Miffy2003
<font color=orange>I've got Saratoga Springs - mak
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2003
- Messages
- 12,175
Thursday 23rd December
Today we are heading off to the coast for a week. It seemed a good idea when we booked it; avoid the busy Christmas madness at WDW and have a nice relaxing week of lie ins, shopping, eating and pool time. Now it has come about though, I dont want to leave WDW. However nothing can be done about that and Derek and Julie have recommended Sarasota where we are going (they have been many times before) and Jon has been too a long time ago and he remembers how lovely it is, so Im not too gloomy. We had wisely packed up last night, which was a nuisance at the time, but now we feel quite pleased we made the effort.
We do Express Check Out which basically means we just pack the car and go. I didnt feel we really checked the Boardwalk out properly yesterday (we didnt actually make it inside the hotel) so we decide to do this today. We tell the lady in the security booth we are coming to shop and have breakfast and she ushers us through with no problem. For anyone that is interested, we are not given a three hour pass so we could have stayed here all day and gone to Epcot had we been so inclined.
The approach to the Boardwalk is extremely impressive. As its at the top of a small incline, visually it makes even more of an impact. There are clean lines, attractive colours and beautiful architecture. The attention to detail is amazing, and I love the gold letters announcing the resorts name. Well, you can see how much I love it here already and we arent even inside yet! Inside, the décor and furnishings are immaculate and very plush. I think ostentatious is the word I would use here, but not in a negative way as it normally employed. It is definitely over the top, with the opulent fabrics and over-stuffed sofas but my goodness the overall effect is stunning.
We are on a mission to get a couple of things from the shop here which we find easily Jon cannot resist a Boardwalk T Shirt, while I do resist the lovely pictures of the resort. We decide to wait until we see what Saratoga Springs has to offer but we are in complete agreement that it would be great to have a picture for our house. We go off to explore the shops at the Boardwalk and I am delighted to find they sell Jelly Bellys loose at Seashore Sweets, so you can choose your favourite flavours. I bought loads and it was only $6; I estimate the amount I had would have been at least £20 here, plus its hard to buy them except pre-packaged so there are always a few duff flavours (anyone tried the chilli pepper for example?).
We go next door to the Boardwalk Bakery where the display of baked goods is immense and choosing extremely difficult. Against my better judgement I tell the girls they can have one thing each and while Erin selects a relatively modest muffin (and I use the word relative only in comparison to the other offerings it is huge), Amber decides to go for the $4 chocolate cake which is the size of Mount Everest and probably as rich as Bill Gates. Jon has the largest chocolate éclair Ive ever seen and I have a delicious banana cream pie. We sit outside and eat our healthy and nutritious breakfast and people watch. Again, it is fantastic to soak up the atmosphere and people watch, with the lovely views across the lake of the Yacht and Beach Clubs.
With slightly heavy hearts (certainly our stomachs are heavy
) we head back to the car and make our way to the I4. Its an easy two hour drive to Sarasota; well it would be easy were it not for the horrid roadworks on I4 which we are extremely pleased to leave behind before Tampa. The traffic and lack of roadworks down the I75 made for a more pleasant drive and we soon found Sarasota. As per the directions we continued onto St Armands Circle, which seemed to be automobile hell. Its a roundabout in effect (uncommon in the US?) but people were parked all over it, with cars reversing, slamming on brakes to get a space with little or no notice or regard for other drivers. The shops looked interesting but perhaps not ones selling things we would be willing to remortgage for! At the end of the road was the sea and Lido Beach proper; we continued down the road until we got to our hotel, the Helmsley Sandcastle. It was quite a bit more isolated than I had hoped and I hadnt expected both properties either side of it to have been demolished and be in the process of being rebuilt. Still, the cranes were handy as wherever we were in Sarasota it was hard not to see them on the horizon and find our way back
The hotel was nice enough but after Disney I must admit I was a little underwhelmed. We were initially given a very bizarre room arrangement, which meant you had to go through one room to get to the other. Well this wouldnt do at all (I wanted my own front door!) so I spoke to reception and they were able to reallocate us a room, and what a bonus, this one had a distant sea view! I must say that the staff here were absolutely fantastic; they were extremely helpful, friendly and polite; they gave the impression that nothing was too much trouble for them. The room was far bigger than our ASMo room which was great it didnt have a bath which was slightly annoying but I didnt want to have to ask reception for yet another room! The décor was fine, and it was very clean and it had a fridge. The only slightly bizarre thing was that the doors (there were two one into the room from an external corridor and another onto the balcony) were covered in a metal grille which gave an overall impression of a prison cell.
View from our balcony at the Helmsley Sandcastle
Overall impressions of All Star Movies
We loved it! Yes the rooms are quite small but we found them absolutely ample for the four of us and all our luggage (we had a lot!). The room was extremely clean and nicely themed. The furnishings are bold and brash and dont feel deluxe in any way, but that is exactly what I had expected. The grounds were beautifully kept and the large Disney icons were a huge hit with the children as well as us! There are lots of little touches all round the resort that act as a constant reminder that you are on Disney property.
We thought the reception area was great; there was a lovely big TV screen showing Disney movies and this kept the girls entertained on several occasions (including one when we had to post a parcel and it took over an hour for the CM to work out how to do it!). The shop was every Disney fans merchandising dream with a great selection of toys, games, clothes, plushes and all the other bits and pieces you expect in a Disney shop. There were lots of sweets, cookies and crisps and the like and they also sold small bottles of spirits behind the counter. We were very happy with the cocktails served at the pool bar! The food court had a pretty good selection and was a reasonably pleasant dining experience far superior to a similar set up in the UK but obviously it is cafeteria style. We thought the prices were reasonable not as cheap as going offsite but you could easily feed a family of four for one meal for $25 or so. The refillable mugs saved us an absolute fortune! The girls gave the arcade a big thumbs up. We thought the pools were great - unfortunately we didn't get the chance to enjoy them much due to the weather!
We found the bus service excellent. The longest we waited was twenty minutes unluckily for us that was on a cold and windy night! But apart from that time, I think we waited for under ten minutes for every other journey. I wish our local bus service - which allegedly follows a timetable but often fails to show up - was as good! It felt like a luxury to not have to drive and it is ideal when you consider how close to the parks you get dropped off and picked up. We did have to stand a few times, but its not like it is ever a long journey!
Overall, and bearing in mind the price we paid to stay here, the resort was even better than our expectations had been. Massive thumbs up from the Goviers!
Today we are heading off to the coast for a week. It seemed a good idea when we booked it; avoid the busy Christmas madness at WDW and have a nice relaxing week of lie ins, shopping, eating and pool time. Now it has come about though, I dont want to leave WDW. However nothing can be done about that and Derek and Julie have recommended Sarasota where we are going (they have been many times before) and Jon has been too a long time ago and he remembers how lovely it is, so Im not too gloomy. We had wisely packed up last night, which was a nuisance at the time, but now we feel quite pleased we made the effort.
We do Express Check Out which basically means we just pack the car and go. I didnt feel we really checked the Boardwalk out properly yesterday (we didnt actually make it inside the hotel) so we decide to do this today. We tell the lady in the security booth we are coming to shop and have breakfast and she ushers us through with no problem. For anyone that is interested, we are not given a three hour pass so we could have stayed here all day and gone to Epcot had we been so inclined.
The approach to the Boardwalk is extremely impressive. As its at the top of a small incline, visually it makes even more of an impact. There are clean lines, attractive colours and beautiful architecture. The attention to detail is amazing, and I love the gold letters announcing the resorts name. Well, you can see how much I love it here already and we arent even inside yet! Inside, the décor and furnishings are immaculate and very plush. I think ostentatious is the word I would use here, but not in a negative way as it normally employed. It is definitely over the top, with the opulent fabrics and over-stuffed sofas but my goodness the overall effect is stunning.
We are on a mission to get a couple of things from the shop here which we find easily Jon cannot resist a Boardwalk T Shirt, while I do resist the lovely pictures of the resort. We decide to wait until we see what Saratoga Springs has to offer but we are in complete agreement that it would be great to have a picture for our house. We go off to explore the shops at the Boardwalk and I am delighted to find they sell Jelly Bellys loose at Seashore Sweets, so you can choose your favourite flavours. I bought loads and it was only $6; I estimate the amount I had would have been at least £20 here, plus its hard to buy them except pre-packaged so there are always a few duff flavours (anyone tried the chilli pepper for example?).
We go next door to the Boardwalk Bakery where the display of baked goods is immense and choosing extremely difficult. Against my better judgement I tell the girls they can have one thing each and while Erin selects a relatively modest muffin (and I use the word relative only in comparison to the other offerings it is huge), Amber decides to go for the $4 chocolate cake which is the size of Mount Everest and probably as rich as Bill Gates. Jon has the largest chocolate éclair Ive ever seen and I have a delicious banana cream pie. We sit outside and eat our healthy and nutritious breakfast and people watch. Again, it is fantastic to soak up the atmosphere and people watch, with the lovely views across the lake of the Yacht and Beach Clubs.
With slightly heavy hearts (certainly our stomachs are heavy
) we head back to the car and make our way to the I4. Its an easy two hour drive to Sarasota; well it would be easy were it not for the horrid roadworks on I4 which we are extremely pleased to leave behind before Tampa. The traffic and lack of roadworks down the I75 made for a more pleasant drive and we soon found Sarasota. As per the directions we continued onto St Armands Circle, which seemed to be automobile hell. Its a roundabout in effect (uncommon in the US?) but people were parked all over it, with cars reversing, slamming on brakes to get a space with little or no notice or regard for other drivers. The shops looked interesting but perhaps not ones selling things we would be willing to remortgage for! At the end of the road was the sea and Lido Beach proper; we continued down the road until we got to our hotel, the Helmsley Sandcastle. It was quite a bit more isolated than I had hoped and I hadnt expected both properties either side of it to have been demolished and be in the process of being rebuilt. Still, the cranes were handy as wherever we were in Sarasota it was hard not to see them on the horizon and find our way back The hotel was nice enough but after Disney I must admit I was a little underwhelmed. We were initially given a very bizarre room arrangement, which meant you had to go through one room to get to the other. Well this wouldnt do at all (I wanted my own front door!) so I spoke to reception and they were able to reallocate us a room, and what a bonus, this one had a distant sea view! I must say that the staff here were absolutely fantastic; they were extremely helpful, friendly and polite; they gave the impression that nothing was too much trouble for them. The room was far bigger than our ASMo room which was great it didnt have a bath which was slightly annoying but I didnt want to have to ask reception for yet another room! The décor was fine, and it was very clean and it had a fridge. The only slightly bizarre thing was that the doors (there were two one into the room from an external corridor and another onto the balcony) were covered in a metal grille which gave an overall impression of a prison cell.
View from our balcony at the Helmsley Sandcastle
Overall impressions of All Star Movies
We loved it! Yes the rooms are quite small but we found them absolutely ample for the four of us and all our luggage (we had a lot!). The room was extremely clean and nicely themed. The furnishings are bold and brash and dont feel deluxe in any way, but that is exactly what I had expected. The grounds were beautifully kept and the large Disney icons were a huge hit with the children as well as us! There are lots of little touches all round the resort that act as a constant reminder that you are on Disney property.
We thought the reception area was great; there was a lovely big TV screen showing Disney movies and this kept the girls entertained on several occasions (including one when we had to post a parcel and it took over an hour for the CM to work out how to do it!). The shop was every Disney fans merchandising dream with a great selection of toys, games, clothes, plushes and all the other bits and pieces you expect in a Disney shop. There were lots of sweets, cookies and crisps and the like and they also sold small bottles of spirits behind the counter. We were very happy with the cocktails served at the pool bar! The food court had a pretty good selection and was a reasonably pleasant dining experience far superior to a similar set up in the UK but obviously it is cafeteria style. We thought the prices were reasonable not as cheap as going offsite but you could easily feed a family of four for one meal for $25 or so. The refillable mugs saved us an absolute fortune! The girls gave the arcade a big thumbs up. We thought the pools were great - unfortunately we didn't get the chance to enjoy them much due to the weather!
We found the bus service excellent. The longest we waited was twenty minutes unluckily for us that was on a cold and windy night! But apart from that time, I think we waited for under ten minutes for every other journey. I wish our local bus service - which allegedly follows a timetable but often fails to show up - was as good! It felt like a luxury to not have to drive and it is ideal when you consider how close to the parks you get dropped off and picked up. We did have to stand a few times, but its not like it is ever a long journey!
Overall, and bearing in mind the price we paid to stay here, the resort was even better than our expectations had been. Massive thumbs up from the Goviers!
In this TR everything you've written about the Boardwalk, ASMo and the WDW bus service could have come straight from my own mouth. Great minds, eh? 
