Bohemian Hotel, Celebration

Image: Maurício Padovani, Flickr (license)

Once you’ve made the commitment to looking off-property for your resort, you probably discover Celebration, Fl. A small, planned community just south of the Walt Disney World property, Celebration is a piece of small town America with fantastic shops, restaurants, and green space.

Go to the end of the town’s main shopping district and you’ll find the Bohemian Hotel — a beautiful spot that feels like a downtown hotel in St. Augustine, Fl. or even New Orleans. It’s lively, but still luxe. The rooms are smaller, but with gorgeous serenity. The property feels simultaneously urban and still escapist. It’s magnificent resort.

The Bohemian Hotel isn’t quite as much of its own world as the Hyatt Regency or the JW Marriott, but its location in downtown Celebration gives it an energy that is undeniable — and its classy-but-comfortable room design makes it feel worth its price tag. 

The Four Seasons

Image: Four Seasons

But, perhaps, you want the best.

Perhaps you are uncompromising, and you believe that when you go on vacation, you deserve to have it all. Perhaps you read that section on the Ritz-Carlton, and you said “this sounds pretty good, but why is it so far from Walt Disney World?”

The Four Seasons is famous for offering the best and most luxurious hotels on Earth. If you have stayed at one, you probably remember every second of it — how it felt to be that important to every member of the staff, what it was like to explore a hotel in which every inch was inspected with a magnifying class. The Walt Disney World version is no different.

It has its own enormous pool complex, as well as its own suite of restaurants that are each inventive and delicious. It feels like a world removed from Walt Disney World itself, but in reality, it’s so close that you can watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the rooftop lounge. It is the perfect hotel experience, unmatched anywhere else in the world.

Yes, this is the one hotel that generally is more expensive than any of Disney’s Deluxe Resorts. But it’s also the only one that would be a steal at twice the price.