Most Relaxing Deluxe

[CerysG]

I'm beginning to do my research for our next trip to Orlando in end of August 2017 and I hope we can swing staying in a deluxe this time. Last trip we stayed at the Hard Rock for the first part of our trip and than had two rooms at the CBR. We loved CBR as it was so calm and relaxing. DH is not a Disney guy so needs something relaxing after being at the parks all day. He enjoyed walking or running at CBR and it gave him time to distress. So we are a family of 5 (3 DD) and the girls will be 13, 16 and 20 next time we go. My oldest daughter and I are the ones who love Disney the most but middle DD seems to like it more each trip. Youngest DD loves thrill rides, even on our first trip when she turned 7 half way through it. Not a princess kind of girl at all more like front row of the Hulk....can't tell you how many times we went on EE in a row last trip! Our favorite park, even DH, is AK and then MK. HS and Epcot are close but I would say we like HS a bit more than Epcot. So based on that if we can swing one room at a deluxe that sleeps 5 which one would people suggest based on it being a slow pace, quiet and relaxing?

 

[LisaCM614]

I think the Boardwalk Inn is a very quiet and relaxing resort. We need to decompress after spending time at the parks and this resort really fits the bill. The quiet pool is surrounded by lovely gardens and even Luna Park, the main feature pool, is not as crazy and busy as the Polynesian or Stormalong Bay at Yacht & Beach. Your husband can enjoy early morning runs around Crescent Lake or along the waterway that leads to DHS.
In the evenings you can stroll the Boardwalk and enjoy entertainers and games. It is very fun and relaxing.

 

[mickeynut1]

I'm beginning to do my research for our next trip to Orlando in end of August 2017 and I hope we can swing staying in a deluxe this time. Last trip we stayed at the Hard Rock for the first part of our trip and than had two rooms at the CBR. We loved CBR as it was so calm and relaxing. DH is not a Disney guy so needs something relaxing after being at the parks all day. He enjoyed walking or running at CBR and it gave him time to distress. So we are a family of 5 (3 DD) and the girls will be 13, 16 and 20 next time we go. My oldest daughter and I are the ones who love Disney the most but middle DD seems to like it more each trip. Youngest DD loves thrill rides, even on our first trip when she turned 7 half way through it. Not a princess kind of girl at all more like front row of the Hulk....can't tell you how many times we went on EE in a row last trip! Our favorite park, even DH, is AK and then MK. HS and Epcot are close but I would say we like HS a bit more than Epcot. So based on that if we can swing one room at a deluxe that sleeps 5 which one would people suggest based on it being a slow pace, quiet and relaxing?

My suggestion would be the Poly, followed by the GF. We love the tropical atmosphere as it's beautiful and relaxing, the pool is great as it backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle, and Captain Cooks is our favorite resort CS. With that said, I think the GF is also quiet and relaxing. Both resorts are convenient to MK and both have beautiful surroundings.

 

[amym2]

My first thought would be to get a one-bedroom villa at AKV-Kidani. You could look into renting DVC points. The living area in the one-bedroom has a sleeper couch and a sleeper chair, and our kids thought both were comfortable. We stayed there last Oct and DH and DS enjoyed running around the property. Since AK is your favorite, it would give you easy access, and the other parks are an easy bus ride away (we found the bus service to be excellent). AKL/AKV has great restaurants, and with the one-bedroom you'd also have a full kitchen for breakfasts and snacks (and to cook if you want to). AKV-Kidani also has 2 bathrooms in a one-bedroom (AKV-Jambo only has one bathroom). I would consider that a huge plus with teenage girls! My DH sounds a lot like yours, and since joining DVC in 2011, our WDW vacations have become much more relaxing. Another property we enjoyed is OKW, and the one bedrooms are huge but only have one bathroom. It has a great laid back feel and Olivia's is a great restaurant.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

I'd go with Wilderness Lodge. The lobby is so spacious and relaxing, especially at night. When I go in the winter, I love to sit in the rocking chairs in front of the big fireplace.

 

[Gary M]

We have stayed at GF, WL, AKL, BWI, YC, POLY and POR. I would say the GF would be my choice as the most relaxing resort.

 

[CerysG]

What's the Beach Club like? It has a certain appeal to it especially being Western Canadian.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

What's the Beach Club like? It has a certain appeal to it especially being Western Canadian.

If you are looking for "relaxing", the pool is the least relaxing of any at the deluxes. The pool can be an absolute madhouse, and keeping up with kids can be a nightmare. The rest of the resort is very laid back, and access to Epcot, Hollywood Studios and the Boardwalk is amazing.

 

[myrheille]

If you love AK, Animal Kingdom Lodge sounds like a no-brainer. It's remote so I'd guess it's more quiet.

 

[wdwrule]

We love the WL for its calm, relaxing atmosphere. Although the time that you're going they may be renovating. Last year we tried something new to us....business class at CSR. This is our new love! We both run and loved running around the lake at night or early morning when everything is lit up and reflecting off the water. The grounds are beautiful and our location was close to the bus stop and the main pool. We also loved the unlimited beer, sangria and wine that's included with the small fee of business class every evening. We decided to book there again for this year.

 

[Babsy]

Most relaxing IMO is the GF followed closely by the Polynesian. They are beautiful resorts with lovely grounds to wander around and a pathway between the two which is a nice walk as well. However, the Poly is more convenient than the GF for getting to the Epcot monorail, so I would choose the theme that I liked the best and go with that.

The rooms are nice and large and sleep 5 very comfortably. The other monorail resort is the CR. It may not seem the most relaxing, but the rooms overlooking Bay Lake have avery tranquil view and are very large and comfortable. The pool is quite plain, but it never seems to be crowded and is very peaceful to relax around. The walk to the MK is very convenient. Garden wing rooms are less expensive options for a monorail resort and most have lovely garden or lake views. You can take a boat from here to Fort Wilderness or the WL for walking or dining.

 

[Ceryssa]

We loved the YC. Quiet and elegant without being stuffy. The CMs were some of the best we ran across our whole trip and it felt like everyone there went out of their way for us. I really liked the nautical theme too, it just reminded me of the beach and how relaxing it is there. We also liked its proximity to the Boardwalk, to me that's just a great evening of laid-back fun watching the shows and hanging out. The pool isn't "relaxing" per se, but with your kids' ages it's not going to be nerve-wracking trying to keep up with them. And I actually did find the Lazy River to be quite relaxing. It can get busy when it's warm though, so there's that.

 

[loves to dive]

It's really hard to say. I love the YC, not as many kids as the BC, has a quiet pool so you don't have to go to the big pool if you don't want. I love to get up early in the morning before everyone else is up and jog to the dolphin, over to the swan, back around Boardwalk and back to YC. It's not a long jog, maybe a little over a mile but nice and relaxing. The Boardwalk can be quiet according to where your room is, I've had one that was right over the clown pool, not very relaxing at all since they would train the lifeguards early in the morning but there is a great big ole porch on the boardwalk side that is not usually very busy early in the morning. I love the GF on the inside but the outside always seems a little busy to me. If you want real isolated, try renting a villa at Old Key West, the suites are huge, the grounds are huge and loads of room to wander around (my least favorite deluxe that I've stayed at). DS, DIL and I stayed in a one bedroom at AK main lodge in May. Lucked out and got upgraded to a Savannah view, it was so nice to get up in the morning and watch the animals. While the resort is beautiful and well worth a look and there are a lot of little hidey holes to sit in, I don't think it would be a good place for a runner since you would have to run in the parking lots and on the road, not any trails there. The Poly and CR are o.k., I've stayed at both. DS loved the Poly when he was young but we have found it a bit to hectic for our taste now. CR does have a walking trail to the MK but I'm not crazy about the style of the hotel. Just about any of the deluxes are going to have places you can get away from it all.

 

[goofy4prez]

I have stayed at the YC, WL, CR/BLT & GF/VGF. I would say they were all relaxing except thee CR. With the YC, the overall feel of the resort is very quiet; The only exception to this would be SAB (pool). WL and it's Pacific Northwest theme truly feels like you have escaped from it all, yet only minutes away from the MK. The resorts lobby is just breathtaking and is easy to just find a seat and absorb how awesome it is. However, Whispering Canyon Restaurant can be a bit loud at meal time, especially dinner. CR, forget about it. Great location, not a bad resort, but there is nothing on that property that is relaxing. It is busy, it is loud, and it echos like there is no tomorrow. The Grand Floridian is simply spectacular and is very easy to relax. The grand splendor of the resort, the piano player in the lobby or the band playing from the second floor invites you to just sit and listen.

From the ones I have stayed at I would rank them
1. GF
2. WL
3. YC
4. CR.

I have also visited but have not stayed at the AKL, BC, BW and the Poly and would rank them as follows.

1. BW- Very quiet and love the lobby.
2. AKL- Incredibly themed and take your breath away awesome like the WL. As for relaxing; a little to busy for me with this resort being one that many seek out to visit as well as having some great restaurants.
3. Poly- I really liked this place much better before the refurb. It is a nice looking resort, but again a bit busy.
4. BC- I'm one of the few who really doesn't care for this resort all that much. It's nice and all, but does not blow me away. As for relaxing; no way. Cape May keeps the decibel level fairly high, especially in the mornings.

 

[CerysG]

Thanks everyone it sounds like I can't go wrong with any of them. I'll have look at some of the pictures etc. Of the resorts and see what calls to me. I can show my kids and DH them but they'll say they all look good! I think they might find the GF a bit stuffy especially my youngest whose more the athletic type. Oldest would love it though. We also have to see what kind of deal we can get as well but I know last two times we've gone we have got room discount pins. Of course I always want free dinning and of course this year they have it for Canadians syarting mid August. I think what it comes down to is there are just to many good choices.

 

[DG24]

Since you got many who suggested WL and AKL, I just wanted to say, neither of these have rooms that will sleep five unless you do a suite and I know a deluxe suite in WL coste $1000 more and has less room than a deluxe suite in any other deluxe hotel, so we never tried there. I doubt this is an obtion since you did not mention it, but to us the most relaxing deluxe hotel is SOG, but only military can go there. Now relaxing can mean a lot of different things. We find BC relaxing, even if it is hopping with kids because I could spend a week in a lazy river, but many can not. I find the Epcot resorts more relaxing, because we don't have to run as much since at some point every day we end up in either Epcot or HS, to stay close means we run less to ADL's, so we are more relaxed. We also find that any of them that we do Cl in is more relaxing, we are get up early and eat breakfast people, so having cl that we can eat before the parks make for a relaxing vacation. I do not find any of the monorail resorts relaxing, just to busy, to many people wandering around from other resorts or MK. I think but have never tried FW would be relaxing for us, because to me relaxing is cooking on the grill and reconnecting with family as we sit and eat, so I always wanted to try FW and the treehouse a, but nice we have a W/C in the party it just has not been something we have tried because busing seems harder. We also would love to relax and take a horse ride or a carriage ride, or watch the animals. That said, nothing about AKL seems relaxing to me, being able to see animals and not touch them and interact with them just does not work for us. We do not like swan and Sophie, and we really do not like BWI. So we usually go BC or YC, to us they are relaxing.

 

[CerysG]

After reading everyones comments and looking at various sites with information on the different resorts I'm leaning towards the Yacht club. I think with my kids being older they might like it better and we still get access to that great pool. I like being able to walk to two of the parks and also being able to walk to the Boardwalk resort. Seems to be a lot of good things about this resort.

 

[KrazeeK120]

I think the YC is a great choice, especially since your kids are older. I stayed there in 2009 and found it very relaxing. It's my favorite resort of the 6 I've stayed at. It's definitely a huge bonus being able to walk to 2 parks! I will say that Stormalong Bay isn't really "relaxing," but I'm sure your kids will really enjoy it. Great choice!

 

[Three cats]

Another vote for the Yacht Club

 

[CerysG]

Well there is always the quiet pools! Now fingers crossed for a late summer deal in 2017 and it would be nice if the Canadian dollar went up a bit....but one shouldn't be too greedy.