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Best value hotels in Orlando

Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort, from about $180, with suites for six and no resort fee; Disney's Pop Century Resort, from about $195, the cheapest Disney hotel with a Skyliner station on Disney's standard rates; and The Alfond Inn, from about $290 in early December, an art hotel two blocks from Winter Park's Park Avenue.

3 of our ten · Hand-pickedHotels cannot pay to be hereLast checked: October 2026

At a glance

  1. Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort: The Lazy River Courtyard pool, with the lazy river beyond

    Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort

    The lowest rate of our ten, and suites for six with a kitchenette

    Universal Orlando · From about $180 a night

    See prices on
  2. Disney's Pop Century Resort: The Hippy Dippy Pool at dusk

    Disney's Pop Century Resort

    The cheapest Disney Skyliner hotel on standard rates, with early entry

    Walt Disney World, Skyliner area · From about $195 a night

    Check availability
  3. The Alfond Inn: The courtyard and glass-domed conservatory at dusk

    The Alfond Inn

    An art hotel two blocks from Park Avenue, for the days between parks

    Winter Park · From about $290 a night

    See prices on

What we looked for

Value in Orlando is mostly about what you stop paying for. Disney's and Universal's own hotels charge no resort fee, Disney's include parking at the hotel and at the theme parks, and both resorts run free transport to their parks, so a cheaper room at the right resort can beat a grander one further out. Tax of 12.5% goes on every room.

The calendar matters as much as the hotel. At Disney's Pop Century Resort the Standard Room is $195 a night midweek from 4 January to 3 February 2027 and $359 between Christmas and New Year, and at Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort mid-December and January are the cheapest weeks. The Alfond Inn runs the other way: Winter Park's dear months are January to March, and December's Sunday to Tuesday nights cost a little over half a February midweek night. Choose Cabana Bay for Universal, Pop Century for Disney, and The Alfond Inn for the days between.

Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort: The Lazy River Courtyard pool, with the lazy river beyondThe family one

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Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort

Universal Orlando, Orlando

Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort has the lowest starting rate of our ten, about $180 a night, and no resort fee. The value is in the Family Suite, which sleeps up to six in 430 sq ft (40 m²): a sliding partition screens the two queen beds, the sofa becomes a bed, and the kitchenette has a mini fridge, a microwave and a sink, so breakfast can be made in the room and one suite does the work of two rooms.

Between park days the resort keeps everyone busy: two pool courtyards, one with the lazy river and one with a sand-beach pool and a dive-tower slide, and films by the pool. Early Park Admission comes with the room, and free buses run about every 15 minutes to CityWalk and Epic Universe, so a Universal week works without a car, and without the $26 a night plus tax that self-parking costs.

Family Suite Exterior Entry at Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort: two queen beds with orange headboards, a wall-mounted television and the sliding lattice partition half open onto a breakfast bar with red stools

The room to book

Family Suite Exterior Entry

430 sq ft (40 m²)$278 a night

The least expensive way to sleep six here: the same 430 sq ft (40 m²) as the other suite versions, with the partition, the sofa bed and the kitchenette.

Every room, and why

Come between mid-December and the end of January, avoiding the nights between Christmas and New Year, for the lowest rates.

$From about $180 a night

See prices onCheck availability onSee hotel
Disney's Pop Century Resort: The Hippy Dippy Pool at duskThe smart money

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Disney's Pop Century Resort

Walt Disney World, Skyliner area, Orlando

Disney's Pop Century Resort is the smart way into a Disney hotel. Of the four Disney hotels that have a Skyliner station, it is the cheapest on Disney's standard rates: on Tuesday 2 February 2027 its Standard Room is $195 a night, and Art of Animation's $231. The station is five minutes' walk from the lobby, with gondolas to Epcot and Hollywood Studios via a change at Caribbean Beach, and Disney's buses cover the other parks.

The rate carries what makes a Disney hotel worth it: 30 minutes' early entry to the theme parks every day, free self-parking, standard parking at the four theme parks included, and no resort fee. A room sleeps four plus a child under three, and the rooms and lobby were refreshed by March 2026. The only food is the Everything POP food court, so plan sit-down dinners in the parks.

Preferred Room at Disney's Pop Century Resort: a queen bed under a framed Mickey Mouse print, the tall wooden cabinet of the fold-down second bed with a table and two chairs, a dresser and the entrance door

The room to book

Preferred Room

$227 a night

The same room as the $195 Standard, placed close to Classic Hall, its bus stops and the food court, for $32 more on 2 February 2027.

Every room, and why

For $195 nights with the gondola running, stay Monday to Wednesday between 4 and 20 January or from 1 to 3 February 2027.

$From about $195 a night

Check availabilitySee hotel
The Alfond Inn: The courtyard and glass-domed conservatory at duskThe escape

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The Alfond Inn

Winter Park, Orlando

The Alfond Inn is the smarter choice for the days between parks: a walkable town instead of another resort. It is Rollins College's art hotel: more than 100 works belonging to the Rollins Museum of Art hang in its public spaces, rehung every year, and museum staff lead a free tour from the lobby on the first Wednesday of the month. Park Avenue is two blocks away, the Rollins Museum of Art is free and ten minutes' walk, the Scenic Boat Tour is $20 for adults, and the hotel's free house cars run around town from 11am to 8pm.

At the hotel are a pool terrace one floor above the street, with a bar, and a spa for over-18s. Rooms start at about $290 a night on an early-December Tuesday, while January to March midweek nights run about $425 to $485, so time the stay. Add the $27 resort fee, and valet from $37 if you drive.

Parlor Double Queen at The Alfond Inn: a sitting area with an L-shaped sofa and a teal ottoman opens through carved sliding doors to two queen beds

The room to book

Parlor Double Queen

448 sq ft (42 m²)$315 a night

448 sq ft (42 m²) with two queen beds and a sitting area with a sleeper sofa, sold for four: the least expensive way into the parlour layout.

Every room, and why

For a winter trip, aim for Sunday to Tuesday nights in December, which cost a little over half a February midweek night.

$$From about $290 a night

See prices onCheck availability onSee hotel

How to choose

Your tripBook
A family of six at UniversalUniversal Cabana Bay Beach Resort
Disney's perks at our lowest Disney rateDisney's Pop Century Resort
Epcot and Hollywood Studios by gondolaDisney's Pop Century Resort
Days off from the parks, on footThe Alfond Inn
Art, museums and dinner on footThe Alfond Inn

Also worth a look

Questions people ask

Good questions about Orlando

What is the cheapest Disney hotel on the Skyliner?

On Disney's standard rates, Disney's Pop Century Resort. Its Standard Room is $195 a night before tax on Tuesday 2 February 2027, against $231 at Art of Animation, which faces it across Hourglass Lake and shares its station. The gondola is five minutes' walk from Classic Hall, Pop Century's lobby. The $195 rate runs midweek from 4 January to 3 February 2027, though the Skyliner closes from 24 to 30 January 2027, with buses instead.

When are Orlando hotels cheapest?

It depends on the hotel. At Disney's Pop Century Resort the Standard Room is lowest midweek from 4 January to 3 February 2027, at $195, and $206 in late August, against $315 over Easter and $359 from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve. At Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort, mid-December and January are the cheapest weeks. The Alfond Inn runs the other way: January to March are its dear months, September is its cheapest, and December's Sunday to Tuesday nights cost a little over half a February midweek night.

What is added to the room rate at Orlando hotels?

Tax of 12.5% on every room, as all ten of our hotels are in Orange County. Disney's Pop Century Resort and Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort charge no resort fee; The Alfond Inn charges $27 a night plus tax. Parking is free at Pop Century, which also includes standard parking at the four Disney theme parks, $26 a night plus tax at Cabana Bay, and valet only, from $37 plus tax, at The Alfond Inn. Without a car, Pop Century and Cabana Bay have free transport to their parks.

Which Orlando hotel suits a family of six on a budget?

Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Its Family Suites take six in 430 sq ft (40 m²): two queen beds behind a sliding partition, a sofa bed in the living room, a kitchenette, and a bathroom split into compartments for three at a time. Each adult beyond two in a room adds $20 a night. At Disney's Pop Century Resort a room takes four plus a child under three, so a family of five or six aged three and over books two rooms.

How did you choose these hotels?

Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.

More ways to choose in Orlando

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Prices are a guide from our last check, not live rates.