Back in late 2021, news broke that a Fairmont hotel—yes, that Fairmont, the luxury brand known for iconic properties like The Plaza in New York and The Savoy in London—was finally making its way to Orlando. According to developers, the new resort would bring five-star glamour to a city better known for mouse ears and all-you-can-eat buffets. The grand opening was slated for 2025.
We live in Central Florida, s naturally, we covered the announcement on our site back in November 2021. Exciting stuff. But then… crickets.
What Was Promised
The Fairmont Orlando was announced as part of a $425 million development deal with high ambitions. The seven-story resort would feature 550 guestrooms, including 90 suites, 12 unique villas, and 87 Fairmont Gold rooms. The brand’s signature Fairmont Gold experience—essentially a hotel-within-a-hotel concept—would occupy the top floor, offering exclusive perks and a sprawling 5,000-square-foot private lounge.
Here’s the architectural rendering shared by the developer:
The location? A prime of land stretch along South International Drive, nestled between the Gaylord Palms and the Orlando World Center Marriott.
Gaylord Palms is bottom center. Orlando World Center Marriott is right center.
South International Drive is the crescent shaped road on the lower right of the map.
Walt Disney World property is directly to the left of I-4.
Except… Where Is It?
Let’s just say I got curious. If a massive hotel project is set to open this year, there should be, at the very least, some visible signs of life. Cranes. Concrete. Construction crews. Something.
So I did what any normal person who’s local would do: I drove over to the proposed location to check it out for myself.
According to the early reports, the Fairmont would rise somewhere on the long stretch of South International Drive between the Gaylord Palms and the Marriott World Center. If you’re familiar with the area, you know there’s a whole lot of “nothing to see here” along that corridor. And as of my recent drive-by? That hasn’t changed.
In fact, it looks almost identical to how it did four years ago. Here’s a Google Maps street view of the area from 2023—and I can confirm it doesn’t look much different today.
No Construction, No Website Mention, No Chance?
There have been no press releases, no construction updates, and perhaps most telling—no mention of the property on Fairmont’s official website. A quick search for “Orlando” brings up nothing. Not even a “coming soon.”
Sure, development timelines can shift. Projects get delayed. But it’s probably time to pump the brakes on expectations when you’re less than eight months away from your supposed grand opening and there’s still an open field, sometimes with cows on it (that proves the property is quote-unquote “farmland.” That gives them a tax cut. Welcome to Florida), where the hotel should be.
Final Thoughts
Could the Fairmont Orlando still happen? Maybe. But is it opening in 2025? Based on everything I’ve seen, it’s not just unlikely—it’s all but impossible.
We’ll keep watching for updates, but for now, if you’ve been dreaming of sipping cocktails at a Fairmont-branded pool deck just a stone’s throw from Walt Disney World, you might want to put those plans on ice.
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