What To Expect at Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista: Insider’s Review

During our November 2024 Orlando trip, my family of 5 chose Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista for our last night, eager to try something different than our usual stays at nearby Hilton properties.

The Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista featured convenient access to Walt Disney World attractions — particularly Disney Springs — and had dining, 2 pools, a fitness center, and complimentary shuttle service to Disney World parks. We had a nice stay, but it didn’t knock the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace off the top spot on my list of Disney Springs hotels.

Booking Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista

The lowest room rate available at Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista was a nonrefundable, accessible room with 2 queen beds, so I booked that and got moved to a regular room at check-in. The total price was $277, including a $39 resort charge, plus about $100 for parking and food after applying a $30 credit.

After the stay, I earned 10,458 points in my Hilton Honors account, including a Diamond elite 100% bonus and 2024 Power Up promotion. I paid for the stay using my Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card, which earns 12 points per $1 on Hilton purchases. Once my credit card statement closed, I earned another 4,548 Hilton Honors points, bringing my total points earned for this stay to about 15,000.

Location of the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista

We booked the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista because of its location. The hotel was just a 5-minute walk from Disney Springs via an easy-to-follow footbridge.

This hotel is also well-located for Walt Disney World park visits and offers a free shuttle service. Depending on which park you plan to visit, you can reach the parks within about 10 minutes by car.

The Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista is about 20 miles and a 30-minute drive from Orlando International Airport (MCO).

Checking In

We arrived at the hotel around 11:30 a.m., very early for the hotel’s check-in time of 4 p.m. The front desk offered to have a room ready for us in about an hour, so we waited in the lobby, got snacks from the market, and explored the hotel.

My check-in packet included a DVDNow rental card, instructions for connecting to Wi-Fi, a Disney Springs savings passport, and a list of resort charge benefits with vouchers for an attraction ticket discount and bottled water. I also received 2 bottled waters at the check-in desk.

Resort Fee

I paid a $39 resort fee, which included the following benefits:

• 10% off on-site Avis Car Rental
• 2 bottles of water
• 50% off golf rentals at Disney Golf
• Attraction discount
• Disney shuttle service
• DVDNow movie rentals
• Free kids breakfast for 5 and under at Covington Mill restaurant with a paid adult
• In-room Wi-Fi
• Notary services

Elite Benefits

I have Hilton Honors Diamond status, which gives me the following benefits at Hilton resorts, including this one:

• 100% points earning bonus
• $30 daily food and beverage credit
• Free bottled water
• Premium Wi-Fi

Lobby

The lobby was a large tiled hallway on the first floor with an open mezzanine with meeting rooms and seating.

The bell desk was to the left of the main entrance doors.

Both sides of the lobby had staircases with bench seating at the bottom. Additional lobby seating included tables near the market and on the opposite side, near the concierge desk and business center.

2-Queen Guest Room

Because of what was available, I booked an accessible, 2-queen guest room with a roll-in shower. However, the front desk agent moved us to a regular 2-queen room at check-in. The room was comfortable but fairly no-frills.

There were 2 queen beds with all-white bedding, each on a separate frame. The headboards were made of checkerboard-patterned wood. Each bed had 4 pillows with varying firmness. We brought an inflatable mattress and used extra bedding to sleep a fifth person in this 4-person room.

There was a single nightstand between the beds, topped with a lamp and an alarm clock. There was also a QR code for hotel information, including room service. The nightstand had 2 deep drawers. The lamp and alarm clock had outlets for charging — regular outlets on the lamp and a USB-A port on the alarm clock.

At the end of the beds was a dresser and entertainment center topped with a TV. Under the TV, there was a DVD player for the DVDNow discs we could get downstairs near the elevators. The dresser had 3 large drawers. Next to the TV was an ice bucket and glasses on a tray. A minifridge was next to the dresser, topped with a coffee maker and coffee supplies.

Closer to the window was a desk with a desk chair, mirror, lamp, telephone, and charging port. The lamp had a couple of outlets, and the charging port had 2 regular outlets and 2 USB-A ports, including a USB-A port that was labeled as specifically for a tablet.

Although there wasn’t a balcony, we had a view of the front entrance and other hotels in the Disney Springs area.

Bathroom

Back near the room entrance, the bathroom had 2 vanity areas. The first was next to the entry door, with a mirrored closet on the opposite wall.

It had Crabtree & Evelyn soap and wall-mounted lotion. A small pouch contained a hair elastic and a shower cap.

On the opposite wall, next to the entry door, was a mirrored closet with 2 doors. This closet had 3 hanging racks, a shelf, an iron and ironing board, and 2 luggage racks. The hair dryer was on top of a large safe.

There was a separate room with a shower and tub combo, curved curtain rod, toilet, and a vanity nook. Although we didn’t get an accessible room, a grab bar was on the shower wall.

The wall-mounted shower toiletries were shampoo and conditioner. There was a space for body wash but no container; instead, a few body wash containers were on the side of the tub.

The second vanity had a circular mirror and an open countertop.

Amenities

We liked the room, but my main motivation for booking the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista was its location and amenities. It featured a walkway to Disney Springs, 2 pools and a spa, a fitness center, an arcade, and a shuttle to Disney World parks.

Walt Disney World

Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista is an official Walt Disney World Hotel, which offers benefits including:

• 50% off on equipment rentals with Disney Golf
• Complimentary shuttle to and from Disney World parks
• Disney World guest information and a concierge with discounted tickets
• Early theme park entry
• Walkway to Disney Springs and a Disney Springs savings passport

Bridge to Disney Springs

We didn’t need a shuttle, tickets, or early park entry on our last night in Orlando, but we walked to Disney Springs. All we had to do was take a short path past the pool, and we were at the bridge momentarily.

On this same trip, we stayed at the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace nearby, which accesses the same bridge to Disney Springs but has a slightly longer walk to reach the bridge. Though both properties have convenient access to the Disney Springs bridge, the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista’s bridge entrance is much closer — on the same path as the ballroom near the pools.

The bridge was secure and took us over the road, so we didn’t have to navigate traffic.

Shuttle

Though we didn’t take a shuttle from the hotel to the Disney World parks, it was available. Several signs throughout the hotel provided shuttle information, including reservation instructions and return location information.

The shuttle pickup area was from the lobby’s back door, near Benihana and the Avis rental counter.

There was a shaded shuttle waiting area with benches.

My kids were thrilled to find a “Star Wars” BB droid photo op beside Benihana.

Hot Tip:

If you’ve found the droid, you’re near the shuttle pickup point — just turn around and walk out the back door from here.

Pool

I booked this hotel partly because of the pool facilities. It had 2 heated pools, a pool bar, and a spa.

We didn’t make it to the pools until about 7 p.m. I thought an evening swim would be fine, as the hotel amenities noted both pools were heated. In reality, only 1 pool was a swimmable temperature in November after dark.

The largest pool — near the restrooms, ballroom, and Disney Springs walkway — was very cold, and I couldn’t get more than calf deep into it before giving up.

The smaller pool was warm enough to swim comfortably, so we moved over there, but a business gathering in a meeting room next to the pool spilled onto the patio. I sensed we were intruding on their cocktail hour, and they kept watching us swim, which was weird. We didn’t stay in the pool for very long.

Bottom Line:

One of the pools was heated, but the pool facilities were more suitable for daytime swimming than for nighttime swimming.

The 2-level spa area was a welcome escape from the main pools. It was plenty warm, and we didn’t have any curious eyes on us.

There was an upper and lower spa, which were identical in size and had rock waterfalls. The spas were close to trees with falling leaves, so they needed some skimming, but we just grabbed leaves as they floated near us and tossed them out.

A kiddie pool was near the heated pool, but we didn’t test the temperature there. Between the 2 pools, there was a towel station with fresh towels and a spot to drop them off. I saw a towel hut around the corner but never saw anyone working there.

The restrooms were near the large pool and spa, and a water station was near the pool bar.

There was a small activities lawn in between the spa and pool bar, featuring a bench, rocking chair, giant Connect 4, and cornhole.

Parking

The hotel had valet and self-parking. Valet parking was $35 per night, and self-parking was $25.

The parking lot was convenient to the hotel. We could access the hotel from the front, walking past Benihana, or from the back near the shuttle pickup point.

Fitness Center

The fitness center was next to the pools and had a spa-like entrance with loungers and attractive, built-in towel shelves.

Numerous cardio machines — including treadmills, elliptical machines, bikes (including a Peloton bike), and a rowing machine — were available.

A small studio space was in a corner and featured a large mirror, workout mats, and medicine balls.

Various weight machines were available.

A water dispenser was near the entrance.

Gift Shop

A small gift shop was near the check-in desk, featuring Disney World and Florida souvenirs, essentials like over-the-counter medication and toiletries, and resort wear.

Arcade

There was an arcade near the fitness center, which also doubled as the entrance to the laundry facilities. These would have been nice if we’d had the time to play and needed to wash clothes!

DVD Rentals

The resort fee included DVD rentals from DVDNow, and we found a few machines near the elevators. Although we didn’t rent any DVDs, the machines advertised new releases, including “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

Business Center

A business center featuring a concierge desk and a FedEx Office was next to the check-in desk.

There was seating and a few workstations, including phones and a printer.

A FedEx Office was in the business center, though we visited on a Sunday when it was closed. Self-serve copying and printing appeared available even when the office wasn’t staffed.

Avis Car Rental

An Avis Car Rental desk was near Benihana. On-site rental cars are a great amenity, especially in Orlando, where the Mears Connect shuttle can conveniently take you from the airport to the hotel.

You could shuttle in and out of the hotel and only rent a car for the days you need to get around on your own — which could shave days off your rental and help you avoid paying airport rental car prices.

Hot Tip:

Beware of fees with Avis. I had to file a credit card dispute to get Avis to return a bogus $450 cleaning fee.

Meeting Space

The hotel had various meeting spaces and was well-suited as a business hotel. We encountered numerous guests staying at the hotel for business meetings. The smaller meeting spaces were upstairs from the lobby, with meeting rooms and seating on the mezzanine.

There were larger event spaces near the pool, including a large ballroom between the pools and the Disney Springs walkway.

The ballroom steps spilled out to a lawn that faced the Disney Springs walkway.

Food and Beverages

Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista had several places to eat and drink, including a Benihana, breakfast buffet, sports bar, market, pool bar, and room service.

Benihana Steakhouse and Sushi

We noticed Benihana as we walked in from the parking lot to the front door. It had a lovely garden entrance from the outside. Benihana was open from 2 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 2 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

There was also an indoor entrance near the lobby.

The Benihana menu featured sushi and teppanyaki grill dishes. There was a kids menu available.

Covington Mill

Covington Mill was the main hotel restaurant open for breakfast and lunch. The breakfast buffet was from 7 to 11 a.m., and lunch was 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The restaurant featured indoor and patio dining. The patio was next to the shuttle pickup spot.

The full breakfast buffet cost $28 for adults and $15 for children, while the continental breakfast buffet cost $18 for adults and $9 for children. The menu also featured à la carte dishes, with breakfast and brunch entrees ranging from $15 to $23.

John T’s

John T’s was the lobby-adjacent sports lounge, offering beer, wine, cocktails, appetizers, salads, and entrees. It opened at 4 p.m. and had no stated closing time.

Mainstreet Market

Mainstreet Market was a grab-and-go lobby market open daily from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., featuring hot coffee and tea, prepared salads and sandwiches, fruit, ice cream, and pantry snacks.

The ice cream counter had regular ice cream and soft serve.

The shelves were filled with snacks and alcohol.

There was a gluten-free zone and numerous Coca-Cola sodas in a cooler.

Fresh fruit, pastries, cereal, and local snacks were near the front entrance.

Fresh drip coffee was self-serve for those who didn’t want barista drinks.

A display case detailed the over-the-counter medications available upon request.

Outside the market were tables with toasters, microwaves, and condiments, including ketchup, mustard, honey, and jams.

Rum Largo Poolside Bar & Cafe

The pool bar, Rum Largo, was open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Signature cocktails, frozen drinks, wine, beer, and nonalcoholic beverages, including sodas and smoothies, were on the drinks menu.

The food menu included appetizers, salads, entrees, a kids menu, and desserts.

Room Service

Room service was available daily for breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. and dinner from 4 to 11 p.m.

Service

We received good service at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista. I was impressed that the front desk could get us into a room before 1 p.m. and appreciated the early entry so we could settle in and enjoy the nearby attractions. Our orders in the market were promptly prepared and delivered politely.

Final Thoughts

Although we were comfortable at Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, liked the amenities, and enjoyed its proximity to Disney Springs, it’s not my favorite Disney Springs hotel. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with it (other than an ice-cold heated pool) — but others are better. The nearby Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace felt fresher, more family-friendly, and had better-heated pools, including a lazy river.