entry that’s perfect for young swimmers. The pool is also equipped with an underwater audio system so you can listen to your tunes while you swim. The Splash Zone is an expansive splash pad area that’s seamlessly incorporated into the architecture of the resort buildings. Choreographed fountains make for hours of fun! There are also water activities for the more adventurous vacationers, with a lazy river and two 242-foot water slides.

Explorer Island is also where they host Kids For All Seasons, the resort’s complimentary program for kids ages 4-12. The camp is open daily from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. With plenty of activities and supervised swim time available, it’s a great way for your kids to spend some time while you enjoy some time to yourself. While I enjoyed the resort spa, Harper played in the Kids Camp from 10 a.m. to noon. His schedule included a Get Moving Morning Stretch and Mini Sailboat Races!

Dining

With 6 restaurants and bars, there are plenty of dining opportunities at the Four Seasons Orlando Resort.

Capa is a rooftop steakhouse and bar that has two outdoor terraces on the 17th-floor. The restaurant serves fresh Florida seafood, Spanish-influenced cuisine and expertly grilled steaks. The restaurant is also renowned for its wine, being named among the Best 100 Wine Restaurants in the U.S. by Wine Enthusiast magazine. We ate at Capa for dinner on our first night and it was so good!

Ravello is an Italian restaurant serving both breakfast and dinner in a modern, open space. With decadent breakfast offerings and creative takes on regional Italian specialties, Ravello has something to please everyone. Ravello also hosts Good Morning Breakfasts with Goofy and His Pals on Saturday mornings for a fun, kid-friendly breakfast!

Plancha, located within the golf clubhouse, serves a mix of American clubhouse favorites and Cuban-inspired cuisine. Just steps away from the pool, PB&G is a casual pool bar and grill set in a covered lakeside platform.

Lickety Split is the Four Seasons Orlando’s lobby cafe, serving coffee and pastries, grab-and-go sandwiches and salads, and delicious creamy gelato. We particularly enjoyed the decadent milkshakes made from Lickety Split’s house-made gelato!

Spa and Wellness

The Spa at Four Seasons Orlando has 13,000 square feet dedicated to creating an atmosphere of relaxation. There are a plethora of services and treatments, including exclusive therapies and advanced aesthetic services. The indoor and outdoor relaxations areas as well as the locker rooms (complete with a steam room and outdoor spa tubs) are complimentary to resort guests and truly turn your spa experience into an oasis getaway. I opted for the Healing Honey Treatment at the Four Seasons Orlando Spa. The rejuvenating body treatment offers a wide range of wellness benefits and uses local raw 100% pure honey from The Winter Garden Honey Co. Honey has many wonderful benefits like its antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties. In addition to being a natural exfoliant, honey also helps to maintain your skin’s moisture. During the treatment, the warmed honey is used in a full-body myofascial massage to detoxify skin and tissue. Then, a warmed beeswax and propolis thermal pack is placed intentionally on the body to act as a powerful immune booster. In the 80-minute service, you also experience a head-to-toe exfoliation with Himalayan salt and organic tea leaves. The Healing Honey Treatment is a truly unique and memorable experience, and my entire time at the spa was incredible!

Another unique service offered at The Spa at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando is “Vitality Drip” intravenous hydration and vitamin injections that aim to improve energy and combat fatigue. Guests can enjoy a “drip” as an individual treatment option or add it on to their spa routine as an additional enhancement. Different IV blends offer a variety of benefits, and you’ll get recommended one based on your individual health needs!

The Four Seasons Orlando’s Fitness Center is another way to focus on wellness during your visit. The fitness center is open between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., and you have your choice of the latest cardio and weight training equipment and Peloton bikes. A wall of windows lets in tons of natural light and a large-screen TV is available for FitnessOnDemand classes.

Golf and Tennis

The Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club has plenty of offerings to any golf enthusiast. Erik took a spin on the Tranquilo Golf Course, which is host to the LPGA Tour’s Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in 2020 and 2021. The Tom-Fazio designed course is a secluded homage to the Florida landscape; as a Certified Audubon Sanctuary, you can connect with nature while you play.

Three Har-Tru tennis courts are available to play on at the Four Seasons Orlando Resort, and you can take lessons from on-site tennis pro Alain Labrecque or join in on a daily Peter Burwash International-designed clinic.

Shopping

There are two luxury boutiques in the Four Seasons Orlando Resort, to satisfy all of your shopping needs. Wardrobe is a lifestyle boutique that sells a wide selection of designer apparel and accessories for men and women, including unique Disney-themed jewelry by Kimberly McDonald. Fable is a more whimsical shop stocking necessities and souvenirs, including Four Seasons logo apparel, exclusive gifts, and Sugarfina candy.

Walt Disney World Services

Obviously one of the biggest perks of staying at the Four Seasons Orlando at the Walt Disney World Resort is the transportation to the parks and the assistance with booking activities in the parks. Located near the front desk is the resort’s Disney Planning Center, which is the first place to go to book all things Disney. You can plan your trip with the help of a Disney Cast Member so you can get the most out of your visit! When it comes to transportation to the parks, complimentary transportation is offered from the resort to the four major Disney Parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Buses run twice per hour to and from Magic Kingdom and once per hour to and from the other three parks. If you’re hitting up more than just Disney, you can also arrange for direct service to and from Disney Springs, Universal Studios, Seaworld, and Restaurant Row for a fee.

Lead With Care

During the pandemic, it’s important to us that where we stay takes safety and sanitization seriously, and the Four Seasons Orlando Resort absolutely does. They’ve launched an enhanced global health and safety program called Lead with Care. Restaurant and facility services comply with social distancing regulations, and upon arrival, the staff conducts a screening procedure which may include temperature screening as well as a series of questions concerning your recent travel history. Employees are wearing masks and the resort encourages guests to do so as well.

Staying at the Four Seasons Orlando in the Walt Disney World Resort was such a treat. There is so much to do, from shopping to dining and playing, and we had an amazing time. It was a relaxing and fun getaway to Walt Disney World, accompanied by gorgeous surroundings all the time. If you’re looking for a resort experience in Orlando, Four Seasons Orlando is the way to go!