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Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I love visiting SeaWorld Orlando theme park. It is one of my favorite places in the whole world. I love staying at hotels nearby. Two hotels I have enjoyed staying at that are within walking distance of SeaWorld are Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld and Hilton Garden Inn at SeaWorld Orlando.
But recently we were planning a trip to SeaWorld for their New Year’s Eve event. We had never been to SeaWorld for New Year’s Eve before but we knew it could get crowded. We figured it would probably take a long time to get out of the parking lot afterward. Furthermore, we wanted to be able to have drinks. So we thought the idea of walking back afterward had huge advantages.
I had heard that Doubletree Orlando at SeaWorld was within walking distance. I had never stayed there before, so I decided to try it out.
And boy am I glad I did. I absolutely loved this hotel, and I can’t wait to go back. So today I want to tell you all the reasons I loved this hotel. And then I’ll tell you how you can save money on this hotel – and at SeaWorld and other Orlando theme parks!
Location
So the location is obviously the biggest reason we chose this hotel. It is so nice to be able to walk to SeaWorld. You can also walk to Aquatica but we did not. Even though the weather was warm for December and January, it was still December and January so we weren’t planning on going to a waterpark.
But in addition to being able to walk to SeaWorld, there is also an I-RIDE Trolley across from the street. That can get you to plenty of other top attractions in Orlando.
If you don’t want to drive, then included in the price of the resort fee is a free daily shuttle to Aquatica, SeaWorld, and Universal Theme Parks. You can also pay extra to get a shuttle to Disney World.
And of course, you can walk to SeaWorld.
Walkway to SeaWorld
One thing I like about the walkway to SeaWorld is that there are a lot of signs that help you get there. I did make a wrong turn the first time I walked to SeaWorld, but it’s easy to correct yourself and get on the right path.
The walkway starts in the back parking lot. They have plenty of signs in the resort that show you what direction to go if you start from the lobby or the main tower of the resort. You walk out to the Lagoon Pool and you’ll see signs. Just keep following the signs.
When you get to the back parking lot, go over to the blue gate.
That is the door you use to get to the walkway. It is unlocked each day at 8:00 AM in the morning. It stays unlocked for an hour after the park is open, which meant when we were there on New Year’s Eve it was still unlocked after 12:00 AM.
After that, you’ll walk about 500 feet forward and then safely use the crosswalk. You are walking to the back of the SeaWorld parking lot. You’ll see a sign for the guest pedestrian entrance.
Once you get into the parking lot, there are good markings on the ground to show you the walking path.
You walk down the path and turn to the right, and then you’ll be at the entrance of the theme park. There are signs to help you get to the park entrance.
Now, when you leave the park, you’ll walk towards the bus pick-up, which is marked by signs.
A neat thing about exiting is you can actually see the main tower of Doubletree in the distance, which is really cool!
You’ll take the same walking path as before, you’ll just be walking in the opposite direction from when you were walking to SeaWorld.
Once you are out of the parking lot, you’ll walk across the street to get back to Doubletree by Hilton Orlando.
You’ll be looking for the blue gate that will get you back into the hotel.
Resort Look & Atmosphere
When I went here a month ago, I had never been here before. So I had no idea what to expect.
But when I walked into the lobby, I literally gasped. The lobby was just so beautiful and perfect. It has an upscale look to it.
When I came here it was December 31st, so it was still the Christmas season. The Christmas decorations up at the lobby and around the resort were amazing.
There were a lot of interactive aspects of the decorations, too. Like they had a display of gingerbread houses where you could vote for your favorite.
They even had Christmas movies playing in the lobby. While I was there, I saw parts of The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.
The Christmas decorations didn’t stop with the lobby. There were also lots of Christmas-themed inflatables outside that you could enjoy as you walked around the resort.
There were also Christmas lights up, which looked beautiful at night.
The lobby of the main tower of the building was also beautiful. The piano is a nice, classy touch.
The resort overall had a very positive, happy atmosphere.
Room
There are a number of different room options you can get when you stay here. One of the main things you can choose is whether or not you want to be in the main tower.
We wanted to, so we paid a little bit more money to stay in the main tower. What I like about staying in the main tower is that you are very close to dining options.
If you don’t stay in the main tower, you can stay in one of the rooms that are spread out in two-story buildings around the resort.
After having stayed here in one of the tower rooms, I can see some advantages of non-tower rooms. For starters, it is cheaper. But additionally, depending on where your room ends up, it could be a lot easier to unload and pack your car because some of the rooms are close to the parking lot. And if you have one of the rooms in the back, you are closer to the SeaWorld walking path.
But of course, that is luck of draw. At any rate, those rooms seemed really nice, too. And the resort due to its prime location is not that large. So it’s not like you’d have to rent a golf cart or use your car to get around the resort, like you might at say Disney’s Old Key West Resort.
My family had a room with two queen beds, which I really prefer to hotels with rooms with double beds. And the beds were incredibly comfortable, too.
The rooms were also really spacious. They have a nice desk area if you need to go business. There’s a great TV (which we had on during a nap to catch a college football bowl game in between sleep).
They also have a nice comfortable chair in the corner with good views of said TV.
The bathroom was nice, too. So the guest rooms are a big plus at this hotel.
I almost had wonderful views from my room. I had a really good view of Aquatica waterpark and I could see some of the roller coasters at SeaWorld, too!
Dining
A great thing about this resort is all the dining options. It really makes your stay even better to have a lot of options.
So we were there on New Year’s Eve. That’s a really busy day at SeaWorld, so there were long lines for all the restaurants. We had to stand in a particularly long line for lunch.
But we went back to the room to rest up before we went back out for the night. Since the hotel is within walking distance, it’s pretty easy to go back and forth from the hotel.
We decided to eat dinner at the hotel before we walked back to SeaWorld. We were able to get salads and sandwiches without any wait at all. The weather was nice so we were able to get a great table outside with wonderful pool views and eat our meal. By the way, they have a lot of tables around the pool, which is great.
It was nice to have a relaxing dinner without having to wait a long time in line before we went back to the park. The food was good, too, and possibly cheaper than if we had eaten at SeaWorld.
But most importantly, we didn’t have to deal with the lines of the restaurants. And that was great because when we went back to the park, we noticed the line to Altitude Burgers was the longest I had ever seen! So if you are here on a busy day, you could consider eating here instead of in the park. You could consider spending the morning at SeaWorld, coming back for lunch, taking a nap or a swim in the pool, having dinner, and then going back to SeaWorld at night.
So what are the dining options here? Let me go over them.
The Market/Alberto’s Pizzeria
If you want a quick meal then head to the combination restaurant, The Market/Alberto’s Pizzeria.
The Market/Alberto’s Pizzeria is where my family got dinner that night. They offer a lot of great to-go items like sandwiches and salads. They have pizzas (which I could expect with Pizzeria in the name!) and you can share the pizza as a family (which saves you money). And you can get Chicken Wings, Italian meatballs, and garlic knots. Some of the items (like the Chicken Caesar Salad) you can pick out of the refrigerator. Others you can get warm, like the pizza.
Ice cream is also available here in flavors like Chocolate, Strawberry, Rocky Road, Butter Pecan, etc.
Most of my family got the Chicken Caesar Salad.
The Chicken Caesar Salad was absolutely delicious. The chicken was a bit spicy, which I really liked, but if you don’t like spicy chicken you might want to avoid it.
My mom was the only one who didn’t get a Chicken Caesar Salad. She instead got a Tuscan Chicken Sandwich.
She really loved this sandwich. This chicken, by the way, was not spicy.
Free Breakfast
This is also where you go for the free breakfast!
It’s included in the cost of staying here. You get to choose between a bagel, croissant, muffin, or danish.
Now, I am allergic to a lot of nuts, and I thought my muffin had nuts in it. They insisted the muffins did not have nuts, but they gave me a bagel instead. I appreciated that they did this.
You also have a choice between an apple or an orange. For drinks, you can get either get free coffee or free juice.
Laguna
Laguna is a sit-down restaurant and bar with a casual atmosphere. You can get breakfast, lunch, and dinner here. There is seating indoors and outdoors. When we were there, they had TVs playing bowl games.
Here was the menu when we were here looking to have dinner.
You can get foods like burgers, tacos, sandwiches, and salads. Here are some of the foods on the menu when we were here:
- Paradise Floridian Burger
- Citrus Cajun Shrimp Taco
- Blackened Mahi-Mahi Taco
- Bacon Cheeseburger
- Caesar Salad
- Rustic Goddess Wedge Salad
- DT Club Sandwich
- Spinach Salad
- Deserted Island Chix Sandwich
Barefoot Bar
Barefoot Bar is a poolside bar, located at the Laguna Pool (more about that later). It serves light food and frozen drinks.
Sonoma Lobby Bar
You can get a free breakfast here. But you could also get breakfast and Starbucks Coffee at the Sonoma Lobby Bar. You can also get lunch items here and juice. There are a lot of chairs here and plugs so you could work at your computer here. If you check out of your hotel and you have business work that needs to get done, this is a great place to do it.
Recreation
They have a lot of fun recreational activities.
Pools
A wonderful thing about this hotel is that there are multiple pools. My favorite was the lagoon pool.
I love the aesthetics with the rock and waterfalls. I also love the location of this pool near the main tower. And it is right by a poolside bar. So you could relax and enjoy a drink while, say, your kids go swimming.
They also have a Family Fun Pool, that’s also very nice.
It has a hot tub. I always like it when pools have hot tubs.
Hideaway Cove Mini Golf
So here’s the thing. You might expect pools at a hotel. But you don’t always expect mini golf, right? But that’s exactly what you can do right at Doubletree Orlando at SeaWorld! They have a really fun mini-golf course, Hideaway Cove Mini Golf. It has a great ocean theme which is perfect given that the hotel is right next to SeaWorld! I especially liked the shells and the turtle.
Other Recreational Activities
They also have other things, like pool, a foosball table, life-size checkers, etc.
There was also a holiday-themed scavenger hunt when I was there.
Laundry Room
If you have a long stay, then you can clean your clothes at the laundry room. Their laundry room is super cute with once again an ocean and ocean animal theme.
They had a ton of washing machines, too.
Service
And finally, I thought the service at this hotel was really good. The staff was super nice and helpful.
And how can I forget about the free chocolate chip cookies you get when you arrive? You have to love a hotel that gives you free cookies!
Discounted Doubletree SeaWorld Orlando Prices
So I know you would love to stay here, too. So how can you stay here and save money?
A great way to do that is by booking your stay through Hotels.com. They offer great rates and sometimes also have a sale for this hotel.
Discounted Orlando Theme Park Tickets
Now, I know if you are staying at Doubletree at SeaWorld Orlando, you are going to want to go to a theme park.
At the very least, you will want to go to SeaWorld Orlando. Click here to book a discounted ticket to SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica water park.
You can get discounted tickets to the Universal Orlando theme parks (Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay) here.
And if you want to go to Disney World during your Orlando trip, click here to get discounted Disney World tickets.
