FLORIDA
Where to Stay in Orlando: These 14 Boutique Hotels Might Make You Forget About Theme Parks
By Eric Barton | Aug. 29, 2025
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
Look, no shade if you want to come to Orlando and spend all day and night in the land of the mouse. You deserve it, you Disney fanatic.
But there are some of us who while visiting Orlando want a break from day passes and chicken fingers and lines, everywhere with the lines. For travelers seeking out a truly unique place to spend the night in Orlando, I’m happy to report I’ve stayed in the best of them.
What you’ll find below are hotels with soul, places that put you in a real neighborhood, not just a parking lot off an exit ramp. These are Orlando’s best boutique hotels, from art-filled Winter Park to the sunset glow on Lake Nona. Who knows? Maybe you’ll like them so much you’ll forget about that shuttle to the theme park.
Alfond Inn
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Winter Park’s walkable main boulevard is Park Avenue, and this hotel sits a block from it, with a rotating contemporary art collection from nearby Rollins College. The lobby restaurant Hamilton’s Kitchen, the new spa, and the rooftop pool deck complete the hotel’s gallery-level standards. Rooms feel grown-up without being fussy, and the lobby’s a meeting point for professors, parents, and people who plan their day around coffee and the Morse Museum.
Best for: Art lovers who think brunch is a museum warm-up
Aloft Orlando Downtown
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I’d typically doubt the validity of any list of boutique hotels that includes an Aloft, but this one is housed in a 1960s mid-century building that once held city offices. Rooms have an adaptive-reuse swagger with loft-style spaces and a pool terrace that feels urban instead of resort-sprawl. The lobby bar is a hangout for pre-concert drinks, and you’re a short walk to downtown venues. Rooms are Aloft practical, yes, but also a reminder that Orlando has modern bones under all that neon.
Best for: Downtown travelers who prefer a stylish base over a sprawling resort
Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club
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This is club life hospitality in the Orlando suburb of Dr. Phillips. Lodge rooms are steps from the fairways and a calm you won’t find on I-Drive. You stay here to wake up early, walk to breakfast, and talk yardages like it’s a native language. Beyond golf, there’s also a proper pool, racquet courts, and a marina that reminds you Orlando has real water everywhere.
Best for: Those who don’t travel without golf clubs in tow
Castle Hotel
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Yes, The Castle Hotel, Autograph Collection is literally a castle—turrets outside, whimsical textures inside—and undoubtedly it has the most personality on International Drive. Rooms have been refreshed to tone down the kitsch and turn up the comfort, with a courtyard pool that’s the escape valve after a convention day. You’re walking distance to Pointe Orlando and a short rideshare to Universal, which keeps logistics easy.
Best for: Families and convention goers who refuse boring
Celeste Hotel
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If you’ve been searching “best hotels near the University of Central Florida,” you’ve found your answer. The Celeste Hotel, Orlando, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel leans into a celestial theme without feeling like a planetarium gift shop. The lobby art, star maps, and moody blues give way to bright, practical rooms with the campus just beyond. Aurora, the on-site restaurant, is the move for an early dinner before a game at Addition Financial Arena.
Best for: Parents’ weekends, visiting artists, and anyone who loves a motif done right
Delaney Hotel
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South of downtown in SoDo, this independent 54-room spot nails the hospital-adjacent brief without feeling clinical—oversized baths, walk-in showers, dedicated makeup vanities. The tavern downstairs makes the rare case for staying in, especially if you’ve got an early call at Orlando Health across the street. Rooms are calm and cleverly lit, which you’ll appreciate if you keep odd hours.
Best for: Medical visits, business trips, and locals’ staycations with dinner downstairs
Dr. Phillips House
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A Victorian landmark near Lake Lucerne that rents a handful of suites, it feels like you scored the keys to an old Orlando mansion. Think antiques, period details, and jetted tubs, with downtown’s theaters and bars five minutes away. Book one of the named rooms and you’ll understand why houseguests never want to leave.
Best for: Romantic, no-chain weekends and architecture fans
Eo Inn
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Thornton Park’s lakefront boutique, set in a 1920s building with balconies peeking over Lake Eola and the swan boats. The rooms lean simple and handsomely kept; the patio is where you’ll plan the rest of your day. Coffee, cocktails, and the entire downtown arts triangle are a stroll away.
Best for: Travelers who want a morning run and a nightcap without a car
ette Hotel Orlando
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Minutes from Disney without the Disney volume, this independent stunner is all marble, scent bars, and serene rooms that seem to lower your blood pressure. The culinary headliner is Salt & the Cellar by Akira Back, an Asian-Mediterranean mashup that’s destination-worthy even if you aren’t staying. The bar program is garden-driven and inventive, which keeps nights lively without the usual chaos.
Best for: Design obsessives and park-adjacent adults who like dinner to be an event
Grand Bohemian Orlando
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Downtown’s original arts-and-music hotel still delivers: a lobby that feels like a private gallery and the Bösendorfer Lounge scoring the soundtrack. At the Grand Bohemian Orlando, Autograph Collection, rooms keep the Bohemian drama, while the small pool and spa make it easy to recover after a night at the Kia Center or the Dr. Phillips Center. This is where you meet for a martini and end up debating paintings.
Best for: Show nights, gallery crawls, and late checkouts
Inn at Celebration
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Inn at Celebration, Autograph Collection is Celebration’s lakeside hotel, and it looks out on palm-framed water and a town center built for strolling. Recent renovations brightened the rooms and public spaces, bringing a little “Old Florida” polish back into focus. You’re five minutes from Disney but spending mornings with coffee on the boardwalk watching the town wake up.
Best for: Park days with civilized evenings
Lake Nona Wave Hotel
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Lake Nona’s flagship is tech-forward and art-happy: smart-glass windows, serious fitness access, and a lobby dotted with sculptures you’ll actually want to photograph. Rooms are crisp and colorful with the kind of bedding and bath kit, if you’re like me, you’ll Google before you leave. Restaurants run at Michelin-quality, and the whole place hums with that new-neighborhood energy.
Best for: Travelers who collect design hotels and miles
Park Plaza Hotel
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A Winter Park classic where ivy-draped balconies overlook the rose garden and Park Avenue’s sidewalk ballet. Rooms are cozy in the best way, with creaky floors and morning light that practically mandates pastry runs. Step outside and you’re three minutes from the train, the Morse, and a dozen good lunches.
Best for: People who judge a hotel by its balcony and its neighbors
The Wellborn
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In a cluster of converted 1880s houses near Lake Lucerne, the Wellborn feels like Orlando’s answer to a bohemian boardinghouse—with palms shading a courtyard where cocktails go late and breakfast happens at whatever pace you please. The rooms are all different, some with fireplaces and tall windows, others with porches that creak in a way that feels more charm than nuisance. You’re walking distance to downtown but the mood here is more garden party than late-night bar crawl.
Best for: Travelers who’d rather stay in a storybook house than a tower
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