Alex M.
Yelp
TL;DR: a little on the pricey side, but excellent amenities, with a nice pool, great restaurants, plenty of complimentary self parking (or valet if you prefer), great proximity to other activities, such as Boxi Park, free bicycles and autopiloted carts you can rent to ride around and explore.
This hotel felt like the hotel of the future. Very few aspects of the room were analog in design. Many of the lights in the room automatically turn on when you're close. The toilet seat automatically raises when you enter the water closet. The privacy screen and blackout curtains open/close at the push of a button. Nearly everything in the room can be controlled via the room's tablet. We came here to celebrate our anniversary and they were kind enough to leave us a complimentary bottle of California Champagne (from Champagne, CA) and a hand written note with balloons! The only downside I really found with the automatic features was that getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night took us past one of the proximity lights in the room, which was unexpectedly bright in the middle of the night. There may be a feature to snooze the autolighting, but we didn't think to check at the time since we were half asleep.
There were some great amenities here, and we didn't even get to really make use of them all unfortunately. The pool was nice, and they provide some tubes and floating loungers, along with direct service for drinks and food from Haven. They have some bicycles that you can rent via the from desk to ride around the area and explore. There are automated mini taxis (like between a smart car and a golf cart) that you can use to go between specific stops via an app. Staying here also provides you with access to the Lake Nona Performance Club during your stay, which I'm told includes some spa services, indoor courts for tennis and pickleball, a gym, etc. Sadly, we didn't have time for to check out the LNPC, but we've heard only good things.
Most importantly (for me) is that The Wave Hotel is home to two great restaurants and is walking distance from a few more. Within Wave is Bacán (one of our personal favorite upscale restaurants) and Haven. Less than a mile away you can also find Chroma, and Bosphorus, as well as Boxi Park for a food truck type experience and live music in the evenings.
I should note that aside from the items noted above in addition to Drive Shack a few miles down the road, there isn't much else to do in this area yet, but judging from the nearby construction, that may soon change!
The Wave Hotel is definitely worth checking out!