The catch at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes
Five things stand between the palazzo on the lake and the stay. None of them is hidden, and none outweighs the spa, but each one changes the bill, the shape of a park day or who in the family gets to use what.
On our shortlists
- Best pool hotels in OrlandoA heated pool, the shared lazy river next door and an adults' spa pool
- Best family hotels in OrlandoRitz Kids for ages 4 to 12, and the lazy river and slides next door
- Best spa hotels in Orlando40 treatment rooms over three floors and a heated adults' lap pool
- Best hotels for food and drink in OrlandoKnife & Spoon's dry-aged steaks and cooking from the resort's farm
The rate is the start of the bill: the resort fee and valet add $113 a night before tax.
Every night carries a $55 resort fee, and Orange County's 12.5% hotel tax applies to the room and the fee alike. Parking at the Ritz is valet only, $58 a night plus tax; the only self-parking on the estate is at the JW Marriott next door, $42 a day plus tax. On Tuesday 1 December 2026 a Resort View king at $479 came to about $601 with the fee and tax, before the car. The fee does buy things every guest gets: in-room high-speed internet, the park shuttle, two floats on the JW's lazy river, an hour of bikes and of tennis a day, the driving range and a daily fitness class. Spa services carry a 22% service charge, and the cabanas at the Ritz pool 18%.
What to do. Price the stay at the room rate plus $55 a night, or $113 with a car, before tax. Without a car you pay no valet: take a taxi or a pre-booked Mears car from the airport, about 21 minutes by road off-peak, and use the shuttle that the fee already covers.
No early park entry comes with the room, and every park day starts with a shuttle booked a day ahead or a drive.
No Disney or Universal early-entry perk comes with the room: the Ritz is not on Walt Disney World's list of hotels whose guests get Early Theme Park Entry, and it is a Universal partner hotel, not one of Universal's own. The resort fee covers a shuttle to Walt Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld, but it has to be reserved 24 hours ahead. By car, with the roads clear, which in Orlando means off-peak, SeaWorld is 13 minutes, Epic Universe 14, Disney Springs 18, the Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure garages 19, Hollywood Studios 24, Magic Kingdom's Transportation and Ticket Center and Epcot 27, and Animal Kingdom 28. Beyond the Grande Lakes estate nothing is within walking distance, and there is no airport shuttle.
What to do. Book the shuttle through the concierge the day before, on extension 4005, and ask where it drops you at Disney. To be at a gate for opening, drive. Magic Kingdom is the longest trip of the week, because its car park is a monorail or ferry ride from the gate, so give it a full day and keep the Ritz for the days between parks.
The spa's pool and lounges are for over-18s with a 50-minute treatment or a day pass, and the spa closes at 5pm on weekdays.
The spa is the reason to book, but not every guest gets into it. Its heated outdoor lap pool, whirlpool and men's and women's lounges with sauna and steam room are for guests of 18 and over, and they open only with a Spa Day Pass or a treatment of at least 50 minutes; the hotel does not publish the day-pass price. Under-18s cannot book massages or body treatments: 16- and 17-year-olds may have facials with a parent present but no lounge access, and children of 5 to 15 nails and hair only. A 22% service charge is added to every service, and the spa keeps day hours, 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday and 9am to 7pm at weekends.
What to do. Book a treatment of 50 minutes or more for the morning and arrive 30 minutes early to use the lounges and the pool. On a weekday, do not plan the spa for after a park day. Families can split the day: one adult at the spa, the children at the Ritz pool or the waterpark next door.
The lazy river and the slides belong to the JW Marriott next door, and the slides keep shorter hours.
The Grande Lakes Waterpark, with its quarter-mile lazy river, three heated slides and the zero-entry Splash Cove, sits at the 1,010-room JW Marriott, about five minutes' walk from the Ritz, and guests of both hotels share it. The river is open from 8am to 10pm, but the slides run only from 10am to 5:30pm, with height minimums of 40, 42 and 48 inches (102, 107 and 122 cm), and the AquaVenture splash zone from noon to 4pm on weekdays. The Ritz's own heated pool, open 8am to 10pm, has a children's pool and a whirlpool but no slides. Its cabanas and daybeds are hired, with an 18% service charge, and Club guests have the option to reserve loungers.
What to do. Do the slides before 5:30pm, and check children's heights before you promise them a ride. Use the Ritz pool for the early morning and the evening, when the slides are shut.
When a group fills the resort, the same room can cost three times as much.
Grande Lakes is built for conferences, large groups and events as much as for holidays, and the rates follow the groups: the two hotels share a conference centre whose ballrooms line the concourse between them. On Tuesday 1 December 2026 a Lake View king was $569 a night; on Tuesday 2 February 2027, a group night, the same room was $1,784, before the resort fee and tax. Golfers have one more date to know: the PNC Championship is played on the Greg Norman course from 17 to 20 December 2026.
What to do. Price a few dates either side of the ones you want before you book, because the gap between a quiet night and a group night here runs to more than $1,000 for the same room. If the golf matters, check the tournament dates before you book.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants to walk or ride a monorail to a park gate, or to be in the parks before the day visitors. Families whose teenagers want the spa, which is for 18 and over, and anyone who will mind $113 a night in resort fee and valet on top of the rate. And anyone who wants dinner on foot beyond the two hotels of the estate.
Who should book it anyway
Anyone who wants the parks as day trips and the rest of the week as a resort holiday. The spa's 40 treatment rooms, lap pool and lounges, a Greg Norman course that hosts the PNC Championship, a lazy river and slides five minutes' walk away, Ritz Kids for ages 4 to 12 and Knife & Spoon for the big dinner all sit on one estate, with the lake below the balcony. Book a Lakefront room, add the $55 resort fee and tax to the rate, and spend the days between parks here.
The catch elsewhere in Orlando
- Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & SpaWalt Disney World, Magic Kingdom area
The entry Resort View rooms look over the courtyard, the marina or the pools, and like the Water View and Theme Park View rooms they are in the outer lodges, not the main building. On a Tuesday in January the lagoon view costs about $60 a night more and the Magic Kingdom view about $200 more.
- Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World ResortWalt Disney World, Magic Kingdom area
Park days run on the resort's timetable: free coaches go once an hour to each of the four Disney parks, with no monorail, Skyliner, boat or walking route, and transfers to Disney Springs or Universal cost extra. Disney gives the resort its 30-minute Early Theme Park Entry but not Extended Evening Hours.
- Universal Cabana Bay Beach ResortUniversal Orlando
Extras add up: self-parking is $26 plus tax a night, tubes for the lazy river are sold rather than lent, and Galaxy Bowl charges for its lanes, which must be booked.
- Disney's Animal Kingdom LodgeWalt Disney World, Animal Kingdom area
Disney sells the savanna only with the Savanna View rooms. The entry Resort View faces what Disney describes as rooftops or the car park, and on an early-February Tuesday the Savanna View costs $740 a night before tax against $527, $213 more.
- Disney's Yacht Club ResortWalt Disney World, Epcot area
The entry Resort View rooms look over gardens, rooftops or the car park, and guests have found theirs facing a roof or the bus stop. The Water View, over Crescent Lake or the quiet pool, cost $118 a night more on a February weeknight in 2027, and Disney sells the view over the Stormalong Bay lagoons only with Club Level.
- Loews Portofino Bay HotelUniversal Orlando
It is dear, and parking comes on top: the entry room costs about $795 a night before 12.5% tax on a February weeknight and about $1,330 between Christmas and New Year, and self-parking is $36 a night plus tax ($45 for valet).
- Universal Helios Grand Hotel, a Loews HotelEpic Universe
The rooms are small for the money. The entry Standard 2 Queen Beds room is 325 sq ft (30 m²), a fifth guest needs a $35-a-night rollaway, and on a February weeknight the Park View room costs about $200 a night more.
- Disney's Pop Century ResortWalt Disney World, Skyliner area
There is no table-service restaurant. The Everything POP food court, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and crowded at peak meal times, Petals Pool Bar and pizza delivered to the room are the choices on site, so order ahead in the My Disney Experience app or plan dinners in the parks.
- The Alfond InnWinter Park
The hotel runs no park shuttle and its free house cars go only around Winter Park, so the parks mean a car or a taxi, 28 to 31 minutes to Universal Studios and Epic Universe and 42 to 47 minutes to the Disney parks with the roads clear, and more at rush hour.
Questions people ask
Good questions about The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes
What are the downsides of The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes?
Five things stand between the palazzo on the lake and the stay. None of them is hidden, and none outweighs the spa, but each one changes the bill, the shape of a park day or who in the family gets to use what. The rate is the start of the bill: the resort fee and valet add $113 a night before tax. No early park entry comes with the room, and every park day starts with a shuttle booked a day ahead or a drive. The spa's pool and lounges are for over-18s with a 50-minute treatment or a day pass, and the spa closes at 5pm on weekdays. The lazy river and the slides belong to the JW Marriott next door, and the slides keep shorter hours. When a group fills the resort, the same room can cost three times as much.
Who should not book The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes?
Anyone who wants to walk or ride a monorail to a park gate, or to be in the parks before the day visitors. Families whose teenagers want the spa, which is for 18 and over, and anyone who will mind $113 a night in resort fee and valet on top of the rate. And anyone who wants dinner on foot beyond the two hotels of the estate.
Our verdict
Book it for the spa, the golf and the lazy river next door, and ask for a Lakefront room. Budget $113 a night in resort fee and valet, and book the park shuttle a day ahead.
Last checked: October 2026