Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace — Disney Springs Area

Is it worth the money?

On the strip, this is the one to book first. It has the best rooms according to the reviewer who has stayed in all of them, the best pool, and free self-parking that no neighbour matches.

Run the total, though, because the resort fee changes the picture. At $95 plus $39 you are at $134 before tax, which is close to a Disney value resort — and a Disney value gets you Skyliner or dedicated buses every ten to twenty minutes instead of an hourly shuttle, plus actual theming.

The honest position: this beats every other Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotel on room quality and beats all of them except the Drury on total cost if you are driving. Against Disney's own value resorts it is a real choice rather than an obvious win, and the deciding factor is almost always whether you have a car.

What the rooms are actually like

Sleeps up to 4, not counting infants — the table below says which room that takes.

Which room should you request?

On Hotel Plaza Boulevard, at the Disney Springs end, inside Walt Disney World. The walk to Disney Springs is short. No hotel on this road can walk to a theme park.

Transport is the shared hourly bus shuttle to all four theme parks. The free self-parking makes driving materially more attractive here than at the neighbours, several of which charge $25 to $38 a night for the same thing — though Disney still charges $35 a day to park at a theme park gate.

What are the pools like?

• Beach-entry pool and float lagoon
• Quiet pool — quiet pool

What has changed recently?

The pool complex was rebuilt as a beach-entry pool with a float lagoon and poolside bar, which is what moved this hotel to the top of most rankings of the strip. The resort fee sits at about $39 a night, in the middle of the Hotel Plaza Boulevard range of roughly $26 to $46. Self-parking remains complimentary, which is now unique on this road and worth about $25 to $38 a night against the neighbours.

Working from here

workable

Spacious rooms with desks, a large lobby and a resort-scale pool area with shade and seating, plus Disney Springs a walk away for a change of scene. Wifi is covered by the resort fee, which you are paying whether you use it or not. What it lacks is a proper café or work space of its own; the lobby is the answer, and it is busy at check-in and check-out.

Common questions

Is parking really free at the Buena Vista Palace?

Self-parking is complimentary, which is unique among the seven Disney Springs Resort Area hotels — the neighbours charge roughly $25 to $38 a night. Valet is about $48 plus tax. Disney still charges $35 a day to park at a theme park gate, so free parking here saves you at the hotel, not at the parks.

How much is the resort fee?

About $39 a night, which sits mid-range for Hotel Plaza Boulevard — the strip runs roughly $26 at the DoubleTree Suites to $46 at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, with the Drury Plaza charging none at all. Always add it to a quoted rate before comparing against a Disney resort.

Which is the best Disney Springs hotel?

Disney Tourist Blog, which has reviewed the strip, ranks the Buena Vista Palace first, citing spacious rooms with pillow-top mattresses and the rebuilt beach-entry pool with its float lagoon. On total cost the Drury Plaza competes hard, because it charges no resort fee and includes hot breakfast and a free evening buffet.

Do you get Disney benefits staying here?

Some. Thirty minutes of early theme park entry every day at any of the four parks, an hourly bus shuttle to all of them, and Official Walt Disney World Hotel status. You do not get the Disney Dining Plan, Disney's own bus frequency, or any of the resort-guest extras tied to staying at a Disney-operated hotel.