The Enchantment Begins: Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort Debuts

Designed by HKS Hospitality Group, the new $370 million, 26-acre Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort opened to guests in August 2014.

The 560,000-square-foot, 17-story, 443-room luxury resort hotel is Four Seasons’ largest project built to date. Located within the Disney-developed Golden Oak residential community, the property is ensconced by natural woodlands, protected wetlands with expansive lakes, sago palms, oak trees and lush grasses, yet it’s just minutes from all four of Disney’s theme parks and the area’s other attractions and shopping in Orlando.

Design Aesthetic

The hotel’s design is a fresh take on the work of 1920s-era American architect Addison Mizner and the Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles, recalling the magnificent resort hotels of South Florida. Characteristic design features of those golden-era buildings include loggias, colonnades, columns and arches, French doors, variegated barrel tile roofs, grand sweeping stairways and decorative metal work.

Constructed of stone, tile and stucco, the materials are ideal for Orlando’s semi-tropical climate. The main hotel tower and function spaces have been sited to take advantage of limitless views over the on-site lake, lushly landscaped grounds, golf course and adjacent wetlands. Guestrooms oriented to a spectacular view of Disney’s nightly fireworks display beginning on the fifth floor of the property.

The resort’s interiors, designed by Anderson Miller, Ltd. of Chicago, feature clean lines and unstuffy, elegant finishes and an inviting, warm color palette with furnishings providing simple yet stylish comfort.

Perfectly suited for leisure and business guests, the resort offers 37,750 square feet of indoor and outdoor event and meeting facilities, including special wedding venues, a 14,000-square-foot main ballroom, a 6,200-square-foot junior ballroom and a full-service business center. Reservations are brisk and include families visiting Orlando to enjoy the theme parks, as well as business travelers attending meetings, conventions and incentive trips, many opting to bring their families along for the adventure.

Four Seasons has raised the bar dramatically on guest amenity offerings at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort. Onsite amenities include five world-class dining venues, featuring the Capa rooftop steakhouse; a full-service luxury spa including 18 treatment rooms and two couples-only private bungalows; 24-hour fitness center; tennis facility; the Tranquilo Golf Club, an 18-hole, Tom Fazio-designed golf course which is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary; and a five-acre island dedicated to full-time fun that includes expansive pools, lazy river and waterslides, beach volleyball, a climbing wall, video gaming center and more. The resort also offers its signature Four Seasons “Kids For All Seasons” supervised children’s program.

Multigenerational Destination

“What I love about this property is its multigenerational qualities,” said Thomas Steinhauer, General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort. “A resort destination like this encourages extended families and friends to travel and vacation together,” he added, noting that a majority of the guest rooms offer the ability to connect to adjoining rooms, and the resort’s Royal Suite can expand up to a nine-bedroom residence. It’s the first nine-bedroom suite in Four Seasons’ global hotel collection.

“There is truly something for everyone of every age, interest and activity level here,” said Steinhauer. “Four Seasons Orlando is the first authentic luxury resort located within this family-friendly destination. There is nothing else like it.”

HKS Hospitality Group specializes in the design of sophisticated urban hotels, unique destination resorts and luxurious spas, entertainment, gaming and convention hotels, boutique properties, hospitality interiors and world-class golf clubhouses. With construction underway on five continents, HKS’ hospitality practice is ranked as one of the top in the nation and the world, according to BD World Architecture, Hotel Business and Hotel Design.