It’s no secret that Orlando-based Walt Disney World Resort is among the top five most visited resort destinations in the world. It’s also no secret that Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, based in Toronto, Canada, is one of the premier names in luxury holiday accommodations. So imagine what Orlando visitors will be treated to when the new Four Seasons Walt Disney World opens in 2014.
Four Seasons has reached a deal to develop a luxury resort in Orlando on land acquired from Disney in 2008. Four Seasons will retain a 30% interest in the project which will be financed by some US$190 million provided by Grupo Financiero Inbursa of Mexico City. The luxury hotel chain will operate the new resort rather than leaving it to Disney operators.
Four Seasons Walt Disney World has been designed to include 444 total rooms including 90 private residences, 40 club units, a full spa with 18 treatment rooms, three swimming pools, and a rooftop restaurant with spectacular views of the Magic Kingdom. If all of the architectural plans are fully realized it will be the largest Four Seasons resort in the world. It will also include the adjacent Osprey Ridge golf course; an existing course which Four Seasons pledges to fully renovate.
The combination of Disney’s reputation for world-class entertainment, combined with the Four Season’s reputation for world-class luxury should produce one of the finest resorts ever built. Perhaps 2014 can’t come soon enough.