A 300-room hotel planned for land near Disney with a “one of a kind” design is a step closer to becoming reality.
The Orange County Development Review Committee on Wednesday approved revised plans for the project — dubbed the Bourbon Hotel — on 4 acres at the northeast corner of International Drive and World Center Drive. Approval is subject to the developer submitting revisions for some landscaping issues raised by the panel.
Ray Scott, of Creative Project Consultants, said he teamed up with Vincent Giffoni on the design. Both are based in Winter Park.
“We wanted something spectacular, and I think it’s been created,” Scott told GrowthSpotter. “We didn’t want to do just four walls and a roof.”
The owner of the land, an entity called Htl 1 Dux LLC, is associated with Ricardo Coelho, who purchased it in 2024 for $6 million from Intram Investments.
When reached by phone Wednesday, Coelho said he was out of the country and unavailable to discuss the project.
An application submitted to the county early last year by Kimley-Horn called it the “Rio Hotel by Bourbon.” The latest plans from the firm, dated April 15, refer to the project as “Bourbon Hotel Orlando” and “Lake Buena Vista Hotel.” Bourbon Hospitality is a well-known Brazilian hotel brand that operates two dozen luxury hotels and resorts across South America. The company also has its own restaurant group, operating seven different concepts with multiple locations.
It’s unclear if the Orlando venture represents a brand expansion into the U.S. market or if it would operate as an independent hotel inspired by the Bourbon brand.
Plans call for a seven-story building of 373,092 square feet, including 11,401 square feet of restaurant area (seating for 256) and 6,342 square feet of meeting space.
Scott said based on his expectation that designs will be finished this year, and with construction starting in 2027, the hotel could open sometime in 2028.
The hotel’s contemporary design is influenced by Coelho’s ties to Brazil, he said, along with the style of Bourbon-branded hotels, which he described as having a “very lush, green-type hotel building.” He said work on landscape design is just starting, so the final look will be far grander than what’s shown in renderings.
He said the updated plans DRC approved are markedly different from those submitted in October, which he described as more like first drafts.
“I think the owners basically kept massaging it, pushing the limits of design until we came up with something that just was much better than what we originally had,” Scott said. “I don’t know how many renditions we did but we finally came to one that the owner signed off on which is what we have now.”
The porte cochére seen in the new renderings creates a dramatic entry to the hotel using what Scott described as an organic pattern of connected hexagons of acrylic or another clear material (with a possible mix of transparent and translucent shapes). The forms rise from the ground on bases topped by branches that give them a treelike appearance.
The geometric pattern is found throughout the property — there’s a cluster near the pool and they surround the adjacent. The restaurant is also surrounded by reflecting pools, creating an illusion that it’s floating, and is complemented by a semi-covered patio for outdoor dining. Another dramatic feature is the elevated glass pedestrian bridge connecting the hotel to the restaurant.
Other firms involved are Kimley-Horn as civil engineer and Innovations Design Group as landscape architect.
The hotel would be located directly next to the Bainbridge World Center apartments, which opened in 2024 and consist of 342 units spread over four, 5-story buildings. The company broke ground last year on a sister community, Bainbridge International, which will add another 415 units and is expected to open this year.
Mexican developer MB Signature Properties is expected to break ground this year on a nearby timeshare tower on the western side of Lake Bryan and complete construction in 2028.
The 18-story MB Resort, slated for 4.4 acres at 13651 S. Apopka Vineland Rd., is expected to have outdoor amenities such as a pool, a splash park, seating, and fire pits. Inside, there will be a hotel lobby, a gift shop, a restaurant, and a bar on the ground floor, along with an arcade room, a bowling alley, a coworking space, a gym, a spa, and a rooftop with views of Disney and the surrounding area.
Brian Bell can be reached at bbell@orlandosentinel.com. Have a tip about Central Florida development? Email Newsroom@GrowthSpotter.com. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
