Old Key West

[wishiwasthere]

I assumed that this would be the best place to come for people's opinions on it. Many of your are DVC members, but I am not. I am looking to rent DVC points for 2 studios at OKW and I have never done that before. I normally stay at Riverside and have never stayed at a DVC resort or Deluxe resort. I want your honest opinions on OKW and the pros and cons of staying there verses a Moderate or Value. I don't know if this will make a difference, but I am going August 20-September 2. There are 4 adults (1 20 yr. old and 1 19 yr old included in that) and one 15 year old. We plan on renting a car and we will have a 10 day plus ticket, and the meal plan. Thanks for your help.

 

[spiceycat]

august for DVC points is pretty expensive studio will be 10 points a night (sun-thurs) 24 points fri/sat.

sept is 8 points sun-thur, 20 points fri/sat. Points are generally $10 a point.

so total for your trip is 188 per studio (assuming you are checking out on Sept 3rd) 168 per studio (checking out on the Sept 2). So you are talking about $1,680 per studio.

I love it!!! it is a community not a hotel. if you want a hotel you are better off at one of the other DVC resorts.

It is a resort - so all the stuff a resort has. Gym a small one, main pool with slide, commuity hall, rental for bikes and boats, small arcade (two actually), restuarant, snack bar (2), gift/general store. It has a half court for basketball, volleyball, tennis (several courts).

there are 3 other pools - each pool has a sandy playground and BBQ plus picinic tables...

It is not an exciting place.

here is some pictures
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=545

 

[stinkerbell2009]

At $1,680 for each studio you are better off getting a room at Riverside. The only advange OKW would give you is a fridge, microwave and toaster. But if you are on the dining plan, why bother? We love OKW and that is where we own.

 

[wishiwasthere]

At $1,680 for each studio you are better off getting a room at Riverside. The only advange OKW would give you is a fridge, microwave and toaster. But if you are on the dining plan, why bother? We love OKW and that is where we own.

Well Port Orleans would be about $700 more to stay there so OKW would come before staying at POR.

 

[spiceycat]

she is right!!! Por would be $1,037 per studio!!!

it is the weekends that are the problem....

sorry about that!

kept in mind that Por has 2 double beds - if you stay in the AB section there is also a trundle.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Two weeks in a studio at OKW that time of year would be $98 a week per studio the first week and $80 per studio the second week. That's a total of $3560 for a 2 week trip, and that's a good deal. Now if you did a 2 bedroom for both of those weeks instead, you would have a LOT more space, a full kitchen, a complete laundry room, an in room Jacuzzi, etc. etc, and it would be only about $1250 more. That might sound like a lot, but in my mind, staying in a studio isn't all that much different than staying in a regular hotel room, be it deluxe or not. One other thought is to move that last weekend and do studios for the Friday and Saturday nights, which are more points.

 

[dianeschlicht]

BTW, we LOVE OKW! I've stayed at POR, and there is NO comparison. We love the feel of the resort and the size of the rooms and the friendliness of the staff.

 

[OneMoreTry]

If you rent points you won't get daily mousekeeping service. Trash and towel service every fourth day, and full cleaning if you stay 8 nights. You can pay extra if you want extra cleaning service. In the past, washing machines at DVC resorts have been free, except for the detergent.

You should try OKW. Who knows, you may fall in love with DVC!

 

[MiaSRN62]

The only advange OKW would give you is a fridge, microwave and toaster.

To add to this, you get 2 queen beds in each studio (vs double beds in POR) and a small balcony per studio (which you don't get at POR). Also, the bathroom is slightly larger than POR (oh ! And the rooms themselves are larger than POR) So I think it is an advantage to stay at OKW. This is a deluxe resort. POR is my fav of the moderate resorts, but I'd go with OKW. You mentioned you had a rental car----you will love the fact that you can park right outside your door. I would suggest you request an upper floor if possible. The ground floor studio balconies can be a little overrun with trees/shrubs, thus blocking most of the view.
Now if you're a food court fan, you may miss the POR one. OKW has one full-service restaurant (Olivia's) and a take-out stand (Goods To Go). They do have the refillable mugs which you can get at Goods. Both have a marina for water craft rental. Someone said OKW is not exciting---I'd have to agree (but I'm always excited when I get to stay there ). It's a very relaxing and mostly quiet resort......but so is POR. OKW has more of a neighborhood feel imo. My guess is you will be very happy with OKW. Enjoy your stay

 

[byoung]

Keep in mine if you rent points, you might get hooked on DVC, I did.

 

[wishiwasthere]

Keep in mine if you rent points, you might get hooked on DVC, I did.

I am perfectly okay with that!


Thank you everyone for your input and will let you know how everything goes. Hopefully we will be at Old Key West this summer!

 

[stinkerbell2009]

so total for your trip is 188 per studio (assuming you are checking out on Sept 3rd) 168 per studio (checking out on the Sept 2). So you are talking about $1,680 per studio.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=545

This is what I based my answer on. If $1,680 is per studio for a week the saves are greater if you stay at POR.

And yes, the rooms are much nicer at OKW than POR anyday, but I have yet to be in a studio where the patio is worth being on because of the over grorth.

 

[Goofy109]

Why does everyone want to spend " all " their money for " a bed " !! All you do is sleep in the room , suite, 1-3 bdrm. apt. that you have , and a shower, toilet, change clothes, and you are OUT OF THERE ALL DAY !!! YOU ONLY SLEEP THERE, so why pay this kind of Money to SLEEP !!!! Use that Money for the Hours you are AWAKE , in the Parks, EATING SOME GOOD FOOD, that type of thing !!! Am I the only one who feels this way ??? A Room is a room, is a room !! You are only gonna sleep there........HELLO !!!!! I just needed to get that out of my system.........but.......a Value Resort.......or the DVC........its still ONLY a Bed !!!! I have stayed at both......and slept the same at BOTH !!

 

[wishiwasthere]

Why does everyone want to spend " all " their money for " a bed " !! All you do is sleep in the room , suite, 1-3 bdrm. apt. that you have , and a shower, toilet, change clothes, and you are OUT OF THERE ALL DAY !!! YOU ONLY SLEEP THERE, so why pay this kind of Money to SLEEP !!!! Use that Money for the Hours you are AWAKE , in the Parks, EATING SOME GOOD FOOD, that type of thing !!! Am I the only one who feels this way ??? A Room is a room, is a room !! You are only gonna sleep there........HELLO !!!!! I just needed to get that out of my system.........but.......a Value Resort.......or the DVC........its still ONLY a Bed !!!! I have stayed at both......and slept the same at BOTH !!

You stayed at both so why are you making a big deal about those who want to try both. We are not fan of values because of them being overcrowded now, but will stay there because we are just sleeping there. There are other reasons for us staying at a DVC which will save us money.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Why does everyone want to spend " all " their money for " a bed " !! All you do is sleep in the room , suite, 1-3 bdrm. apt. that you have , and a shower, toilet, change clothes, and you are OUT OF THERE ALL DAY !!! YOU ONLY SLEEP THERE, so why pay this kind of Money to SLEEP !!!! Use that Money for the Hours you are AWAKE , in the Parks, EATING SOME GOOD FOOD, that type of thing !!! Am I the only one who feels this way ???

I suppose some do feel the same as you....but after so many trips to WDW, we enjoy our resort time (just as much as the park time) and like to stretch out a little as well.

but I have yet to be in a studio where the patio is worth being on because of the over grorth.

As for the patios being overrun. I don't feel the upper floors are nearly as much as the ground. I, personally, felt we had a good studio balcony in bldg 43 one year. Last year we got a 2 bedroom with no balcony off the 2nd bedroom but the view would have been good had there been one. This was a second floor. Sometimes the patio/balcony is just nice to have to go sit out on and have a morning coffee.

 

[PBader]

We love OKW, it is our favorite resort to stay in--the rooms are so roomy. The new pool slide is wonderful and we love the water there. It is great being able to park outside your door. I would also try for the 2 bedroom--you would be amazed with the space. But you will enjoy the roominess of the studios also. But you will have a great vacation either way.
Paula

 

[MiaSRN62]

To the OP:
One side note though. I just thought of this. You will not be able to get 2 adjoining/connecting studios at OKW. If this is important to you, then you may want to stick with POR. Because to my knowledge, there are no studios that are right next to eachother at OKW. Just something to consider. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[PBader]

We have had great luck in getting studios that are very close at OKW, usually below the other in the same building. Maybe it was just luck, but I think that they do try to keep your group together. OKW is so large that I would hope this happens for most people.
Paula

 

[dairyou]

Why does everyone want to spend " all " their money for " a bed " !! All you do is sleep in the room , suite, 1-3 bdrm. apt. that you have , and a shower, toilet, change clothes, and you are OUT OF THERE ALL DAY !!! YOU ONLY SLEEP THERE, so why pay this kind of Money to SLEEP !!!! Use that Money for the Hours you are AWAKE , in the Parks, EATING SOME GOOD FOOD, that type of thing !!! Am I the only one who feels this way ??? A Room is a room, is a room !! You are only gonna sleep there........HELLO !!!!! I just needed to get that out of my system.........but.......a Value Resort.......or the DVC........its still ONLY a Bed !!!! I have stayed at both......and slept the same at BOTH !!

We like to stay at DVC because we do spend alot of time in our room. Out of our 12 day trip we are only going to WDW parks 4 days.

The kids like to make "break and make" cookies, we like to share a meal together in the comforts of our "home". We lounge around near the pool. We like to rent movies and have popcorn. The commando days where we are hardly in the room are far gone for us. We no longer need a vacation when coming back from WDW

Deb