EKGinNYC
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2014
My family of 3 visited Walt Disney World for the first time over Columbus Day weekend and chose the Four Seasons Orlando as our home base. We could not have been happier about our decision. We took advantage of the promotion for a third night free, which made it so much more affordable.
The concierge arranged our airport transportation: a Mears car for $115, round-trip, which included tax & tolls (and they had a carseat for my daughter).
The hotel is spectacular, as are the grounds, facilities and water features. We stayed in a “park view” standard-sized room and it was lovely and spacious. My 5yo received welcome gifts and had the use of a child sized bathrobe and tiny slippers.
Other amenities were as you’d expect from a Four Seasons property; a beautifully outfitted closet/dressing area led the way to the stunning bathroom, complete with gorgeous shower, separate soaking tub, and a television in the mirror. I agree with other reviewers that the door to the commode area is poorly designed and ineffective.
It was nice to have a small fridge, and my husband loved the in-room Nespresso coffee machine but I would have liked some tea available as well. Oddly, there were no plates or glasses in the wet bar area, and a minibar menu but no minibar. I'm sure I could have called and requested all these items, but I didn't want to be bothered.
We had a small but comfortable balcony overlooking the beautiful grounds and water features, with a view of Epcot. Comfy chairs, a small table and outdoor lamp made for a lovely spot from which to watch the fireworks over the park each night.
The bed was extremely comfortable - which was most appreciated after our days of park-going. My daughter slept on the sofa bed, which was also very comfortable.
Transportation between the resort and the Disney parks was easy and pleasant, but should have been more frequent, imho. Not sure this will change as we were often one of the only families on the buses during our travels. On a morning when we had to be at Epcot before the buses began running for an early breakfast, the concierge arranged a private car for us at a rate of $15, which included tax and tip. I had done my research and knew that this rate was comparable to, if not less expensive than, the going taxi fare.
After visiting the Disney parks each day, we looked forward to returning to the hotel to cool off in the family pool, lazy river, the hot tub, and the three storey water slides, which turned out to be my daughter’s favorite experience of her trip! Very well done. The family infinity pool is zero-entry and perfect for young swimmers, and almost as incredible looking as the adult-only Oasis pool, which I snuck into while my family played ping-pong and bean-bag toss games on the lawn.
We ate a kid-friendly dinner each night at PB&G (Pool Bar & Grill). They offered casual outdoor seating in a beautifully designed, shaded area overlooking the lake. Service was a bit slow, and the menu somewhat eclectic, but my daughter loved the kid’s menu, crayons and activity placemat. In the lobby, Lickety Split offered coffee, pastries, sandwiches, fruit and gelato. A bit pricey, but convenient when running out to the parks or grabbing a snack on our return.
We did have some issues that should be noted:
- At check in I requested the sofa bed be made up each day by 5pm, and on our first day it took 2 additional calls to housekeeping to finally have this done! Following that initial misstep, it was not a problem, thankfully.
- information on the hours of the various eating establishments was inconsistent, which caused some problems. E.g., we were told PB&G opened at 6 for dinner, and we were given a 6pm reservation. In fact it was open only UNTIL 6 (because it was weekday??). Fortunately someone figured this out before hand and called us in time for us to have dinner earlier. We also received wrong info re Lickety Split's hours.
- we had no hot water in our shower for about 15 minutes each morning. They sent an engineer to address it while we were out. I am assuming this is an ongoing problem.
I will say that the issues we had were addressed pleasantly and timely by the wonderful staff, and I am hopeful that they will work out the kinks before we return, which we hope to do next year.
I'm happy to answer any questions!
The concierge arranged our airport transportation: a Mears car for $115, round-trip, which included tax & tolls (and they had a carseat for my daughter).
The hotel is spectacular, as are the grounds, facilities and water features. We stayed in a “park view” standard-sized room and it was lovely and spacious. My 5yo received welcome gifts and had the use of a child sized bathrobe and tiny slippers.
Other amenities were as you’d expect from a Four Seasons property; a beautifully outfitted closet/dressing area led the way to the stunning bathroom, complete with gorgeous shower, separate soaking tub, and a television in the mirror. I agree with other reviewers that the door to the commode area is poorly designed and ineffective.
It was nice to have a small fridge, and my husband loved the in-room Nespresso coffee machine but I would have liked some tea available as well. Oddly, there were no plates or glasses in the wet bar area, and a minibar menu but no minibar. I'm sure I could have called and requested all these items, but I didn't want to be bothered.
We had a small but comfortable balcony overlooking the beautiful grounds and water features, with a view of Epcot. Comfy chairs, a small table and outdoor lamp made for a lovely spot from which to watch the fireworks over the park each night.
The bed was extremely comfortable - which was most appreciated after our days of park-going. My daughter slept on the sofa bed, which was also very comfortable.
Transportation between the resort and the Disney parks was easy and pleasant, but should have been more frequent, imho. Not sure this will change as we were often one of the only families on the buses during our travels. On a morning when we had to be at Epcot before the buses began running for an early breakfast, the concierge arranged a private car for us at a rate of $15, which included tax and tip. I had done my research and knew that this rate was comparable to, if not less expensive than, the going taxi fare.
After visiting the Disney parks each day, we looked forward to returning to the hotel to cool off in the family pool, lazy river, the hot tub, and the three storey water slides, which turned out to be my daughter’s favorite experience of her trip! Very well done. The family infinity pool is zero-entry and perfect for young swimmers, and almost as incredible looking as the adult-only Oasis pool, which I snuck into while my family played ping-pong and bean-bag toss games on the lawn.
We ate a kid-friendly dinner each night at PB&G (Pool Bar & Grill). They offered casual outdoor seating in a beautifully designed, shaded area overlooking the lake. Service was a bit slow, and the menu somewhat eclectic, but my daughter loved the kid’s menu, crayons and activity placemat. In the lobby, Lickety Split offered coffee, pastries, sandwiches, fruit and gelato. A bit pricey, but convenient when running out to the parks or grabbing a snack on our return.
We did have some issues that should be noted:
- At check in I requested the sofa bed be made up each day by 5pm, and on our first day it took 2 additional calls to housekeeping to finally have this done! Following that initial misstep, it was not a problem, thankfully.
- information on the hours of the various eating establishments was inconsistent, which caused some problems. E.g., we were told PB&G opened at 6 for dinner, and we were given a 6pm reservation. In fact it was open only UNTIL 6 (because it was weekday??). Fortunately someone figured this out before hand and called us in time for us to have dinner earlier. We also received wrong info re Lickety Split's hours.
- we had no hot water in our shower for about 15 minutes each morning. They sent an engineer to address it while we were out. I am assuming this is an ongoing problem.
I will say that the issues we had were addressed pleasantly and timely by the wonderful staff, and I am hopeful that they will work out the kinks before we return, which we hope to do next year.
I'm happy to answer any questions!
