"Just a place to sleep"....?

[torsie24]

Frequently when talking to people about vacations (and see it on here a lot) I get the reply:

"Well, the hotel is just a place to sleep."

I totally understand this notion, but have to admit the hotel to me is probably the part of the trip I'm most excited about! And even more so at WDW/DLRP as the hotels are so amazing!

So in the name of research I wanted to do a poll - for you is it "just a place to sleep" or "a big part of the vacation experience".

No right or wrong answers, I just wanted to see what people think.

[I've toyed with doing a 3rd option - "it depends what kind of trip" - but want to keep it to a 2 answer poll, so just go with Disney trips if your answer would be different for different places.]

 

[Remmy]

Initially, I would have said, it is just a place to sleep but upon further reflection, the resort is a large part of our vacation.

For my family, we all love POFQ. There is so many different things we just adore that makes us now wanting to keep coming back to this same resort. I have asked DH if all we could budget was for a Value, he stated he would rather skip a trip until we could afford to go back to POFQ. Thus the resort is part of the vacation.

I think the resort sets the tone of your vacation, especially if you use their amenities such as food court, pool, transportation, theming, etc. We feel perfectly at ease at POFQ and that helps us enjoy our vacation.

Remmy

 

[KELLY]

We go for 9 or 10 days so we are at the resort a bit. So no.
We do spend some time at our resort.

 

[Terk-1]

If I am going solo and on a tight budget or am only staying a couple of days in a resort, before transfering to another one, I usually choose the All Stars, as I'm only there to sleep, swim and shower. For longer stays, it's either Port Orleans French Quarter or the Wilderness Lodge. I tend to spend more time at one of these resorts to really soak up the atmosphere. Plus it feels like a nice retreat.

 

[MushLRC]

It IS part of the experience in that I prefer to stay locked inside the magical bubble of staying in a hotel on property but truth being said we DON'T spend much time at the actual resort.

 

[FireDancer]

It's just a place to sleep for me. Whether it is Disney or any other vacation I don't spend a lot of time at the hotel. I get up and get out into the city, parks, or whatever depending on the vacation.

I pretty much look for the cheapest room that isn't in a bad neighborhood and doesn't appear to be a dirty place based on reviews.

 

[Cherinva]

Even though I don't spend much time at the resort, basicly to sleep and shower..I do feel like the resort IS a big part of the trip....after leaving the parks, I can go back and still have some of that Disney magic.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've done many many trips and the resort was always a huge part of our stays.....some trips the resort was based on location to certain parks and lately, based on price and location....but always deluxe.....

Our trips thru the years have gotten longer, so we have quite a few just resort days and we have always broke from the parks in the afternoon to relax and swim and recharge at the resort.....we get plenty of park time but don't have to camp out in the parks or commando a trip anymore....

 

[momtobrynncess]

If it's just an overnight or two at anywhere else buy Disney, I still cannot stomach a motel 6 type of place to stay. At Disney, as others have said, it's a HUGE part of the vacation. It's part of the magic of Disney!!

 

[nolanboys]

It's a huge part of our vacation. We've been to the parks a lot, so we spend much more time relaxing at the resort now. This past trip, we spent every afternoon hanging out at the pool for 3 or 4 hours. The resort is as important to us. Going back with just DH in September and picked OKW for it's laid back vibe. We plan on only going to the parks in the evenings and spending the rest of our time just relaxing at the resort.

 

[calngavinsmom]

Hi there. For us, when we stayed at the values, it was more of a "just a place to sleep" type hotel. But, we have stayed at a couple of mods and found our resort time morphing into more of a "huge part of our vacation". They are just so relaxing and lovely, all of us wanted to spend more time there, rather than doing the commando parks thing!

Take care

 

[THERESA522]

Now that we go to Disney each year, we tend to stop and enjoy the resort more and more with each vacation. It's not as important anymore to go and do so much. So, I voted that it IS important to us.

 

[angierae]

Our first trip, it was definitely just a place to sleep. We didn't know if we'd ever get back, so we wanted to go-go-go and see as much as possible.

This next trip we are a little less concerned and are planning a lot more "down time" so we're staying at POFQ so we have more resort things to do.

So yeah, to me it really depends on what the focus of your trip is.

 

[kaffinito]

For me it's a large part of the trip. Even if staying at a value, I still have my pool time and I like a good food court.

 

[Missytara]

That is why at Disney, I always refer to them as "resorts" and not "hotels."

To me, it is two totally different animals. To call them a hotel is a disservice, because that is not what they are at all to me.

And yes, the resort to me is the experience. I just did an all-resorts, no parks trip last year for 8 days......so the resorts are definately important to me.

 

[rotlex]

It really depends on the trip for us. A few years back, I would have said just a place to sleep and went as cheap as possible. However, after 5 or 6 visits to WDW in the past 5 years, and our trips getting longer and longer, 10 night minimums, I now think the resort is a huge part of our stay.

We spend more time there now, and take advantage of the things the different resorts have to offer. Last year, for example, we had our first stay at AKL. Frankly, we could have, and did, spend a few days just at the resort, enjoying the pool, the animals, restaurants and resort activities. Now, on another note, we LOVE POP as well, and have used it twice on years we did two trips to WDW when we just wanted that "place to sleep".

 

[AndreaDM]

Big part of the vacation, especially if going for more than a weekend. I look at it like this, I work hard all year to be able to travel and I like for my accomodations to be at least as good as what I have at home, preferably better since I'm spending a lot of money. This is why I do NOT camp - can't understand busting my butt all year to live like I'm homeless for a week! That being said, when I was single I spent several weeks in Europe in youth hostels and LOVED that experience, but I knew I wasn't going for luxury, I was there for the culteral experience. We are beyond excited for our first stay at AKL in just over a month!

 

[Paradise18]

We are spending more time at the resort, so a relaxing atmosphere and good pool is important to us.

 

[KatMark]

It is definitely not just a place for us to sleep. Even when our boys traveled with us, we spent many days of a trip going back to the resort to enjoy the pool, the hot tub, bike rentals, boat rentals, etc. Now that it is just DH and I, we still go back to the resort to enjoy the pool almost every afternoon we are there, and enjoy strolling around the resort at night to talk about our day, sitting on a bench relaxing, etc.

 

[ciera321]

I wish it was "just a place to sleep" for us - I'd save a lot of money! It's very important to me where we stay and that's always on Disney property.