Rate the Deluxes

[Eeyore2003]

I'm having a very difficult time deciding where to spend my "special" week in December. I've been planning for the Poly for a very long time and that's where I have my ressies for now. I know you're going to hear positives and negatives all the time on the board, but I just want to be sure I have a choice good for me. I know others second guess reservations too when they hear complaints. So, please list "Like, will go again" or "Dislike, will not go again" for the Deluxes you've stayed at.

I think the choices are:

Contemporary
Grand Floridian
Polynesian
Animal Kingdom
Wilderness Lodge
Boardwalk
Yacht Club
Swan
Dolphin

If I missed any, feel free to correct, thanks.

Like's, will go again:
Contemporary Tower (only one I've stayed at and really loved it)

 

[ducklite]

Contemporary --haven't tried
Grand Floridian--concierge no way, lagoon castle view very nice, but not worth the $$
Polynesian--LOVED IT
Animal Kingdom--REALLY LOVED IT
Wilderness Lodge--Haven't tried
Boardwalk--LOVED IT
Yacht Club--so-so I'd go back only if nothing else was open
Swan--haven't tried
Dolphin--haven't tried

Anne

 

[ducklite]

And you forgot the Beach Club which I also love.

Anne

 

[PamNC]

Fun question. Here's where we've stayed and our ratings. I'll do a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest score).

Contemporary - 3.5 - Liked it pretty good. Would stay there if we got a killer rate, but not otherwise. Enjoyed seeing the monorail whisk through. Loved walking to magic kingdom but it needs updating IMHO. We liked the "energy" and feel.

Beach Club - 5 - LOVED IT. It's our favorite so far. Would, AND WILL, stay there again. Loved the Epcot resort area with the boardwalk, World Showcase, MGM right there! Adore stormalong bay and have never experienced the stress of not finding a chair like I've been reading about lately.

Yacht Club - 5 - LOVED IT. Would stay again. Loved it for same reasons as Beach Club.

Grand Floridian - 4.5 - Loved it. Would stay again. Just missed the pool at YC/BC.

And, in 2 days we'll be leaving for the Wilderness Lodge so I'll find out how that works for us.

PamNC

 

[BCVNovember]

Sometimes I think I am getting overloaded with information from this and other Disney information sites. Sometimes I think I should just sign off from everything and just let it happen, but I'm afraid of missing some grain of information that could turn my trip into a nightmare.

We are going in November (that is the only thing I'm sure of right now). It will be me, my 3 daughters and my dad. We either need a 2 bed villa or a 2 room suite or 2 rooms. 2 bed villas are just not available, 2 room suites are out of my price range, so it looks like 2 connecting rooms will be the plan.

My initial reservation was at the BCV, but after hearing a lot of negative stuff about them, and really feeling all along that it wasn't the right place for us, I changed the reservation to the Poly. But lately I've been hearing lots of negative stuff about the Poly too. The only consistently good feedback I hear on the Poly is for the concierge service there, and I haven't been able to convince myself that the $$ for concierge are worth it yet.

I have read good/bad reports about every single on-property hotel, e.g., GF is overpriced, Poly and CR are outdated, AKL and WL are too remote and WL is just not really "deluxe", Swan/Dolphin are full of smoking, foul-mouthed conventioneers and the dirty hallways are cluttered with dishes, and it is really starting to get to me.

I want us to have a nice, relaxing vacation!! I want it to be in a nice, clean, family-oriented place. I thought that planning this vacation would be fun, but it has pretty much been nothing but aggravating. Why is this so difficult???

 

[cindala]

The YC gets our vote! Tops in everything for us; location, theming, and staff!!

 

[Lewisc]

7 night stay, I'd split spend 3 or 4 days at POLY the rest in an EPCOT resort. Swan/Dolphin give you the best prices. I'd go with BC/YC (best pool and Beaches and Cream).

 

[AspiringCindy]

Beach Club- love the location! The hotel is nice, but I could stay at a beach type resort anywhere. The rooms are a good size. The pool is great!

WL- My favorite! I love the theming in this resort. It is sooo different from hotels elsewhere with it great west lodge feel. You feel like your in the middle of Yosemite. The pool area is gorgeous. I also like the idea of having 3 completely different priced food places to choose from. You have an easy access to MK. The drawback-small rooms!

 

[Demosthenes]

Contemporary - My favorite. Walt's flagship is still a jewel IMHO. The BEST conciege on property.

Grand Floridian - Over-rated. We like it, but it is low on our list.

Polynesian - Love it. My wife calls this place home.

Animal Kingdom - Great theme. Kind of remote. Not good for parks or pools. It misses the elements that make WL so great. Still, we plan two or three nights here each trip to conclude our vacation.

Wilderness Lodge - Best theme in all of WDW. We love this place. Not a bad view to be had in our experience.

Boardwalk - Beautiful. We will stay here again. Best standard view rooms in WDW. Great concierge. Over-rated water view rooms.

Yacht Club/Beach Club - The YC is more to my tastes, but we love the resort. Here we prefer a water view room.

Swan/Dolphin - Good value, decent rooms. We would stay again.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Contemporary- Wing room-probably won't return. Maybe we'll try the Tower one day but only for a few nights not a whole vacation.

Grand Floridian- never been but want to!

Polynesian- liked but it was a long time ago. Want to return in the future.

Animal Kingdom-LOVED! definitely will return with savannah view only.

Wilderness Lodge- LOVED will definitely return, courtyard view only.

Boardwalk- Never been want to try, maybe next year.

Yacht Club- Going in August can't wait!!

Swan- probably won't try, unless I got it on Priceline.

Dolphin- same as Swan.

 

[Eeyore2003]

AspiringCindy, we think just the opposite. We have a few Wilderness Lodge type resorts up here in MN/WI, but I can't always go to a beach type resort!!! You on the other hand are in NJ and have the shore right there. Funny.

 

[SamanthaL]

Contemporary Never stayed there
Grand Floridian Stayed 2x would again
Polynesian Stayed 2x may someday but not my favorite
Animal Kingdom Never stayed, but want to
Wilderness Lodge Never stayed
Boardwalk Never stayed but REALLY want to
Yacht Club STayed once but preferred the BC
Swan Never but will with nurse discount
Dolphin Never stayed
Beach Club- Stayed many times and would again in a minute.

 

[sjw4870]

Polynesian - my favorite!

Grand Floridian - will try someday

Contemporary - least favorite of the monorail resorts; would definitely stay there if I got a good rate in the tower. I didn't like staying in the wings.

Wilderness Lodge - love it. Rooms are small; but the ambiance of the resort makes up for it.

Animal Kingdom - visited many times but never stayed there. Place looks wonderful and gets such great reviews that I will stay someday. Wish it wasn't so remote.

 

[webray]

Contemporary: Have stayed about 3 times in the past 18 months...only stay there if we plan on spending all our time at a MK event...other than that would not stay for a regular vacation.

Grand Floridian: Have not stayed...but have been there many times...would love to try it.

Polynesian: Stayed 14 years ago on honeymoon...loved it...have visited many times and we have talked about staying there again...the only reason we don't is we prefer the epcot resorts because we spend most of our time in epcot.

Animal Kingdom: Stayed there in concierge....loved it, would do it again in a heartbeat!!

Wilderness Lodge: Stayed there once...have visited and eaten at the restaurants many times. Probably won't stay there again...we weren't that impressed. Artist Point however continues to be one of our all time favorite dinner restaurans, and Whispering Canyon Cafe an all time favorite breakfast restaurant.

Boardwalk: Have stayed may times, twice within the past 18 months...we just love the atmosphere and convenience to epcot.

Yacht Club: We have stayed twice...once within the past 18 months...we choose Yacht club when boardwalk is not available.

Beach Club: Never stayed...we have walked through...we just don't care for the atmosphere at beach club.

Swan: Never stayed...but, it is lovely...probably even nicer now since the rennovations are almost complete.

Dolphin: We have stayed here many, many times..most recently just a few months ago. We love the Dolphin...beautiful resort...great rooms...great service...better than at the disney resorts. EPCOT convenience. Don't rule out the Dolphin, it is one of our top places to stay. Usually better rates than disney resorts also.

 

[Rneighh]

I think you need to decide what type of person you are. I'm not the stuffy country club type. (lets out GF, Yatch Club, Beach Club) We live on a farm and raise horses. We love the outdoors and animals. (AKL and WL seem to fit the bill) My house is not modern or techy (CP not my decor preference). So for us it limits our choice to:

AKL
WL
Boardwalk
Poly

I would limit your choices to your personal preferences and then make a choice. No Disney Hotel is terrible and you will have a great time.

Renee

 

[beccasmom]

Contemporary - have stayed there many times in the past; was last there in 2000. I do not care for the new room decor and it has lost its appeal for me.

Grand Floridian - have stayed there once. Loved it, but I payed a significantly lower room rate (when it first opened). I prefer a more casual atmosphere, but it is beautiful.

Polynesian - have stayed there once (as part of the Disney Cruise). I'm in the minority, I know, but I did not care for it. I thought the room was very dark.

Animal Kingdom Lodge - have not stayed there, but have eaten there a few times. It looked like an interesting place to stay and it seemed pretty quiet.

Wilderness Lodge - don't have any firsthand knowledge of this resort.

Yacht Club - no experience with this one.

Beach Club - loved it! Being able to walk to Epcot is a major plus for me.

 

[Lexxiefern]

Grand Floridian - liked it, would not stay again though - way too overpriced

Boardwalk Inn - LOVED IT! would stay again in a second!

Wilderness Lodge - liked it alot, would stay again, very nice resort

 

[jacksmom]

No matter which resort you choose, you'll probably love it! We have stayed at Poly in a gv concierge room and really liked it, we have stayed at GF in a lodge tower room and loved it, we have stayed at the Contemporary in a tower room with a view of the castle and loved that also, We have stayed at the AKL in a savannah view room and loved everything but being so far away from everything, but would stay there again for a short/split stay. We are also dvc members and have stayed at BCV's twice and loved being so close to Epcot and a short boat ride from MGM. Beach Club location and pool are wonderful! Hope this helps! I am still trying to decide which resort for our Oct. trip myself!

 

[Tara]

Contemporary -- not into contemporary theming, so wouldn't try it, but the location is appealing
Grand Floridian -- LOVED it, will stay there again (soon, I hope!) not at all stuffy like I expected (I went expecting to not like it as much as BWI and I was wrong)
Polynesian -- would like to try it one day when DS is about 4 or 5
Animal Kingdom -- too far removed to be worth the money for me to try
Wilderness Lodge -- liked it a lot, but would prefer a more deluxe deluxe
Boardwalk -LOVED it, will stay there again when DS is older and more into Epcot/MGM
Yacht Club -- liked it a lot, but wouldn't stay there unless BWI was full and we wanted an Epcot deluxe
Swan - never considered
Dolphin - never considered

Also -
Beach Club -- would consider if BWI were full -- both it and YC are beautiful, but I prefer BWI for that area.

 

[Cindy B]

I think Rneiggh (hope i spelled it right) hit it on the head.

We also, are planning our first deluxe vacation ever (stepping up from the Allstars! )

We aren't really stuffy formal people, and we have two active kids.

So GF, BC, and YC are out for us.
Contempory could be nice if it was updated more. (It looks too 70's and I wasnt' impressed with the room pics. ) It

I personally like the retro look (for example I have a stainless steel kitchen.. but if I am paying big bucks for a room, I don't want it to look like from 1973!)

Poly-- looks too brown! I walked around there, and it was just so 1970's as well. Me and DH were talking about how it looked like the Brady Bunch Hawaii episode.


AKL-- looked at it as well. We were debating about that, but just didn't. The animals are a nice draw.. but not sure.


Swan Dolphin haven't stayed.. I can get a teacher rate, but I don't want to pay that much.

Boardwalk isn't appealing to me.. we live relatively near a Beach and Boardwalk anywya...

But we did decide on WL! Why did we pick WL?


Here were the reasons!


1) DH loved the look of it. He's not really an outdoorsy guy (think tencho geek), but I think he liked the masculine look of the lobby. He also liked the way the bunk beds were set up in the room for the kids. He likes the beams, and the fireplace and the pools.

2) It doesn't look too stuffy.. it just appeals as kid friendly, not "children tolerated".

3) Semi proximity to MK/FW. We are used to hauling up from the All Stars in a bus, so the boat ride will be a nicer/hopefully quicker experience

4) Variety of kid friendly dining options in the hotels.. (Ok, maybe not Artist Point)

5) Balconies! Woodsy look! Pools!

6) It looks like a nice place to relax.


Hopefully our first jump into the Deluxe category will be an altering experience.

Not that the Values are bad, they were sufficient for us. This is just something different we wanted to try.