dianeschlicht
<font color=blue>DVC-Trivia Contest, Apr-2006: Hon
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2000
- Messages
- 36,449
We stayed at SSR for a couple of nights this trip, and then headed over to an OKW, Grand Villa. I promised to report on my thoughts of the new resort, so here goes!
First of all, our first impression was very favorable. When we drove in, the small town street atmosphere was charming and we loved it. Also loved the decor and friendliness of the staff at check-in. It reminded me of my OKW experiences there!
Unfortunately, we were hungry, and went to check out the food court before our room was assigned. BIG DISSAPOINTMENT there! I would not call it a food court at all! It hardly qualifies as a counter service place! the decor was lovely, but the food selection....not so. We waited until we got to the park to eat.
We were in 1747 and had a nice view of DTD and the neighborhood pool. This pool was very formal looking, and seemed to be a good draw for adults, while the themed pool was more of a kids spot. I went to go down to the hot tub the first night, but when I got there, I found a mother with her diapered infant in it!
I decided to pass.
We had a view of the DTD fireworks, and found the room to be very quiet. The first night, we fell asleep and missed the fireworks, but we did see them the second night. They don't last long.
We heard virtually NO NOISE in the unit at all. That was a plus.
We found the decor of the rooms to be a bit formal in a quirky sort of way. I didn't care for the sofa and thought it didn't match the decor of the room much. LOVED the real granite counters, but the dressing/sink/closet/bathroom area was not efficient or to our liking at all! First of all, there are too many doors! By the time you get the sink sandwiched between the closet doors and the bathroom door, you might as well forget about two people being able to use these areas at the same time! The little kitchen area was fine, but I also found the two other doors (entrance and connecting) to make this whole area seem like a maze of doors!
Loved the coat hooks in the entry though.
We found the parking lot and outdoor halls to be not to our likeing though. We love the down and out feel of OKW where you park so close to your unit. This took that concept and tried to combine it with the hotel concept of the other DVC resorts, and to our thinking, it emphasized the worst features of both. LONG hallways that happen to be open air, and a parking lot that can be a LONG ways from your unit!
Transportation was okey, but it was confusing to get around the resort. I suspect part of this was due to construction and some walkways being closed. It was not at all easy to get to DTD, and that is what we wanted to do.
Our overall impression? We might stay there again for a couple of nights, but I wouldn't want to stay there for a week.
First of all, our first impression was very favorable. When we drove in, the small town street atmosphere was charming and we loved it. Also loved the decor and friendliness of the staff at check-in. It reminded me of my OKW experiences there!
Unfortunately, we were hungry, and went to check out the food court before our room was assigned. BIG DISSAPOINTMENT there! I would not call it a food court at all! It hardly qualifies as a counter service place! the decor was lovely, but the food selection....not so. We waited until we got to the park to eat.
We were in 1747 and had a nice view of DTD and the neighborhood pool. This pool was very formal looking, and seemed to be a good draw for adults, while the themed pool was more of a kids spot. I went to go down to the hot tub the first night, but when I got there, I found a mother with her diapered infant in it!

We had a view of the DTD fireworks, and found the room to be very quiet. The first night, we fell asleep and missed the fireworks, but we did see them the second night. They don't last long.
We heard virtually NO NOISE in the unit at all. That was a plus.
We found the decor of the rooms to be a bit formal in a quirky sort of way. I didn't care for the sofa and thought it didn't match the decor of the room much. LOVED the real granite counters, but the dressing/sink/closet/bathroom area was not efficient or to our liking at all! First of all, there are too many doors! By the time you get the sink sandwiched between the closet doors and the bathroom door, you might as well forget about two people being able to use these areas at the same time! The little kitchen area was fine, but I also found the two other doors (entrance and connecting) to make this whole area seem like a maze of doors!
Loved the coat hooks in the entry though.
We found the parking lot and outdoor halls to be not to our likeing though. We love the down and out feel of OKW where you park so close to your unit. This took that concept and tried to combine it with the hotel concept of the other DVC resorts, and to our thinking, it emphasized the worst features of both. LONG hallways that happen to be open air, and a parking lot that can be a LONG ways from your unit!
Transportation was okey, but it was confusing to get around the resort. I suspect part of this was due to construction and some walkways being closed. It was not at all easy to get to DTD, and that is what we wanted to do.
Our overall impression? We might stay there again for a couple of nights, but I wouldn't want to stay there for a week.