Just Back 1st visit to VWL

[HollyH]

This was our 1st stay at the VWL and we have to be honest and say we were a little dissapointed. We were surprised how much smaller the room sizes were compared to the other DVC resorts. For example, we are a family of 4 and there were only 2 chairs at the "dining table". We've found we save a good deal of $$ by cooking our own breakfasts and sometimes dinner in the resorts and this made it awkward. There was also not very much drawer space. We had a choice when we booked, of returning to OKW or going to VWL and were surprised, since the points were so much higher at VWL, that OKW was bigger and "homier". VWL felt more like a hotel room. Nothing big, but just little observations that surprised us. The building is beautiful, the CMs are great and we had a terrific time (cold....but terrific!). Were so glad we tried it but we'll just probably return to OKW next time! Has anyone else noticed this too?

Holly

 

[JonHM]

Hi Holly-

The rooms at the Wilderness Lodge Villas are the same size as the rooms at the Boardwalk Villas - Old Key West is the only DVC resort with the bigger room sizes. Also, the BWV and VWL *do* feel more like hotel rooms - again, OKW is the only DVC resort that has the feel to it that it does. I'm sorry you weren't mentally prepared for that before you got there. I think if you'd known these things about VWL before visiting there, your expectations would have been entirely different and you may not have come away so disappointed. My best recommendation is to just read this board a lot and you will find that that mentally prepares you for most *anything* you could come across on a DVC trip!

 

[ZerasPride]

This is an interesting thread. Can someone tell me how Hilton Head and Vero stack up in the size department? We own at Hilton Head and have just completed a stay there and I found the accommodations in the 2 bedroom to be quite spacious. Do you think I'll notice a big difference in the size of the accommodations if we choose to stay on site at BCV, BWV or VWL sometime in the future? Thanks for any insights.

Lisa

 

[JonHM]

I'd need someone else out there to answer that for sure, but I *think* that neither Vero or Hilton Head rooms come close to being as large as the OKW Villas. The big problem is really expectations, and once OKW people have gotten used to the spaciousness of those Villas, anything else seems tiny. Luckily, we are fortunate enough not to have stayed in OKW yet, so our comparison on room size will be comparing VWL to a deluxe hotel room (such as GF, where we stayed last June) - I am confident that a 1BR Villa at VWL will be incredibly spacious compared to that. By the time we actually stay in OKW, in a few years, we will already have our expectations adjusted to the 'smaller' villas at VWL and BWV, so the OKW Villas will just seem enormous, kind of like 'bonus' space.

 

[ohiominnie]

Holly,
Sorry you didn't like VWL. We've been to both OKW and VWL and it is true, VWL is smaller. We just like the theming so much more at VWL and the convenience to the MK (via boat)

There are two other chairs at the "breakfast bar." When we had meals or played some family games we just drug them over to the table. It wasn't a problem at all.

Actually, the funny thing is, during this last trip (December) we had reservations for May 2002 at OKW, but we loved VWL so much we called membership services from a pay phone near Splash Mountain to try to change our ressies to VWL!!! The only problem doing it was that my dh couldn't hear much when the train came into the station!!! The membership services person just laughed and offered to wait until the train was quiet!! HA HA!

ohiominnie

 

[KathyR]

HHI rooms are the same size as OKW. I have no idea about VERO though (yet )

 

[ZerasPride]

Thanks guys! This is good to know. I'll have my expectations adjusted when we stay on site in the future as need be. I'm hoping for OKW in 2003 and looking forward to it!

Lisa

 

[Donna]

Check your member guidebook, but i believe HH is slightly smaller than OKW, still seems spacious though compared to BWV or WLV.

 

[KathyR]

Here is a link to a previous thread with info on both OKW and HHI room sizes OKW rooms and HHI rooms sizes are nearly the same. Some OKW rooms are bigger and some HHI rooms are bigger, but still they are pretty much the same. Having stayed at both resorts, I honestly could not see a major difference between the two bedroom units Both are absolutely wonderful!

http://64.225.125.24/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19801&highlight=room+square

 

[PamOKW]

Well, the Vero Grand Villa is a free-standing house so I think that "wins" in the GV size category.

Seriously, the on-site WDW resorts built after OKW have been smaller since they are more of a hotel environment than a luxury condo. I think the expectation is people will be spending less time in the room and probably using the restaurants more. Vero and HHI maintain the condo feel. I think the size is bigger than BWV or WLV.

 

[mikesmom]

We stayed in a 1 bdrm at Vero for a couple of days last May and it was smaller than the 1 bdrm at BWV.

HOWEVER, We were on the very top floor with almost a dormer-like corner and I think that made the difference. That top floor room had a jaw dropping view of the ocean from every single window! Even my have-to-be-blase-because-I'm-18 year old teenager was absolutely floored by the view.

I would definitely exchange the extra feet of space for that view again.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

This may help ....

I've pulled this info off the internet over time ... most is from ineedavacation.com and ttowery's page. Here is the square footage that I've found posted for comparison:


...................OKW............BW...........VWL........HH

Studio..........376..............359..........356.........455

1bdr.............942..............712..........727.........856

2bdr............1333............1072........1080.........1311

GV...............2022............2142........**...........2362


I thought that this was pretty interesting.

Good vacation dreaming to all, Neighbors!
Tig

(sorry about all of the "...."'s. That's the only way with this format that I could get the spacing correct)

 

[Regina]

To be fair, while there are fewer dresser drawers in VWL, the closets are amazing. The one in the hallway is very large, and the closet off of the jacuzzi area is huge. It more than made up for lack of dressers.

As I recall, there are 4 chairs provided for dining in a OKW 2 bedroom, with 2 additional chairs in the second bedroom. If you have 8 guests, you'd need to use the chairs that are on the patio. The same holds true with the 2 chairs that are provided in the VWL 1 bedroom. It appears that they count the patio chairs as seating in DVC units.

Personally, I like both resorts.

 

[mkkim]

We stayed at VWL in November in a 1 bedroom. Our dining table had 4 chairs! Never would have thought it would only have 2 chairs. I guess I should prepare myself for the next time when I may only get the 2 chairs. Our next visit will be at OKW for the first time. Should be interesting to compare the rooms.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Gosh, y'all, there's so much info floating around out there; I got this from mouseplanet.com several months ago, but I have no way of knowing if it's any more accurate than anyone elses. So, just for your edification and amusement:

OKW
Studio: 390 sq.ft.
1 BR: 1005 sq.ft
2 BR: 1410 sq.ft
GV: 2375 sq.ft.

BWV
Studio: 359 sq.ft.
1 BR: 712 sq.ft.
2 BR: 1071 sq.ft
GV: 2142 sq.ft.

VWL
Studio: 356 sq.ft.
1 BR: 727 sq.ft.
2 BR: 1083 sq.ft.
GV: N/A

HH
Studio: 455 sq.ft.
1 BR: 856 sq.ft.
2 BR: 131 sq.ft.
GV: 2362 sq.ft.

VB
Studio: 375 sq.ft.
1 BR: 880 sq.ft.
2 BR: 1265 sq.ft.
GV: 2125 sq.ft.

 

[HollyH]

Thanks for the input everyone. Again, we still had a wonderful time (who wouldn't)and we did like VWL but the room size surprised us since the points were more for VWL than OKW. I think we expected that because of the higher points, the room sizes would at least be comparable. Just an interesting observation. I do agree that in the midst of it all (WDW) they expect you to spend more time outside of the room but as long as we've been visiting, we like to enjoy the resorts as well as the parks and we save so much money doing some meals "at home". OhioMinnie...We were originally booked in a handicapped room that had no breakfast bar with extra chairs and to be honest, we forgot about the patio chairs outside. We did eventually asked to be moved from that room because the water from the wheelchair accessable shower soaked the entire bathroom (kids...oh well)! That was comical! We have never stayed at BW so we can't compare but we have stayed at HH, OKW & VB and loved all of them. I agree Pam about the GV at VB. We stayed in one this past summer with 11 people and had tons of room!

Holly

 

[msdis]

We have stayed in all three studios on WDW property and thought that VWL was a LOT smaller than BWV although it really isn't. I think the dark, no, very dark decor makes it look a LOT smaller than BWV. Plus the fact that there is a lot of shade, it darkens the room even further. All 3 studios on property only have 2 chairs in the room. We like OKW and would stay there again but for just 2 of us we like having the couch in BWV and VWL. Since OKW is the easiest resort to get ressies almost any time, this is good news for you.


WOW, HH is almost 33% larger than VWL and BWV, I can't wait to stay there!

 

[Disney*All-Stars*]

I have to say, my biggest gripe was the lack of drawer space at BW (studio). I was really surprised to see how small the drawers were. We lived out of suitcases-yuk! There is more space in the drawers at All Star Resorts. Another thing that makes no sense is that the room is allowed to have 4 people, but you can't all sit down together because there is only 2 chairs. Why is that?

 

[A1A1]

DD and I stayed in an Inn room at VB in May, and my words as we walked through the door there for the first time were, "THIS ROOM IS HUGE!!!!!". The inn room we stayed in was about 2 to 3 times the size of our BWV studio. We stayed in another inn room at VB for a day, and it was smaller than the one I mentioned above, so I know that the inn rooms vary in size. I almost wanted to go get more furniture to put in the room, because it looked empty with the standard hotel furniture. It was so big.