My husband and I booked the 825-square-foot park-view suite with a bedroom, two bathrooms, and a view of Magic Kingdom.
Since we've pretty much stayed at every hotel in Disney World, we were curious how it would compare to our go-to picks. Here's how our stay went.
As a frequent Disney visitor and member of the media, a portion of my stay was covered by the resort. The one-bedroom suite would typically cost about $1,200 a night.
The property is inside Disney World's swanky Golden Oak community.
It's hard to get access to Golden Oak.
Carly Caramanna
Four Seasons Resort Orlando is located inside Disney's Golden Oak, an upscale gated community in Florida's Walt Disney World Resort that features multimillion-dollar homes.
For those who are not Golden Oak residents, there are very few ways to gain access to the community — staying as a guest of the Four Seasons is one of them.
Although we were not permitted to explore the residential communities, we could see the houses while driving through the neighborhood and looking out from the hotel.
Four Seasons Resort Orlando operates as a full-service property.
Four Seasons Orlando has less than 500 rooms.
Carly Caramanna
The hotel has a more boutique feel with less than 500 rooms, but it still has bigger-scale amenities like multiple pools, bars, and restaurants.
Our visit fell on the weekend and although we were so close to Magic Kingdom — just 10 minutes by car — we intended to spend the bulk of our weekend exploring the resort.
The property felt much more upscale than the usual Disney resorts.
The highlight of the lobby was a breathtaking chandelier.
Carly Caramanna
With its upscale decor and greeters, the property immediately felt much fancier than Disney World's other resorts — even its pricey Grand Floridian.
As we approached the marble-laden lobby, we were presented with a box of water, further adding to that luxury feel.
My favorite part of the lobby was a large-scale chandelier meant to resemble the fireworks shown over Cinderella Castle.
We stayed in a Magic Kingdom-view suite with a private terrace.
We could see Magic Kingdom from our terrace.
Carly Caramanna
Our one-bedroom suite, which typically goes for $1,200 a night, came with views of Magic Kingdom. Later in the night, we also had a great view of the park's evening fireworks.
I loved the dining area and lounge chairs that came with the large terrace attached to our room.
Our one-bedroom suite had two bathrooms.
One bathroom had a TV inside.
Carly Caramanna
The suite was complete with a living room, dining area, spacious walk-in closet, and two bathrooms.
The extra bathroom made it even easier for two people to get ready at once, and one of them even featured a large soaking tub and in-mirror television.
Our bed was also extremely comfortable.
I had heard that the beds at the Four Seasons were comfortable and they were.
Carly Caramanna
We were able to request different bedding and pillows during our stay through the Four Seasons app, but we stuck with the classics. They did not disappoint.
The king-size bed in our room is one of the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in.
The room also had a wine machine.
I bought myself a glass of wine through the machine.
Carly Caramanna
This was my first time ever seeing a wine machine in a hotel room. It dispensed wine and had red and white options available by the glass.
I used this unique in-room amenity one evening and my purchase was simply charged to my room with a touch of a button. The machine dispensed my selected drink in seconds.
We also spent time at the resort's outdoor pools.
The adults-only pool was pretty quiet.
Carly Caramanna
Four Seasons Resort Orlando houses several pools, water slides, and a lazy river.
The pool grounds were massive, complete with plenty of seating surrounded by towering palm trees.
We enjoyed the slides but we spent most of the time in the adults-only pool.
At the pool, we also received a special towel service.
The adults-only pool was one of our favorite perks of the resort.
Carly Caramanna
The adults-only pool was a highlight of our entire stay. Although it was small, it felt intimate, and guests weren't allowed to play music or make phone calls.
Upon entering the area, we were greeted by pool attendants who escorted us to our desired seats and set up our towels. Throughout our stay at the pool, they continued to bring us refreshed pitchers of water.
The resort also has multiple dining options.
Dining was also a highlight of my stay.
Carly Caramanna
I was pleasantly surprised by the many dining options on the property, especially considering the resort is more of a boutique size.
The grounds have a quick-service coffee and gelato shop, poolside eateries, a character breakfast, an Italian restaurant, and a rooftop Michelin-starred steak house.
The upscale Italian eatery on the property was great.
Ravello was my favorite restaurant on the property that I tried.
We enjoyed house-made pasta while dining at the spacious bar with a view of the open-air expo kitchen. I especially loved the rigatoni pesto with a Parmigiano-Reggiano cream sauce.
The staff was super attentive and helped guide us through our food and wine choices since this was our first time visiting. We also sampled some of the restaurant's house-made limoncello, which came in unique flavors like banana.
Even the character breakfast was pretty impressive.
Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy and his Pals felt posh.
Carly Caramanna
I've tried all of Disney World's character breakfasts, but this was my first time trying Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy and his Pals.
This breakfast happens a few days a week at the resort's restaurant Ravello and it was one of my favorite character-dining experiences. Although it was still a buffet, it felt upscale and I enjoyed the food and drinks, which included things like cold-pressed juices and French butter.
The characters were also unique as Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy were in their exclusive Four Seasons attire.
We also briefly visited Magic Kingdom via private motorcoach.
We felt like VIPs heading to the theme parks.
Carly Caramanna
Even though this was more of a staycation, we spent an afternoon at Magic Kingdom because we were so close to the parks.
Four Seasons Resort Orlando operates its own privately chauffeured motorcoach to the theme parks. This was a real highlight as we were quickly shuttled to the theme park in style and were even the only ones on board.
I was impressed by the Four Seasons Resort Orlando and can't wait to return.
This trip was a nice change of pace, and I found the pools and dining to be some of the best in the area.
Staying here made for an entirely different theme-park vacation because we spent the bulk of our time enjoying the hotel instead of hitting rides. The property had a spa, tons of dining options, pools, and just about anything you could want without having to leave.
Overall, I think it's worth splurging on a stay if you want to spend less time in the theme parks while still enjoying some especially luxurious Disney perks.