just returned!12nts at Beach Club,BWV,SWAN and opinions on other Disney Deluxes

[gm]

Just returned from 12 days at the epcot resorts 3 days at Beach club,6 days at BWV studio and 3 days at Swan. Room wise this is how they stand:
1.BWV (best for spaciousness and view of BW and of course disney service. Loved having the microvave,fridge and toaster in the room). But I could here the jazz singers at night in the room which was annoying because it was very loud and also all the clapping for the magicians on the BW but that was minor. the pool was colder compared to the Beach club pool which was very warm. I had stayed here in 99 and the rooms have aged quite a bit.
2.SWAN (best for Cleanliness and most comfortable beds.No not the heavenly beds just the regular beds. What i liked best about the beds was that it had the most softest sheets and the sheets covered the blanket(double sheeting). The bath towels were the softest and thickest I have ever seen for a hotel room. Disneys towels looked worn compared to these. The room was also very very clean compared to BWV and Beach Club. Housekeeping was really the best compared to the other 2 resorts. yes the big pool was very cold but the smaller pool next to it was warm. I specifically checked to see if it was true that the lagoon pool was cold. I have stayed here quite a few times and great rooms all the time.
3.BEACH CLUB-(best for the pool!!!! they are very strict with ids there. when you enter they check your id and put a band on your hand. the lifeguards walk around to every guest to also make sure they have a band on and if they dont they do ask for id. the rooms were nice in size.) Cape may for wonderful for breakfast also. I stayed here in 98 also and i am surprised at the quality of towels and bed sheets(yes they are clean but looked worn for disney quality same for BVW)

also BEACH CLUB AND SWAN had many conventions during our stays. Beach club had the most. they had parties going on every night near the boat decks and so did the SWAN/Dolphin.

We relaxed more this vacation than before since we had been to the parks many times before so we decided to tour the other deluxes. here are my opinions:
Polynesian-I cannot say about the rooms but when you enter there is a terrible smell before you enter the resort. the smell is from the water below. we ate at ohanas(reviews on restaurant boards later) the pool area was so crowded that alone would not make me stay there and the hotel was very dark but that is just my opinion.

Grand Floridian- looked very stuffy and not a fun happy place. Saw more of a senior crowd than families. Saw a lot of people watching going on from all the crowds sitting in the main lobby area and a band playing on the 2nd floor. Just not my type of a vacationing resort especially with kids but just my opinion. Now honeymoon is a different story.

Contemporary- i loved this resort!! didnt look stuffy. Nice and light and bright and more of a family crowd.

Animal Kindgom Lodge- very very dark. Out of way. But would love the view WOW!!!. ate at bomas(reviews later) 1st thing kids said was mom It is so dark in here and scary LOL!!!!!. I would avoid this resort if with kids.

In my opinion the best resorts with kids would be
1.BWV
2.Beach Club
3.SWAN/Dolphin
all 3 were so kid friendly,fun,light and bright and clean.

If there are any ????? please let me know. we ate at so many places (boma,ohana,cystal palace,chef mickey,espn,beaches and cream,garden grill, 1900 park faire,cape may,liberty tavern and many other and will do a review on them)

 

[4merlurkerchris]

Welcome Back!
Chris

 

[tresey]

Glad you had a nice trip!.....So what's the deal on the towels & bed linens.....I stayed at the All Star Sports last year (DS's choice), and the linens/towels were fresh & bright...I hope that Disney isn't skimping on its budget for linens/towels, especially at the Deluxe resorts....So how was service, there's alot of conflicting trip reports on the boards...I'll be at BC in May and am eager to gather all the info I can

 

[gm]

the beach club room itself was beautiful. The bedsheets were clean of course but just looked worn. it had small holes in them not up to par on disney quality. The towels really looked worn. In fact the towels at the pool looked newer than the towels in the room. And that also goes for the BWV too. The towels at the Swan were so thick and very new looking and the bedsheets were new and very soft with triple sheeting where you dont touch the blanket like you would at the beach club and bwv meaning one sheet under the blanket and one sheet over the blanket. I stayed one night at the allstar movie in December and yes the towels and bedsheets looked new and not worn come to think of it but that was for one night only. I hope they start putting new towels and order brand new bedsheets for the deluxes we were at. The disney service was the BEST!!!!!!!!! of course and cannot beat the location and the pools.

 

[MermaidsMom]

WOW!!! Every trip I make a reservation at the S/D because of the prices, and every trip I cancel at the last minute and go to the YC/BC!! This has happened 7 times now. The reason I get cold feet about the S/D is because I have worried that it would not be as clean as a Disney resort, and that sheets and towels would be thin. It isn't much of a vacation for me if I have to think about cleanliness, and a clean room is more important to me than a nice pool. However, the S/D has wonderful pools, and if it 's actually cleaner than YC, then I will make the plunge and stay there this time. Has anyone else noticed the things that gm says?

 

[Boots]

Thanks so much for the great room reviews!

 

[gm]

I stayed at swan because of the great rates. I have stayed at dolphin before too and great rooms and service. The swan room was very very clean and the towels are very thick and new looking and am sure anyone stayed at swan dolphin would agree. I am really into cleanliness so I check out the room to see if anything is out of the ordinary. I also loved where they have set up the bed sheeting over the blankets. The pool was wonderful but cold though so was BWV pool. The Beach club had the warmest pool. At the Swan I got an upgrade to resort view of bW and epcot without asking by presenting my starwood gold card. What a view. At the boardwalk also I got upgraded to boardwalk view without asking and just being friendly to the check in cast member. The service is unbeatable at BVW and Beach club (ex:When there was a cast member in the elevater he would say "Hope you are enjoying your vacation" little things like that make staying at a disney resort so much fun. Everybody is always smiling.)

 

[Mickeyfaniam]

Thanks for the review gm. Glad you enjoyed your stays

 

[vicb]

gm, Just curious... were you able to get any discount on your BC room? I have always gone in value season but next trip looking to go last week of Feb. which is peak and need a discount to beable to stay at BC/YC or BWI again! Any info? TIA

 

[cottontail]

Hi: Thanks for the reviews, just wondering about the conventions you spoke about at the swan, did they close the grotto pool for these conventions while you were there?

Thanks,

Deb.

 

[kathymc]

I also stayed at the Swan for the first time in December and loved it. I keep going back and forth over whether or not to spend the extra $$ to stay at one of the other boardwalk hotels. We don't spend that much time at the resort but are hoping to this time. Do you think we should try one of the hotels you stayed at or keep the swan (govt discount)

thanks

Also - those sheets, towels and pillows were awesome!

 

[glo]

Glad you enjoyed your stay at the Swan. It is a cool place..

 

[gm]

hi!!

yes the grotto pool was closed during our stay for a convention but it was open till late afternoon and closed for the evenining with parties around it. But you could use the swan pool if needed.
there was a convention everyday of our 3 day stay.


If you want to try the other boardwalk resort, I would split your stay like I did. Keep the Swan for a couple of days and if you need space than try the BWV and if you want a cool pool than try the Beach/Yatch Club for a couple of days. Dont give up your swan ressie because the grotto is a great pool and the rooms are very nice. depending on the time of the year you might be able to get discounts at the beach club or boardwalk. If I go back then my 1st choice would be Boardwalk(for the spaciousness)and 2nd choice would be Swan/Dolphin not the Beach club.
ps: tubbies makes the best grilled chicken sandwich.
have fun!!!!!