How do you pick a hotel?

[maxiesmom]

I'm going a little crazy trying to decide on a resort for my next trip.
How do y'all pick a resort? Do you pick the hotel you want, save up for whatever it costs, then hope for a discount? Or do you look at the cost and see which resort fits into your price range? I can't decide if I should be frugal and stay at a value, or suck it up and save for a deluxe resort. I'm about to throw all of the names of the hotels I would like to stay at into a hat a pick one! Please help me!

 

[zcubed]

I decide how much money I want to spend first, to see what hotel will fit my budget. Then I check out what the prices are and see what my options are in terms of choosing a hotel that might be a bit more, but some place I might have wanted to stay in the past but have not.

While I have never and probably will never stay at a value resort, I fear that I never be able to justify the cost of one of the ones I pine to stay at... Beach Club or or Boardwalk...

but if I somehow found a discount, then I would change hotels if that option was available.

This time, at first, we were going to stay at the CSR but then I saw we could swing Animal Kingdom and I thought it would be a great new experience.

I think next year we are doing a family trip, siblings and their kids, and my parents, and we will all be staying at the same resort, and we will have to suck it up for a hotel that might be out of our price range. Still, a great chance to talk them into one of the two I long to stay at!

Good luck deciding.

 

[YesYourMajesty]

I can't decide if I should be frugal and stay at a value, or suck it up and save for a deluxe resort.

Why not split the difference and stay at a moderate?

Another good way to decide would be to sit down and figure out what resort features are most important to you. For example, do you need to stay at a resort that has a sit down restaurant, spa, tennis, fitness facility, bunk beds, etc. Once you have figured out what you prefer at the resort, it might be easier to decide which resort best fits your needs.

 

[stacy6552]

What are your trip plans? Determine your needs.

Going wiht kids? How old are they? Will the be asleep before you? When our youngest was napping, we stayed at a HAFH so we could close the bedrrom door on the sleeping baby....

When are you going? Are the parks open late? Are you going in the heat of the summer? If you're going to be headed back for breaks in the afternoons, then maybe the pool and room itself are more important. If you wil get up and go and be gone all day and only come back to sleep, then maybe you only need to spend on a value.

Will you have your car? Some resorts have less convenient transportation than others and I would rule them out unless I had my car with me.

Answer those kinds of questions, then see what's left. Look at theme and budget then.

 

[fam4jc]

Selecting the resort is one of the most difficult and important decisions! I would first figure your maximum whole trip budget... this is the most you could envision realistically spending for everything: room, park tickets, food, extras, transportation (car or fly?), and extras. Then take a look at the resort rates. Put in your dates on the disneyworld.com web site and get some quotes for the different resorts. Then with the $$$ in the back of your mind figure out what is the most important aspects of your room. Do you need a fridge? Do you need to sleep 5 people? Do you really like having a nice view? balcony? Then think about how much time you will be at the resort. Need a pool with a slide? Playground? Shopping? Meal choices? That will really help narrow down your choices. If you are going for a longer stay, you can split your stay between two resorts. That is the way we do it all the time.

If you answer some of those questions here, we can all give you our opinions on which resort(s) to choose!

 

[bigbabyblues]

We book what we can afford and are willing to pay for, then if a discount comes out, we can upgrade if we want to. Our budget for this year's trip only allows for a value, so that's what we're going with. We stayed at a value last year because my DS wanted to, and we liked it fine. I won't pay rack rate for the deluxes even if I can afford it, it's just too expensive to me, and not worth it. I'd love to stay in the CR tower one day though......

 

[Aristomommy]

Last trip we went with a value resort because it was just 3 of us (DD, DH and I) and our budget was smaller. We had a blast and were not in the hotel all that much anyway. This time we have a new DS and my mom is joining us, and we are going with a deluxe. There is more room, and we are also celebrating our 10th anniversary, so this will be a bit more special trip.

I started by figuring out what my budget is, and what I want to pay for a hotel per night. When the AP discount came out, I decided which deluxe hotel(s) had the discount. I wanted to experience a monorail resort, so we chose Contemporary and also split the stay with AKL, because DD would love the animals. The trip after this, we propably will try a moderate to save some money and experience a different resort.

 

[Rootskate]

When I make reservations I assume that my AAA discount is the best price I am going to get. From there I decide what we can afford and take it from there.

 

[Martha7]

I try to choose a resort which offers Internet access in the rooms. My DH and one of my DS's can't live without it!

 

[lillygator]

I am such a waffler (a word??) - but now with this new best rate program for AP holders, it is making me pick...I just used to wait until the discounts came out and then I would pick from what is available and had the best deal...this past March I had the CR booked and paid for and then I saw the Value rate and I could pay for our entire stay with one night at CR - so I switched...more moeny to spend once we were there....


Now in December I asked DH where he wants to stay and he says - GF and the Poly.....

 

[Bracho]

For us picking the resort is one of the most important duties of planning our vacation.

If we want to be in the middle of things, then we go with a Epcot resort. Walking to Epcot is a big plus for us and the resorts there are just beautiful. We just stayed at the Yacht Club in May and it was a wonderful trip and perfect in every way. The pre planning office and concierge staff did everything they could to make sure we had a vacation worth talking about. We have also enjoyed the Beach Club, Boardwalk Inn and Dolphin but I would have to say the Yacht Club is now my new favorite Epcot resort.

If we want to be on the monorail system, one of our favorites is the Polynesian but then this place is apart of my past and had been since Disney opened in the early '70s. We like the Grand Floridian and the Comtemporary and have enjoyed our stays there but we keep going back to the Polynesian for a monorail resort.

If I want to be on property but off the beaten track, we stay at our home resort the Wilderness Lodge, 100% Disney but off to the side just enough to be very relaxing and not a great deal of traffic just passing through. There is something that is real magical for us when it comes to the Wilderness Lodge. In the evenings, walking around the property it just makes you feel like you can really relax. I have gone out on the boat pier at night and just sat, looking out onto Bay Lake... wonderful.

Good luck with your selection!

 

[kelscross]

What I did this year was price each resort from value to deluxe and then I looked at my budget and picked what fit the budget. This year we were able to afford the GF at full price and then when the discount came out it just meant either save some money or use it toward other things...of course it went to other things...

I like to stay at different resorts each time to get a different experience. I think we're coming down to drawing from a hat next year..ha!

 

[Tiffany]

I'm going a little crazy trying to decide on a resort for my next trip.
How do y'all pick a resort? Do you pick the hotel you want, save up for whatever it costs, then hope for a discount? Or do you look at the cost and see which resort fits into your price range? I can't decide if I should be frugal and stay at a value, or suck it up and save for a deluxe resort. I'm about to throw all of the names of the hotels I would like to stay at into a hat a pick one! Please help me!

We go multiple times a year so we decide what the focus of the next trip is going to be (relaxation at the resort, serious time enjoying EC and the ST). If we are going for relaxation then we shoot for the AKL and then consider price when it comes to picking a view or level of service. Example in 2003 and 2004 we were able to get a great AP rate on concierge rooms of $277 a night inc taxes. But for our Jan 2005 trip the rate of the concierge room went up over a hundred dollars a night inc tax so we went with a regular savanna view room for $151 a night plus tax with an AP rate.

If we are going to be doing EC and the ST then we stay at one of the deluxe EC resorts but we want to keep the rate at $200 or less a night so we have stayed at the Dolphin three times and most recently the Swan for $159 a night plus tax and resort fee.

This coming Nov we are traveling with friends that have three kids and they need to keep the price of the room under $150 a night inc. taxes and fees so right now we are booked for the POR with an AAA rate and working on getting the AP rate of $109 a night plus tax.

So the answer is not short but that is what we do.