Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of the world’s most unique experiences. Many types of exotic animals are visible from the hotel’s public areas and guest rooms. The Lodge is a deluxe resort at Walt Disney World designed by architect Peter Dominick. The resort opened in 2001 & contains 1,307 rooms and suites.
The Lodge features five restaurants featuring a variety of cuisine & drinks from over 50 African countries. The resort offers many unique experiences including tasting tours, face painting, & stories of Africa around a huge open air fire-pit.
Imagine waking up in your room, & wandering out to your balcony where you watch gazelles, giraffes, & zebras go about their morning…priceless!
The Breakers is one of the world’s finest hotels and is located on 140 acres of Atlantic beachfront property in Palm Beach Florida. The craftsmanship and detail of this Italian Renaissance hotel is unparalleled. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel traces its lineage back to 1896 when the hotel there was known as The Palm Beach Inn.
The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1925 and was rebuilt into the magnificent resort we know today. Since the prior wooden structure had been destroyed by fire, the hotel was rebuilt using fireproof concrete. The hotel was designed by the architectural firm Schultze and Weaver. The design inspiration was the Villa Medici in Italy that dates to the 1500s.
Orlando’s Gaylord Palms resort features a 100-foot-tall jaw-dropping atrium covering 4.6 acres. In addition to one of the world’s largest atriums, the facility also features the second largest convention facilities in Florida. The resort opened in 2002 and offers 1,406 guest rooms, many of which look out over the atrium space. The atrium has four major sections: St. Augustine, Key West, The Everglades, and Emerald Bay.
While it’s difficult to imagine, the owners of the facility are working on a huge expansion. They plan to add another 500 hotel rooms and double the convention facilities to a total of about a million square feet. This expansion will presumably give the resort more convention space than any other Florida hotel.
The Grand Floridian is the crown jewel of Disney World’s eight magnificent deluxe resorts. The lakeside hotel is Victorian in design and provides 1,014 guest rooms. The Grand Floridian provides great access to the Magic Kingdom (world’s most successful theme park) via monorail and various other means. Built in 1988, the hotel boasts a five-story tall lobby and live music provided by a pianist or an orchestra. The resort was designed by the architectural firm Wimberly, Allison, Tong, and Goo.
The resort features plenty of luxury dining to match the surroundings. There are seven restaurants at the resort including fine dining provided by Criticos, Narcoossee’s, and Victoria & Albert’s. Victoria & Albert’s is a AAA five diamond restaurant and has held that honor for the past 20 years.
The Hollywood Hard Rock hotel took a giant leap forward in late 2019 when they completed their huge expansion that features a 450-foot-tall guitar (not a typo). The $1.5 billion expansion added over 800 rooms bringing the resort total to 1,275 rooms. The 100-acre property also includes a huge pool area and a 7,000 seat Hard Rock Live performance venue.
The property includes a 140,000 square foot casino and over 20 various restaurants & bars. The main entrance to the new addition takes visitors directly to the Oculus, a music and lightshow venue that looks a bit like a flying saucer. At night the 450-foot-tall guitar comes alive with countless lights, music, and searchlights that appear to reach miles into the air.
The JW Marriott Grande Lakes resort in Orlando shares a beautiful 500-acre parcel with the Ritz Carlton resort. The JW Marriott was designed by the architectural firm Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates and opened in 2003. The impressive 26 story resort features 998 guest rooms and 145,000 square feet of convention space.
The resort has an 18-hole Greg Norman designed PGA golf course and six restaurants. The facility’s fine dining restaurant Primo holds a AAA four diamond rating and offers excellent Italian cuisine. The amenities of the JW Marriott are most impressive, when you add those of the adjacent Ritz Carlton resort everything is at your fingertips.
I suspect that there’s a great view of the nightly Disney World fireworks from the 26th floor of the JW Marriott.
The Portofino Bay resort at Universal Orlando has been the flagship hotel at Universal Orlando since the resort opened in 1999. Viewing the resort from across the lake it does a fine job of making you feel that you’re in Italy. As one might suspect, the restaurants within also evoke the experience of dining in Italy. The resort was designed by architectural firms: RTKL Associates, WATG, and Morris Architects.
The resort provides 750 guest rooms, 65,000 square feet of meeting space, and a health spa. The resort naturally includes several restaurants, a couple of bars, and a nice assortment of Italian themed shops. If you’re hungry check out Bice Ristorante.
The Regal Princess is a member of the largest group of Princess cruise ships, the Royal class. Regal Princess was built in Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard and sailed on her maiden voyage in 2014. Regal Princess is the largest ship I’ve ever sailed on; she’s over 100 feet wide, over 200 feet tall, and over 1,000 feet long. On her maiden voyage she was the 11th largest cruise ship in the world.
Regal Princess offers countless restaurants and bars and a tremendous assortment of entertainment for young and old alike. In addition to many live music venues, stand up comics, movies, and enrichment activities, the 900-seat main theater offers multiple shows every night. If you have any energy left, there’s a complete fitness center and a a new port to explore every morning. Enjoy!
The Wilderness Lodge at Disney World is my favorite hotel. The Lodge was designed by architect Peter Dominick and opened in 1994. The resort is inspired by the Old Faithful Inn complete with its own geyser, and it’s situated on a huge parcel directly on Bay Lake. Transportation from the Lodge to the Magic Kingdom is by boat, bus, or car. The hotel and the adjacent vacation club provide 1,095 rooms.
Lavishly themed from top to bottom, the resort includes real totem poles over 50 feet tall and a central fireplace that’s over 80 feet tall. The Lodge offers many activities including delightful tours of the facility. I’m afraid that I can’t explain the magical ambiance that visitors feel at the Wilderness Lodge, you’ll just have to go experience it yourself.
