Saratoga Springs- Loooved it!

[lindsroc]

Since I dont see many posts pertaining to SSR, I figured I would contribute what little info I have.
We recently stayed at SSR Oct29-Nov03. It was wonderful. I cannot say enough nice things about this resort. We stayed in a 1br villa in the Congress Park section, which is -in my opinion- the best area. The quiet pool was right behind us, and we could walk about 5-7 minutes and be in DTD. We were on the 2nd floor and from our balcony had a great view of DTD. The main pool is a bit far, we drove, but it is well worth it. They have a poolside bar (a little $$$ for drinks) and had games going on for the kids. Also they have a nice arcade and the gift shop/restaurant is right there.
The room was perfect for our family of 4. Nice and clean, full kitchen, 2 TV's, huge bathroom with a giant jacuzzi tub. Theres actually one room with a sink and tub, then another room w/a sink and shower, and yet another room with a toilet. It was like a maze of doors. The hotel was very quiet. Housekeeping left a hamper full of clean towels, papertowels, laundry detergent etc every other day. They also came in and straighetened up once. They left little towel animals and set up all my kids toys on the bed- it was really cute.
We didnt use the buses since we drove down, but there was a bus stop right outside our building and we noticed them running quite often.
Overall, we loved it and would definitely stay again! Any questions please ask.

 

[dingoballs]

Since I dont see many posts pertaining to SSR, I figured I would contribute what little info I have.
We recently stayed at SSR Oct29-Nov03. It was wonderful. I cannot say enough nice things about this resort. We stayed in a 1br villa in the Congress Park section, which is -in my opinion- the best area. The quiet pool was right behind us, and we could walk about 5-7 minutes and be in DTD. We were on the 2nd floor and from our balcony had a great view of DTD. The main pool is a bit far, we drove, but it is well worth it. They have a poolside bar (a little $$$ for drinks) and had games going on for the kids. Also they have a nice arcade and the gift shop/restaurant is right there.
The room was perfect for our family of 4. Nice and clean, full kitchen, 2 TV's, huge bathroom with a giant jacuzzi tub. Theres actually one room with a sink and tub, then another room w/a sink and shower, and yet another room with a toilet. It was like a maze of doors. The hotel was very quiet. Housekeeping left a hamper full of clean towels, papertowels, laundry detergent etc every other day. They also came in and straighetened up once. They left little towel animals and set up all my kids toys on the bed- it was really cute.
We didnt use the buses since we drove down, but there was a bus stop right outside our building and we noticed them running quite often.
Overall, we loved it and would definitely stay again! Any questions please ask.

What kind of restaurants are within SSR? Did you eat there and, if you did, how was the food?

 

[lindsroc]

I've read there are 2, however the only one I saw was the Artists Pallette. Its more of a cafeteria style in that you go up, stand in line and bring your food back to your table. Honestly though, the food was good. We had breakfast there one morning, and lunch one day. The prices are reasonable and they sell groceries which is great so you can stock up your kitchen in your room.

 

[DKH01701]

I'm glad you enjoyed our "Home away from home". The other restaurant is the Turf Club Bar and Grill, around the corner from the Artists Palette, in the same building. They serve lunch and dinner a la carte. Pricier than Artists' but very good.

 

[jb84]

First trip ever? I was there the week before you! I'm kind of surprised you didnt use the bus system. So easy in my opinion. Even if you have your car the busses still save time I think, you don't have to worry about parking or any of that, they drop you off at the front door of your resort and the parks! Walking over to DTD in the morning before it opens is a treat...

 

[clombardi]

What kind of restaurants are within SSR? Did you eat there and, if you did, how was the food?

We ate at the Turf Club in August. The food was wonderful and the service was the best I've had at Disney in 10+ visits.

 

[simonkodousek]

SSR sounds like a great resort. I am really going to consider it when I want a quiet & relaxing vacation, with DTD only steps away.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

We also Love our Home -away from-Home.

We are trying out the other resorts with our DVC now but have no problem if we can;t switch at the 7 month mark . It's just so peaceful and we love DTD.
We did a 2bdrm in June 06 at the Paddocks (still not that bad of a walk )and studio Congress park great location) in Dec 06 both great trips.

 

[kimsuenew]

SSR is wonderful! We LOVED our stay there this year! The bus transportation is wonderful by the way. We drove a couple of times, but mainly we took WDW transportation. It was regular and efficient. The decor, grounds, pools, location, bus stops, and Artist Pallette were all wonderful. We were there for 12 days and hope to return soon! Hopefully someday we can become DVC members!

 

[alldiz]

Glad you loved SSR....I had a great stay also

You had me crackin up about the bathroom....
I kept ending up in the closet when I wanted to go to the bathroom
So many doors in the bathroom
Kerri

 

[MissyDVC]

So wonderful to hear people say such nice things about SSR We love our DVC home and will be there in 12 days and then again in February. We find that it lets us have the best of both worlds on vacation....the parks, the noise, the fun and then back to SSR for some peace and relaxation and beauty.

 

[MiracleMom]

I was really glad to see a post about SSR.
We are leaving for SSR on the 23Rd of Nov. and wonder where would be the best location for us, as we have a 4 year old, but also would appreciate quiet and a nice view.
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[jwfla422]

I was really glad to see a post about SSR.
We are leaving for SSR on the 23Rd of Nov. and wonder where would be the best location for us, as we have a 4 year old, but also would appreciate quiet and a nice view.
Thanks for any suggestions.

You probably don't read too much on the "RESORT" board about SSR because it is considered a DVC resort so you'll find most of the "chat" and "info" over on the DVC boards.

We love SSR as well. It's becoming our favorite resort. We just stayed there late Sept/early Oct. for the 2nd time and loved it again. Although we didn't get the area I requested which was CP (because it was full) we were upgraded from a studio to a 1 bedroom villa in the Paddocks which was only a 3-4 minute walk to the CP bus stop. When we stayed at CP we were in the furthest bldg (closest to DTD) and it took us about 2-3 min to walk to the bus stop so it wasn't a big difference there.

I did miss the lovely view we had of DTD when we were in CP but we still had a nice waterview at the Paddock. It was also about a 8 minute walk to the main area which was a bit closer than it was to CP. Plus our villa was VERY quiet which was sooo nice!

I love the cozy feel of the resort area. The fitness center is also nice there. I got to do my morning walk and would then head to the fitness center to finish my workout...very convenient. (no excuse to not work out )

If you want a quiet room ask for a room on the top floor of the building (in any section) as you have no one above you which really makes a difference. The DTD views are the best (IMHO) which would be CP, but the waterviews and garden views are pretty as well. The Grandstand which is the newest area is also nice as it's fairly close to the main area and it has a nicely themed pool area. The Springs is the closest area to the main pool/main area and as mentioned CP is closest to DTD.

I would request a top floor if you want a quiet room. If you prefer to be closer to the main area request the Springs. If you prefer to be closer to DTD request CP. I would imagine it will be quite full when you do check-in as it is a holiday weekend, so be prepared to request some "back-ups" like the Grandstand or a bldg in the Paddocks which is close to CP. Take a look at their map so you can get an idea of the resort set-up. That will help you when you check in. ENJOY!!!

Map of SSR: http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/saratogamap.jpg (the entrance of the resort is on the top left side of the map by The Carousel section). Make sure to check here for lots of photos of the different areas within SSR.
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/g_ss.htm

 

[lindsroc]

First trip ever? I was there the week before you! I'm kind of surprised you didnt use the bus system. So easy in my opinion. Even if you have your car the busses still save time I think, you don't have to worry about parking or any of that, they drop you off at the front door of your resort and the parks! Walking over to DTD in the morning before it opens is a treat...

I know, the buses really looked convenient. But- we had our double stroller and it was just easier to leave it in the van and drive. Plus we had the AAA parking pass so got pretty good spots.

 

[lindsroc]

I was really glad to see a post about SSR.
We are leaving for SSR on the 23Rd of Nov. and wonder where would be the best location for us, as we have a 4 year old, but also would appreciate quiet and a nice view.
Thanks for any suggestions.

We were with our girls who are 3 and 4 and I really think that Congress Park was perfect. The quiet pool is right there and is heated. And I loved walking to DTD.

 

[vettechick99]

Thanks for the review. I really like SSR as well. We stayed there for one night a few years ago just to check it out (and we spent the evening at DTD so it was very convenient) and really enjoyed it. It's very homey, which I like a lot. If I only had money to buy into DVC...

 

[Toot Sweet]

I'm glad to hear that you liked SSR. In two weeks we will be staying there for the first time. I saw the pics and it looks like a beautiful resort. I'm so excited!

 

[5 for WDW]

I was really glad to see a post about SSR.
We are leaving for SSR on the 23Rd of Nov. and wonder where would be the best location for us, as we have a 4 year old, but also would appreciate quiet and a nice view.
Thanks for any suggestions.

Saratoga Springs is also our home away from home. We were there for 10 days in September for our first stay as DVC members. We absolutely loved everything about SSR. We can't wait to go back.

We have three kids. 10,7 and 4. We were in The Grandstand section and we felt it was the perfect location. We will be requesting that location in the future. The quiet pool was right outside our door and my kids loved it. It is also themed. It does not have slides but, it has great water features. We had a one bedroom and it was immaculate. The walk to the main building and pool was a piece of cake. Even in a torrential down pour one evening. No complaints at all in regards to walking to the main pool...which we did each evening.

The number one reason we loved Granstand was being the first bus stop for pick up and drop off. Even though the resort was very quiet when we were there the bus was standing room only by the time it got to The Springs a lot of the time. I prefer to have my children sitting and I was going in for knee surgery right after we got back so that was an important factor for us. DH would end up standing and I would hold DD on my lap because there were no seats available by the last stop and we prefer to give up seats when we can.

I hope you have a wonderful stay. We were really thrilled with everything about the resort.

 

[kent285]

Housekeeping left a hamper full of clean towels, papertowels, laundry detergent etc every other day. They also came in and straighetened up once.

That's interesting...if you paid with cash, you should have had housekeeping every day. If you paid with DVC points, you should have only had towels, etc every 4th day and a full cleaning (new sheets) on another day (I don't remember which one).

 

[MiracleMom]

Thank you so much for this info ! I have a much better idea of the layout now.
The pictures are awesome. !!