I have compiled a list below containing the best executive club lounges available across luxury hotels in Orlando near Disney and the airport (MCO).
When deciding which hotel to choose for your stay in and around a city like Orlando, it is sensible to consider the added extras provided by a hotel club lounge. Offerings usually include complimentary drinks and snacks throughout the day, breakfast in the morning, and evening cocktails with canapés. Often, the evening food and drink offering is more than enough to replace the need to go out for the evening.
Executive and club benefits are particularly great for early check-in / late check-out, as you can often stay in the club lounge room with all the benefits in the afternoon if you have a late flight. Conversely, you can use the club lounge and executive facilities from early in the morning if you arrive early and your room isn’t ready.
The Four Seasons Orlando At Walt Disney World® Resort is the most luxurious hotel in Orlando. This hotel does not have a club lounge but don’t worry. Book via our luxury travel concierge, and you will get our free benefits at all Four Seasons hotels for the same price as their website. In fact, book any of the below hotels via our concierge to get extra free benefits.
1. Best Club Lounge: The Ritz-Carlton, Orlando, Grande Lakes
The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Orlando is a great luxury hotel choice. It is located in the Grande Lakes part of the city, within a short free shuttle ride to Disney and Universal (included with the resort fee of $35 USD per day). The resort fee also includes Wi-Fi, phone calls, the driving range, some kids’ activities, access to and floaties at the JW Marriott lazy river, shuttle transport to Disney and SeaWorld (reservation required at least 24 hours in advance), and a one-hour bike rental.
The hotel is next door to the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes. It’s about a 20-minute drive from Orlando Airport (MCO), and parking fees are around $40 USD per night if you have driven to the hotel.
I would choose this hotel because it offers luxury near theme parks and an excellent club lounge. It also has three wonderful pools, a Ritz-Carlton Spa, a Greg Norman-designed golf course, and 11 dining options. You can also use the lazy river next door at the JW Marriott, which kids and the young at heart will love. The Ritz-Carlton Spa is also not to be missed, with its 40 treatment rooms, salon, private heated lap pool, and healthy spa café. Of note, the JW Marriott does not have a club lounge. Hence, you do better booking into a Club Room at the Ritz-Carlton and then taking advantage of the magnificent lazy river at the JW Marriott during your stay whilst retaining access to the RC club lounge.
The foyer is a mass of marble, and the rooms have been recently refurbished and are spacious and stylish. The rooms, including the club level, feature balconies with spectacular views of the resort’s gardens, lakes, or golf courses.
The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes is ideal for families, providing convenient access to nearby Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios attractions; plus, the Ritz Kids program is a favorite, and special excursions like kayaking, fishing instruction, and eco-tours allow for adventures while remaining in this 500-acre resort.
The highlight for me here is the pool, both here and next door at the JW Marriott, with its lazy river and the incredible views of the resort holiday fireworks from the club lounge balcony.
The club lounge is on the 14th floor and is classic in design with orange and cream tones, mainly orange soft furnishings and creamy marbles. The long thin room is shuttered to one side with windows. The buffet here is delicious and filling. You can take a tour via the video on the Ritz-Carlton website.
For breakfast, you will find scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, fruit, a cook-your-own waffle station featuring organic honey, and buttermilk waffle batter accompanied by a selection of hand-crafted toppings.
Lunch is a huge selection of gourmet sandwiches, brisket, pasta, veggies, soup, cheeses, salads, desserts, and cookies. A very nice selection of wines and champagne appears at lunch, and in mid-afternoon, they add a self-serve bar with Gin, Vodka, etc.
The evening food included heavy hors d’oeuvres, meats, cheeses, etc. You can mix your own drinks in the bar area and later in the evening. They put out a huge spread of desserts. You could easily fill up in the club lounge without ever having to venture to any of the resort’s other restaurants.
The club lounge’s veranda overlooks the pool and connects to the main club, offering a great view of the Disney fireworks in the distance, a huge highlight, and great outdoor seating if you want to enjoy a bite and a drink alfresco as the sun goes down.
This Club Lounge is open 24/7, and the concierge team is there and can organize your day between 7:00 am – 10:00 pm. There are actually five culinary offerings presented throughout the day, as well as complimentary pressing daily for two garments per room.
There is also a complimentary Ritz Kids Day Time Programming for children (ages 4-12), up to three per room, as well as a media room with movies and classic family games.
2. Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando
The best three Universal hotels offer Club Level Rooms that provide free food, drinks, and snacks throughout the day. These lounges tend to be open from approximately 7:00 am – 9:30 pm and offer free coffee, teas, and soft drinks along with continental breakfast, afternoon snacks, hot & cold hors d’oeuvres, and complimentary beer and wine, plus “Sweets Hour” each night, usually 8:00 – 9:00 pm.
So, if you were to stay at the club level of any of these hotels, you can enjoy breakfast in the Lounge before you head over to your first park for early admission and then return to the hotel in the evening to eat out on the varied hors d’oeuvres accompanied by beer, wine, and soda and a sweet dessert. Water bottles are available upon request for taking to the parks, along with granola bars, although the quality and quantity of each of these amenities do vary by hotel. You can choose these hotels for their convenience to Universal, but they do not have the level of luxury offered by the Ritz-Carlton Orlando above.
Also worth noting, when factoring in the price of staying at one of these three hotels: Royal Pacific, Portofino Bay, or Hard Rock, is that free express passes (which allow one to bypass long lines) are included, which immediately takes the room rate down. The value of the express passes to a family of four per day can be up to around $300 USD. So even a $500 USD nightly room rate looks like a great deal when it actually comes in closer to $200 USD. On a busy day, these passes turn a two-hour line into a twenty-minute line. We outline which is the best hotel at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Loews Portofino Bay Vs. Hard Rock Vs. Royal Pacific separately.
The three Universal hotels offer Club Level Rooms that provide free food, drinks, and snacks throughout the day. Our top choice is the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal, followed by the Hard Rock and the Royal Pacific, which both come in second for different reasons. Book any of these hotels via our luxury travel concierge for a better deal.
They say, “Celebrate la dolce vita – the sweet life – at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando. Nestled along the picturesque bay at Universal Orlando Resort, this luxurious hotel recreates the charm and romance of the famed seaside village of Portofino, Italy, right down to the cobblestone streets and outdoor cafes.
The AAA Four Diamond Award-winning Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando features 750 guest rooms, including 45 spacious suites. Each room offers the epitome of European luxury and elegance with authentic Italian furnishings and marble accents. Of course, each guest room is also equipped with all the latest amenities to combine the best of Old World hospitality with modern convenience. Hotel guests enjoy impeccable and attentive service, an opulent spa, three themed swimming pools, and exceptional dining… plus an exclusive package of theme park benefits, including:
- Early Park Admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ one hour before the theme park opens (valid theme park admission required)
- Free Universal Express℠ Unlimited ride access to skip the regular lines in both theme parks all day, a benefit worth up to $125.00 USD per person, per day (valid theme park admission required)
We really like this hotel. It is your best luxury hotel choice at Universal Orlando (and is also the most expensive, with the Hard Rock and the Royal Pacific coming in cheaper). All three hotels are on-site at Universal, and the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel is an easy 20-minute stroll to City Walk and the park entrances. The Portofino Bay pools are great. There are three, one is very peaceful, and another has a slide and daily activities with prizes. It is not usually difficult to find a lounger around these pools, which is a blessing.
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel is probably the furthest of the three premium hotels from the parks. The landscaping around the whole Universal complex is fantastic sop the walk is delightful. If you can’t face walking, complimentary water taxis are also available.
At the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, there isn’t a specific club floor, so your room can be anywhere in the hotel, and you have to walk to the club lounge, which can be quite far away. The rooms at all the hotels aren’t noteworthy. You get what you pay for, so the ones at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel have the edge over the other two hotels, being significantly larger. Expect all the usual amenities: flat-screen TV, Wi-Fi, coffee maker, fridge, and a safe. The rooms at all three hotels are satisfactory but slightly dated. That said, the beds are comfortable, although, be warned, adjoining doors aren’t very well soundproofed at any of the hotels.
The club at Portofino Bay has a better quality of food than the food in the lounges at the other two hotels. Breakfast includes warm eggs and bacon or sausage, so it is not continental like the breakfast at the other hotels. Snacks also include vegetables and hummus,
Dinner always includes a salad and then an entree with two sides. The food quality and quantity are outstanding excellent, as are the desserts, and their cookies are usually a hit with the kids. Crucially, there is plenty of room and seating and no queues out of the door like at the Hard Rock! You can also enjoy free beer, wine, spirits, and prosecco.
Portofino Bay is undoubtedly the best and most expensive hotel of the three hotels, but asks for a room near the club lounge to avoid a long walk.
3. Lowes Royal Pacific
This is the cheapest of the three Universal hotels and the second furthest away when walking to the parks. The pool at the Royal Pacific has a fun boat water feature where the kids can play, but there is no slide, which is a disadvantage.
The club rooms are on the 7th Floor, and give you access to the Royal club lounge. The lounge is attractive and has TVs in three areas showing kids’ shows. The Royal Club Lounge is larger than the club room at the Hard Rock but smaller than the Portofino.
There are free drinks throughout the day, and you can enjoy breakfast (7:00 – 10:00 am), which is continental and not particularly impressive, with dry cereal, fruit, yogurt, bagels, pastries, bagels, and warm oatmeal. There is also apple juice, orange juice, and coffee to drink. The Royal Pacific also has an automatic pancake maker, which is pretty cool.
The afternoon bite includes packaged chips and granola bars, spicy crackers, and pre-packaged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Royal Pacific’s dinner menu is rotated with a different meal every day of the week. Dinner includes a salad and a warm main entree along with cheese crackers and vegetables, but the choice is limited, so you are stuck if you don’t like that evening’s theme. Themes include a Caribbean night, an American night, etc., with meaty options and strong sauces. You can also enjoy beer and wine with your meal. Desserts are small but delicious, and there is loads of choices.
The rooms at Lowes Royal Pacific have been recently refurbished. They are the smallest rooms of the three hotels at only 335 ft² (you get almost 120 ft² more at Portofino Bay). The bathroom has one sink. Rooms at both the Hard Rock and Portofino Bay have two sinks.
4. Hard Rock
The Hard Rock is closest to Universal Orlando’s entrance. The guitar fountain out front is fun and meant to be rock and roll. There is memorabilia and music everywhere. The rooms here are larger than Royal Pacific, and the pool has two hot tubs and a long slide.
The club lounge is on the seventh floor and is the smallest of the club lounges at the three Universal hotels featured in this article, which means that during dinner, there can be a queue stretching right out of the door! For this reason alone, this is the worst of the three Universal hotels for the club lounge.
There are free drinks all through the day, and you can enjoy breakfast, which is continental and not particularly impressed with dry cereal, fruit, yogurt, bagels, doughnuts, pastries, and warm oatmeal. There is also apple juice, orange juice, and coffee to drink. The variety is slightly better than at the Royal Pacific.
The afternoon bite offers bagged chips and cookies instead of snacks in a communal bowl like at the Royal Pacific, so you can grab a bunch of them and save them for later.
The Hard Rock club lounge offers better food than the Royal Pacific, be it in a more busy lounge with a vegetarian option. Expect cheese and crackers, vegetable salad, and two entrees, including a vegetarian option.
The plates at all three hotels are small, so it’s hard to stuff yourself, but it is easier to fill up at the Hard Rock and the Portofino than at the Pacific because of the variety of food and the quality of the food is better at Portofino and Hard Rock.
5. Hilton Orlando
Book an executive room at this Hilton Orlando, and you get access to their executive lounge which is a welcoming retreat in this hotel. Don’t expect extreme luxury here. The rooms are typically Hilton, with some rooms having a walk-in shower rather than a tub with a shower.
The lobby and communal areas are nice here, and the entire hotel feels massive, as this is a major convention hotel. The gym is very good, but the executive lounge is not particularly well cared for. Food is not replenished, breakfast in the lounge lacks hot options, and surfaces felt a little sticky on our last trip. The hotel is not that close to the main convention center and is a walk from any interesting bars and restaurants.
6. Hyatt Regency Orlando
Go to the Hyatt Regency Orlando for its super Grotto Pool, a zero-entry pool with water fountains, waterfalls, waterslides, kiddie areas, a hot tub, and private cabanas. There is even a cool waterslide at Grotto Pool. The hotel is well located with a direct link to the third-largest convention center in America. Still, it is also close to the theme parks and well-situated for the restaurants, shops, and attractions of International Drive. But do not go out of your way for this club lounge.
Club-level rooms have access to this club room, which is convenient for breakfast, but the “snacks” are somewhat lacking. The lounge is on floor 26 and is reasonable but far from great. Evening bites include Chicken satay and vegetable samosas and lots of cold dishes. You also get free bottled beer and wine.
7. Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort
Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort is the best luxury hotel in Orlando in our opinion but it doesn’t have a club lounge. Couples can unwind on the links of the Tom Fazio-designed Four Seasons championship golf course, indulge in a couple’s massage in the Spa, or sip a cocktail by the adults-only pool.
Kids will love the water slides, lazy river, climbing wall, and activity centers on an island just for them. Evenings in the rooftop steakhouse sparkle with fireworks on two horizons, just minutes from Magic Kingdom® Park and Epcot®.
Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World® Resort offers 444 spacious guest rooms, including 68 suites. Enjoy serene views across the Tom Fazio-designed Four Seasons Golf Course from the lounge chairs on your balcony or terrace.
Our concierge offers complimentary benefits at the above luxury hotels in Orlando and the Waldorf Astoria Orlando. Although the Waldorf Astoria Orlando does not offer a club lounge, it remains a brilliant luxury choice in this exciting area.
Which is the best club lounge overall? Our vote goes to The Ritz-Carlton, Orlando, Grande Lakes: Club Level, followed by the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. These lounges are superior to most of the other lounges in Orlando.
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