Buenaventura Lakes
Buenaventura Lakes — BVL to everyone who lives there — is 30,251 people in 5.65 square miles of northern Osceola County, northeast of Kissimmee near the interchange of the Osceola Parkway and Florida’s Turnpike. It is an unincorporated census-designated place: no mayor, no city hall, Osceola County for government. Built from the 1970s as a subdivision community of concrete-block homes, it became something its developers never quite planned — one of the great Puerto Rican neighbourhoods of the mainland United States, “Little Puerto Rico,” three-quarters Hispanic or Latino at the 2020 census.
Life runs along Buenaventura Boulevard, past the county library branch and the community park, in streets named for lakes and for Mexican cities — Oaxaca, Acapulco, Veracruz. The Census Bureau itself once lost the place: it appeared in 1990 as “Buena Ventura Lakes” and was mislisted as Yeehaw Junction in the 2000 census before the name was restored in 2010. The magazine’s rankings have not scored a BVL business yet, so the ranked places on this page are its neighbours in Kissimmee and Meadow Woods, labelled nearby. This hub starts with BVL’s own ground.
Ranked Nearby
These businesses are ranked under neighbouring areas, not in Buenaventura Lakes itself, and we label them that way on purpose. The rest are the highest-ranked businesses in neighbouring Kissimmee and Meadow Woods, each linked to its full Top 10.
J Sterling's Wellness Spa — Spas & Massage #5 · Net Score 95.6 · 12402 S Orange Blossom Trl, Orlando · in Meadow Woods
Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures — Attractions & Things To Do #3 · Net Score 94.7 · Kissimmee, FL · in Kissimmee
Bass Pet Resort & Spa — Pet Groomers & Boarding #4 · Net Score 92.5 · 1043 S Bass Rd, Kissimmee, FL · in Kissimmee
Pienezza Pizza — Pizza #7 · Net Score 91.9 · 3236 N John Young Pkwy, Kissimmee, FL 34741 · in Kissimmee
ette hotel Orlando — Hotels & Resorts #5 · Net Score 91.7 · 3001 Sherberth Rd, Kissimmee, FL 34747 · in Kissimmee
Big John's Rockin' BBQ — BBQ #1 · Net Score 90.9 · 220 E Monument Ave, Kissimmee, FL 34741-5722 · in Kissimmee
Kissimmee Valley Farmers Market — Farmers Markets #8 · Net Score 88.4 · 421 Broadway, Kissimmee, FL · in Kissimmee
Falcon's Fire Golf Club — Golf Courses #6 · Net Score 87.5 · 3200 Seralago Blvd, Kissimmee, FL 34746 · in Kissimmee
Rankings data as of Nov 14, 2026.
On the Map
See Buenaventura Lakes on the Top Spots map — the link opens it on J Sterling's Wellness Spa, the top-ranked spot nearby, in Meadow Woods. Filter by category to explore the whole region’s 290 spots.
From the Magazine
Buenaventura Lakes: A Local Guide to BVL
How a Subdivision Became a Homeland: BVL, Little Puerto Rico
Buenaventura Lakes Community Park: The Community’s Front Yard
The Library on the Boulevard: BVL’s Civic Living Room
Out of BVL: The Turnpike, the Parkway and a Station at Each End
Where to Eat in Buenaventura Lakes: The Boulevard Pattern
The Lakes of Buenaventura Lakes
A BVL Family Day: Library, Boulevard, Park, Lake
Date Night from BVL: Stay for the Lake, or Run to Kissimmee
BVL’s Day Trip: The Kissimmee Lakefront and Broadway
More Areas
Also in Towns & Suburbs: Winter Park · Maitland · Eatonville · Altamonte Springs · Casselberry · Longwood · Winter Springs · Lake Mary · Heathrow · Sanford · Oviedo · Winter Garden · Windermere · Apopka · Ocoee · Horizon West · Hamlin · Poinciana · Tavares · Fern Park · Wekiwa Springs.
Browse the full index: Orlando Areas & Neighborhoods — and the region as a whole in the Top Businesses hub and the Tourism Guide.