How much time do you REALLY spend in your hotel room?

[ssatterly]

Come be honest is it a little or a lot. I am trying to decide if a deluxe resort is really worth it or if I should just go with a mod.

 

[Jen D]

This TOTALLY depends on individual preference and how people tour. I hear people all the time say a room is a place to sleep and nothing else. I feel differently-- the room is my oasis; when I need a vacation from my vacation I want to room to be a welcoming place. We have kids so we spend quite a lot of time in the room-- usually an afternoon break, and the kids go to bed early and we stay up.

Having said that, I can be completely satisifed in a moderate or a deluxe. Never tried a value, but I suspect it might be a little small for me unless I was traveling solo.

 

[phyllis1966]

I agree with Jen D. Yes, we have a young DD, but it's not that we take afternoon breaks all that often (don't think she'd nap anyway, although I could probably use one!). I like being in the pretty and spacious surroundings of one of the deluxes. We don't get a suite or anything other than a standard-sized room, but it's lovely to wake up to in the morning, like Jen D we consider the room an oasis (perfect word!) during the heat of a fun but long day, and we love to stay up late watching TV and sharing a dessert or two after DD is asleep. Yes, these things can be done in any room, but we really enjoy the atmosphere of a deluxe, esp. the GF, our favorite!

 

[Minky]

I spend a lot of time in my room/on the grounds of the hotel. However, I honestly enjoy the mods as much as the deluxes. They are very well themed....our rooms at CBR were bigger than WL. We like to sleep in, stroll the grounds, have a quiet breakfast after everyone has already left for the parks, go for a swim, then we go to the parks around 1, around the time everyone is going back to the hotels for lunch and pool breaks. AKL does a superior job for theme and ambience, but POR is its runner up...I just love that place.

 

[susy]

We spend a lot of time in our room and at the resort. Some people can go all day at the parks, I am good for 5-6 hours tops (and not every day).

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

We spend a good amount of time at the resort. If we couldn't get the resort we wanted we would change our dates. Our resort is very important to my family. Our vacation times are flexible so we can be choosy.

Lori

 

[SnowWitch]

When we first started taking the kids to Disney, we stayed in mods. We were literally only in the room to shower and sleep.

Now the kids are older and we have been numerous times so we enjoy more down down at our resort. As of yesterday we learned we are expecting again so it will be nice to have the extra space a 1-2 bedroom unit allows at the DVC resorts.

So it depends if you plan on spending the bulk of your time in the parks, why spend the $$$ on a deluxe. If you plan to have down time and enjoy the pool then go with a deluxe.

 

[dg39]

We enjoy every aspect of the resort. We spend long hours at the pool, have drinks at the lounge, if the resort has a nice lobby, we sit and relax there, a balcony for us is a must, so we have drinks/coffee and sit watching the views. We'll go to the parks early, but then leave early afternoon and go back to the room. We'll all rest alittle and then walk around our resort. Sometimes we'll have afternoon snacks in the room while we're just hanging out there. We pick a resort depending on what the room and amenities are like. So, we don't just sleep in our room, we use everything the whole place has to offer. But thats just us. I know alot of people just use there resort just to sleep. If thats the case, it doesn't pay for them to spend alot of $$$ on a room.

 

[Disney Ella]

Our room is our home while we're there and we're not commandos, so we use it for more than to just sleep. If you've ever had a sick child during a trip and been stuck in the room for a while, you'll find it does matter!

 

[GailT]

I usually just sleep and shower in the room but this yr I am taking my Disney trip to a new level. I am going to enjoy BWI, maybe sit on my balconey and have a relaxing drink at night, bring my book and take a break from the parks. I have never just relaxed a bit at Disney and this time my mind is set to do it that way but then again I am not there yet and for some reason just being in the Orlando airport gets me all excited so I might be in my old habit mode,we shall see

 

[keith-atl]

We dont spend much time in our hotel room, but I personally think its a matter of the overall resort more than just the room.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

We spent quite a bit of time in our resort before DD and we plan to spend more time there with her. Lots of rest/swimming/recreation. Plus we enjoy the restuarants that are in the Deluxe hotels.

 

[dennisnlisab96]

We spend a fair amount of time in our room...mostly because we get back early at night. This trip 4/30 - 5/7/05 we will stay @ CR Tower Club!! Our kids will be DD8, DD6, DD3, DS2. Afternoon reasts are something we usually do also.!!!

 

[dpic]

We have found after having stayed at WL, we wanted to spend more time at the resort. For us, WL is as much as part of the magic as going to the parks. Not that we spend all day there, but we make sure we schedule resort time along with all the time in the parks. For example, the day we go to AK, we are back at the resort by 6:00. The day we go to Epcot, we don't get there until mid-morning. The two days we have tickets for MNSSHP, we won't go to MK until 5:00. Those days we'll hang out at the resort, head over to the Poly, head over to Beaches and Cream for a kitchen sink.

I guess it has to do with how long you'll be at WDW. If you have time to relax at a resort, a deluxe may be better. If you have just a few days, and want to power tour at the parks, a "sleep only" may be a better option.

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

Originally posted by keith-atl
We dont spend much time in our hotel room, but I personally think its a matter of the overall resort more than just the room.

ITA

We choose Deluxe rooms not because of the ROOM, but because of the location--there is nothing like being a monorail or boatride away from MK and Epcot!!!

I also like the fact that at the WL or the GF we can go eat something without having to go outside. We usually travel in the summer when the afternoon rain storms come every day.

HTH!!

 

[mom2rb]

When we went to DW on my honeymoon we were only in the room at night. When we went back last year with our kids, we spent alot of time in the room. The boys took naps ( something they don't do at home) they wanted to swim and they just wanted to hang out in the room. This changed my attitude about room size real quick!

 

[skiwee1]

We don't spend that much time in the room but more like at the pool. It is the pool and location that makes a resort for us. When we used to stay at CBR we never stayed in the pool or at the resort. Our main goal was to go to the parks so we could feel like we were in WDW. Now at the Poly we KNOW we are in WDW because we can see and even hear it. We spend as much time poolside at the Poly as we do in the parks. It is just a completely different feeling.

 

[KikiNJ]

We didn't spend as much time in the room as I thought we would, basically just to sleep, for the baby to nap, and then getting ready for dinner. That said, I chose the Poly not so much for the room (although I do like the extra space for the pack n play for the baby) but for the location, transportation, etc. We spent less time at the pool than I thought we would, but I would still choose the Poly over a non MK resort for the convenience, at least while my kids are little.

 

[Mercy]

Well I would say we spend a moderate amount of time at the resort, but my decision on which resort to stay at is very important.

We have stayed at the Dolphin (deluxe) and CSR (mod) this past trip. What I liked about CSR was that when I walked out of my room at CSR I was imersed (sp) in all the theming and in front of me was a beautiful view. When I walked out of my room at the Dolphin, I was in a hallway.

While staying at CSR, we drove to the BC for dinner one night. First off, while there I didn't get that feeling like "oh, I wish we were staying here instead." Also, while waiting for the valet to bring our car around, I was looking at the building and thinking that unless you "pay" for a good view, the view out your window or balcony could be not that great! We felt the same way about WL while dining there as well. I'm not sure the price difference is worth it, IMHO.

Anyway, we really LOVED CSR, and felt that it had all the amenities we really needed. Great pool, restaurant, lounge, fitness center, 3 quiet pools, good laundry facilities.

 

[leighe]

We usually spend most of our time at the parks, but when we stayed at AKL we made a point of spending more time at the resort. We really loved the resort! However, we didn't spend much time in the room. I got up earlier than DH so I would go out on the balcony with a book in the mornings. But then we would get ready and go for the day, coming back to the room to change into swimsuits or for dinner, but that was about it.

We love the deluxe resorts but I have stopped trying to justify the cost by saying "we'll spend more time in the room if we're at a deluxe" because really we won't. I just can't stand to think we're at Disney and I'm sitting in a hotel room (even if it is a beautiful hotel room with a view of safari animals )!