Buena Vista Suites since renovation?

sandiegosusie

DIS Veteran
Joined
Oct 20, 2002
Messages
1,432
Hi Everyone,
Has anyone stayed at the newly renovated Buena Vista Suites? Thought that hotel looks nice and it has a free breakfast...any thoughts?
 
We're booked for late April, so I'd love to hear more too!

sandiegosusie, there's a great mousesavers rate for this hotel. We booked for $89/night. That was hard to find in April.
 
I had posted this mini review on an earlier thread. If you have any questions, let me know!

Sorry I wasn't able to get back to you sooner. Here's my review of Buena Vista Suites.

We got there around 3:00 on Friday 9/12. I had booked two rooms to be next to each other. I actually made two separate reservations through Dreams Unlimited b/c they had $25 dining credit per reservation. So I made two ressies and we got 2 $25 credits!

Anyways, we got there and the front desk was very nice. She did say that the rooms were going through renovations, which was not mentioned on their website or when I made ressies w/ Dreams Unlimited. But, it didn't really have any effect on guests b/c they were doing it one floor at a time. The lady at the front desk said one room was ready, but the other was almost ready. They had to get a few more things put in the room b/c it was just done being renovated. In fact, we were the first people to be staying in the new room! How exciting! I also asked for a crib to be sent up.

The room was very nice. Our rooms that were supposed to be next to each other ended up being across from each other, which was fine. You walk in the suite and there is the living area. A couch (a pullout I think) and a chair with a coffee table, a good size desk and a HUGE cabinet thing that has some drawers and the mini fridge. The very large flat screen TV sits on top of that. We didn't use the drawers, only the fridge, but the fridge was cold. The colors are very classy and warm.

Then from the living room you walk through a door into the bedroom area. Immediately, there is a bathroom w/ shower/tub (and good water pressure!). Across from the bathroom is a sink w/ shelves underneath and a hair dryer. We didn't use the shelves b/c we have a very curious baby! Then there are two beds (queens? not sure, maybe fulls). Very comfortable. Lots of fluffy white bedding and lots of pillows. A nightstand in between the two beds. A large dresser w/ lots of drawers (8 or 10, I think) and another HUGE flat screen TV on top of that. A chair in the corner and a very large picture window. We were on the sixth floor and we could see Downtown Disney from our room.

The room smelled like new carpet and was very nice. The only problems we had w/ the room were:

We found a couple of tiny screws on the floor that hadn't been vacuumed up. The morning we left, the floor outside the bathroom was SOAKED! We called maintenance - they had to come and take apart the shower/tub. Apparently this was a problem in a lot of the new rooms. The plumber hadn't hooked something up right w/ the drain in the shower and it was draining under the shower and out by the sink, causing SQUISH SQUISH on the carpet! They were very apologetic about it and fixed it right away. Since we were leaving anyways, we weren't worried about getting it dry right away, but I did notice they had the big fan thing outside the room so they could start drying the carpet. Last problem, when we got back from MNSSHP the first night, our crib still hadn't been delivered to the room. This was at 1 am and I was kind of peeved, but they brought it up w/i 5 minutes.

The pool was very nice. Refreshing, perfect temp. Not cold, but not bath water either. I didn't go in the hot tub, but the rest of the family did and they loved it.

Free breakfast in their dining room was actually pretty good. Scrambled eggs, pancakes, waffles, sausage, bacon, potatoes, hash, sliced ham, toast. They had a station where they were cooking eggs to order. They also had fruit salad, yogurt, cold and hot cereal. Apple juice, OJ, coffee, choc milk, reg milk.

We did have the vouchers for food in the restaurant. We never used them though b/c we were in the parks all day/night. We might have been able to use them for room service, but I don't know. There wasn't any expir. date on them, so we might try to use them next time.

Also, about renovations...we did here a little bit of hammering on Saturday morning around 8:30. It wasn't too bad and usually we are up by then, but we were tired after a late night at MNSSHP. Otherwise, we never would have known they were doing renovations.

Overall, we were very pleased w/ BVS. Great location, very friendly, clean new rooms. We weren't expecting them to be new either! They even have a little gift shop on the first floor and their prices aren't too bad. We will definitely stay here again. Especially nice to have the suite so the baby can sleep w/o us bothering her.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your vacation! If you have any questions, just ask!

Kristin
 

Kristin, that's a great review. So very helpful - thank you for sharing!

Glad that you and your family had a magical trip!!
 
Kristin, you are fabulous! I really appreciate your time reviewing everything. We are definitely going to stay there. Thanks again!
 
Hello!
I was wondering. How did you get the vouchers? Do you need a special code? Are the vouchers for breakfast only? Thanks.
 
Hello!
I was wondering. How did you get the vouchers? Do you need a special code? Are the vouchers for breakfast only? Thanks.

Dreams Unlimited was running a special that was $89/nt (I think) plus it included a $25 meal voucher. Breakfast is a free buffet. The voucher can be used in their actual restaurant there. I'm not sure if it can be used on room service. We never used the vouchers b/c we were out and about all day and never had a chance to eat at the hotel except for breakfast. We may try using the vouchers for our next stay there, since they didn't have an exp. date on them.
 
Dreams Unlimited was running a special that was $89/nt (I think) plus it included a $25 meal voucher. Breakfast is a free buffet. The voucher can be used in their actual restaurant there. I'm not sure if it can be used on room service. We never used the vouchers b/c we were out and about all day and never had a chance to eat at the hotel except for breakfast. We may try using the vouchers for our next stay there, since they didn't have an exp. date on them.


Oh okay. Thank you so much for the info.
 
We're at the Buena Vista right now! It's the first time we've stayed off property - this was a very last minute trip and were trying to keep it under $100 a night without staying at All-Star! The rooms are exatly as the previous poster described. We really love the extra space and the rooms are very nicely done. The interior hallways are a bit worn - perhaps that's the next thing on their list!

I have to say that the breakfast buffet was really awful! We went the first morning, gave it a second chance the next morning and it was just as bad. Since breakfast is my FAVORITE vacation meal to eat out, we went to Cape May Cafe this morning and will not depend on the hotel for breakfast, free or not!

Have a great time on your trip!
 
I have to say that the breakfast buffet was really awful! We went the first morning, gave it a second chance the next morning and it was just as bad. Since breakfast is my FAVORITE vacation meal to eat out, we went to Cape May Cafe this morning and will not depend on the hotel for breakfast, free or not!



Wow, how's that for a "man on the street" report!

tmrobo, a number of people have given the breakfast mixed reviews, but nearly everyone has said that the made-to-order egg station was a hit. Have you tried them? If they're ok you may be able to save some time and $$ in the morning. (Unless you'd rather dine @ Disney! :-)

Have a great trip.
 
We didn't try the egg station, so maybe we will give it one more try. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
we stayed there 2 1/2 years ago. Glad to hear they are renovating.
We really enjoyed the breakfast. There was so much to choose from on that buffet. We did not get the scrambled eggs because someone here said they were powdered eggs. We tried the waffles, sausage, can't remember everything. I do remember the gravy and biscuits. They were great.

Lisa
 
We stayed at BVS last Easter and for our family of 6 it was well worth the money. It was our first time off property. It is not Disney but a nice hotel. I saw that someone posted that they had bacon during the breakfast buffet, we did not have that last year. I hope that it is a new addition. They breakfast was not great but a decent meal and it was included in the room rate. We plurged for a Disney breakfast on Easter Sunday!

This year we are returning for Easter. Even with the 4/3 deal at Disney, BVS is a better deal for us. It is close, convenient and the staff was lovely.
 
We just stayed there for four nights, from June 17-21, 2009. For the price we payed, $89/night, we were pleasantly surprised. We stayed on the 7th (top) floor. Beautifully renovated rooms. Lots of space. The only complaints I had was that the carpet in all the hallways was way outdated and needs to be replaced very soon. Also, and I'm sure this is related to being on the top floor, our hallway was very warm, the elevator was warm and our room really didn't get to cold as I prefer in the Florida heat.

Overall, it is a wonderful place to stay and I would absolutely stay there again in the future. The pool is small but managable because it was never crowded.

The guest relations desk is very helpful and informative with any question you have related to restaurants, shopping, attractions, or anything else. Of course, they try to get you signed up for timeshare presentations. We always said no.

You do get a free breakfast buffet everyday. The food was just ok. Nothing to write home about. Good thing it's free because if I had to pay for it, I would have been really upset. But it will at least fill you up. They have donuts, scrambled eggs, potatoes, a meat ( there was ham one day and bacon on another), there is a chef's stations where you can get custom eggs, toast, & bagels, there is cereal, yogurts, and for drinks, apple juice, orange juice, white milk, and chocolate milk, and coffee.

Here are some pictues I took of our room:

Bathroom:
100_4074.jpg


Seperate sink area:
100_4075.jpg


Sink:
100_4076.jpg


Queen beds in seperate bedroom:
100_4077.jpg


TV & chair in bedroom:
100_4078.jpg


Bedroom looking into living room:
100_4079.jpg


Living room with desk:
100_4080.jpg


Living room:
100_4081.jpg


TV & armoire in living room w/microwave and refrigerator:
100_4082.jpg


Hope this helps!
 
WOW thanks so much for the pics! Cant wait to show my DH, we had a bad experience last yr in LBV Comfort Inn we stayed 1 night before starting our honeymoon in WDW last Sept, I think we just got a bad room b/c IVe heard many good reviews since then but We are staying 1 night at BVS in Sept before we check into our WDW resort! I am so excited!
 
thanks for the pics!!!

I've been wanting to see unofficial pics to see if it lives up to the "official" ones. looks great! 23 days left until my stay :banana:
 
thank you for sharing your photos! Much appreciated - it looks JUST like the official pics.

We're planning on staying there for a couple days in January when we visit Sea World and Downtown Disney (I know - we're not doing Disney World this time...) and so far, looks to be the best for the $$ and enough room for our family of 5.
 
Did you miss having a window in the living room?
Do you think you could fit a roll away bed in the bedroom? (DS would not want to sleep by himself in living room)
How did you choose between BVS and Caribe Royale? Or even between other suite hotels like Doubletree, Embassy, Staybridge, Homewood?

Thanks for your help!
 


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