Port Orleans French Quarter or Beach Club??

[dis3family]

We are staying for two days after our June Disney Cruise. The purpose is just to hang out and swim and extend our vacation just a little longer. We cannot decide between the Port Orleans French Quarter or the Beach Club. Help us decide! We're going back an forth. The difference is $400. Is the Beach Club worth the extra $$. We've never stayed at either place.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you aren't planning on going to EP or DHS, I would pick POFQ. It's a beautiful resort, comfortable rooms and you have a boat to DS. Yes, Beach Club is lovely, but part of that upcharge, IMHO, is its proximity to two parks, so if you aren't park touring, I would save the $400.

 

[DWillowBay]

Wow...two great places, but very different choices. In terms of small, very nicely themed and fairly centrally located, POFQ fills that bill. It's my favorite moderate because of the great staff, good food and quaint atmosphere and accessibility to Port Orleans, Riverside and all it has by way of food, entertainment (Yee Haw Bob) and grounds. However, Beach Club has the best pool on property (in my opinion) as it has a sand bottom and is very large. Beach Club, itself, is beautifully appointed, but can be very busy at certain times of the day because of the character breakfast/brunch. It's a LOVELY Resort, though. No one can speculate if the price difference is "worth it" for you. If money's tight after the cruise, POFQ is a great resort. However, if you want a great pool and that's the priority....Beach Club for sure.

 

[ScubaCat]

Beach Club 100%!

 

[megs1313]

I vote POFQ.

 

[Nancyg56]

I would say Beach CLub. I love POFQ but given a choice and no parks, I woudl choose BC. The resort itself is lovely, and with the Boardwalk just steps away, you are in the center of plenty of restaurnats, lounges, and evening entertainment.

If the $400 is going to compromise your spending, POFQ is fun, compact and has that water taxi to DS< so you also have options that are convenient and fun.

 

[Boopuff]

I enjoyed my stay at both of these resorts, but Beach Club just won me over. The pool is fantastic, larger rooms, walk to EPCOT and lots of dining choices there! Also Boardwalk is close as well!

 

[rosiebean]

Beach Club without question, especially as you say you want to spend time hanging out and swimming.

First, the main pool at BC is much MUCH better than the pool at POFQ...not just in that it's bigger, but it's more adult themed (the POFQ pool may be undergoing re-theming with the recent refurbishment there...I don't know, but the pool in the past is rather cartoony with the big Mardi Gras animals. Just not my style.).

Second, if the pool at POFQ becomes too rowdy for your mood, you have to walk over to POR for a quiet pool. POR has a themed pool, and that's it. The quiet pool at BC is near the main pool and is fantastic. And both times I stayed at that resort (at one of the busiest times of the year and at one of the slowest), it was *quiet* and very lightly attended with only a few adults on loungers reading books, napping, etc.

Third, beyond the pools, I think the rooms at BC are better than those at POFQ for hanging out. They're a bit roomier and have a nicer decor, IMO. Rooms at BC have a door leading out to an interior hallway rather than an outdoor corridor and have windows looking outside with a balcony (full or Juliet). Some rooms offer a full sized balcony, if you'd enjoy hanging outside of your room with a glass of wine or coffee. Even those with Juliet balcony's allow you a bit of private outdoor space if you like that (my sister and I had connecting rooms...we each would open the door to our little balcony at sunset and lean out to people watch as we drank our afternoon wine).

Finally, while POFQ has the boat to DS, BC is right next to the Boardwalk area for dining and entertainment. AND, if you enjoy fireworks, you can sit near the beach, by the pool, or in your room depending on the location and see some of the amazing fireworks from Epcot.

I haven't stayed at POFQ yet but LOVE POR, but I'd stay at BC for a few days relaxing over any mod easily...it's really a no brainer for me.

 

[DG25]

Is it worth $400 a night to see filth and trash, dirty laundry, room service food on the floors in the halls day after day same food, bugs starting to crawl all over the place, half drank wine glasses, vacuums, cots, and wet towels, here are just a few pictures of the hall outside our BC room. We stayed 4 days in a deluxe room, club level so on regular hallways not up on club level. We had to walk 6 hallways all looking like this day after day. We paid over $600 a night. After the fourth night we told them to move us. We hear so much about BC, it was awful, we were moved to contemporary in a hospitality room, was great.i would not pay $1 for a room at BC. I was not impressed with the over crowded, pool with unruly kids who stepped on you, and believe me I do t mind getting wet, but I don't like it when kids just stand there throwing water at you, or using buckets from the food court and dumping water on you after you just spent a half hour drying off to go back to your room. I have been for 25 years, never had a bad experience, tried almost every resort, and until I tried BC I said Disney does it right. BC will never see me again, I hated every minute I was ther. I love the POFQ. Save your money and go to POFQ and have a special meal, or do something you never did before as a family like horseback riding, or a firework cruise.

 

[izzylovesmickey]

i'd vote for BC. I haven't luckily had the problems that DG25 did. I will admit that there are times when housekeeping is cleaning that the hallway may look like her pictures but didn't find in my experience that it was a 24hr daily problem. I haven't stayed at POFC but have visited and don't care for the theming personally. The pool area seems very juvenile to me, but that's just my opinion. I have been at BC in July, October and December and have seen SAB when it is crowded and when it isn't. Depending what you are looking for there is the option of the quiet pool which is great for just hanging out. It's a great location for access to the other Epcot resorts so you will have a lot of dining options. You potentially can watch the high fireworks from HS and Epcot. You would be close to the Boardwalk if you want some night time entertainment.

Have you considered CSR? We tend to stay at the deluxe resorts but after our stay at CSR we have decided for a moderate stay that is where we would stay. It is a beautifully landscaped resort with a great feature pool, quiet pools, decent food options, gym if you are so inclined, and it's getting a hard goods renovation so you may get a new room.

 

[Disneylover99]

POFQ if you want a quiet, relaxing resort. I liked the BC, but didn't love SAB. I found it busy and loud.

 

[North of Mouse]

POFQ, but not because of the pics above. Think that is just the rooms the maids were cleaning at the time. I know BC is not always like that!

I just love POFQ, especially if you aren't planning on going to the parks.

 

[hildarumpole]

I'd pick POFQ. We've stayed at BC CL 5 times, and gave it up after our last visit. So many problems. We witnessed room service trays in hallways not picked up for days and generally poor housekeeping. The balcony was useless, since the chairs were filthy and trash was left from previous visitors. When we complained about the problems, we got shrugs and blaming other people. It was like they gave up. Someone finally cleaned the balcony the 6th day, the day before we left. The sandy pool area at BC is nice for small children, but the general pool area gets pretty crazy at times. Even the quiet pool got overrun with unruly teenagers. The lobby is very busy and noisy. Noise was frequently an issue in the hallways at night after park closings. BC is a great location if you're spending a lot of time at EPCOT, but IMHO, it's over-hyped. While we haven't stayed at POFQ, we have stayed at POR and love it. Very relaxed atmosphere. Boatwrights is one of our favorite TS restaurants. POFQ is just a short walk away. We walked around POFQ and find the atmosphere to be quiet and quaint.