Where to Stay in Orlando

The mistake almost everyone makes is choosing a hotel first and an area second. In a city where the two main resorts sit about ten miles apart with a busy interstate between them, the area decides how much of your holiday you spend in a car.

International Drive

I-Drive is the closest thing Orlando has to a hotel high street. It runs past the Orange County Convention Center, ICON Park, Pointe Orlando and dozens of restaurants, and it sits between Universal at the north end and SeaWorld at the south. Epic Universe is at the southern end of the Universal campus, which pulled the centre of gravity of this strip a little further south when it opened.

It is the best answer for a mixed trip. You are not far from Universal, you can reach Disney in a reasonable drive, and you can eat somewhere different every night without getting in a car.

See International Drive hotels and hotels near the Convention Center.

Lake Buena Vista and the Disney Springs area

Lake Buena Vista is the off-site area closest to Walt Disney World, and the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels sit inside the Disney property boundary on Hotel Plaza Boulevard. Those hotels are not Disney-owned, but several are within walking distance of Disney Springs, which is the one part of Orlando where an off-site hotel can genuinely work without a car.

For a Disney-only week this is the sensible off-site choice. You are minutes from the park entrances rather than crossing the city, and the hotel rates sit below the Disney Deluxe resorts.

See Lake Buena Vista hotels and Disney Springs hotels.

Bonnet Creek

Bonnet Creek is a pocket of land surrounded by Walt Disney World that Disney does not own. Hilton, Marriott and Wyndham built large resorts there, and two of them carry Official Walt Disney World Hotel status. The result is Disney convenience with a Hilton or Marriott pool complex, a lazy river and a spa.

This is the area to choose when the trip includes days that are not park days. It is the wrong area for a short, park-every-day trip, because you are paying for facilities you will not open your eyes long enough to use.

See Bonnet Creek hotels.

Universal Boulevard and Universal Orlando

Universal's own campus holds eleven hotels across four benefit tiers, and several of them connect to the parks on foot or by water taxi. Universal Boulevard, immediately outside, is a strip of off-site hotels that are close enough to make a rideshare trivial and cheap enough to fund several extra dinners.

If Universal or Epic Universe is the point of the trip, this is where to look first, and the on-site question is worth taking seriously rather than dismissing on price.

See Universal Orlando hotels, Universal Boulevard hotels and hotels near Epic Universe.

Kissimmee, Celebration and Flamingo Crossings

West and south of Walt Disney World the rates drop. Kissimmee along US-192 is the traditional budget corridor and holds the largest concentration of condo and villa resorts, which is why families of seven and eight end up there. Celebration is a quieter planned town with a small centre. Flamingo Crossings sits by Disney's western entrance and is mostly newer select-service hotels.

All three assume a rental car. That is the trade you are making, and for a large family it is usually the right one.

See Kissimmee hotels near Disney World, Celebration hotels and Flamingo Crossings hotels.

Downtown Orlando and the airport

Downtown is a real city centre with independent restaurants and a genuine bar scene, and it is a poor base for a theme park trip. Use it for business travel, a conference at the Amway Center, or a night at either end of a longer Florida trip. The airport hotels are for exactly one thing: an early flight or a late arrival.

See Downtown Orlando hotels and Orlando airport hotels.