Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort Review

As we continue our look at off-property resorts near Disney World, we’ll stop in for a stay at the Hilton Signia at Bonnet Creek. This hotel is worth considering if you’re looking for something stylish on a modest budget.

Below, we review the Signia Hilton Orlando at Bonnet Creek near the Walt Disney World Resort. We’ll provide an account of our experience along with details about the resort’s location. Then, we’ll discuss rooms, dining options, pools, the lazy river, and other resort amenities.

Originally, this Hilton opened in 2009 with approximately 1000 guest suites. The hotel is attached to the adjacent Waldorf Astoria Orlando, which has approximately 500 guest suites. We followed up this stay with a visit to the Waldorf and have a separate Waldorf Astoria Orlando Review.

Back to the Hilton, which was formerly called the Hilton Orlando at Bonnet Creek. After a major refurbishment in the summer of 2021, the resort’s name was formally changed to the Hilton Signia. This hotel is the first of Hilton’s Signia brand of hotels.

Per Hilton, the new Signia brand offers premier hotels in popular locations. It hopes to provide a mix of sophistication and exceptional amenities to travelers for business and leisure.

If you’ve ever spent time in Orlando, specifically the Walt Disney World area, you probably know the area hosts a considerable amount of conventions. You may have visited Orlando yourself at some point for a business-hosted event.

Even many of the resorts at Disney World offer convention centers attached to their hotels. So, if you’re planning a vacation and notice the resort has a convention center, know that it’s common.

Along with the Signia name change, the resort recently underwent a renovation. As a result, you can expect pristine guest rooms along with modern updates. We’ll take a closer look below.

Hilton Signia Bonnet Creek Location

Bonnet Creek’s prime location is the largest draw for most who are considering this hotel. The Hilton Signia sits on Bonnet Creek Resort Lane off Chelonia Parkway. Chelonia is a dead-end street that’s home to all of the resorts at Bonnet Creek. Bonnet Creek is the name of a creek that runs across the property.

You won’t find any other non-Disney hotels closer to Walt Disney World than the resorts at Bonnet Creek. Of course, we’ll make an exception for the Swan and Dolphin and Swan Reserve Hotels. However, those hotels sit on Disney property.

Anyway, the Bonnet Creek Resorts meets Disney World property on three sides. If you’re driving down Buena Vista Drive, Chelonia is the last street with resorts on the right-hand side. It’s literally less than a block past Disney’s Riviera Resort.

From various points within the hotel, you can see Epcot and fireworks from both Epcot and Magic Kingdom in the distance. That’s how close all of these resorts in this area are in relation to the Disney Parks. Besides not having immediate access to Disney transportation at your hotel, you would never know you weren’t staying at Disney World.

As far as distance, you’ll be within 5-10 minutes of Epcot and Hollywood Studios. For Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you’ll be within 10-15 minutes, depending on traffic.

Transportation at the Hilton Signa Bonnet Creek

Since location correlates with transportation, we’ll briefly discuss your options at the Hilton Signa. Previously, one of the benefits of staying at a Disney World Resort was Disney’s Magical Express. However, that benefit ended a couple of years back.

Now, most hotels, including Disney, recommend using the Mears shuttle service to and from Orlando International Airport. So you’re on your own, getting back and forth from the airport, regardless of where you stay. If you choose to drive or rent a car, the resort has a daily charge for self-parking and valet.

The resort shares a large parking deck with the Waldorf Astoria. Here is a picture of the walkway between the resort’s entrance and parking deck.

It’s not that far. However, I felt like the parking was more convenient across the street at the Wyndham Grand Orlando. We have a separate review of the Wyndham Grand Orlando.

Both the Hilton and the Waldorf offer free shuttle service to and from the theme parks and Disney Springs. If you would like to get an idea of how often this service runs, you can preview the shuttle schedule.

Personally, I do not use the shuttle services at the off-property resorts. Since I nearly always have my car with me, it’s more convenient to drive. Bus transportation varies based on many factors, and consistency is hard to determine at off-site hotels. Sometimes, you’ll have to wait a long time, and other times, the bus is waiting at the gate upon your arrival.

My best advice is to try the shuttle service and see if it works for you. But have a backup plan to use a car service like Uber or Lyft if things don’t work out.

Rooms at the Hilton Signia Bonnet Creek

This resort has a variety of standard rooms with upgrades and various room views. Upgrades include a wellness room, pool view, Disney view, and a king-size bed. Additionally, these prices do not include items like taxes, resort fees, and parking charges.

For this review, I reserved a standard room with a king-size bed. Since I’ve stayed here several times, I knew the beds were comfortable. (They are Hilton Serenity beds made by Serta.)

I was impressed from the moment I entered the room. Since our last stay, the rooms have been completely refurbished.

A dresser with a few storage drawers sits on the main wall. It had a built-in desk on the end.

One end of the dresser contained a mini-fridge, a safe, and a tray with an ice bucket.

A Cuisinart coffee maker (individual cups) sat on top of the dresser. Those two bottled waters are included in the daily resort charge.

The closet in the room was standard. It had a luggage rack, iron, and ironing board.

The guest bath had one sink and plenty of counter space. You might notice the storage underneath the vanity as well.

The guest bath had a walk-in shower.

Here’s a better look at the bath.

I enjoyed the room, which was similar to the one I had a few months back at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. However, the location of the Hilton Signa is slightly better than the Grand Cypress.

Related: Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Review

For a different perspective, you might enjoy our video room tour.

Dining at the Hilton Signia Bonnet Creek

Since the Signia and Waldorf Astoria are connected, they share many amenities, including dining locations. In this review, we’ll go over the specific dining locations at the Hilton. Note that when you arrive at the hotel, you’ll receive a map or a text to view the amenities online. The dining choices for both resorts are combined.

I felt this was a little confusing, especially for anyone wanting to grab something quick or nearby. It’s not that the Waldorf is far away. But it’s probably a 10-minute walk to travel between the resorts. When you’ve spent the day in the parks, you aren’t always willing to walk much further when you get back to the hotel.

We’ll start with La Luce, the fine dining location at the Hilton Signia Bonnet Creek. The entrance is located on the far right side of the resort after passing the main reception desk.

La Luce is an Italian restaurant that offers handmade pasta and thin-crust pizza, among other things. It opens every evening at 6:00 p.m. I haven’t had the opportunity to dine here. With so many great restaurants at Disney, it’s hard to fit options like these into my schedule.

Bull and Bear is the fine dining restaurant next door to the Waldorf Astoria. If you are interested in fine dining, I would secure reservations. It gets rave reviews.

When you enter the Hilton Signia, you’ll immediately notice a tremendous bar toward the back of the lobby: the Myth Bar. This cocktail lounge has a sizeable menu offering a variety of appetizers and entree items. Over the years, we’ve received excellent and prompt service.

You’ll find Harvest Bistro downstairs on the ground level. This is the resort’s breakfast buffet location. From my experience, it’s always bustling in the mornings.

Harvest Bistro is the resort’s casual table service dining location. They usually have a menu available for both lunch and dinner. Outside at the pool, you’ll have access to Beech, the resort’s pool bar and quick service location. Beech is open daily from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Hours fluctuate depending on the season.

Back off the lobby, you’ll find Zeta Asia. Zeta specializes in sushi, sashimi, and cocktails. They are open Thursday through Saturday from 5:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.

Additionally, Muse, a coffee bar and shop with convenience items, is located off the lobby. During this stay, I walked through and took a few photos of what they had to offer.

Muse had plenty of bagels and pastries.

Their cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies are popular. The cinnamon rolls looked delicious.

Additionally, they had a variety of pre-made salads, sandwiches, and mixed fruits.

There were plenty of selections. You could easily pick up a snack or a grab-and-go meal.

Here are a few of the convenience items.

Candies, along with allergy-friendly options, were available.

And there was an option to mobile order.

The back corner of the store was stocked with items.

As you can see, the Hilton Signa has plenty of dining options, and we didn’t discuss all the options next door at the Waldorf. If you want to spend a day or two at the resort without having to leave, you’ll be completely fine. And if you like, you can always order pizza.

You can preview the menus with prices for each restaurant at the Hilton Signia on their website.

Pools and Lazy River at the Hilton Signia

Our hotel review wouldn’t be complete without a detailed look at the pools at Bonnet Creek’s Hilton Signia. And the pool here doesn’t disappoint. Well, I should say pool(s) and lazy river.

On each side of the large outdoor recreation area, there’s a large pool. A lazy river flows through the space between the pools, connecting them.

Here’s a look at the pool nearest Beech, the resort’s pool bar.

The water slide is in a separate area to the right of the pool. I thought this was a unique concept. It is separately roped off and is only available when a lifeguard is on duty.

The picture below shows where the lazy river is coming into the pool on the left side and going back out on the right side.

It was reasonably cool this Sunday morning, so there weren’t many guests at the pool.

Speaking of cool, the pools are heated to around 85 degrees in the cooler months.

Cabana rentals are available for a separate charge. They might be worth considering on a busy day.

Several bridges cross the lazy river at various points throughout the area.

And eventually, the lazy river runs back out to the opposite end of the pool.

This end of the pool has a zero-depth entry.

You can float into this pool, continue around the bend, and rejoin the lazy river on the opposite side.

Obviously, on this day, there were plenty of inner tubes available. Inner tubes are first come, first serve and considered part of the resort fee.

Below is a look at the walkway from the Signia over to the Waldorf. Guests of both resorts are welcome to use either pool.

There are plenty of places to lounge around the pool and lazy river.

And there’s a separate kiddie pool.

Overall, the Hilton Signia has an impressive outdoor pool area. These amenities are comparable to those of the deluxe resorts at Disney World. However, pricing at Bonnet Creek Hilton tends to be significantly lower than that of a deluxe resort.

Other Amenities at the Hilton Signia

Before we wrap things up, we’ll examine a few other resort amenities. For starters, there’s a tremendous gym on the lower level that overlooks the pool.

You’ll find plenty of cardio equipment.

And there’s a large selection of weight-training machines.

Or, if you prefer, there are free weights.

Back off the main lobby, the resort has an arcade.

Next door to the arcade is a Disney gift shop.

Inside, you’ll find plenty of merchandise.

These shops are a good place for business travelers to pick up a souvenir to bring home to the kids. As a kid, I would have croaked if my dad had gone to Disney World or anywhere in the vicinity without me. Of course, that probably would have never happened without me finagling my way on the trip somehow.

Anyway, there were several snacks and drinks available in the gift shop.

You could pick up a mug and a box of those delicious shortbreads for the coffee lover in your life. Warning: They are delicious.

And there were a variety of sundries available.

No one can argue that the lobby of the Hilton Signia is similar to any other.

The ceiling features a modern mural of synchronized swimmers.

Believe it or not, the space is very inviting.

And the murals tie in nicely with the overall effect.

There are plenty of seating areas with several televisions.

You could watch a game or catch up on the news. If you need a beverage or something to eat, Myth Bar sits right behind this space.

The area around the bar extends to provide a variety of tables and chairs, so you can get some work done while waiting for the time to head to the airport.

Or, if you prefer, the seating area extends to this screened patio that overlooks the pool area down below.

There’s even a window that opens to Myth Bar.

Inside the lobby, there is a display of vintage swimsuits.

And there’s an exquisite chandelier over a spiral staircase that leads down to the ground level.

On the opposite side of the lobby, you’ll find long carpeted halls that lead to the resort’s convention center and meeting rooms.

It’s a massive space. Over the weekend of this stay, there was a wedding, and they were setting up for the National Ballroom Dance competition. However, if I hadn’t intentionally walked over to this area, I would have never known these separate events were being held.

Throughout this review, I’ve mentioned a few things included in the daily resort fee at Hilton Signia Bonnet Creek. While I’m not a fan of these extra fees, you can rest assured nearly every resort in the Orlando area has them.

As of this update, resort fees are now shown as part of the price of your room. So when you reserve a room, the resort fee is part of the price. The daily resort charge at Orlando’s Bonnet Creek Hilton includes the following:

• High-speed internet access (2 devices)
• Two bottles of water daily
• Access to the practice facility at the Waldorf Astoria Golf Club
• Fitness Center
• 20% discount at the Waldorf Astoria Spa
• Free golf club rental after 2:00 p.m.
• Use of the inner tubes at the lazy river
• Shuttle service to all four Disney theme parks and Disney Springs
• Complimentary dinner for children 12 and under at Harvest Bistro (must be accompanied by an adult entree). They have provisions for when Harvest Bistro isn’t open.
• Children five and under eat free at Harvest Bistro (for breakfast)

*We always try to remember which perks are included in the resort fee and take advantage of them where applicable.

Final Thoughts on the Signia Hilton at Bonnet Creek

Overall, I enjoyed my time at Bonnet Creek’s Hilton Signia. This is the only hotel at Bonnet Creek that I had previously stayed at until this past year. So, this particular Hilton was already one of my few go-to resorts. And there are many reasons that the hotel is worth your consideration for a stay.

Perhaps the most significant factors are the location and the price. Obviously, this is a higher-end hotel, so the price won’t be cheap. You will also need to factor in the price of parking (if applicable), which has gotten outrageous in recent years.

However, this hotel will cost considerably less than a comparable resort on Disney’s property. Sure, you can’t walk to the theme parks from Bonnet Creek, but I’m not sure you’ll be better off elsewhere for the price.

If not, then you can’t go wrong with spending a week at the Hilton Signia. There’s a reason we include it on our list of the best off-site hotels near Disney World. Here are a few other off-property hotels we’ve reviewed:

• Best Marriotts Near Disney World
• JW Marriott Bonnet Creek Review
• Drury Plaza Hotel Review Disney Springs
• Hilton Buena Vista Palace Review
• Orange Lake Resort Review in Kissimmee
• Residence Inn Review at Flamingo Crossings
• Fairfield Inn Review Flamingo Crossings

In the Comments

Now, for your thoughts. What questions do you have about the Hilton Signia at Bonnet Creek? Have you stayed here before? Leave a comment below and share any of your questions or experiences.