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W Marriott Bonnet Creek Vs. Waldorf Astoria Vs. Hilton. Which is best? We’ve already reviewed whether JW Marriott Bonnet Creek vs. JW Marriott Grand Lakes is best. Generally, the JW Marriott Grand Lakes is best, as the lazy river pool and slides are brilliant here. These hotels are both featured in our listing of best Marriott hotels in Orlando.
We have outlined the best JW Marriott hotels, in case you want to delve further into the hotel brand.
1. Loyalty
JW Marriott is a high-end brand under the Marriott umbrella. It shares this elite spot with Ritz-Carlton BVLGARI, EDITION, and The Luxury Collection. These brands occupy a 5-star luxury category, with room quality and size, service, restaurants, and the hotel as a whole offering an ultra-luxurious setting. JW Marriott is part of the Marriott Bonvoy brand loyalty program.
It’s worth mentioning that these loyalty benefits are nowhere near as good as the benefits you get by booking via our luxury travel concierge. If you book with our concierge, you will also get all your usual Marriott Bonvoy points during your stay.
Our luxury concierge offers great free benefits at JW Marriott, Waldorf Astoria, and Hilton hotels. These benefits usually include free breakfast for two, prioritized room upgrades (subject to availability), hotel credit, and more if you book with one of our agents. Our deals are almost always better than booking directly on the hotel website for all these brands.
2. Location
JW Marriott Bonnet Creek is next to the Waldorf Astoria and is connected by a pathway where you can find the Bull and Bear Restaurant. Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek is the cornerstone of the Bonnet Creek Complex and is adjacent to Waldorf Astoria Orlando. The JW is further up the road.
JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa is just 4 miles from Disney in Orlando, so it is much closer than its other competitor, the JW Marriott Grand Lakes. It is a clean and peaceful choice away from the madness of Disney. Because this is not a Disney hotel, like the Waldorf and Hilton, there is no early park access here, but all theree are so close to the parks that they offer a great base for visiting the parks.
The JW Marriott, Waldorf Astoria, and Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek are in relatively similar locations, and there is little to choose between them for location alone.
All three hotels are located just 15 minutes from Orlando International Airport (MCO) and the Orlando Convention Center. All 3 offer complimentary bus transfers to and from the Disney theme parks.
3. Size
The JW Marriott Bonnet Creek has 516 guest rooms. The Waldorf Astoria Bonnet Creek has 198 rooms, and Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek has 1,001 rooms, so it is much larger than the Waldorf and JW Marriott.
4. Shuttle
JW Marriott has its own shuttle. The Waldorf and Hilton share the same shuttle to the Disney theme parks.
5. Style
JW Marriott Bonnet Creek is the newest. It is sleek, modern, and has a stylish concrete finish, as it only opened in 2020. The Hilton was refurbished in 2020, but it feels more like a generic Hilton. The Waldorf feels more luxurious with a more adult clientele. The Hilton attracts more families because of its impressive lazy river pool and water slide, although guests from Waldorf Astoria can access this pool, too.
6. Pools
Facilities at JW Marriott Bonnet Creek include a Spa by JW® and a resort pool with a splash pad. The pools are not a patch on the pools at the interconnecting Hilton and Waldorf Astoria, which include a 3-acre resort-style pool with a lazy river, a slide, a zero-entry pool, and a sophisticated but more standard pool at the Waldorf Astoria. The JW Marriott pool is quite small and unimpressive by comparison.
Hilton and Waldorf guests have access to both pools as well as the Waldorf Astoria Spa, which features 22 treatment rooms and a daily Kids Club.
The Hilton and the JW Marriott Bonnet Creek, in particular, are very much convention hotels, even more so than the JW Marriott Grand Lakes. During the spring convention season in Orlando, the pools tend to empty out during the day at both hotels. A quiet pool is a really nice advantage if you are traveling with a family, and the JW Marriott Bonnet Creek pool is reportedly extremely quiet during convention season, so if you are looking for a quiet pool, I would pick the Waldorf or JW Marriott.
7. Golf
Both the Hilton and the Waldorf have access to a Rees Jones-designed championship golf course. JW Marriott has rooftop garden golf.
8. Rooms
The rooms are the most luxurious and largest at the Waldorf Astoria. Guests enjoy daily evening turndown service. Hilton Bonnet Creek is a much larger hotel. The rooms here were refurbished in 2020 and have a modern, contemporary feel.
Our favorite rooms are those at JW Marriott Bonnet Creek because they are so modern, with lovely floor-to-ceiling windows. You should definitely pick the pool and firework view rooms as the rooms at the back of the property, the Disney Springs view, overlooking a car park and a noisy road. The rooms looking over the pool also enjoy the greenery of the forest beyond that spreads up to the Epcot ball and Hollywood studios.
9. Club Lounge
Neither JW Marriott Bonnet Creek, the Waldorf, or the Hilton has a club lounge. If you want a great club lounge, you should book a Club Room at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Lakes, which is 5 miles away.
Clients who book via our luxury travel concierge can enjoy an excellent free breakfast at all three hotels, which includes items like fresh-cut fruit, yogurt, plus toppings. There is a lovely selection of croissants, pastries, Danishes, and breads, along with cold cuts. Hot food usually includes eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, waffles, and pancakes.
10. Restaurants
As these hotels are a short walk from each other, whichever hotel you stay at, you will have access to the same hotel restaurants. There are twelve dining outlets and bars in the Hilton complex, so there is the most choice at the Hilton and Waldorf twinned hotels.
11. Fireworks
JW Marriott Bonnet Creek has a terrific rooftop terrace boasting nightly views of theme park fireworks displays.
12. Price
The Waldorf Astoria is usually the most expensive of the three hotels, followed by the JW Marriott followed by the Hilton.
For a more reasonable JW Marriott stay, check out our review of some of the cheapest Marriott hotels.
13. Conclusion
The Waldorf Astoria and Hilton shared pools and grounds beat the JW Marriott Bonnet Creek, but the JW Marriott Bonnet Creek has some really lovely rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, so if a slide and a lazy river aren’t deal breakers, it is worth considering the JW Marriott.
Another massive hotel in this area is the Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek, which almost feels like a small town with 1149 suites in six towers. This tends to be a more budget option.
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