Strikingly white with splashes of bright blue, the new B Resort Orlando stands out among its Walt Disney World to neighbor hotels. Formerly the Royal Plaza Hotel, B Resort will “soft” open as a newly renovated Downtown Disney area hotel on Monday, June 16, 2014, with an official grand opening to follow later this summer.
Upon approaching B Resort Orlando and stepping inside its lobby, it becomes immediately clear this hotel prides itself on simplicity, even down to its one-letter name. Its bright white walls, floors, and ceilings make a rotating collection of colorful local art stand out throughout its halls.
The lobby features comfortable seating areas and convenient touch screens that allow Guests to check in for flights and even retrieve maps to any local destination. Though B allows this information to be printed, it also offers emails and text messages direct from these displays, part of their attention to helping the environment.
B Resort Orlando has nine different kinds of Guest rooms, from the standard all the way up to massive master suites, all completely renovated from former occupants throughout the 17-story tower and connecting Lanai building.
Among the most unique are the hotel’s 20 family-friendly rooms with bunk beds, conveniently located poolside, including a private outdoor seating area with access to the pool and bar.
Spacious showers with modern shower heads, retro-style rotary-inspired phones, and in-room refrigerators are among the best touches in B Resort’s hotel rooms. And it’s hard to miss the hotel’s new mascot, Benson B Frog, recently named via their Facebook page.
Higher floors also offer fantastic views of the surrounding area, particularly overlooking Downtown Disney.
Free Wi-Fi is fast, getting speeds of 5mpbs down and 0.6mbps up.
The hotel’s zero-entry pool features a small water play area for kids. Don’t expect anything too fancy around the pool and outdoor areas. Clearly, the least renovated of the hotel. While the rooms and indoor public areas look brand new, the pool area still feels dated.
B Resort Orlando also has more than 25,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor flexible function space for meetings, events, and weddings across multiple ballrooms, continuing the modern theme with sparkling crystal chandeliers overhead for an elegant twist.
Though the hotel welcomes its first Guests on Monday, many of its signature amenities won’t be open until later this month. The B Indulged Spa will debut with four treatment rooms, including one for couple therapies, a hair salon, nail boutique, relaxation lounge, men’s and women’s locker rooms, and a fitness center. A sampling of their aromatherapy scents offered a sense of the luxuriousness that Guests will enjoy while being pampered there soon.
AVEDA products are used throughout the hotel, including the Guest room bathrooms.
Also opening soon is American Q, an onsite BBQ restaurant created by Jeffrey Chodorow of China Grill Management specifically for the hotel to feature smoked meats, fish, and poultry. At today’s preview, a deceivingly simple dish of a deviled egg, dressed veggies, and strips of bacon brought incredibly bold flavors that immediately brought excitement toward the upcoming restaurant. There’s no doubt their chefs know how to cook well.
The look of the restaurant was previewed via a “mood board” today.
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Downtown Disney is about a 10-minute walk away from B Resort, but complimentary shuttles are available to take Guests throughout Walt Disney World.
Don’t “B” surprised if you leave this hotel talking in abbreviations as all staff is quick to “B” witty with plenty of puns.
B Resort & Spa is located at 1905 Hotel Plaza Boulevard, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. More information can be found on their website.