In my travels with my friends before we leave for an extended time, one of my BFFs chose Disney as our thing to do.
Being a Hilton girl and lazy river lover, I booked the Signia by Hilton Bonnet Creek. As we were driving down I4 to Orlando I got a text message that we had been upgraded to the Waldorf Astoria, the sister property on the same site as the Hilton.
After confirming that I could still use the lazy river (which was too cold to go anyway) I was excited for the upgrade. It’s been a long time since I was at a Waldorf.
The entrance and lobby were bright and colorful, not the typical Waldorf older period decor I was expecting.
The rooms were a little more like I was expecting. It was nice but felt worn and outdated. But the bed was super comfy and the water pressure in the shower was great. We didn’t really have a view but that didn’t matter. We didn’t spend a lot of time in the room.
The Peacock bar in the lobby was such a vibe. There was a man playing great songs (such as the Beatles) on the piano and the drinks were super tasty. They add a splash of limoncello to their Aperol spritz, and I think I’ll do that from now on.
You can use the amenities at both the Hilton and the Waldorf, and it’s a pretty short walk between the two. We checked out the lazy river but it wasn’t quite warm enough out for us Floridians to go in.
They have daily activities, such as yoga and s’more making, but we spent most of our time at the parks. There is a shuttle that goes to the Disney parks. We waited a long time for the Hollywood Studios shuttle heading there, and ended up taking an Uber instead. No one working was sure when the shuttle was actually coming. We got the shuttle back and it was very prompt. It arrived and left exactly at 8:30. The pickup spot at Animal Kingdom wasn’t marked at all, and there was a bus for a different hotel in our spot, so we were very confused. Luckily people who had used the bus the day before helped us find the right one.
Overall, I probably wouldn’t book the Waldorf again. It’s much more expensive than the Signia and probably not any better.