I, along with my DD(4) and my mom, stayed at Buena Vista Palace for 2 nights this past weekend. We paid $105 per night for a standard view room and asked for an upgrade to an EPCOT view room at check in. The desk clerk said it would be an extra $20 per night, but then changed her mind and said they arent full anyway so she didnt charge us.
There is A LOT of construction going on at the hotel. The do a great job of closing off these areas and preventing any construction related dust/dirt from getting in the public areas though.
The view from our room was awesome! You could easily see EPCOT, MGM, Animal Kingdom and part of MK (the Contemporary was blocking the castle). We watched the EPCOT fireworks from our balcony the first night.
The décor in the rooms is very modern and looks cool, but not very practical. Everything is new. There is very little storage. The TV (good size LCD) is on the dresser that contains 3 drawers, a fridge and a safe. Somehow they had the TV set up so that you couldnt hook up a portable DVD or video cam to it very disappointing considering there were no kids channels available at all. There is also a desk with an ergonomic desk chair. No table and chairs. We had 2 double beds, they were very comfortable and the linens were super soft. As far as storage goes, there is also a slatted shelf under the nightstand but smaller items would just fall through the slats.
The sink is a stand-alone model, and there is no counter to set things on. There is a small medicine cabinet (no door) that fits a few small items. They provided 1 body wash, 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, and 1 lotion. No bar soap at all. Not sure what people are supposed to wash their hands with?! Luckily DD brings one of her many Mickey soaps with us whenever we dont stay on property! The shower had one of those curved bars for the shower curtain which is nice. Water pressure just ok. The tub/shower itself has sloped sides so you set sampoo or a razor or anything on the side. There are 2 small shelves but they are curved so nothing will stand up on those either.
We were very disappointed with housekeeping. When we returned to the room after its cleaning, there was something sticky all over the bathroom floor I dont know what it was, but it wasnt left there by us. Also, the housekeeper did not empty the melted ice water out of the ice bucket and left the used coffee filter in the coffee pot. The 2 bottles of water that are supposed to be covered by the resort fee were also not replaced. I also think the housekeeper helped herself to some of my DDs goldfish crackers.
The pools looked clean, but were very salty. My neighbor is a pool guy and he said a salty pool means the total dissolved solids are way too high and can make chlorine much less useful.
The food and drinks were very expensive. $10 for a small margarita and $3 for a coke.
My biggest complaint is that if you self park, and come back late at night (they lock the doors by the self parking at 11) you either have to climb 2 flights of stairs or take a looong hike up a very steep hill to get back into the hotel (not easy with a child sleeping in a stroller). I guess if you are a guest in a wheelchair, the only option would be to valet park ($15 per day).
We wouldnt stay there again. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!
There is A LOT of construction going on at the hotel. The do a great job of closing off these areas and preventing any construction related dust/dirt from getting in the public areas though.
The view from our room was awesome! You could easily see EPCOT, MGM, Animal Kingdom and part of MK (the Contemporary was blocking the castle). We watched the EPCOT fireworks from our balcony the first night.
The décor in the rooms is very modern and looks cool, but not very practical. Everything is new. There is very little storage. The TV (good size LCD) is on the dresser that contains 3 drawers, a fridge and a safe. Somehow they had the TV set up so that you couldnt hook up a portable DVD or video cam to it very disappointing considering there were no kids channels available at all. There is also a desk with an ergonomic desk chair. No table and chairs. We had 2 double beds, they were very comfortable and the linens were super soft. As far as storage goes, there is also a slatted shelf under the nightstand but smaller items would just fall through the slats.
The sink is a stand-alone model, and there is no counter to set things on. There is a small medicine cabinet (no door) that fits a few small items. They provided 1 body wash, 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, and 1 lotion. No bar soap at all. Not sure what people are supposed to wash their hands with?! Luckily DD brings one of her many Mickey soaps with us whenever we dont stay on property! The shower had one of those curved bars for the shower curtain which is nice. Water pressure just ok. The tub/shower itself has sloped sides so you set sampoo or a razor or anything on the side. There are 2 small shelves but they are curved so nothing will stand up on those either.
We were very disappointed with housekeeping. When we returned to the room after its cleaning, there was something sticky all over the bathroom floor I dont know what it was, but it wasnt left there by us. Also, the housekeeper did not empty the melted ice water out of the ice bucket and left the used coffee filter in the coffee pot. The 2 bottles of water that are supposed to be covered by the resort fee were also not replaced. I also think the housekeeper helped herself to some of my DDs goldfish crackers.
The pools looked clean, but were very salty. My neighbor is a pool guy and he said a salty pool means the total dissolved solids are way too high and can make chlorine much less useful.
The food and drinks were very expensive. $10 for a small margarita and $3 for a coke.
My biggest complaint is that if you self park, and come back late at night (they lock the doors by the self parking at 11) you either have to climb 2 flights of stairs or take a looong hike up a very steep hill to get back into the hotel (not easy with a child sleeping in a stroller). I guess if you are a guest in a wheelchair, the only option would be to valet park ($15 per day).
We wouldnt stay there again. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!
