Waldorf Astoria Orlando v Vacation Rental Home

The Waldorf Astoria Orlando opened in the Bonnet Creek area of Orlando today. The hotel has approximately 500 rooms ranging from a 448 sq ft deluxe room through to the 3,300 sq ft Presidential suite. The Presidential suite has one bedroom, one and one-half Italian marble bathrooms, separate living room and dining room for eight, a fully furnished kitchen and a breakfast area for four. The suite also has a 42” High Definition LCD television and a MP3 player. Opening rates start at $179.00 per night for a deluxe one bedroom, one bathroom suite according to the Waldorf Astoria Orlando web site and are sure to be a lot more expensive for the Presidential suite as other suites seem to be running in excess of $500 according to the same web site.

So that leads me to a question… is it worth paying these room rates? For some people, they will undoubtedly enjoy staying in a brand new hotel even though there are bound to be some teething problems. For me, I still have memories of an inaugural cruise aboard Norwegian cruise lines Pride of America where everything was so new that it ended up being a very poor cruise as staff were being trained and no-one seemed to know anything about customer service.

I don’t expect the Waldorf will have those problems though. I have stayed at the Waldorf in New York and apart from the check in and check out process being awful and a maid leaving our room door open most of the day (nothing went missing…thankfully), we still enjoyed our time there.

Yes, you heard right…I do stay at hotels. In our line of business we have to learn more about how we can improve and yes, that means checking out what the hotels are doing.

So, is the Waldorf Orlando worth staying at at these rates? For the novelty, then probably yes. Everything’s worth trying out once isn’t it? For those attending conventions then you’ll have 28,000 square feet of meeting space and if you enjoy golf, there’s the 7,108-yard Rees Jones designed championship golf course at the Waldorf Astoria Golf Club. Then there’s the signature Waldorf Astoria food and beverage establishments, a formal swimming pool with private cabanas, a recreation pool, a 24,000-square-foot Waldorf Astoria Spa by Guerlain® and a 4,000-square-foot fitness center. So, yes there’s no doubt you’ll enjoy a stay at the Waldorf if you don’t mind paying the price.

So what about a vacation rental home. Well, for the same $179.00 you can stay in a 1900 square feet vacation home with it’s own private pool and hot tub. Further the vacation home has 3 large bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It also has it’s own large fully equipped kitchen so that you can save money by dining in, instead of spending hundreds of $$$’s at fancy restaurants such as the Bear & Bull in the Waldorf. Of course, you can still visit the Bear and Bull if you fancy a great meal but there’s also many other great restaurants close by if you fancy a meal out and it means you have more choice of where and when you dine.

Of course, it’s not all about price. Yes, in a recession it’s important but there are other things to consider…such as how many people are staying at the hotel. With 500 rooms we can safely say there will be a fair few hundred people staying there as well and that means your experience is likely to have to include them. If you really want a peaceful vacation then you’ll not find it at a hotel. You’ll end up sharing the swimming pool, the spa, the restaurants and you’ll probably also find yourself disturbed by people talking in the corridors or hallways.

And talking of the hallways…isn’t your room always the furthest away from everything just like mine?

With a vacation home, it’s really easy… you drive up and park right outside the front door. You no longer need to be a marathon runner or long distance runner to be able to get to your room.

Overall, hotels and vacation homes are two different experiences. And you should try them both. Congratulations to the Waldorf Astoria Orlando. Welcome to town.

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