If you click on the links in this post, we may earn money from the companies mentioned in this post, at no extra cost to you. You can read the full disclaimer here.
I always love trying new hotels in Orlando, Florida. After all, Orlando may be my favorite travel destination ever. With Disney World, SeaWorld, Universal Orlando, and plenty of other top attractions around Orlando, there is so many fun things to do there.
And because of this, Orlando has so many wonderful hotels. About a month ago, I got to try a new one, and that is the Rosen Centre in Orlando.
The Rosen Centre is a hotel I had been wanting to try. The hotel is so big and attractive I had noticed it just from driving around Orlando.
In fact, you can see it from the parking lot at SeaWorld.
So, what did I think of my stay? I’ll go through different parts of the hotel to let you know what we thought. We’ll tell you what we thought was great – and what was not so great.
Location
First of all, the location on International Drive is great. It is right by the Orange County Convention Center so it is really convenient if you are attending a convention there.
But beyond that, it is in a great location in Orlando. It is an under a ten-minute drive to Discovery Cove and SeaWorld, which is great for my family (we like to drive to SeaWorld since we get free parking – one of the perks of being a SeaWorld member). It’s about fifteen minutes from Universal Orlando and Disney World. It’s also around five minutes from ICON Park, which has great attractions like:
- Sea Life Orlando Aquarium
- The Wheel at ICON Orlando
- 7D Dark Ride at Max Action Arena ICON Park
- Madame Tussauds Orlando
- Orlando StarFlyer
Parking
If you are flying into Orlando and not renting a car, then you can skip this section. But if you drive to Orlando, then you should know about the parking situation.
Parking at Rosen Centre is a bit expensive. Self-parking is $28. Valet parking is $38. We opted for self-parking so we could have a bit more control of our car. But the parking lot is a bit of a walk from the hotel, which was kind of annoying. But it is a fairly simple walk without any kind of hills or anything. And at least there is a Wahlgreen’s right there during the walk, which we were able to use to pick up much-needed sunblock among other things. There is both a parking lot plus a parking garage.
We also opted to unload our luggage ourselves to save money. How we did it was we had one family member sit in one of the chairs in front of the hotel. Then we unloaded all the luggage where they were sitting so they could sit with our luggage. Then another family member parked the car. This worked well for us, but if you are traveling with young kids this may not be a good idea as they may not have the patience for this (it really depends on the kid). In that case, it might be worth it to pay one of the employees to unload your car for you.
Elevator
So there is a really unique thing about this hotel, and that is the elevator. They have two different elevators based on your room number. There is one elevator for the lower floors up to floor fifteen.
And then there is a separate elevator for floors sixteen through twenty-four. How it works for the elevator for the higher floors is that they do a neat thing to make your elevator ride shorter. Since they don’t stop at any of the lower floors, it goes really fast from floor two to floor fifteen. This saves you a lot of time when getting to your room.
The only negative there is it does give you a ringing in your ears. It was a bit weird the first night, but after that, I didn’t notice it as much.
When I checked in, they gave me a choice of a high room or a lower room. Depending on when you go and how booked the hotel is, you may not have that choice. But if you do, and you don’t want your ears to ring, then you might want to choose a lower room. But if you choose a higher-up room, then I suspect you’ll love the view like my family liked the view. That is one of the things we loved about our room.
Room
But the view was not the only thing we liked about the room. I just also really liked the room’s atmosphere. The room had an up-to-date, modern feel.
Even the toilets felt modern, as they have a button on the top rather than a traditional toilet flush handle.
The room had a nice TV which is great if there’s something you want to watch during your trip (like a sports event).
The room also had a ton of outlets and USB ports, which I really like in a hotel room as I have a lot of devices.
And of course, as I said earlier, we loved our view. We got a great city view and wonderful views of the convention center, The Wheel at ICON Park, and other Orlando attractions.
The beds were also extremely comfortable. And the room was spacious enough there was room for all of our luggage.
With some rooms at other rooms, it feels like you’re tripping over your suitcase just to get to the bathroom. But that was absolutely not the case here.
Dining
The dining selections here are truly excellent here.
For starters, I love how close all of the restaurants are. It’s not like with a large resort where all the restaurants are far apart. You can just go down the elevator, walk into the lobby, turn to the left, and you’re at all the restaurants. You can just walk down the row of restaurants and find what you want to eat.
And there are so many selections. There is a huge selection of different cuisines. If you were staying there for a week, you could have a variety every night if you never left your hotel.
And there is a lot of seating right there in the area.
You can have great views of the pool. Or you can enjoy everyone walking by and the excited, bustling feeling of the resort. Exciting like New York City, like the dining option I want to talk about first.
Red’s Deli
Red’s Deli is a New York-style deli, and it really does resemble a deli you’d visit in New York City. In fact, it gave me a bit of déjà vu. I loved all the New York touches since I sure do like my Orlando hotels to be themed!
It has a market component to it which is open 24 hours a day.
This is really great if you say your flight gets in during the middle of the night and you say want a snack or drink. The drinks aren’t too expensive, too, at least compared to the rest of Orlando!
But Red’s Deli also has good options for meals, too. Let’s start with breakfast. I absolutely loved the bacon, egg, and cheese croissant.
They come with potato cakes, too, which are delicious and remind me of latkes I’ve had during Hanukkah.
There are also other breakfast options and you can get a smaller breakfast, like pastries (such as muffins, croissants, or bagels with cream cheese).
But Red’s Deli is also good for lunch or dinner. They have delicious pizza that we really liked. You can order it by the slice which makes the meal really affordable for Orlando. It is really good, New York-style pizza.
Everglades Restaurant & Bar
Now, Red’s Deli is a great quick-service restaurant. But what if you are looking for a sit-down restaurant where you can sit down, relax, and have the servers wait on you?
Well, then head to Everglades Restaurant and Bar.
This is not just any restaurant. It was the winner of Open Table’s Diner Choice Award in 2022. They serve great dishes that include local seafood, meats, and produce.
98Forty Tapas & Tequila
At 98Forty Tapas & Tequila, you can get Spanish tapas and Mexican dishes. It’s open from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
Banshoo Sushi Bar
In the mood for Japanese cuisine? Then head to Banshoo Sushi Bar, where you can try sushi, sashimi, and sake.
It is also open from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
Harry’s Poolside Bar & Grill
Harry’s Poolside Bar & Grill serves Caribbean-Cuban infused cuisine. You can enjoy your food inside with the air conditioning or outside by the pool.
Smoooth Java Coffee Bar
First thing in the morning, Smoooth Java Coffee Bar is a great choice.
They serve Starbucks coffee to help you wake up. Plus, they also sell fresh fruit smoothies and gourmet pastries. We liked the croissant and the chocolate chip muffin.
It really is quite similar to Starbucks in what they offer.
Café Gauguin
Looking for a bigger breakfast? Then try Café Gauguin!
Café Gauguin is a restaurant that is a tribute to French painter Paul Gauguin. They serve a breakfast buffet from 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM.
Sam & Bubbe’s
Get New York deli-style noshes and a collection of beer, spirits, and wine by the glass at Sam & Bubbe’s. The lobby lounge opens each day at 4:00 PM.
Other Amenities
There are a lot of other great amenities at Rosen Centre.
First of all, let’s talk about the Spa at the Rosen Centre.
Services offered at the spa include massage therapy, body treatments, facials, skin treatments, hair salon & styling services, makeup, nail care, and waxing. They also have a state-of-the-art fitness center.
They also have an Olympic-size tropical outdoor swimming pool.
There’s also a boutique where you can get clothes or gifts.
Conclusion
Rosen Centre Hotel really is a wonderful choice for families when staying in Orlando. It has a convenient location within fifteen minutes of the major theme parks (Disney World, Universal, and SeaWorld). It has great spacious rooms with comfortable beds and plenty of dining in one central location. The only setback really is that there isn’t convenient parking near the hotel, but this is pretty minor when you compare it to the positives.
Oh, and did I mention the price? The price is surprisingly affordable given all the hotel offers and the fact that hotels in Orlando can get quite expensive. But this hotel becomes even more affordable if you book your stay here where you can get the room at a discounted price.
Pin this for later – save it to Pinterest!
