Stay Eat Orlando
Editorial review specs

How we decide what earns a review.

We review restaurants and hotels for visitor usefulness: what to book or order, who it fits, who should skip it, and whether the choice is worth the time and money.

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Restaurant of the Month

Restaurant of the Month

One restaurant can be selected each month for a deeper editorial review when it meets our standard and gives Orlando visitors a clear decision angle.

Hosted meals, tastings, and media visits are allowed, but they must be disclosed and never guarantee selection, placement, score, or a positive recommendation.

The monthly feature gives restaurants a reason to invite us: a deeper review with a clear visitor angle, stronger copy, practical logistics, and homepage visibility when selected.

Review template

What every finished restaurant review should answer

This keeps reviews from turning into generic praise.

Restaurant basics

Name, area, cuisine, price level, website, menu, reservation path, parking or arrival notes, and the nearby visitor anchors that make the restaurant relevant.

  • What Orlando visitor problem does this restaurant solve?
  • Is it worth a dedicated trip, or mainly useful when nearby?
  • Which Disney, Universal, I-Drive, airport, hotel, or neighborhood context matters?

Visit context

Meal date, meal period, party size, reservation or walk-in status, payment or hosted status, and anything unusual that affected the meal.

  • Was this independent, hosted, discounted, or comped?
  • Did timing, weather, crowds, events, or holidays affect the experience?
  • Would a different party size or daypart change the recommendation?

Editor take

A concise judgment that explains why to choose the restaurant, who should skip it, and the real tradeoff.

  • Choose this when...
  • Skip it if...
  • The tradeoff is...

Food notes

Specific dishes, drinks, strengths, weak spots, portion/value reality, and menu range for kids, groups, picky eaters, vegetarians, or special diets when relevant.

  • What dish is worth building the visit around?
  • What would we skip or order differently next time?
  • Does the food justify the price and effort?

Service and atmosphere

Pacing, hospitality, noise, seating comfort, room feel, crowd fit, and whether time of day changes the recommendation.

  • Does the room fit dates, kids, groups, business meals, or tired park guests?
  • Was service a reason to recommend it or just acceptable?
  • Is the atmosphere better for a quick meal, lingering dinner, or special occasion?

Logistics

Parking, reservations, walkability, rideshare usefulness, best time to go, backup plan, and nearby hotels or attractions.

  • What should a visitor know before leaving the hotel?
  • When should they reserve instead of walking in?
  • What is the easiest backup if this restaurant is full?

Score rationale

Fit, logistics, value, and confidence explained in decision terms instead of generic ratings.

  • Why is the score high or low for this specific visitor use case?
  • Which part of the experience carries the recommendation?
  • What would need to change before the review deserves a higher confidence score?

Media and sources

Lead image provenance, official website/menu/reservation evidence, editor visit note, parking evidence where available, and source status.

  • Can we verify the factual claims from official or firsthand sources?
  • Do we have approved image rights or a documented official image source?
  • Are there any unresolved source gaps before this is marked finished?
Hotel review template

What every hotel review should answer

A hotel review is not finished just because the room sounds nice. It has to explain how the stay changes meals, transportation, park days, and value.

Hotel basics

Area, booking path, room/value positioning, parking or resort fees, transportation context, and the nearby visitor anchors that make the stay relevant.

  • Which trip type does this hotel solve best?
  • Is the food access on-property, nearby, transportation-based, or mostly theoretical?
  • Which Disney, Universal, I-Drive, convention, airport, or neighborhood context matters?

Stay context

Visit or research date, stay type, booking or hosted status, party context, room category when relevant, and any event or seasonal conditions.

  • Was this independent, hosted, discounted, comped, toured, or source-researched?
  • Would the recommendation change by room rate, party size, or park schedule?
  • What claim needs a direct hotel or booking source before approval?

Food access plan

How the hotel makes meals easier or harder: on-site dining, nearby restaurants, delivery, breakfast, late-night options, rideshare, walking, or park transportation.

  • What meals should guests handle at the hotel?
  • When should guests leave the hotel for a better meal?
  • What is the easiest backup plan if the first dining choice fails?

Logistics and friction

Parking, transportation, resort fees, walkability, shuttle reality, rideshare usefulness, booking friction, and how the area affects park days or dinner plans.

  • What should a visitor know before booking?
  • Does the location save time or create hidden friction?
  • Which guests will underestimate the transportation or parking reality?

Best use / skip if

A finished hotel review needs a clear best-use case, skip-if guidance, food-access tradeoff, and final verdict.

  • Choose this hotel when...
  • Skip it if...
  • The food-access tradeoff is...

Media and sources

Official hotel page, dining page, parking or fee source, booking context, approved image provenance, and editor notes where claims require judgment.

  • Can we verify the hotel, dining, parking, and transportation claims?
  • Do we have approved image rights or a documented official image source?
  • What source gap blocks this from being marked finished?
Review checklist

What an editor review must include

Recommendations can help with a trip. Full reviews need the basics below.

Required

Visit context

Meal date, visit type, party context, and payment or hosted status are recorded.

Required

Disclosure

Comped, hosted, discounted, affiliate, or independent visit status is clear.

Required

Food specifics

The review includes concrete dishes, strengths, misses, or menu decisions instead of generic praise.

Required

Service and atmosphere

The review captures pacing, hospitality, noise, crowd fit, or room feel.

Required

Concrete logistics

Parking, reservations, nearby hotels, park-day fit, or transportation friction is addressed.

Required

Price and value

The review explains whether the price level makes sense for the experience.

Required

Best for / skip if

The page has clear who-this-is-for and who-should-skip-it guidance.

Required

Source evidence

Official website, menu, reservation, or editor-note snapshots support factual claims.

Required

Image provenance

The lead image has a recorded source and approval status.

Hotel checklist

What a hotel review must include

Hotel reviews need useful food access, booking context, transportation notes, and clear tradeoffs.

Required

Food access clarity

The review explains how the hotel affects meals, not just whether restaurants exist nearby.

Required

Booking and fee reality

Room value, parking, resort fees, booking friction, and rate sensitivity are addressed before recommending the stay.

Required

Transportation context

Park access, rideshare, shuttle, walking, and area logistics are explained in practical visitor terms.

Required

Best for / skip if

The hotel has a specific use case and an honest reason some visitors should choose somewhere else.

Required

Source evidence

Official hotel, dining, parking, fee, and media sources support factual claims.

Required

Disclosure

Hosted stays, site visits, discounts, comps, affiliate relationships, or independent research status are clear.

Feature selection

How a restaurant becomes the monthly feature

The feature is an editorial selection process, not a paid placement. These steps define what we need before a restaurant earns the deeper treatment.

1. Candidate fit

The restaurant needs a clear visitor angle: Disney-area family dinner, Lake Nona date night, Universal after-park recovery, I-Drive group meal, airport-adjacent dinner, or another specific use case.

  • Selection control: Stay Eat Orlando editorial
  • Hosted access: Allowed with disclosure
  • Guaranteed outcome: None
2. Review visit

A visit can be independent, hosted, discounted, or comped. The visit context is recorded, and hosted access is disclosed if an article is published.

  • Selection control: Stay Eat Orlando editorial
  • Hosted access: Allowed with disclosure
  • Guaranteed outcome: None
3. Review standard

The restaurant must meet the editorial checklist: visit context, disclosure, food specifics, service and atmosphere, logistics, value, best-for/skip-if guidance, source evidence, and image provenance.

  • Selection control: Stay Eat Orlando editorial
  • Hosted access: Allowed with disclosure
  • Guaranteed outcome: None
4. Feature angle

The monthly feature needs a sharper editorial reason to exist, including a headline, dek, review date, disclosure, and enough concrete observations to feel original.

  • Selection control: Stay Eat Orlando editorial
  • Hosted access: Allowed with disclosure
  • Guaranteed outcome: None
5. Publication decision

Selection remains editorial. A pitch or hosted meal can create access, but it does not buy approval, placement, score, ranking, or a favorable conclusion.

  • Selection control: Stay Eat Orlando editorial
  • Hosted access: Allowed with disclosure
  • Guaranteed outcome: None
Copy bar

The copy should sound like an editor, not a press release.

We avoid empty phrases like "great food and great service," "perfect for everyone," "must-visit," and menu copy rewritten as praise.

Strong copy says what to do: choose this when, skip it if, order this, watch out for that.

Ready to pitch?

Make the invitation specific.

The strongest invitation makes it easy to understand why an Orlando visitor should choose the venue over a nearby alternative.