Presidential Suite Upgrade – The Ritz Carlton Orlando Golf Club
During a recent phone conversation with my good friend John over as ESI Money, we discussed some of the different topics that would be of interest to our respective blog audience.
We like to keep you guys entertained and sometimes coming up with original ideas are easier if we connect with other bloggers.
One of the things he mentioned that his audience loves is reading about all the different places they travel to. Last year he wrote about their trip to Grand Cayman.
As a matter of fact, his readers loved it so much that he wrote about it again when they traveled there this year too. It must be nice to be retired and island hopping!
Maybe we’ll get there someday….
Now because his readers like to check out his vacation destinations so much, he mentioned that I should also share some of our interesting places that we travel to as well.
John knows that one of the few money categories we personally “splurge” on is traveling with our kids. My wife and I don’t have too much longer with them living under our roof 🙂 and want to make the most of it by creating memorable experiences.
So I decided to share a family trip we went on last Summer and also a business trip I went solo on a few years ago in which I was treated to an unexpected “surprise” upon check in.
Too bad I spoiled the “surprise” with the title of this article, sorry.
Let’s start off with the family trip we took last year….
Adventures By Disney
People that personally know me know that I love Montana. During my residency at LSU, I connected with another periodontist that practiced there. He flew both my wife (pregnant at the time) and I out to visit.
I had previously been to Montana once before but my wife hadn’t. Let me let you in on a little secret….if you haven’t visited Montana then you don’t know what you’re missing.
The scenery is absolutely breathtaking!
After training in New Orleans for seven years, both the Montana landscape and meeting the pleasant people that live there was an awesome experience to enjoy together.
Unfortunately, the job offer didn’t work out but we did make some really good friends who we still keep up with. So when I heard that two of my favorite things had come together (Disney + Montana), I decided to find out more.
Why Disney?
If you know anything about Disney, then you KNOW that they treat their customers (they call Guests) like gold.
The Adventures by Disney experiences allow families to travel with Disney employees to destinations all over the world….but you get to experience it in “Disney” fashion.
For instance, during our Yellowstone/Montana trip, almost every meal was provided each day, but all were over the top.
When they didn’t host them themselves, they had a private area for us at each restaurant.
Everything, I mean EVERYTHING was planned out so you didn’t have to worry about trying to figure out what activities to do or where to eat.
Here’s a sample itinerary of Day 4 while we were in Big Sky:
As you can see, there was always something going on which I loved being the detailed- oriented person that I am.
Our first stop was The Yellowstone Inn as we spent the first few days touring the beautiful sites at Yellowstone. There was no shortage of animals, even right out the front door!
One of the many great things that I loved about this trip was getting to spend good, quality time with my family but also learning about different areas of the country during the process.
It was cool both learning about and taking pictures at places such as the Roosevelt Arch, Old Faithful Geyser and the different parts of Yellowstone.
Now let’s move on to a business trip in Florida I took a while back.
The Ritz Carlton Orlando Golf Club
A few years ago, I took a trip to Orlando to attend a marketing conference. My wife decided to stay at home with our boys so I was left to fly solo.
The meeting was held at The Ritz Carlton Orlando Golf Club Resort. The first time I stayed at a Ritz Carlton was the year prior during another meeting held in Dallas.
Growing up, our family vacations included an annual beach trip at a lower end hotel or condo. As kids, we didn’t care where we stayed.
So to be honest with you, staying at a Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons intimidated me even though I could afford to stay at one (as I was used to living the stealth wealth life).
During the check in process in Orlando, I was told that I had been selected to receive a complimentary upgrade. I jokingly asked, “What am I going to get, The Presidential Suite?”
The attendant answered, “Actually, yes, you’re right. You DO get the Presidential Suite.”
I didn’t believe her even though she went on to explain that occasionally if it’s not booked, they’ll randomly select a guest to upgrade.
It wasn’t until I arrived at Room #1540 and unlocked the door (yes, the key actually worked), did I finally accept the fact that I was allowed to stay in a room that costs over $5,000 a night!
The first thing I did was call my wife and offered to fly her out to join me but unfortunately she couldn’t find anyone to watch the kids.
I was bummed out but did try to make her feel at home and sent her this walk-through video of the suite:
The Ritz Carlton Orlando Golf Club Presidential Suite
Room Highlights
The room was massive coming in at over 2,400 square feet. It had a full kitchen, dining room, large living room, with 5 balconies. I felt like I needed to be on Robin Leach’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
Yes, being treated like royalty was nice but I’m content without all of the glamour and ritz that comes along living the life of luxury.
Who knows, maybe some day I’ll become the next Mexican Fisherman?