Hotel Royal Plaza

[BaBeeCee14]

Anyone ever stay at the Hotel Royal Plaza in DTD? Does the ME and park buses go to these resorts as well? Thanks!

 

[helenabear]

It's been a while since any of us have stayed there, but yes my family has stayed there over the past.

ME does NOT go to any of the DtD hotels. Only Disney owned property gets to use ME (Swan and Dolphin don't either)

There are buses that take you to and from the parks. They don't drop you off or pick you up in the same areas as the Disney resorts do though. For instance MK we were always dropped off at the TTC and had to walk a bit further. The others do drop you off at the parks but again you have to walk further from the drop off/pick up points than you would with a Disney resort.

That said it is a great hotel and my dad loves staying there when he can't stay onsite

 

[Cruella 66]

I'm glad you asked this question! We are staying there on our arrival night, 8/14 then checking into the Poly 8/15 for 8 days. I've heard they are nice; especially since they've been redone. Hopefully somebody has stayed there recently. If not, I'll let you know after the 26th when we return home! Cindy

 

[WINTER]

We stayed there in July - loved it! It was great because there were 5 of us and they have sleeper sofas! We would for sure stay there again!

 

[viluvsdisney]

Hi - curious how the food is here? We just booked for October and have never stayed prior. Thanks

 

[poptoone]

If I'm not mistaken the Royal Plaza was recently refurbished from top to bottom.

 

[mayesq]

We have stayed there twice. Once in December of 06 and once in March of this year. It was clean and the rooms were huge. Be sure to ask for resort view. You can see both Epcot's and MK's fireworks from the higher floors

 

[Cruella 66]

Our stay on the 14th was really nice. The beds were too comfortable according to my kids! The room was large, very comfortable and quiet. The food at the hotel left a little to be desired but there are lots of places around the hotel. Best wishes, Cindy

 

[Markstudy]

I'm looking for the best walk or boat ride to DTD

Any advice?

Who is closeer? Hilton? Royal Plaza, Grosvenor(sp) others???


Thanks

 

[happymommy]

I just spent one night there in August.

It would have been too far to walk to DTD in the heat - the Hilton may be closer for that.

We had an executive suite for me and my 2 kids. It was fine for that. We were tired, so I let them swim and then we just got room service.

The pool was very basic - just a rectangle, a bit filled with kids. I had to really keep an eye on them. No lifeguard. I was disappointed that the snack/drink area at the pool was not open. I was hoping we could get some food and drinks by the pool. It was a busy time, so I don't know why the pool bar area had no one there. I was really glad to change for the next 7 days to the Swan/Dolphin as their pool area is huge and has a fun slide, lifeguards, and it just a world of difference. This little one was fine to just cool off.

The room service was fine - just got burgers, kids got meals. Very friendly.

The room was clean. It was more like a Holiday Inn feel than an upscale resort. We didn't take the busses or anything, as we checked out early in the morning and headed to the Dolphin to check in and go to Epcot.

I wouldn't probably stay there again, as I prefer to be in Disney - wanted to try it out. Oh yeah - we got the free breakfast buffet also. It was fine - but I wouldn't have bothered to pay for that. I prefer to grab a snack bar in the room and head out. For the price it was fine. My kids are getting older and like a big pool, and I didn't feel like the pool was maintained at the Royal Plaza very well. I would prefer a snack bar open and lifeguards. Kind of tacky.

We never did any extra magic hours, and it never ends up that we do. We don't tend to stay at a theme park for more than a few hours at a time, then prefer to rest and relax at the resort. If you don't need extra magic hours, and really just want a place to sleep, I think Royal Plaza is fine, although so is the Doubletree down the road. The bed was fine - so also if you can't afford or get into a disney resort it's okay. Some folks are never in their room, so as long as you have a clean room to come back to, then it's fine. I prefer to relax in the room and watch movies, get room service sometimes. Plus my kids swam a lot this trip as it was hot out. Heard the Grovener is really bad. If you need extra magic hours, you need to stay in a disney resort. If the pool is important, you won't like Royal Plaza. I didn't mind it just for a place to sleep the first night. Don't make my mistake and shop at Gooding's! I missed my turnoff to get to Publix - never again. It was so expensive just to get some waters and juice, stuff like that. Live and learn.

 

[viluvsdisney]

Long story short -- the customer service there seems to be lacking and a bit slow......

We cancelled and rebooked at the Hilton.

 

[rosiep]

Long story short -- the customer service there seems to be lacking and a bit slow......

We cancelled and rebooked at the Hilton.

Really sorry to hear that. I've reservations for October. The price was right. Did you get a good deal on the Hilton? If so where?

Thanks

 

[viluvsdisney]

We're also going in Oct - 12-16th. We decided to use some reward points for the Hilton. I wanted to enjoy the entire vacation - even if we're only "sleeping" at the hotel, I still want to like the hotel. It's part of getting away and enjoying the week. And I just didn't feel good about RP after I spoke with the folks there.

Maybe give them a call and ask some questions - about the rooms, breakfast, or shuttles. I'm sure it's a personal preference - they just didn't have the right answers for me.

 

[happymommy]

I agree about the service lacking. I had called to ask about whether there were lifeguards at the pool - I was told by one staff member yes, and another didn't know. No, there were no lifeguards, also no staff at all around the pool to tidy up. It was like staying in a cheap motel that was trying to be a resort. If it's cheap and just used for sleeping, I'd say go for it. But the Hilton is probably much nicer, being a business chain. I don't know about their pool, but it is probably nicer. Back when me and DH were on tighter budgets, we would have loved the royal plaza, but after staying at the swan/dolphin and much nicer resorts worldwide, we're too snobby now.

 

[rosiep]

I agree about the service lacking. I had called to ask about whether there were lifeguards at the pool - I was told by one staff member yes, and another didn't know. No, there were no lifeguards, also no staff at all around the pool to tidy up. It was like staying in a cheap motel that was trying to be a resort. If it's cheap and just used for sleeping, I'd say go for it. But the Hilton is probably much nicer, being a business chain. I don't know about their pool, but it is probably nicer. Back when me and DH were on tighter budgets, we would have loved the royal plaza, but after staying at the swan/dolphin and much nicer resorts worldwide, we're too snobby now.

I can't wait to be snobby too!