Simone Paget
- I stayed in a four-bedroom villa at Villatel Orlando Resort, and it felt like a great value.
- For less than $500 a night, I had a private pool, a full kitchen, and in-suite laundry.
- The resort has a water park and complimentary shuttles to Universal Studios and Disney World.
My best friend and I booked a trip to Disney World and Universal Studios for March.
While planning, we looked into hotels near the parks, such as the Hyatt Regency and Universal's Endless Summer, where a basic room would've cost around $160 to $250 a night.
Then, we realized we could have a nearly 2,000-square-foot luxury villa at the Villatel Orlando Resort for about the same price per person.
After taxes and resort fees, the villa came to about $453 a night, or $227 each.
The villa felt like it'd give us way more bang for its buck, especially once we factored in perks like a private pool, full kitchen, and in-unit laundry.
My best friend ended up having to cancel on the trip, but I decided not to downsize my accommodations. The villa is a bit of a splurge for a solo traveler, but it sounded too good to miss.
Fortunately, what could have been a sad and lonely trip turned out to be a luxurious — and not to mention freeing — solo travel reset I didn't know I needed.