Is Margaritaville Resort Orlando Near Walt Disney World the Area’s Best Kept Secret?

It’s a private getaway with room for the whole family and then some. The unit has a private hot tub. It’s minutes away from Walt Disney World. And the price? Surprisingly affordable. We recently stayed at a Margaritaville Cottage in Kissimmee, just around the corner from Disney’s Animal Kingdom and were completely blown away. It may be one of the best vacation deals in the area.

Margaritaville Resort Orlando has a variety of accommodations for any type of family. With one-, two-, three-, four-, or five-bedroom cottages, there’s plenty of room for a family to enjoy private accommodations or spread out with multiple families.

Here’s what we experienced on our stay.

Our unit was a three-bedroom unit, plus a bonus room with a twin bed, and three full baths. The cottages have private owners who rent out the property when not in use, but this is different from your standard rental where you may not know what you’re getting until you show up. All the decor is regulated by Margaritaville, providing a consistent experience. Cottage owners are allowed to pick from three different furniture packages and anything that isn’t part of the standard decor needs to be put in the owners’ closet when the unit is rented out. The entire resort accommodations, including the cottages, is pet friendly.

Kitchen

The kitchen in this unit measures 11’3″ by 10’7″. It is an eat-in kitchen with a large wooden table and six chairs. One nice feature–every unit comes with a Margaritaville Frozen Drink Machine.

The kitchen is well-equipped with the following.

• Two rolls of paper towels, small first aid kit, dish soap and sponge, trash bags
• Fire extinguisher
• Step stool
• Ceramic coffee cups (8)
• Plastic dishware – 4 dinner plates, 4 bowls, 4 tumblers, 4 margarita glasses
• Glassware – 8 of each – water glasses, wine glasses, juice glasses, and margarita glasses
• Utensils / serving pieces – standard including bottle opener and can opener
• Plastic mixing bowls, colander, pitcher with lid, cutting boards
• Tea kettle and electric hand mixer
• Textiles – place mats, dish towels
• Knife set
• House phone to schedule shuttle or housekeeping
• 12-cup coffee pot- 2 regular and 1 decaf filters and cream and sugar provided
• Baking dishes, mixing and serving bowls, liquid measuring cup
• Silverware for 8 (soup and teaspoons, salad and dinner forks, butter knives)
• Coasters
• Microwave, full fridge and freezer, oven with range

Making a meal in the kitchen, from a simple breakfast to a family dinner, is very doable with the equipment provided.

Living Room

The living room measures 12’3″ by 10’10”. It includes an L-shaped couch, coffee table, and a 43″ TV. Speaking of TVs, this 3-bedroom unit has 5 TVs in all — the one in the living room, one in each of the three bedrooms, and one in the “not a bedroom” bonus room. There’s plenty of space here to relax.

Bedrooms

The primary bedroom is on the first floor and is 13’7″ by 9’2″. It has a queen pillowtop mattress with five pillows. There’s also an attached bathroom (7’10” by 5’4″) with a shower (4’9″ by 2’7″). Each of the bathrooms contains extra face and toilet tissue, two beach towels, a hairdryer, three bath towels, three hand towels, three washcloths, and St. Somewhere lotion, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, and 2 bars of soap.

Outside the primary bedroom is a table and four chairs, a lounge chair, and. . . . your own private hot tub!

There’s 18 steps to take you up to the second floor, which is where you’ll find the other bedrooms and bathrooms.

The unit has a stacked washer and dryer unit on the second floor, with 2 packages of laundry soap, a broom and dustpan, and an iron and ironing board.

Also at the top of the stairs is a full bathroom with the same dimensions as the primary bathroom downstairs.

Here’s the specs for the two upstairs bedrooms.

Bedroom 1 (11’5″ by 10’5″) has a closet with shelves and drawers. There’s no en suite bathroom for this bedroom, but the bathroom at the top of the stairs is just outside this room.

Bedroom 2 (12’9″ by 11’8″) has a balcony that faces the front yard. There is a closet with shelves and drawers, and there is an en suite bathroom. It is worth noting that all of the bathrooms have showers — none have tubs.

Also on the second floor is a bonus room (4’8″ by 6’11”). It doesn’t qualify as a bedroom because it doesn’t have a closet, but it does have a twin bed, TV, and a door. (I think this would be the perfect room for just stretching out for an afternoon nap.)

Let’s Talk Price

We’ll go into the amenities of the resort itself in a later post, but they are substantial. What isn’t substantial is the price. I looked up a trip for a weekend in June (6/11-6/13). For a three-bedroom cottage, the price came in at $826 per night.

I looked to see what Disney could do for me for that same time period. I couldn’t find any grand villas available, and so I looked at a couple smaller units. First, a one-bedroom, standard view at Disney’s Grand Floridian came in at $1015/night.

There also was a two-bedroom at Riviera. . . at $1,626/night.

So what is a comparable property in terms of price? The closest I could find is a one-bedroom suite at Gran Destino tower which, with discount, comes in at $807/night. So for the extra $20/night at Margaritaville Resort Orlando, you’re getting two more bedrooms, two more bathrooms, a bonus room, a full kitchen, and a private hot tub. Yes, you’re not staying on property and so won’t have some of those amenities and prime location, but it’s a tough sell to say that those are worth that much extra money.

Vacations can be expensive, but spending less on your accommodations can be a great way to cut your costs. Margaritaville Resort Orlando has exceptional prices for the quality and comfort that you get, far exceeding what you get for the same price at a Disney Resort. In the next part, we’ll cover the amenities at the resort itself–perfect for actually relaxing on your vacation!

Would you like to spend your next vacation at Margaritaville Resort Orlando? Let us know in the comments what you think of what you’re seeing here. 

 

Special thanks to the Margaritaville Resort Orlando for providing us with this complimentary stay.