Grand style: The Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort, Bonnet Creek
Sunshine state: Orlando hotels mix biz and pleasure
By Mark Chesnut
With interesting new hotels and an array of renovations and new meeting and event space opening at existing properties, Orlando hotels are offering more than ever for business travelers as well as anyone looking to plan a Florida vacation.
Opening in May at Walt Disney World Resort is Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, which will have three swimming pools and 1,120 suites designed with decor from classic Disney favorites including Finding Nemo, Cars and The Lion King. An additional 864 rooms, inspired by The Little Mermaid, will open in December.
Also new in Orlando’s hotel scene is the Melia Orlando Suite Hotel at Celebration, formerly known as the Mona Lisa Suite Hotel, which has one- and two-bedroom suites that offer the comfort of condominium-style living, as well as a 25-person meeting room and the services of a personal meeting concierge.
Business and leisure travelers looking to be near water-based fun might consider the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld, which recently completed a $35 million renovation project. The upgrade includes refurbished meeting rooms and suite accommodations, as well as expansion of the pool area that has resulted in a children’s interactive water playground and an 8,000-square-foot lawn that can be used for private events. Guests can also indulge in treatments at the hotel’s new Lotus Spa.
Also of note for business-minded travelers is the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort, Bonnet Creek, which is set on nearly 500 acres of woodlands and has more than 25,000 square feet of both indoor and outdoor meeting space, including a 14th-floor ballroom that overlooks a private, 10-acre lake. And, just in case meeting attendees need a Disney fix, the hotels park shuttle service whisks visitors to various locations within Walt Disney World, making sure that Disney magic is always easily accessible.
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Mark Chesnut is a freelance travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America. He’s a big Disney fan. 
