BWV Garden/Pool View Studio - Room Requests

[MARCIAKAZ]

It's our home resort, but we'll be staying for the first time in September! I would love your thoughts on best room location. We want a quiet-ish spot not too far from the elevators/fairly close to the lobby. Any drawbacks to getting a first floor room? Thanks in advance!!

 

[CarolynFH]

The G/P view villas closest to the elevators and lobby look onto the Luna Park feature pool, unfortunately, because it can be quite loud, especially during afternoon activity time. You could request a Village Green view, which overlooks the grassy area between the Villas and Inn and comes with a partial Boardwalk view, but that too can be noisy as well, especially if you get the studio above the breezeway between Luna Park and Village Green. If quiet is more important than close to elevators/lobby, ask for a view of the quiet pool. You can request both, but let MS know which is more important.

 

[drusba]

As to first floor room, you can request it, but you may not want it. First, the lobby and main front door area are on the second floor. And most first floor rooms have a deck that is surrounded by high-and-wide-enough bushes or other blockage that you should not expect to be able to leave the deck and go directly elsewhere like the pool. Moreover, the room doors to the deck lock only from the inside, and many of the rooms are located close to walkways where guests can walk by and look right in.

The one certainty is that if you want a pool/garden view room near the elevator (and thus also lobby), you therefore do not want a quiet room as all such rooms are in the fairly noisy Luna Park pool area or overlooking Village Green with partial boardwalk view. In making requests, consider:

1. Ask for higher floor. No matter where you are at BWV, the higher floors will be somewhat quieter than lower floors and have better views. With a p/g room, I consider higher floor to be the lead request that should be made.

2. In the Village Green area, the p/g rooms have partial boardwalk view and are ideal for a guest if, and only if: (a) they have a studio reservation (which you apparently have) since the only p/g rooms overlooking Village Green are studios; (b) they request and get higher floor; you do not want second floor; first floor is the Wyland Galleries store and its arches reach up and block any views from second floor rooms.

3. As long as you are OK with some noise, the Luna Park area is fine with a higher floor room, including that most such rooms have decent views, and none are overly far from the elevator.

4. Best shot at a quiet room is higher floor, in the Quiet Pool area. That pool is far enough away from the rooms as to not be a major noise factor and the usual "crowd" at that pool is fairly small and quiet. Nevertheless, Quiet Pool area rooms can be anywhere from a reasonable to furthest distance from the elevator and lobby, although the furthest away rooms have the quickest access to a stairway that leads to a walkway that provides the shortest walking distance to Studios.

4. Another fairly quiet area is the "Activity Lawn" area, which are rooms past the Luna Park pool area on the other side of the hallway from boardwalk view rooms, and thus rooms not close to the elevator. The one fact about the large Activity Lawn, which those rooms overlook, is that there is never any activity on that lawn (when BWV first opened in the 1990s, they used to have activities there, like croquet but that disappeared before 2,000). However, there is a potential noise factor. The rooms overlook the channel to Studios soon after the channel connects to Crescent Lake, and passing boats usually sound their horns when entering or leaving the channel.

 

[MARCIAKAZ]

As to first floor room, you can request it, but you may not want it. First, the lobby and main front door area are on the second floor. And most first floor rooms have a deck that is surrounded by high-and-wide-enough bushes or other blockage that you should not expect to be able to leave the deck and go directly elsewhere like the pool. Moreover, the room doors to the deck lock only from the inside, and many of the rooms are located close to walkways where guests can walk by and look right in.

The one certainty is that if you want a pool/garden view room near the elevator (and thus also lobby), you therefore do not want a quiet room as all such rooms are in the fairly noisy Luna Park pool area or overlooking Village Green with partial boardwalk view. In making requests, consider:

1. Ask for higher floor. No matter where you are at BWV, the higher floors will be somewhat quieter than lower floors and have better views. With a p/g room, I consider higher floor to be the lead request that should be made.

2. In the Village Green area, the p/g rooms have partial boardwalk view and are ideal for a guest if, and only if: (a) they have a studio reservation (which you apparently have) since the only p/g rooms overlooking Village Green are studios; (b) they request and get higher floor; you do not want second floor; first floor is the Wyland Galleries store and its arches reach up and block any views from second floor rooms.

3. As long as you are OK with some noise, the Luna Park area is fine with a higher floor room, including that most such rooms have decent views, and none are overly far from the elevator.

4. Best shot at a quiet room is higher floor, in the Quiet Pool area. That pool is far enough away from the rooms as to not be a major noise factor and the usual "crowd" at that pool is fairly small and quiet. Nevertheless, Quiet Pool area rooms can be anywhere from a reasonable to furthest distance from the elevator and lobby, although the furthest away rooms have the quickest access to a stairway that leads to a walkway that provides the shortest walking distance to Studios.

4. Another fairly quiet area is the "Activity Lawn" area, which are rooms past the Luna Park pool area on the other side of the hallway from boardwalk view rooms, and thus rooms not close to the elevator. The one fact about the large Activity Lawn, which those rooms overlook, is that there is never any activity on that lawn (when BWV first opened in the 1990s, they used to have activities there, like croquet but that disappeared before 2,000). However, there is a potential noise factor. The rooms overlook the channel to Studios soon after the channel connects to Crescent Lake, and passing boats usually sound their horns when entering or leaving the channel.

Thanks so much - this gives me lots of food for thought!

 

[crisi]

We've owned BWV for twenty years. In that time we've had ONE request met.

The first thing to realize if you haven't stayed there is that BWV is a huge "walkout" - the lobby and front of the hotel is on the second floor - the pool is on the first floor. So elevators and stairs will be part of your stay.

The elevators are only near the lobby - and they are kind of small for the size of the resort. So you may prefer stairs if you don't have little kids/strollers/ECVs.....and if you are in good enough shape for a few flights. For this reason, I don't like "high floors" like everyone else does. I can do three flights of stairs - five leaves me uncomfortably winded.

The first floor was wonderful when we had kids who were at the "did you grow gills" stage - since we could get them to and from the pool without stairs or elevators. The view isn't much but the convenience of only needing stairs to get to the bus stop is great - you can get to the Studios and Epcot without stairs - and the bus stop is a single flight. The second floor has the same advantage in reverse - no stairs for the bus stop or lobby, stairs for the Studios or Epcot.

I have never had a really quiet room at BWV. The Boardwalk rooms get boat noise and evening BW noise. Anything near the lobby gets excessive hallway traffic as people move to and from their rooms and the elevators. The theme pool is loud - and the whole resort acts as an echo chamber for pool noise. The rooms closer to the lobby will be louder no matter where you are.