Pete doesn't like Saratoga?!

[Original19]

Doesn't Saratoga Springs have one of the best Spas on property (just going by what I've heard)?

Also, Saratoga has the lowest maintenance fees of all the Vacation Club resorts. It's set up like a quaint little city. It's close to Downtown Disney. It's very close to the edge of property (easy on and off property access).

While I am not a DVC member (yet) I see quite a number of reasons to make this my home resort. Can Pete, or anyone else, shed some more light on the team's dislike of Saratoga Springs?

 

[MonkeyPants]

Saratoga is my home resort and while I am actually fairly fond of it, I can understand Pete's rant. The issue of the service is one I have noticed over the years. While the vast majority of the cast member interactions I have had there have been good, I have had more then a couple bad ones. One was the experience of getting tickets at there front desk. Spent like 30-40 minutes while a castmember tried to process tickets for a few of my family members. We get to the park to find nothing had ever been encoded onto the card. Our credit cards had been charged but out cards were blank. The worse issue was about 2 years ago. Entire family was down there around halloween. My mom tripped and shattered her kneecap in parking area. We called the front desk for assistance. the response was simply 'we cant help you' I was totally shocked. We practically had to beat the front desk people to find out where the nearest emergency center was. I swear I was in total shock. We weren't blaming Disney for anything, it was an accident so it wasnt like we were looking to sue. We just wanted assistance or at the very least info on where to get help.

We are getting the entire family together again this coming novemeber and are in fact staying at Saratoga again, my mom is already nervous

I actually like the look and the layout for the most part though I am well aware that plenty would not agree. My favorite part of staying there is late night runs down into downtown disney.

 

[Renysmom]

SSR is not my home resort but we stayed there in March on Developer Points and truthfully I was unimpressed..

I think the resort was too large, the units we just okay, the theming meant nothing to me and it was so far away from the parks, service was just okay and unless you were in a building right near the Carriage House using the counter service or Full service dining is not within walking distance and getting the mug would be a waste of time... Its closeness to DTD though was great for evening visits

This is though why WDW resorts are so great, there is something for everyone!!

 

[jimmiej]

Haven't listened to the podcast yet, so I don't know what Pete said. However, we stayed there last trip & were pleasantly surprised. Our studio room was very nice. Yes, it is a large resort, & the I was slightly disappointed with the pool. The CMs couldn't have been nicer & more helpful. I would definitely stay there again.

 

[disneygal1]

Saratoga Springs our home resort and I love the hotel and the amenities. However, I agree with the podcast crew... the transportation system is horrible. I am not surprised that Kevin only saw one bus within a half an hour. It probably would be another 15 minutes before he saw another one. We never rent a car when we stay on property, unless we stay at the SSR & Spa.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I've never stayed at Saratoga Springs, but I went there just to check it out and I just didn't care for it. I much prefer Old Key West. I just thought SS was, I don't know, kind of blah. It reminded me of a condo development. I've heard many complaints about the bus service too.

 

[JERME81]

I have never stayed there but did eat at the Turf Bar & Grill last September. It was our last night of the trip and we were suppose to eat at Tutto Itilia in Epcot but changed our ADR last minute to eat at Turf. We were seated outside on the patio overlooking the water ways. My parents were with us and they had their anniversary buttons on and the server brought champagne. They also gave them a special desert after we finished our meal. The food itself was very good and the wait staff was great. The only think I did not like about the resort was that I got lost trying to get back to AKL. We ended up off property somewhere and took twice as long to get back to AKL.

 

[WebmasterPete]

I really can't put my finger on a specific reason why I don't like Saratoga - I guess it's because I'm very partial to OKW and I consider that the 'Gold Standard' of DVC resorts. It's not that it's a bad resort, or an ugly resort - it's just that aesthetically it doesn't appeal to me.

Pete

 

[L.E. Ott]

When we stayed there I actually loved the room. The pool however, well the water was a rather strange color.......

 

[dalt01]

we were ok with it. our location was Congress Park which had a nice DTD view. we were not impressed with the counter service location. it was REALLY mobbed when it was time to be mobbed. very limited for the traffic it had to endure. i will say that i did not find good reason to meander. by that i mean for example at POR you can kill some time just walking and come away feeling like you just did something productive. at SSR you come away feeling like you just walked. no bus issues in SSR proper that i noticed. maybe the treehouses have their own set of problems there. OKW has "cured" if you will. SSR still has that problem of finding its own personality.

 

[DVC_Princess]

Hi... AKV is our home resort, but we've stayed at Saratoga twice now to use up our developer points. We were actually surprised by how much we like it after hearing a lot of negative reviews. I don't mind doing a lot of walking so I think the layout is fine and I find it very relaxing to meander around the pathways. We stayed at Congress Park in May and I really like the proximity to DTD... we spent much more time there this trip than we usually do.

I also really enjoy the Turf Club & I feel it's one of the hidden gems of WDW... very peaceful to sit out on the patio and the food is delicious (Chef Ron is also amazing when it comes to dealing with my gluten allergy so I may be a bit biased). Overall, Saratoga gives me the sense of being at my home away from home and I always feel rested after staying there.

The only negative is that when it was pouring all day, every day during our last trip, you really notice how spread out the place is. I was starting to miss the hotel layout of WL and AKL. So I do think time of year is important when choosing SSR (during high heat and rainy seasons, i think there are better options).

 

[MonkeyPants]

I really can't put my finger on a specific reason why I don't like Saratoga - I guess it's because I'm very partial to OKW and I consider that the 'Gold Standard' of DVC resorts. It's not that it's a bad resort, or an ugly resort - it's just that aesthetically it doesn't appeal to me.

Pete

no question OKW has a better look, a more vacation feel to it. Also those rooms are excellent, love the extra space and theonly place you can get a studio that has 2 actual beds and not a bed and pullout. I wish more of the DVC resorts would at least have some rooms set up with two real beds instead of the bed/sitting area

 

[dgthree]

Pete, have you ever been to Saratoga Springs, NY?

I have family (and went to school) up there, and to me the resort just pales in comparison.

 

[goofybeagle]

SSR is not my home resort but we stayed there in March on Developer Points and truthfully I was unimpressed..

I think the resort was too large, the units we just okay, the theming meant nothing to me and it was so far away from the parks, service was just okay and unless you were in a building right near the Carriage House using the counter service or Full service dining is not within walking distance and getting the mug would be a waste of time... Its closeness to DTD though was great for evening visits

This is though why WDW resorts are so great, there is something for everyone!!

SSR is our home resort, we bought into it while sailing DCL a few years back. I have to agree with everything that Renysmom says above. We have stayed there once and have stayed at other DVC resorts. To me SSR just doesn't seem to carry that Disney Charm feel of the other resorts.

 

[Madi100]

I listened to Pete's opinion of SSR and respect it. However, we LOVE SSR. I like the openness of it, and it just feels like home. We've only had problems with bus service once, and it was horrible. Otherwise, great. I will say that twice we have had trouble with service. They lost our bottled water. I do not understand why they just didn't replace the case of water and be done with it. But, they hunted and searched and it took two days of trying to find it. Be put out the $5 it's going to cost you and give me my water. This happened twice. We also had an issue with getting a gift delivered to our room. SSR did make that right. The free stuff they gave me were valued at more than the cost of the gift.

 

[two-foxes]

Shoot, maybe I am just happy to own DVC at SSR, but I love it! We have stayed at BCV, VWL, BCV and SSR and I think they each have their own strengths. I love the easy walk to downtown disney the expansive grounds at SSR, making it seem like a bit of a little town. As long as I have my kitchen, washer and dryer and coffee maker and am at WDW, I am a happy girl

But, I MUST thank Pete for the THV review. I was banking on staying there for our Sept 2010 trip, but am rethinking it. It may be time to try OKW!

 

[simonkodousek]

Each to his or her own I guess!

Even though Pete doesn't like SSR, it just so happens to be my all time favorite DVC resort. And, although a lot of people love BLT, I respectfully dislike it. I don't hate it, but I think the CR looked better without it.

 

[georgemoe]

...toga, ...toga, ...toga!

 

[katscradle]

This past trip was the first stay at a DVC resort. So I really have nothing to compare it to.
We bought at BLT, and stayed there to use our developer points.
Our stay was nice, the cms were wonderful.
However I do not feel that this is a resort that we would want to make our home resort. There is alot of walking which in good weather is not a problem.
The counter service and the store at SSR really lack something, that I cannot put my finger on. We did love staying in Congress Park and having the option of walking over to DTD. That is a wonderful option when you have an ADR at another resort. That way you don't have to go to a park to go to the resort where your dining is going to be. The major gripe we had was the all the smoking areas are at the front enterance to every building.
Now please keep in mind I am a smoker.
However I have a problem with sitting out there and having a morning smoke, and people who do not smoke have to basiclly walk through the smoke to come or go from their rooms. Also because SSR's buildings are not closed in the smoke goes right up the stairs and you can smell it when you get to the stairs on the top floor. I feel that this is Disney way of being able to take the smoking areas away, DUE TO GUEST DEMAND! I even spoke to the front desk about the fact that they should relocate their smoking sections. At the ends of each of the buildings
there is a door that leads into a set of stairs. This is out of the way, and because there is an actual door there the smoke would not enter the building and the smoker's would not have to feel that they were impeding on other peoples health. I don't feel that this would be my pick of resorts..
However I will keep an open mind till we have stayed in a few other resorts.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I didn't read all of the replies, but I agree with Pete. The themeing does absolutely nothing for me. I stayed in a studio and, although I thought it was nice, it is not one of my top picks for a vacation. My boyfriend thought it was very charming.

As a side note, I stayed in a one bedroom at Old Key West back in March. The room size was INCREDIBLE and perfect for larger groups and families. However, I did not like how large it was (similar to my feelings of SSR --- the only saving grace is that I was in the building right next to Carriage House and a bus stop). I also felt that it was a pain having to take a bus everywhere at the resort. Similarly, the rooms do need some updating. Still though, I would not hesitate to go back to OKW because of the luxurious room sizes.

As far as spas go, I much prefer the Grand Floridian's. They are both Nikki Bryan spas, though, and are run by the same company.