Poll-do you prefer condo-style or hotel-style units?

[Simba's Mom]

When I asked our guide whether SSRS was going to be more condo-like, parking in front of individual units, like OKW, or hotel-like, valet parking, etc.-like BCV, VWL, and BWV, he said that "most of our owners prefer the hotel-style, so that's what it's going to be". So I wonder, which do most owners (at least most that frequent these boards)prefer? Which do you prefer?

 

[RoutemanDan]

What it is remains to be seen.Guides have said it will be Hotel style and they have said it would be condo style.Unfortunately we will never see acommodations the size of OKW again.
I prefer the condo style myself.Our next trip is to VWL and I will
miss the front door parking and size of the 1 bedrooms at OKW.

 

[SINK]

I have always been a big resort hotel style person. However, having stayed at VWL and OKW, I really like the convienence of parking the car near the room (unlike VWL, it's a hike!). So for DVC purposes, I must admit that I voted for Condo style, and hopefully SS would be so too (not likely).

 

[Dean]

I get the idea that SS (and EP if it happens) are going to be somewhere in between OKW and the hotel type like BWV.

 

[Doug Wolfe]

Whatever style it is, I think the whole Saratoga Springs concept looks great. Once again the DVC people have put together a great concept. I can't wait to try it.

 

[sparkspeak]

I don't intend to be too cynical here, but if your car is conveniently parked outside of your room, you may be more inclined to venture outside WDW.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I just can't vote on this one. I like both for their own individual reasons. Perhaps I would have a better idea if I stayed at OKW.....

 

[DeeP]

You can not always park in the parking lots right outside your door at OKW. The last time I stayed at OKW we always had to park in the parking lot located in front of the next building since there were no available spaces in front of our building. So we had to walk through 2 parking lots, up 2 flights of stairs and then down and around a long outdoor hallway to get to our room, all in 90 degree heat after a long day in the parks! Nope, give me valet parking, air conditioned indoor hallways, elevators, and room service any day!!!

 

[Regina]

I took the liberty of adding "no preference".

 

[JimC]

I enjoy both, but when pressed for a vote, it goes to condo.

 

[Simba's Mom]

DeeP, what building did you have? I hope we don't get that!

 

[DeeP]

Simba's Mom,
I do not remember the exact building #, I've taken too many WDW trips since then to remember the exact building, and that trip was only a little over a year amd a half ago...LOL! It was one of the buildings that is close to the HH. It was a non smoking building, if that makes any difference.

 

[Caskbill]

In the FWIW department, according to my spreadsheet, since purchasing in 1993, we have spent 169 nights at DVC of which 106 of those have been at OKW, in 29 different buildings. (Well, actually we did get the same unit a couple of times, but that means 29 different OKW check-in's)

And for all those 29 different trips to OKW, I can't recall a single time when we couldn't park our car in the lot that was associated with our building.

As to SSR, I understand it will be in several phases (4-phases seems to be the number that is floating around). The first phase is apparently a hotel style. But the other phases were suppose to be more along the lines of condo style.

 

[Lisa F]

Originally posted by Caskbill
And for all those 29 different trips to OKW, I can't recall a single time when we couldn't park our car in the lot that was associated with our building.

Wow, your odds are much better than ours. We have spent two trips at OKW when nothing else was left. One was a weekend during food and wine festival and we did not rent a car, so I can't comment. The second was a week in a studio and we did rent a car and most of the time, we were not able to find parking anywhere near our studio. It was at the end of the building and the end of the lot and we came home frequently at 1-2am. By then anything that was "right outside your room" was taken and we had to park in a spot that was nowhere near any building (in between two, seemed like an overflow lot). This was especially pleasant one night when it was pouring out. That night I was wishing i had some big shelter to stop under while some nice CM went and parked my car .

Lisa

 

[Desperado]

Convenient parking is nice. It's great to park under your villa building at Vero Beach and to have realatively close parking at BCV. Parking at BWV and WLV are too far away.

At the same time, I like the hotel style amenities, like room service, interior hallways, lobbies and spaces filled with wonderful pictures, flowers and special christmas decorations in season, especially for those times of the day in Florida when it rains.

Interesting poll.

 

[TDC Nala]

Personally I think this really only makes a difference if you have a car. I usually don't have a car. I had one on my last OKW trip and they put me about as far from the main building as it's possible to get. I am not sure I liked being that far away. If I hadn't had a car I would have asked for a different studio.

 

[reneesam]

Originally posted by DeeP
Simba's Mom,
I do not remember the exact building #, I've taken too many WDW trips since then to remember the exact building, and that trip was only a little over a year amd a half ago...LOL! It was one of the buildings that is close to the HH. It was a non smoking building, if that makes any difference.

The only time I've had trouble parking out in front iof my unit at OKW is when I'm staying close to HH...seems a lot of "commuters" use the wrong lots!

 

[vernon]

As a general rule of thumb I prefer the Condo style resorts, but for just a two person visit ( in a studio) I'm happy to trade that comfort level for the lower points cost of hotel style units.

 

[Caskbill]

Originally posted by vernon
As a general rule of thumb I prefer the Condo style resorts, but for just a two person visit ( in a studio) I'm happy to trade that comfort level for the lower points cost of hotel style units.

Actual the hotel style units (BCV, BWV, VWL) are higher point costs than the OKW condo style resort.

Here's a chart showing a week's point cost for a Studio unit during each season for the WDW resorts.

<Table border><TR ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom"><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99><FONT FACE="Arial"><B>SEASON</B></FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99><FONT FACE="Arial"><B>OKW</B></FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99><FONT FACE="Arial"><B>BWV Std</B></FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99><FONT FACE="Arial"><B>BWV Pref</B></FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99><FONT FACE="Arial"><B>VWL</B></FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99><FONT FACE="Arial"><B>BCV</B></FONT></TD></TR><TR VALIGN="bottom"><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial"> </FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial"> </FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial"> </FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial"> </FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial"> </FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial"> </FONT></TD></TR><TR VALIGN="bottom"><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="left"><FONT FACE="Arial">Adventure</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">80</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">85</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">104</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">104</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">104</FONT></TD></TR><TR VALIGN="bottom"><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="left"><FONT FACE="Arial">Choice</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">82</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">87</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">106</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">106</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">106</FONT></TD></TR><TR VALIGN="bottom"><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="left"><FONT FACE="Arial">Dream</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">98</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">107</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">123</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">123</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">123</FONT></TD></TR><TR VALIGN="bottom"><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="left"><FONT FACE="Arial">Magic</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">109</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">111</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">134</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">134</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">134</FONT></TD></TR><TR VALIGN="bottom"><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="left"><FONT FACE="Arial">Premier</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">147</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">156</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">181</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">181</FONT></TD><TD BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 ALIGN="right"><FONT FACE="Arial">181</FONT></TD></TR></Table>
Vernon, are you thinking of 1-B/R and up as 'Condo' and Studios as 'Hotel' and you prefer the lower cost of the studio? It's not the room style but the resort style. OKW is a Condo style resort while BCV, VWL, BWV are 'hotel' style resorts. If you had a 2-B/R at BWV you're still in a hotel style resort (internal hallways, valet parking, etc), while if you had a Studio at OKW you're still at a "condo' style resort (self parking outside your unit, outside entrances, etc)

 

[dianeschlicht]

We DEFINATELY prefer the condo style to the hotel style. It just feels more like home!