The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes opened on 1 July 2003 with the JW Marriott next door, on an estate of more than 400 acres at the headwaters of the Florida Everglades that cost nearly $600 million to build. The Ritz is a Mediterranean palazzo after the 1920s Florida architect Addison Mizner, rising over its own lakes and golf course. A multimillion-dollar redesign of the rooms, restaurants, Club Lounge and pool finished in 2021, and the hotel holds Forbes Travel Guide's five stars, AAA's Five Diamonds and one MICHELIN Key.
There are 582 rooms and suites. The standard rooms are all 480 sq ft (45 m²), with one king or two queen beds and marble bathrooms, and are sold by what they face: Resort View over the gardens, Lake View over the lake, golf course and Orlando skyline, and Lakefront, where every room opens onto a private balcony over the lake and pool. Executive Suites double the space to 960 sq ft (89 m²) with two balconies. Club Level rooms add the 14th-floor Club Lounge, with five food and drink presentations a day and Ritz Kids for up to two children, and the three- and four-bedroom Luxury Residences come with private pools.
The spa is the reason to book. The Ritz-Carlton Spa and its fitness centre fill 40,000 sq ft (about 3,700 m²) over three floors, with 40 treatment rooms, an Oribe hair salon and a nail salon, men's and women's lounges with sauna and steam room, a co-ed relaxation lounge, a 4,000 sq ft (about 370 m²) heated outdoor lap pool and an outdoor whirlpool for adults, and Vitale, the spa café. Signature treatments use herbs from the resort's organic garden, honey from its own bees and Florida citrus, and the menu runs to Aescape, a robotic massage table. Around it are the Ritz's own heated pool with cabanas, the Grande Lakes Waterpark at the JW Marriott, about five minutes' walk, with a quarter-mile lazy river and three heated slides, and the Greg Norman course that hosts the PNC Championship each December.
The trade is fees and distance. A $55 resort fee and $58 for valet, the only parking at the Ritz, add $113 a night before tax, and the spa's pool and lounges open only to adults with a spa day pass or a treatment of 50 minutes or more. No Disney or Universal early-entry perk comes with the room, the park shuttle is booked a day ahead, and the Disney parks are 24 to 28 minutes' drive with the roads clear. Book it for spa days between park days, a golf trip or a family that wants a lazy river, a kids' club and a grown-up dinner.
